Shadow Over Isolation (Adventure/Thriller WIP) [Concept Demo NOW AVAILABLE]

sbnewsom · November 23, 2015, 11:46am

Release Date First Half of 2017 Genre Adventure/Thriller/Horror Platform PC/Mac **Website **Steam Page

Attention All Gamers: The ‘Concept Demo’ is no longer available to download. We’ve gotten this far with your help and generous unwavering support. Now we are going to be able to push even further. Naughty Shinobi will forgo the use of Patreon for the duration our contractual obligation and work directly with an excellent Publisher/Investor, Forever Entertainment S.A. Our dreams are finally being realized and we look forward to releasing Shadow Over Isolation sometime in 2017!

Full Press Release: http://naughtyshinobi.com/shadow-over-isolation-receives-publisher/

Its 1984 in Kapra County, Georgia. A town known for its prosperous farmland and colorful citizens. Ryan Kappel is asked to return to Road End Estate, a prominent farmstead in Kapra County, to farm sit at the request of his Aunt. It’s been 17 years since he visited the relative’s estate with his mother and father. Nonetheless, it didn’t take long to sense unease in the air. The nostalgic trip down memory lane ends abruptly as he discovers a mysterious chamber that laid dormant in the now abandoned stable in addition to a defunct corporation that had hands in every wrong doing around town and a sinister history that drove the ancient natives to the brink of insanity.

Shadow Over Isolation is an upcoming First-Person Adventure game for PC and Mac. Experience an adventure the gives the player piece of mind without holding your hand. Offering a story-driven Lovecraftian experience without sacrificing gameplay for sake of exposition. Explore the beautifully detailed Road End Farmstead and many locations around Kapra County, all running on Unreal Engine 4. Lush with interactive elements both functional and optional, all to provide a home away from home as we slowly but surely pull the strings back from the fabric of your mind.

We’re not looking to create another rendition of Shadow Over Innsmouth, Color Out of Time, At The Mountains of Madness or the typical style established by Call of Cthulhu franchise. We want to create our own style built on the love for the non-traditional gameplay designs of the 90s mixed with aesthetics inspired by Stanley Kubrick (Visual and Sound Design) and HP Lovecraft’s sanity shattering mythos and storytelling style. We want to contrast the darkness with color, light and hope to properly expose players to a true sense of virtual insanity instead of the generic endless darkness, monsters, museum tour walking/exposition simulation and monotone atmosphere that “Lovecraftian” games typically offer.

Investigate the mysteries around Kapra County utilizing the Grey Matter mode, a unique take on deductive reasoning. Visually analyze observations and connect the dots to produce suitable outcomes. Alternate paths can be taken to solve various scenarios, offering non-linear problem solving.
Explore a lush and detailed environment, from Road End Farmstead to the Baphomet Corp Excavation Site. Each location is fostered for interactivity, both functional and optional, each to make the world dynamic enough to make the player feel at home.
Interactive Inventory Items open up a new level of detail for inventory management. Zoom in and analyze collected items to uncover useful clues or piece together Revolver parts so you can defend yourself against vicious cultists with only 6 bullets.
6+ hours of Main Story gameplay in addition to side stories that build upon the world’s mythos, urban legends and characters arcs, including the Fairy Tree Murders case file, Disappearance of Senator Rosenberg, the Blackout of 1979 and much more.

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Developer Website | Facebook| Twitter| Instagram| Vimeo

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Naughty Shinobi is an Indie Game Studio operating out of Los Angeles County, formed with a unified goal in mind that is shared by all the members of the development team, to create and share unique interactive gaming experiences that aren’t limited by typical conventions. Our goal is to expose our player base to a wide variety of content that stretches the imagination and isn’t afraid to embrace mature, adult storytelling.

We believe that gamers are ready for a deeper, more involved experience. For us, gaming is all about the emotional roller coaster that the best games take you through.

Our development team is a diverse group of talented designers, artists, composers and production editors with more than 50 combined years of industry experience, all of whom take pride in listening to community feedback and striving to meet the needs of the modern gamer.

The Naughty Shinobi library of games will span across multiple genres, from story-driven episodic content to pick up and play titles. Whatever title you select, we can promise that it will be produced with the drive of one of the most dedicated independent development studios in business today. That is our guarantee.

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Full team bio at http://naughtyshinobi.com/about/

Stuart Bradley Newsom - Owner/Writer/Artist
Stuart is a hobbyist game developer with freelance experience as graphic designer, environmental design, special effects supervisor for film, and much more in addition to 3+ years straight marketing. Before his career began, he also shared a love for game design through modding ever since he learned to hack Wolfenstein 3d in DOS at the age of 6. Selfishly making mods and games for himself since then out of the enjoyment of creating new stories and worlds, even if they never see the light of day on the internet.

