Straight!? Revamp v15: Teasers 3 Before/After

Yo,

!!!!!SPOILER HEAVY!!!

And here we are for--what i think will probably be-- the last set of teasers for Revamp v15. I know this update is taking longer so I'm trying to balance that out with giving you more teasers, just so you know I'm working my ass off over here. So, like the previous sets for this update, today we're going to be focusing on the last two revamped sets that we'll be seeing in this update. In short, the bulk of today's discussion is going to continue with the theme of adding more life into the world but these specific pics will really take a look at fixing previously empty sets.

So let's jump in. There's a lot of pics here and I already talk to fucking much.

Pic 1: Aight, we're gonna start with the original game, specifically the coffee shop intro. This original coffee shop was mostly just a standard set at the time and i didn't have a lot of options. You may see this in other projects and stuff and that's a problem based on my ever-evolving Revamp standards. The biggest issue here is the comical exterior background. Let's not pretend like the coffee shop isn't floating above the second story of the surrounding buildings. Legit had no idea what I was doing so let's stop looking at this, lmao.

Pic 2: Here's the direct replacement of the previous shot. The coffee shop in the Revamp has been completely redone and completely reshot. Before there was a lot of clutter in weird places and-- my favorite part-- there wasn't actually a coffee maker anywhere, which is amazing. Eagle-eyed folks will also notice that menus are blurred using depth-of-field. I didn't want prices to affect the relatability of the story. You'll also notice that the exterior has been completely replaced and in this scene, i'm actually purposely using some blown on sunlight to just show that it's a nice friggen day outside

Pic 3: This one is back from the original and just shows an alternate angle of the coffee shop to refresh your memory. This was pretty much just a waiting shot but the poses were pretty generic and we get another shot of that exterior looking weird as hell :p

Pic 4: This isn't a direct replacement but it's pretty close. This shot will show you the Revamped wall side of the coffee shop. I've switched out some of the pictures because there were duplicates there and it looked bad. You'll also notice that there's now other people in the coffee shop. I didn't want a noisy crowded place but I did want it populated so we got other people now that are doing whatever. This shot also shows another example of my attempt at a more cinematic experience with the camera here. I took some inspiration from romantic comedy movies with those lonely exterior shots of someone sitting at a table. but I really liked this shot and it tosses some variety into a pretty lengthy dialogue scene

Pic 5: Alright, back to the original. This shot is from the conversation part of the scene. You can easily notice some of the stuff I've already discussed but this just looks like our typical original game shot. This just needed a makeover

Pic 6: Here's an example of the Revamp conversation. Still keeping some of the same camera shots but the vibe is very different. The depth of field makes things feel more focused, you can see another patron in the back near the front door, and we briefly get a shot of the other wall of the Revamped coffee shop. I also switched out the coffee cups here. I wanted actual mugs and stuff rather than Styrofoam or paper to-go cups. Why? idk.. it just looks nicer.

Pic 7 :Ok, here's our first shot of the other environment: the hair salon. Overall, the poses here weren't terrible (except for the stiff magazine that Braden is holding). The biggest problem with the hair salon was how bright it was and the fact that it was completely friggen empty. This chick was cutting hair with no tools at all. None of the stations have objects on them and it's just like a ghost town really. So keep that in mind as we go through these last few pics. That being said, this was one of my favorite pics in the original game. I just liked this interaction with Braden a lot so I really wanted to preserve this camera angle and everything about this shot.

Pic 8: Here's a direct replacement. Much more organic body poses and facial expressions. I also can't really fix the stiff magazine but I just reposes Braden to hold it in such a way that it should actually work. You'll also notice that I've redone the back portion of the salon with more washing stations and towels and useful things like that (that's to the lady that cuts my hair that let me take pics of her shop). You'll also notice over on the right side that the station has actual hair supplies on it. We'll see this throughout the Revamp pictures and it makes a massive difference in the warmth of the place.

Pic 9: I'm showing this shot from the original because this original scene was super basic. You can see how empty the stations are in the background and Braden's waiting positions are just really juvenile and inexperienced looking. It's kinda funny that the comments over on the video version of this quickly started to focus on people not actually realizing how empty this place was-- I didn't either until I came back and I was like wtf. I promise this place feels better now.

Pic 10: Here's an example of a more cinematic approach to how this scene will play out in contrast to just using straight-forward shots like Pic 9 showed. In this shot, we can see a lot using the front, back, and the mirror all from one position. These mirror shots are nasty and time consuming but they do pay off, I think. This approach also lets me flirt with the tension a bit. Zack's getting a haircut and we have to wait to see it. Using this hand mirror let's me still use Zack and his expression without having to actually disclose what his hair looks like 'cause he hasn't seen it yet. And, honestly, i think it's an approach you wont see in a ton of other games like this because the mirror use is so frustrating and time consuming but damn they can be fun once you get them finished

Pic 11: Alright, last set. Here's an original pic using the mirror but it's pretty basic. This was probably as creative as I got with the original camera shots here.

Pic 12: In the Revamp, we're going to see 3x the pics to explore this scene more. Using more pics and alternative angles allows us to see the mix of expression changes from different characters or the way their eyes move and what they're paying attention to. it's subtle but i think it's good setup to fall back on later as the story evolves. For those that played the original, you know this scene changes things. Plus, you can see some of the other changes in the background that hopefully just pull things together more.

Ok, that's all for today. Hopefully, this will give you something else to chew on until this update comes out. I'm trying to take these environments serious and hopefully make the outside world feel more alive and immersive. This is one of the few times we get to see it so I really think it needs to count.

No ETA on this update yet but I'd really like to get it out this month if I can. Is that a good enough answer for now? I'm working on the last scene now.

Love y'all. stay safe out there and thank you as always for being part of this thing. I can never say it enough.

PS: I'll drop one more pics over on my bluesky so check that out if you're not following me over there