HAPPY BIRTHDAY, 2016!  You don’t look a day over a day.

This has been an amazing year for Well Bred Rhino.  Last Stitch Goodnight’s story has been locked down, the mansion and offices were built, and all the bosses were put in their places.  And amongst all this world building, we’ve been able to polish the bejebus out of it thanks to fantastic feedback from the St. Louis Game Developers Co-op and from everyone who came out to the Pixel Pop Festival.

The biggest goals for 2016 are interaction, polish, and making people question my mental state.  I CAN NOT WAIT to get this into your hands!

But I leave you with one final HORRIFIC NOTION THAT WILL SURELY CHILL YOU TO THE BONE!  In a house of horrors, what if you are the TRUE monster?

Floooosh.  Terror flush that uses up all the cold water while someone else is trying to take a shower.   EV-ILLL.

The art of Last Stitch has been a journey that started in the previous game, All the Bad Parts.  And while the world art evolved, the character art stayed true to its roots.  And lo did those two art styles battle, CAGE MATCH STYLE!  In one corner we had outlines!  Cell Shading!  Chunky character design!  And in the other corner, bold crisp colors!  Details!  Sweet mustaches!

Up to now, the art has been this hodgepodge of dark outlines on characters, crisp no-outlines on the world.  BUT I REFUSE TO BARE WITNESS TO ANY MORE HODGE!  It’s time to commit.  It’s time to redraw alllllll the characters.  And I now know it’s something that needs to be done to make this game the best it can be.  THE WORLD DESERVES NOTHING LESS.

And if the player/guard tests are any indicator, I think it’ll totally be worth it.

Remember, if someone suggests you stand behind a lead shield, you probably want to stand behind the lead shield.  And cover the human bits that are your favorites.

In other news, Movember is going FANTASTICALLY TERRIBLY FANTASTIC.  Thanks for asking and not looking directly at my face.  It stops itching, right?  I hear it stops itching.  I just really need my face to realize that growing adorable tiny knives and then stabbing itself with adorable tiny knives is not the best idea.

Design wise, bosses can be a blast.  You get to test the player on everything they have learned in the last level, and if they flunk, THEY DIE!  In the game, that is.  Not in real life.  Murder is wrong.

The weapons in Last Stitch Goodnight (Último Sutura Boa Noite!) have to do double duty for this to work.  The weapons are tools are weapons are tools.  Sometimes you need to hit the boss over the head with a lead pipe.  Other times you’ll have to…

Wait, are you trying to cheat for the final?

When you are up close and personal with a game, it’s hard to reset your brain and play a level for the first time.  The below GIF shows off just how important it is to show your game, talk to folks about it, and (most importantly) listen to what they have to say.  Both the dodge and the green arrow on the ground were born from talking to folks on YouTube and PixelPop.  Thanks to these awesome people, the combat is more dynamic, and the world is MUCH more navigatable.  YOU ARE RAD.