Adrian Alanis – Environmental Modeling
Adrian has a background in 3D environment and character modeling as well as lighting, digital painting, textures and digital photography. His experience include freelance work with Mr. Game Entertainment and Containment Field Studio, both of which exercised his skills in 3D modeling. As a classmate of the venerable Mr. Naughty, he contributed great effort into the teams’ game jam projects.

**Rick Walters – Environmental Modeling **
Rick has a background in 3D environment and character modeling with a passion for storytelling in games. His inspirations include the puzzle solving and narrative of Resident Evil 2, Lunar and Final Fantasy. These taught him the power of the compelling experience of being drawn into digital worlds. His desire to break new ground was demonstrated in his participation in the global game jams in college. He’s currently working as a writer and producer for the improve/skit comedy group, The Mobscene.

**Lionel Wilder – Music/Sound **
Mr. Wilder has been making music since he was 10 years old, becoming an autodidact pianist and going on to do orchestrations and studying audio engineering in college. In his journey, he came to realize his passion for music was from the power of sound itself and the endless possibilities digital platforms give its artists. His experience with the Mod Database was instrumental in his growth in sound design. He’s an independent recording artist at the company he founded, “My Own Entertainment”, specializing in music production and songwriting.

Thoughts from lead developer, Stuart Bradley Newsom: With Shadow Over Isolation, I wanted to bring back the love I had for Adventure Games from the better part of the 90s. Where the underlying game design was overlaid varying gameplay mechanics that broke up monotonous gameplay with unique experiences and semi-non-linear exploration. We are striving to rid our product of mechanical game design in favor of providing an organic experience where the player can use logic to solve the problems laid before them as they do in real-life. The strongest story driven adventures games I’ve played lately fell for the “walking simulator” fate. I wanted to avoid that, supplementing inactivity with a fully realized environment filled with interactive objects, puzzles and optional paths/locations that build onto the story without paragraphs of text and dialog. Through blood, sweat and instant ramen dinners, I know we can produce a game worthy of memory, all with the help from you.

Quick-Links to Relavent Posts in this Thread:

Steam Page Launch and New Screenshots - June 16th, 2016
Shadow Over Isolation Finds Publisher - March 30th, 2016
Concept Demo release date & Hands On Preview Article - February 26th, 2016
Preview of the machine that laid in the Stable - January 22nd, 2016
Oh, It’s Christmas Behind the Scenes Video - December 26th, 2015
Oh, It’s Christmas Seasonal Adventure Game Release - December 26th, 2015
Preview of Main Character, Ryan Kappel (+ Video) - December 21st, 2015
Article from Kickstart Ventures - December 17th, 2015
GX3 Event Trailer and Article - December 12th, 2015
Thanksgiving Promo Behind the Scenes + Video - November 26th, 2015
Press Release: First Publicly Playable Demo at GX3 - November 23rd, 2015
New Weather System - October 31st, 2015
Photogrammetry Fun! - August 22nd, 2015

sbnewsom · November 23, 2015, 11:59am

Not to long ago I wrote up an article regarding powering our weather system with Simuli’s TrueSky plugin for Unreal Engine 4. Give it a read if you have time!

“The environment plays a big role in the upcoming Shadow Over Isolation. As you may have seen in the recently released “Exploration Demo”, there is going to be a lot of personality put into every inch of the game world.”

https://vimeo.com/143596709

Full article: http://naughtyshinobi.com/how-the-weather-matters/

sbnewsom · November 23, 2015, 12:03pm

Something I really enjoy about game development today is the seemingly endless possibilities made by robust software. Photogrammetry happens to be one of those modeling techniques that really push the possibilities in gaming. Back in August I took the method to experimentation and wrote a decent article on my findings.

“Not too long ago we released a video of our first attempt at Photogrammetry‬ on our social media. Well, we dove even deeper. Here’s a 1080p extended look at what we’ve been working on, with some goodies we’ve been working on for the upcoming game Shadow Over Isolation.”

https://vimeo.com/136789435

Full Article: http://naughtyshinobi.com/photogrammetry-fun-and-exploring-the-farmstead/

sbnewsom · November 24, 2015, 3:21am

Hey everyone! I wanted to announce that we’ll be revealing our launch title’s first publicly playable demo at the upcoming GaymerX convention! If you’re already going to the convention in December, give us a holler. We’re really excited to show off what we’ve spent a better part of the year working on.

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Read the full press release here.

