Hey again everyone!
It's been quite some time since I posted an update to Steam on the development of HEKA, a year and one day to be exact. So allow me to explain the current state of development, and what has happened in the past year to the game. Obviously, if you read my last announcement, HEKA was not "coming soon!" and I'd like to explain why!

Firstly, let's go over the changes to the core game, story, and environments I've made since October of last year.

Core Game and Story
When I originally made HEKA for one of Itch.io's many Game Jams, it lacked any form of meaningful in-game story. I have now shifted focus to develop HEKA into something that is a more linear story rather than a set of randomly selected levels. Now instead of starting the game at your archaeologists camp, you begin in your office in New York City, which allows me to properly build the background of the narrative in a more convincing way.

Because HEKA has taken on a more narrative driven direction, it allows me to present more creative and interesting gameplay changes and environmental events within the game's levels as well. I want to focus more on both the horror and puzzle elements within the levels through atmosphere and environmental storytelling. That being said, much of the original story and gameplay still thankfully has it's place within the game.

Environments
Most of the changes that have been committed take shape in the environments, I have taken a great deal of time, when able, to flesh out some of the maps the player will find themselves in. I want each location the character visits to have objects to interact with, things to explore, and small story bits to find.

Take a look at some of the changes to the desert camp in the screenshots below! Please keep in mind that objects, lighting, and overall visuals are a work in progress and may change!

While desert dunes certainly can be impressive to look at in real life, that awe does not transfer over well in most video games. Places like the Valley of Kings present a far more interesting looking landscape that transfers much better into video games. Because of this, I have built the camp upwards with rock surfaces like these, with the additions of strange obelisks and ancient stonework I want the player to ask a simple question:
"What's up there?"

The next two images show a tiny preview of the simple, optional tutorial players may find themselves in while exploring the game's camp level. While rudimentary the initial implementations may be, I intend to continue to build on this side-area as the game needs.

Finally, the most recent change is the implementation of a prologue level taking place in New York City. This area provides a drastically different environment than what players will see throughout most of the game and acts as the foundation to the game's story.

Conclusion
To end this update, I want to quickly explain the absence of game updates and what to expect in terms of update frequency going forward. I firstly would like to reiterate from my last post that I am the sole developer of HEKA, and work on the game is only done in periods of free time, motivation permitting. Because of this, development is a very slow process that will take an indeterminable amount of time. This project has changed a lot since it's inception, and will continue to change in the future as more work is put into it, so I once again thank you all for your patience and time (: