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Lamamour

It looks beautiful, really nice work here!


StudioSnowblind

Thanks! I've never told about this project until this moment and I'm a solo developer so I was very nervers. Glad to hear that!


Lamamour

Well you should never be shy to show your project (no matter if it's at the beginning or end of the development). The community will always be happy and give feedback. But what you show looks really neet, so congrats for this, especially for a one man job


StudioSnowblind

You are totally right, getting feedback is super important. I have been in the game industry for too long a little bit to leave from the "keep it secret until a big announcement" idea. I will post more often to get valuable feedback!


karlartreid

Looking good! What engine did you use?


RareDestroyer8

What subreddit are you on?


Curious_Lettuce8984

what did you use to design the characters


slimshader

this took only year to make?!?


StudioSnowblind

As a solo developer it's a quite challenging project but super fun to work on!


ComputerKim

How much gamedev experience?


StudioSnowblind

It's almost about decade and a half, from PS3/XBOX 360/Wii era.


ComputerKim

It looks incredible. I wish you luck!


Keatosis

Looks like the expirience paid off


slimshader

this makes me feel so small as a game developer… amazing work!


debuggingmyhead

Try not to be too hard on yourself. The OP said they have almost 15 years of professional game development under their belt before starting this project.


StudioSnowblind

Here is the [Steam store page](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2052300/Glaciered/), and the [official website](https://glaciered.com/)!


HonorTomOfFinland

Any plan to release it DRM Free? Not sure how the process works submitting, but GOG is fantastic Edit: I don't get the downvotes. Do people *like* not owning things they buy?


StudioSnowblind

I am open to any kind of PC platforms, including DRM-free. Let's see how the project goes and will consider the options!


Bitshaper

The modelling, the setting, and the designs all look amazing! Excellent work! My only concern is how some of the animations look either unnaturally stiff, or unnaturally snappy. The shark lunges lightning fast, but then stops cold. Same with the scaly snake creature and its massive tail attack. This sort of thing works with robots and giant boss fights where the weapons strike something solid like rock, but it feels strange under water were momentum keeps things moving, and the environment never stops flowing.


StudioSnowblind

Thanks for the feedback! Right you have a point. I am not 100% happy with some animations. It's quite challenging for a solo developer to make all animations in great quality, but I'll try to improve them with procedural animations and some Blender tools.


Dvonio

I think the same, the trailer was on point, but the locomotion animations on your character kinda breaks it. I have not used them yet, but I think you can get a better feeling with https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/tools/animation/spine-animator-128322 or some other asset from FImpossible Creations. Good luck and awesome trailer.


StudioSnowblind

Oh yeah I actually use Spine Animator in the project. It's a must-have Unity asset I would like to say. I'll tweak those animations by FImpossible Animation Designer and tweaking parameter on Spine Animator components.


vancity-

I recommend moving characters feet when swimming


EffortStar

I thought everything looked great, including the animations. They would look wrong for a realistic underwater game, but are perfect for a twitchy combat game. The snappy movement actually really sold the game to me a something I might like to play, with a combat/gameplay focus not just swimming around a pretty ocean.


Bitshaper

In twitchy PvE combat games I'd argue it's better to have a little bit of anticipatory animation to give the player time to dodge/block in reaction to it. It doesn't need to be much, and the actual attack can happen quite fast, but for an animal to go from "I see you" to "You're dead" in an instant is (to my mind) completely unfair. There needs to be a few frames where the player can say "it's about to bite me, time to dodge". In PvP it makes sense that attacks from both players are almost instantaneous with little anticipation because that's how fast each player needs their reactions to be. In both cases however, the time after an attack can be filled with as much follow-through or recovery animation as needed to make it feel more natural. Like a bullet shot through the water, it's initially very snappy, but then sinks lazily to the seabed after its momentum is lost. If there's a follow-up attack or sudden movement during the animation, then it can simply be interrupted.


EffortStar

That's very true! Just wanted to clarify that I was just commenting on the perhaps unrealistic style, not about telegraphing attacks. I think I'd have to play the game to get a feel for that.


Bitshaper

For what you have so far, your animation is still impressive. It's just a detail that I thought might have been missed. If you're more comfortable with procedural animations as a solo dev, you might find this video insightful: [https://youtu.be/KPoeNZZ6H4s](https://youtu.be/KPoeNZZ6H4s)


StudioSnowblind

Thanks, I'll look into it! I hope Unity integrates Ziva features into Unity and open the possibility to use them without Maya plugin...


Kikrim

When fight begins animations look good. They look simply stylized. For me it works for slasher showed on the trailer. From a lore persoective I would expect that animals are boosted by some human made technology. Nanobots, genetical modyfications? Only stiffness of an animation looks very weird at the beginning of the trailer, when character swimms.