I also would love to hear from fellow forum goers about what you think so far regarding our product. We’re still VERY early in development and in the stages of looking for financial backing and/or a publisher, so all comments and critiques will be greatly appreciated. I hope i’m not making this thread feel too cold and corporate for anyone to voice their opinion. We’re just a friendly bunch of passionate developers sharing our love for game development.

sbnewsom · November 26, 2015, 10:15am

Happy thanksgiving from everyone at Naughty Shinobi! Hope everyone spent the better half of the week prepping the turkey! For those outside the US of A, have a big juicy turkey on us!*

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*We won’t actually supply or buy the turkey

sbnewsom · November 28, 2015, 8:00am

It was that time again, where Americans feasted on poultry while the rest of the world attempt to make sense of our very alien rituals whilst preparing for the most violent of Black Fridays.

Joking aside, we at Naughty Shinobi try not to have fun…but somehow we manage to stop working and set aside some time to doing something a little special, even if its just a little promo to celebrate the holidays. Like last Halloween,we brought out the humbler side with a rustic home with a pumpkin lit porch and a blood red moon, both because REASONS and our game is primarily set in the 80s.

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With our work, no matter how silly it is, we try to bring out the same atmosphere and direction we’re going for in the game, even if the style may differ slightly.

So for the past Thanksgiving, we went with something slightly more macabre. Both to explore some of the mythos in the game world and to be slightly humorous in its own way.

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From the beginning we knew we wanted to mimic a macabre family gathering without resorting to the typical cliche. We wanted the promo to speak for itself but still carry a meaning that can be interpreted in many ways. Even got someone to say it represented the “Drumstick Killer of 1968” (don’t search google for info…he’s real, I promise.) and his thanksgiving family gathering. I won’t supply my own explanation of the image though in hopes we can keep the ominous nature of it going even without Thanksgiving as a backdrop.

Here’s a quick video montage showing some of the work put into the promo.

https://vimeo.com/147160254

Hope you enjoyed my overdrawn explanation of our recent promo! Now we’re going back to the dungeon until we reveal our first demo at GaymerX (GX3) December 11-13th.

Luftbauch · November 28, 2015, 10:43am

It was a pleasure to watch.

sbnewsom · November 29, 2015, 10:01pm

Thank you so much. I’m really glad to hear!

sbnewsom · November 30, 2015, 10:59pm

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Darkness looms over Kapra County. What mysteries awaits the town in this upcoming First Person Adventure Horror game inspired by H. P. Lovecraft and Stanley Kubrick.

Money is tight over here, so like and share! Also consider donating $5+ on Patreon and get access to our GX3 convention demo when its released on December 11th! Available on PC only.

Patreon charges patrons at the start of each month. Donating any later than tonight means you’ll have to wait until January to play the demo or help us out.

sbnewsom · December 12, 2015, 7:07pm

Day One was so busy that we were unable to write about it here! Its been a week of sleepless nights just to make all of this work. From overnight printing to finishing the GX3 trailer and finishing up the demo for public play on Saturday and Sunday in MAGFest Arcade.

Before we go on, check out our GX3 pre-alpha reveal trailer! Some cinematics and gameplay!

We met a lot of great people! Especially having our table right next to Furoticon, succulent adult furry card game. We were able to talk to a lot of fellow furries about our Conceptual Demo for Knights of the Broken City, released earlier in the year. Seeing so many fans on top of new ones thanks to Shadow Over Isolation.

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We also began making some good connections with other Indie developers, looking to cooperate on cross promotions!

Haven’t heard anything negative yet. Quite a bit of praise from those finally looking for games that treat you like an adult and not take you on a wordy tour in some walking simulator adventure game.

So Day One was great, despite some technical backlash that was fixed over the course of the day.

Also we want to reach out to the Patrons to vote for us as Best Indie at GaymerX by tweeting about us with hashtag #BestIndieGX3 and @NaughtyShinobi! This will help us get more exposure thanks to Intel and additional prizes! Tweet about how excited you’re for Shadow Over Isolation!

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Myself on the left (Founder and Do Everything Guy) and on the right my crutch and financial supporter.

Now a shout out to some interesting games coming out:
Fragments of Him by SassyBot Studios
Smooth Operators by Beardo Games
Happy Daggers & Tiny Trainwrecks by Phantom Knight Games
Death of Dragons by Incendiary Games
Saga of Seasons by YuriSen Production

sbnewsom · December 17, 2015, 10:23pm

We had the pleasure of speaking with Kickstart Ventures writer, Serena Nelson over at GaymerX the past weekend. Check out her write up to learn more about our upcoming video game Shadow Over Isolation! Don’t forget, to check out our Patreon and consider pledging $1 or two to support the ongoing efforts to bring mature/adult video games to the masses! Patreon

](http://www.kickstartadventure.com/home/gx3-special-shadow-over-isolation/)

sbnewsom · December 21, 2015, 1:06am

Thanks!

No, I haven’t checked out RealityCapture. Never heard of them but now you got my interest piqued! Going to see if I can get in on the beta. Would love to try it out.

