Since the last campaign I’ve wrangled an amazing team, Incorporated a business and we’ve clearly stepped things up quite a bit!
The company is called Pyroclastic Entertainment Inc. and we’ve got a new website! As well as Ashen Rift having a new website, we’re much better off than when it was just me, working away on Ashen Rift by myself from this website.
Feels great!
Sorry for the radio silence on GreyMatterCandy, getting Ashen Rift to where it is, launching two websites, a green light campaign and a kickstarter campaign really took a lot out of me.
If you have any questions or anything, just email me at BarryCollins At PyroclasticGames.com
Thanks for all of the continued support, Will do a big art post for the latest work in Ashen Rift soon!
So, Lots of new stuff, Like, Tomorrow I’m getting my haircut by my barber and buddy Matt Savage so that I can look good for my KICKSTARTER video which I’m Filming with another friend Mike!
I also just got my All Access Pass for GDC 2014! so lets meet up! email me or tweet @barrymcollins me to make it happen.  If you’re game media, I want to buy you a beer… for real, and if you just like my game, then hey, maybe you’ll buy me one?
I also just got my official #streamteam page setup over at the content hub of IndieGameMag where you can watch me broadcast all my gamedev nonsense from  twitch.tv!
I also tossed one of my sculpting sessions streamed on twitch over to YouTube where you can watch me work on one of the new feeder designs, particularly working on the forearm wrinkles.
I plan on getting a Webcam and Mic and doing more interactive Twitch streams – Live Question and Answer videos and all that fun stuff so Please feel free to follow me on twitch, My IndieGamingMag page @barrymcollins on twitter or the Ashen Rift Facebook page to stay up to date about if/when I’m streaming.
So on the Feeder front, obviously I’ve got some new designs in the works, I’ve actually got a number of WIP shots for you. Â I did in fact conceptualize them in zbrush so there is no concept art for these guys sadly.
Here they are, Let me know what you think so far.
I’ve also been working on a brand new build of the game, from the ground up – totally abandoned the setup from before… I did this because I was so new to Unity that I kinda made a mess of things, This time around things are much better organized and I’m able to build things in a much more optimized manner. Â This has also given me the opportunity to really re-think a lot of things… Which is good…
The design has changed so much since the demo thanks to all of the feedback, my goals are clear, simple and exciting and to achieve this, again, I really did need to start from the ground up and focus on getting the core elements in place… Without the basics I cannot even begin to plan out a level.
For starters, I’ve got real time destructible terrain and real time fracturing of objects. Â This is going to play into how the game is made and played very much so…
Here are some screenshots from the new terrain setup and destruction.
As you can see, I’ve got Height blending and other cool fancy shaders working well and fully real-time destructible terrain with height blending! Super thrilling!
Oh, and in true Barry fashion, here’s some other random-run-on news!  Ashen Rift was Featured in a popular (As evidenced by my spike in views and followers) Turkish gaming news show called Bağımsız. This truly made my day, They apparently say something about it being a unique game if the dynamic with the dog is done correctly, Check it out, Ashen Rift is at 14 Min or so.
And last but not least, I’ve finally got some of the concept art back for some of the story elements… Here is a preview of when Bounder and the player encounter a decrepit building which has been split in two due to a massive shift in the land.
I’ve been very quiet as of late… I have had a lot of ups and downs this last month… Lots… But it looks like things are looking up.
My Father passed away, my girlfriends dog has one foot in the grave and I’ve been broke for almost 3 months now…Â
I’m snapping out of the disorienting and depressing wall of noise and moving forward from here… Ashen Rift has more attention and uplifting support now than it ever has and am pleased to say that I’ll be digging back in to it full time from now on.
I am working on really bolstering the social media reach of Ashen Rift, any way possible, so if you have any marketing advice, please do share!
Created a proper Ashen Rift Youtube account for a one stop shop for AR videos… sadly this is empty still, but give it some time!
Created an Ashen Rift Tumblr Account, so you can see pics of Ashen Rift, Pitbulls, meems,zbrush stuff, game dev stuff etc, things that inspire me!
I think that covers the latest social media happenings.
On the development front I should have some updates soon on my DX11 endeavors, which is thrilling to say the least.
Working on polishing up a Private alpha build for everyone on my private alpha testers list to play with, and also brewing up ideas for small bite sized alphas… stay tuned for more info! lots of amazing things coming down the pipe soon!… And I mean that…
Hey! finally got the gameplay video slapped together. Just fixing a few bugs that are making the playable build un-playable and then will release shortly!
Thanks for watching, Please let me know what you think!
Also, a newer, Higher def, Higher FPS video will be released soon.
Been quiet! because I’ve been busy workin on the game! sorry about that. Feel free to add me on twitter @BarryMCollins or like the Grey Matter Candy facebook page for slightly more frequent (daily) updates 🙂
Environmental progress
Environmental progress
Environmental progress
Almost more happening than I can even talk about at this hour (4 AM)… I’ve named the game Ashen Rift and will be Recording a video in the next day or two, launching  a website and submitting to Steam Greenlight.
The AI has taken major steps in the right direction and gameplay as well. Â It is really feeling like a complete game, So thrilled with my progress on the pre-alpha demo so far.
One! I will be presenting the game in person at the East Side Games office in Vancouver BC on the same day as the contest deadline, the 8th of October. So come on down and play it! let me know what you think!!
Two! I just finished the Double Barreled Shotgun!
It is the third weapon you will pick up in the game and its pretty gnarly!
Double Barreled Shotgun In Game
Double Barreled Shotgun In Game
Let me know what you think!
I look forward to meeting you guys down at ESG on the 8th! Come check it out!
Just updated/replaced a few things in my game and _totally_ have to re do a ton of stuff from my Axe functionality all the way to my explosion FX, hitpoints and bullet damage… which basically translates to re-creating the gameplay balance…
Maybe ill learn to back things up finally.
On a positive note! I have the 30 day free trial of unity now! And set up some post processing, the game looks much more how I have imagined it all a long.
Here is a few pics with shadows / post processing.
Grey Matter Candy 