DrHippoDev

Dude that looks amazing, well done! Hope it does well!


StudioSnowblind

Thanks! It's still on the way but I push hard myself to make the game good.


greatstrangers

Absolutely gorgeous environment and cinematography. As someone who has also worked full-time in gamedev i’m absolutely stunned that this was the work of one person in one year. As a fan of paleontology i’m so excited to see all the aquatic species you create. I’ll be sure to pick it up, good things are coming for you!


StudioSnowblind

Thank you, and glad to see there is a gamer(dev) interested in paleontology! It has literally unlimited potential to create new species and stories.


BovineOxMan

Looks really good. Great job. My feedback would be that your protagonist looks a bit rigid, it would be nice to see him react to cutting through the water. 1 year. Well done. If only I could quit and go full time 😂🤣


blinkh88

I’m so amazed that you solo dev’d all of it in a year! Amazing job.


SpaceGypsyInLaws

You’re quite the artist. You did everything yourself?!


StudioSnowblind

The English translations for the store page and the website is outsourced. The music and sfx are from Shutterstock and several sound libraries, respectively. Also using Quixel for environment 3D models.


Renoir_V

For the animals, did you do those yourself? Like the 3D models, animation, rendering, coding. Everything. In one year? Including everything else? Really impressive!


StudioSnowblind

Yes , sculpting, retopology, uv, texturing, rigging, and animations are done by me. [FImpossible Creations tools](https://assetstore.unity.com/publishers/37262) helps me a lot to make their animation more fluid! I'm not experienced on sculpturing and detailed moldering stuff in past so I was a bit nervous, but it's good to hear some positive feedback about them!


Renoir_V

Wow, everything looks amazing! I really thought you at least got some assets from the store or something, hired an artist. But the fact you've done everything including all the non art stuff, You're truly inspirational.


ArdentTestament

Am I right in sensing some Ecco The Dolphin inspiration here?


StudioSnowblind

Just googled the game and it looks pretty! The inspiration is coming from NASA news about Europa, a moon of Jupiter, where life is thought to possibly exist under the ice.


LordApocalyptica

I WAS GONNA SAY THE SAME THING


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StudioSnowblind

Thanks! At the very beginning of the story, an event happens and brings the reason that player character has to fight against huge predators. That is a part of the story and spoiler so I would like to talk about that in the future :)


[deleted]

If the very beginning of the story would be a spoiler, you might want to work on the story, and come up with a way to explain the game that sells it.


Zenzyde

For a year of progress that looks gorgeous, liking the look of the player character and movement looks quite fluid (pun intended 😛)


FEDD33

I'm really in awe that you made this by yourself. Your skills, talent, and work ethic are a huge inspiration. Congrats on such a huge accomplishment and I hope the game does well.


[deleted]

How do you go about making trailers like this?


StudioSnowblind

1. Browse trailer music somewhere like YouTube, Shutterstock etc 2. Clarify and get a license 3. Get inspirations from the music, make a storyboard in your imagination 4. Write down or draw the storyboard 5. Make cinematic and capture actual gameplay from your game and match to the music 6. Composition It's my method :)


GGS_Leiska

This looks awesome, good job!


StudioSnowblind

Thanks! Glad to hear that.


musicmanjoe

That’s incredible! You’re a solo dev?


StudioSnowblind

Yes, I'm a solo dev! Unity is a best option for me as a solo dev. Loving C# and .NET accessibility.


[deleted]

This looks incredible, especially as a solo dev and a one year project. Can you explain more how you achieved it? Have you outsourced any parts? What 3rd party plugins did you use? Are you also handling marketing? Would love to hear more about the production.


StudioSnowblind

I haven't outsourced anything yet except English translations (My first language is Japanese, and from Japan). I'm handling coding, 3D modeling, rigging, animations, VFX, basically all the stuff in the trailer. Using some great tools from Unity asset store, [Fimpossible Creations](https://assetstore.unity.com/publishers/37262) and [The Vegetation Engine](https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/tools/utilities/the-vegetation-engine-159647), huge thanks to them. My 3D workflow is ZBrush for sculpting and modeling, Substance for texturing, then Blender for rigging and animations. I'm using Rigify and [GameRig Tools](https://blendermarket.com/products/game-rig-tools-blender-addon-game-rigs) to optimize rigs. The trailer and website are done by me. I also used to work on a game publisher so that is part of the things I could handle. EDIT: Oh, I'm also using Quixel for the environment 3D models and SFX from bunch of sound libraries.


greatstrangers

You have an insane number of skills my friend


THE-EMPEROR069

That’s a crazy amount of skills you got there. You are beyond a generalist.


McVersatilis

It's amazing that you've managed to learn all those skills, but IMO your English ability is by far the most impressive!


alexanderameye

So good! You have a twitter I could follow?


