In today's devlog, we take you on a journey through Japan. One of our devs recently had the opportunity to visit this beautiful cherry blossom country. Our soundman shares his impressions of the trip and how it will influence the work on Japanese Drift Master. Let's get started!


Every aspect of the country is radically different from what we are used to in Europe. The architecture, the customs, the vehicles on the roads, the interactions with people, the peace and order on the streets - these and many other elements made our developer's two-week stay in Japan an unforgettable experience.


As Dawid is the main soundman for JDM, this trip was a unique opportunity for him to record the authentic sounds of everyday life in Japan, as well as the sounds of the cars on the track. During the trip, he collected a lot of ambient sounds from the streets and various service locations that are strongly associated with Japanese culture. He also visited world-famous drift tracks (which we discuss below) to record the sounds of cars and bikes competing against each other. In addition to the sound recordings, David actively photographed various elements of the environment to give our graphic designers even more inspiration for their work. This will allow us to create an extraordinary atmosphere in our game.


Considered by many to be the Mecca of drifting, Ebisu is a legendary complex located in Fukushima Prefecture. It is the perfect place for lovers of controlled drifting. Ebisu Circuit offers up to seven completely different tracks, surrounded by a zoo with rare animals such as the albino lion. The area is not only huge but also features large changes in terrain, adding to the unique atmosphere. It is a meeting place for drift enthusiasts from all over the world who want to hone their skills in a unique atmosphere. Below is a video from our developer's channel of his visit to Ebisu.


The Tsukuba circuit is the quintessential motorsport circuit. Located in Ibaraki Prefecture, it is 2,045km long. There are grandstands at the corners from where you can comfortably watch your favorite section of the track while listening to live commentary from loudspeakers throughout the venue. It is the perfect venue for time trial enthusiasts.


While driving back from Ebis, David experienced an incident that was exceptionally memorable. Slowly adjusting to the traffic on the motorway and adjusting his navigation, he noticed a police car at a signal, suggesting he take the emergency lane. He didn't know exactly what to expect and the language barrier made communication difficult, but with the help of an interpreter, everything was clarified. The police officers' attention was drawn to the slow movement of the road and they wanted to make sure that the car was not damaged or the driver had not fainted. After a short conversation and a few jokes, he continued his journey. To this day, he recalls this unusual interaction with the Japanese police as very pleasant and unexpected.



Our developer's journey through Japan has opened up a whole new horizon of sounds that are sure to bring a unique atmosphere to our game. The beauty of Japan, captured in sound and image, will allow us to further reflect what makes this country so special. As a reminder, the Japanese Drift Master demo will only be available until the end of January, so make sure you check it out while there's still time! Add JDM to your wishlist on Steam and visit us on Discord where we're always here to help. See you there!



https://store.steampowered.com/app/1153410/Japanese_Drift_Master/


Let’s Drift!
Gaming Factory

Fix: Storage foots can't be screwed

We're excited to announce the release of our latest game, LASERS.



The original inspiration for LASERS came from shows like Squid Game or Takeshi's Castle, Mr Beast's youtube videos and games like Fall Guys or Stumble Guys. We wanted to make a battle-royale game that could be played with smaller groups and was brutally difficult!

Our studio, Straight Back Games, is very small and we're mostly known for our previous title, DEVOUR. Whilst working on the next maps for DEVOUR, a few of us worked on LASERS as a fun side project. We're really grateful for the success that DEVOUR has brought us as it has allowed us to release side projects like this for free!

To hang out with the community, bug reports or feature suggestions, please join us in our Discord server.

If you enjoy playing, please consider leaving a review on Steam as it helps indie studios like ours so much.

Note: The max Halo Rank is currently set to 10 but we'll be adding more content and increasing the max rank with it soon.

Omg. I mean ahoy! Final Profit is a finalist in the Independent Games Festival this year for Excellence in Design!



It also has received an Honourable Mention for the Seumas McNally Grand Prize!



The full list of finalists can be found here: https://igf.com/finalists-and-winners

Thank you all for playing the game and spreading the word! There's been growing momentum recently starting with an influx of players from participating in the Jingle Jam collection, followed by a bump from the Winter Sale, then a fan's review on Reddit that blew up, currently doing very well in Steam's Capitalism and Economy Fest, and now this recognition through IGF!



The vast majority of this momentum has been due to word of mouth, I am so grateful to the fans for being such great advocates!

Work on the next update continues. The scope has grown significantly so the number is being bumped up from 1.01.04 to 1.02.00. The live development log can be followed over on the game's Discord alongside discussions that are shaping where the game is heading.

There's also been a bunch of new Patrons helping to support continued updates.

2024 is starting quite strong. And it's not that far off the game's 1 year anniversary in early March. Looking forward to it!

Jane’s been asked to shoot a TV program called “Cooking Strike” to show off her incredible cooking skills, and she needs to complete five levels in a row to make sure she’s ready!

While you complete the levels to get ready for the show, the TV crew will bring some more professional equipment.

If you fail a level, your progress will be reset and you’ll have to start from the beginning!
You can try as many times as you want. The TV show’s paying for the food, so you won’t be using yours up.

When you finish the fifth level you’ll receive a big reward that includes booster parts, Coins, Rubies, and blog points!



If you don’t complete all the levels before the event ends, don’t worry. You aren’t losing anything, and there’ll always be another TV program!

Step into the realm of Time Glitch, where every roll of the dice twists fate and time! Launching today, this unique experience awaits you. As you face the undead king at the end of a campaign, you'll discover that every defeat is just a new beginning.

Here's what's in store in Time Glitch:

• Strategic Dice Rolls: Harness the power of precognition. Remember your dice outcomes to make game-changing decisions. Each roll is a step towards victory or a return to the dungeon's gates.
  
• Bite-Sized Tabletop RPG: As you find your party at the end of a campaign, the game will take around 20 minutes to play or an hour to explore all endings.
  
• 4th Wall Breaking Fun: Enjoy a quirky, meta-adventure within a game, packed with drama and unexpected turns.
  
• Friendship and Fate: Every choice shapes the world and the bonds between your characters. Forge your path to victory or risk the ties that keep your party together.

Are you ready to break the cycle, defeat the undead king, and claim a glorious end to your campaign?

Grab your dice and let the adventure begin!

Ready to take on a thrilling challenge? To the Rescue Events offer an adrenaline-filled experience that will test your skills and endurance. Conquer five challenging levels and you'll be rewarded with an exclusive prize – but if you fail, you'll have to try again! Get ready for an unforgettable adventure – it's time to put your skills to the test!

The time of the event is based on the time on your PC, and the duration may vary slightly from the duration of this announcement.

Noticed some issues this should fix the runtime, seems some code wasn't running properly.

After almost 240 days of intense development and sleepless nights, we are very excited to finally unveil it to the world. Take a look at the Official Gameplay Trailer:


Join our official Discord server to keep up to date with the latest updates and get a chance to join future closed testing of the project.

More social links:
Twitter
YouTube

There was a bug that on the survival level, when you completed or died it would error. That is now fixed and you should be able to play through.