I've tracked down and fixed an error with one of the scripts that was deleting game data around the start of "Chapter 3". From my testing all scenes now save and the endings are accurate to the choices made throughout the game.

After this I'm planning on fixing a few things I've found and get back into the localization system.

More updates coming soon

The demo for Witching Hour is now available on Steam and Itchio.

The demo showcases the "Eastern Village", one of the many locations in Witching Hour. The main event of the demo is finding your sister Emma, after a game of hide-and-seek goes too far. In the search for her you must converse with the mysterious "Shut-In" and solve cryptic riddles.

Only after does he help you access the "Historical Society" that Emma has sneaked into...

Though once inside this house the chaos truly begins in your search for her.

VL

The demo for Witching Hour is coming soon to Steam, in anticipation of it being released a trailer has been created to give some insight into it's story:

The demo will be between 45 - 60 minutes long and showcase the "Eastern Village", one of the many locations in Witching Hour.

The main event of the demo is finding your sister Emma, after a game of hide-and-seek goes too far. In the search for her you must converse with the mysterious "Shut-In" and solve cryptic riddles. Only after does he help you access the house Emma has sneaked into in the far corner of the village.

Though once inside this house the chaos truly begins in your search for her.

VL

A large part of the game is focused around the conversations that happen between the three members of the Weatherby family (Rose, Richard, and Emma).

The first role is Richard Weatherby, the single father of Rose and Emma Weatherby, he's relocated the family onto his parent's farm and is teaching the girls to live off the land. His motivations for the move are unknown to the girls, but they think it's connected to an illness he has been struggling with.

• An older man (late 50s to early 60s) that cares deeply for the future of his daughters
  
• Is ill, but hides it with a strong facade (occasional prompts in the script for: cough, tired, clearing throat)
  
• A quiet but confident demeanor that reassures those around him

Emma Weatherby is the little sister to the protagonist. She sometimes joins on trips around the town and is a supporting role throughout Witching Hour.

• Between the ages of 8 - 10
  
• Is bratty or condescending to her sister Rose (the protagonist)
  
• Gets bored of chores/working quickly, would prefer to be drawing in her room alone
  
• Confident and quiet, but antisocial

If you are or know any voice actors the link to the roles is here: https://www.castingcall.club/projects/witching-hour-2022

All the best,
VL

@VincentLade

In the far east of Hollow Hills lies the Eastern Village, once home to the families of the town it now falls to pieces, reclaimed by nature.

These old houses still have the markings of those that used to live there, painting on the walls and broken furniture give insight into their previous lives. It’s not all just family homesteads though, this is also the home of the Hollow Hills Historical Society. Kept safe behind a large iron gate it mountains over the other houses in gloomy antiquity.

Each of these buildings has its own unique story and charm, though one thing to consider before exploring too liberally: not all these houses are as abandoned as they may look...

If you’d like to stay up to date on the progress of Witching Hour please check out my Twitter or Wishlist!

Twitter: @VincentLade

-VL

The Weatherby House sits right in the middle of The Pasture, the central area of Witching Hour. This is the home of Rose Weatherby (the protagonist), her sister Emma, and her father Richard, and serves as a ‘base’ in between adventures out into the other areas of Hollow Hills.

It’s an old two story house previously lived in by Rose’s grandparents, before their death and the family’s relocation back into the house after many years away. It’s large, rustic, and full of nooks and crannies

Some parts of the house are sealed away, some noises can only be heard at a certain time, and there’s a lingering feeling of a connection between the family homestead and the dark history of the town.

If you’d like to stay up to date on the progress of Witching Hour please check out my Twitter or Wishlist!

-VL

I’ve been working on Witching Hour daily and it's been steadily going deeper into development. I had previously wanted to launch it Fall 2021, but given the size of the game (my largest so far) I’m aiming to launch either Late Winter 2021 or Early 2022.

A portion of this decision is from expanding storylines, adding more events and riddles, cutscenes, and new tech like localization and a dialog system.

Adding additional details and life to each of the scenes is also something I’d like to spend extra time on. My games have always had a lot of detail in them and I don’t want the size of Witching Hour to take away from that, adding small hints and subtleties will always give clues to the characters and overall storyline.

I believe spending more time on these things will greatly improve the experience and fulfill my idea for this game (as a more ambitious, long-length title)

Thank you to those following development and hope you will wishlist to be the first to know when the game is complete!

I also plan on publishing regular updates on the game's progress and showcasing locations or characters, so stay tuned for that as well.

-VL

After a deep dive into shaders, textures, lighting, and other considerations Witching Hour will have a new art style that better fits the story and gameplay.

The new mix of realism and cel-shading has helped give a unique feel to the scenes, smoothed out minor cosmetic issues, and boosted performance on detailed or large-scale environments

There will be more corrections and tweaking (like volumetric lighting for instance), but the goal will be enhancing this design and achieving high frame rates throughout the whole experience.

Thank you for reading, for more updates you can follow me on Twitter at @VincentLade

Witching Hour is deep in development with most of the locations of "Hollow Hills" already completed.

This title will be more ambitious than previous games, with full dialog, interactive characters, large set designs, and a much longer game length.

I'll be making regular updates to the Steam page when new screenshots, trailers, and more information is available during the development process.

All the best,
VL