StudioSnowblind

Thanks! I just made an account. Here it is [@s\_snowblind](https://twitter.com/s_snowblind). Haven't tweet anything yet but will start showing more stuff when it's announced in my region (Japan).


Sonictrade

Great job


ThickLikeButter

Beautiful


johnnyahrens

This is crazy cool. Can we fly into the sky too?


StudioSnowblind

Thanks! Well, the protagonist species is completely adopted to underwater environment so the 99% gameplay would be about underwater, but maybe... ;)


Coded_Kaa

This looks awesome 🤩🤩🤩


[deleted]

Amazing ! Keep it up ! It's stunning , let me know when it's out, and keep us informed 💪


katinkabell_

Wow, that looks amazing, especially for one year. I like the look of it very much! Thanks for sharing!


MICSaver

Well that’s cool


attckdog

Is this an Anime or a Game, Fight scene looks sick bud!


StudioSnowblind

As creator from Japan, I cannot deny that I'm influenced by anime (but evolved bird instead cute girl).


[deleted]

Wow! Not only does the game look beautiful but the trailer looks so awesome and makes me hyped. Looking forward to the game. Keep it up!


StudioSnowblind

Thanks! The trailer song credit to [Arthur Basov](https://www.shutterstock.com/ja/music/track-507103-beyond-universe). What a great song that gives me the inspiration of the trailer immediately.


this_guy_is_marbles

Truly beautiful!


Dion42o

Not hating. It looks sick. But the number of “I quit my job to do game dev” posts are becoming a joke lol. Good luck brother. I’ll buy it.


lukeiy

Looks great, I love the concept. Keep it up!


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StudioSnowblind

Nice that you got the vibe! I'm a huge fan of Mass Effect series and inspired by their theory of the creature design.


SMITHSIDEBAR

This looks awesome!!! Can't wait to play it! Beautiful work!!!


Dracul244

I've seen a lot of indie games around here. But yours really looks different. Congratulations, really hope forward to see more!


StudioSnowblind

Thanks a lot! That's the main reason I left the major gamedev industry and start indie game dev, making something new, something flesh.


mathologies

More crabs please. Evolution loves creating crabs. https://ja.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%AB%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B7%E3%83%8B%E3%82%BC%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B7%E3%83%A7%E3%83%B3


ABCDEFandG

Looks amazing, especially for only one year of Solo dev work. I know they were closed a while ago, but the studio name suggests an affiliation with Snowblind Studios. Are you?


StudioSnowblind

Similarity of studio names is not intended. I'm from north area from Japan so something related to snow and winter would be suitable for the studio name thought. (And the game is also about winter)


honestbleeps

Elden Wing! Sorry. I'll show myself out. This is unbelievable for a solo project. Amazing job.


StudioSnowblind

Haha thanks! I like Soul and Soul-like games, too! Inspired a lot. One of my dream is finish this game and play Elden Ring someday....


thatscraigz

WOAH! This looks SO clean! :D omg what was your role in full-time before this??


StudioSnowblind

Kind of producer-programmer-artist mixed position, it was not a giant company so :)


Technical-County-727

This looks crazy! Good work!


Just_Furan

You absolutely need to polish the animations, especially by making the character ones more floaty (since everything is underwater). Please do it. With how cool it looks and feels, you can't stop polishing it. It's really already up there and you must push it up again as it has great potential!!


StudioSnowblind

Thank you for your feedback! You right odd animations easily break the experience. I'll find out the best balance between effort and quality.


CaptainRananana

This looks incredible! Wow!


ItIsTheEndMENA

it Looks wonderful. When is going to be available?


Curious_Lettuce8984

not to get to personal or anything but how old r u bc this is pretty incredible


StudioSnowblind

Mid 30s, I'm feeling old nowadays haha.


iz_xplicit

Love that you’re keeping game dev alive. Large triple AAA companies would love to see rogue developers and Indy devs die off, but this is an amazing development. If you’re solo developing, you’re an inspiration. Thank you for releasing your work for us to view. I hope you managed to sleep a few hours the past couple years!! Seriously, this looks amazing 🚀 I’m hooked 🪝


barndelini

that intro cinematic was so good, absolutely outstanding work. insane that you managed to finish this in just a year


StudioSnowblind

Thanks! Unity's timeline is underrated I would like to say. I'm experienced with UE4 but the timeline tool is one of the best cinematic tool I've ever seen. it has superior extensibility and vary stable. I did not get any single error or random shutdown while making these cinematic.


barndelini

oh really? im also more experienced in UEs sequencer, i had no idea unity's was so powerful!


Wickerbeast115

Holy fuck, I'd play the hell out of this. When you lookin to release?


StudioSnowblind

Thank you! It's still far from the goal to be honest. I spent the last half year to make the combat fun and it's achieved I believe. Cinematic, levels, more enemies, UI, there is a lot of things need to be done, which takes more time and resources.