ZenrokStudios · December 21, 2015, 3:05am

You guys have put together amazing visuals and I hope the game is really unnerving, the video was great and inspiring!

sbnewsom · December 21, 2015, 5:07am

Thanks @ZenrokStudios! We’re definitely messing with some cool sanity ideas that tested well with a couple of testers at GaymerX. We’re looking forward to showing it off to the public soon.

New update here. Turntable of the main protagonist, Ryan Kappel. Rendered in Unreal Engine 4.

](http://naughtyshinobi.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/ryanrender.jpg)

We are completely funded by you! Give us a hand and considered pledging to us at Patreon.com/NaughtyShinobi
Get us to the first milestone before the end of 2015, and you’ll automatically secure, no matter how much is donated, a copy of the final game even if you only plan to pledge for one month!
Share and tell your friends!

sbnewsom · December 26, 2015, 3:58am

Happy Holidays from everyone at Naughty Shinobi! We have something special for you today! I made a retro point n click adventure game to celebrate the end of the year! A personal 48 hour game jam.

Oh, Its Christmas is a Retro Point n’ Click season adventure mini-game based on our upcoming First-Person Lovecraftian Adventure, Shadow Over Isolation. Join Shadow Over Isolation’s main protagonist, Ryan Kappel as he experiences Christmas Time antics! Lots to interact with and some craziness to be seen. As lighthearted and silly as this mini-game is, there are lots of inside jokes and mythos building for Shadow Over Isolation!

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Download directly at http://naughtyshinobi.com/files/OhItsChrismas_001Final.exe
Currently Only Available on Windows

Make sure to rate us or leave a review on the AGS game profile! Adventure Game Studio | Games | Oh, Its Christmas

Naughty Shinobi and our products are completely crowd funded. Like this cool game? Help us out and considered throwing us a dollar or two to help us make more of what we all love.
You can learn more about pledging to our projects at https://www.patreon.com/NaughtyShinobihttps://www.patreon.com/NaughtyShinobi

sbnewsom · December 26, 2015, 11:14am

Hopefully the lot of you got a chance to play the mini-game! Got quite a few great mentions. Maybe I should get into making classic adventure games. lol

Anyways, check out the really long silent behind the scenes video of the production of the game. With a bit on how I involved Unreal Engine 4 in development of some visuals.

pje · January 21, 2016, 8:17am

Only just seen this. Beautiful!

sbnewsom · January 22, 2016, 11:16pm

Thanks PJE! We appreciate the kind words.

Wrapping up the upcoming Conceptual Demo. A lot of stuff that didn’t make it in the GX3 Demo last month will be making its way into this baby. One of those things happens to be the chamber inside the Stable, Guilhém’s containment chamber, including a Quantum Faraday Anchor grid (A single node seen below). The conceptual demo will be released to the public, but will be made available to our Patrons on Patreon first for the first two weeks.

anonymous_user_ca1e4df71 · January 23, 2016, 7:46pm

Oh wow this project deserves more
Love, fantastic work on the graphics

sbnewsom · February 26, 2016, 12:39am

Hey everyone. Its been over a month without an update, but i’m here to announce the date for the release of an upcoming Concept Demo for our game. I say our, but I’m back to being the only one working on the game.

[FONT=Arial Black]Public Concept Demo release date
Enough of that, March 17th, St. Patricks Day, we’ll be releasing the Concept Demo to the public. If you become our patron on Patreon now, you can get a chance to test out the demo before the release and help shape and polish the final release. Patrons also get access to the Patron only Developer Map, a play area of all the features and ideas for the game. We just released a new patch for our Patrons, bringing us closer to the final Concept Demo release! Patreon

The concept demo will run 10-30 minutes with a suitable amount of optional exploration. Our goal with this demo is to provide atmosphere and gameplay that will help you see what sort of feeling we’re going for in this our own spin on an Lovecraftian adventure.

[FONT=Arial Black]Faith In Passion
I’m primarily living off of what I earn on our Patreon. I have a lot of faith and passion for what i’m doing and I’m putting my all into making my vision happen. I would really appreciate it if you take the time and check out our/my Patreon and consider putting down a dollar or two so I can put instant ramen in the Microwave for dinner and maybe breakfast. Patreon

[FONT=Arial Black][Article]HANDS-ON WITH LOVECRAFT INSPIRED HORROR ADVENTURE SHADOW OVER ISOLATION
Now enough of that emotional mumbo jumbo! Our friends over at Cliqist.com got a hold of an early WIP copy of the Concept Demo and wrote a solid Hands-On article! Check it out and show some love!
http://cliqist.com/2016/02/22/hands-finally-horror-adventure-shadow-isolation/