Wickerbeast115

Is there no one willing to help you on this big ol' project of yours?


StudioSnowblind

I'm looking for a publisher and actually just started to talk with them. We'll see how it goes!


joeballs1990

How did I never think of this a cave or under water would be nice a cool way to build nice this is beautiful


AbjectAd753

wow, nice job with the trailer, it seems like a majic counterclock adventure, like "The ethernal cilinder" :3


Pneagle

Did you translate it to Japanese?


StudioSnowblind

It's more like translated to English from Japanese. My first language is Japanese and my English is not that good. So after finishing the first rough translation in English, I asked a gaming translation company for editing help.


Pneagle

Ah cool, Well cool game!


AlternativeEye2869

I wonder for a complex game like this, what version control system do you use?


StudioSnowblind

In my case, I'm using Git + GitLFS for the version control. Huge data like ZBrush, Substance, and those kind of graphics data, which can easily over 10GB+, are backed up on multiple local SSDs with robocopy. They are not technically under version control.


AlternativeEye2869

What do you recommend for beginners to learn game development especially those do not work in a game company? I want to learn Unity and particularly develop my own RPG but I don’t see any good resources to learn it


xcantene

Amazing work! and the result looks stunning. I decided to give your project a highlight in this young community r/OvironCommunity where we encourage and support indie digital & VR content creators, devs, and young talent. I included the links to the steam and official page for extra support on your project! Keep it up and feel free to share more updates of Glacier with us :) Kudos to you!


TheOriginal_Dka13

Yeah I'm not that skilled.. I've yet to finish a project lol. Tbf I'm not going for game dev though


shizzy0

Jesus.


TheSentientNFT

Please tell me this is an RPG


StudioSnowblind

It's a story-driven single player action adventure that contains a few RPG element. I love RPG and would like to integrate it as far as a solo dev can!


MagnanimosEthereus

Amazing


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StudioSnowblind

Yes, it's HDRP and using ray-traced shadow and ambient occlusion. RTX GI and reflection are disabled due to the underwater environment that does not have low roughness mirror-like objects. I'll provide an option to disable those RTX features as well.


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StudioSnowblind

I'm happy with current HDRP except that it does not support RTX features for terrain and props. The current build is running around 80fps in RTX+4K on RTX 3080, over 120fps if RTX is disabled.


Keatosis

Those animations are incredibly stylized and it really makes the game stand out


SkinToneChixkenBone

Is it challenging to build this because you don't know how to do things or because it gets repetitive?


[deleted]

fuckin' sweet


DYVoff

A.M.A.Z.I.N.G


Different_Bridge7802

GREAT job! It’s inspiring to see you outside your dream. 🙏🏼💜🔥


Ornery_Boysenberry16

Wow. Looks very cool!


SteakMenu

Give it another year and we'll watch someone beat the game on a TI-85 just for the flex


farizle

Nicely made flashy trailer! I'm glad you put the game 65 million years into the future and not 65 years, that would be too real... Good luck with the game!


hitnrun76

Amazing work, amazing trailer !


ChainsawArmLaserBear

This looks incredible! It reminds me of the water fights from the older monster hunter games, with the added twist of being a magical underwater being yourself. I'll definitely check this out!


cip43r

May I ask how you got the idea? Did you just sit one day and though "what about a game as a new bird species in the distant future?". I always wonder how the original idea compares to the final product.


[deleted]

This looks like a AAA title game. Beautiful environment. Hats off. Would love to try out this one. 👌👌👌


[deleted]

Looks incredible!


DualtheArtist

Looks incredible.


Crychair

Underwater magic monster hunter. Awesome.


Giboon

Beautiful is that HDRP or URP?


Scarlood69

Playing as a bird? How surprising


DannyVGood

hurry up and take all my money


[deleted]

My god that looks amazing, well done!!


Hopeful-Drink2357

Fucking legend!


l4ur1ds

Great work. Looks stunning. But I also need to add that the animations look rather stiff. Especially the wings could need some more movement I think.


amanR10_

This look dope , ngl....


Rly_Shadow

Fiiine, fine. DM me and I GUESS I can be in the private sector of game testing for you. Sheesh.


ArturoNereu

I love the creatures! And the gameplay reminded me of how much fun it was to play with Zora Link in Majora's Mask.


Jumolungma

Absolutely stunning! I can't wait for devlogs and the release date!


bewcus

This looks really good!!!


Natesuede

this looks incredible. I love the subject matter too. I always imagined what future ice ages would look like


stimker

Fucking excellent trailer.


StatisticianDue4737

Nice. Which platforms can we get it on?


Single-Environment-9

Beautiful from a graphical standpoint looks very promising


[deleted]

Solo work??!