While preparing this update, I heard the sad news of Henry Kelly’s passing. It’s no secret that the character Kelly O’Connor in my game is inspired by him, so I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge it before diving in.

The game is deliberately set in 1991, a time when I was eleven or twelve—an age where I had no real agency, just an observer of the world around me. What you see in the game reflects my memories of that period (though cultural history is also part of my MO—but that’s a discussion for another time).

For me, Henry Kelly is inextricably linked to those rare days off school—wrapped in a blanket on the sofa, sipping Lucozade from one of those pimply orange glass bottles, watching daytime TV as he reeled off his catchphrases: "What am I?" and "Now you’re playing catch-up!"—all set to the unmistakable Hans Zimmer theme tune.

So, here’s raising a glass to you, Henry

Moving on to the Update

Until now, the game has been pretty linear, but at the end of the last update, the player faced a choice: either head to Mad Jack’s or continue on your way. What will you choose?

No matter your choice, The On The Busses Update will get you on your way.

Known issues

• Due to the long gap between updates, this version is slightly behind the current UI wrapper. This means some sound cues may continue longer than expected. However, fear not—heading to a new stretch of motorway should clear all sounds. This will be fixed in the next minor update.
• If you come across this issue, I’d be grateful if you let me know. It’s a simple fix when you know where to look!

Minor Changes

• Fixed some typos
• More player customisation at the start
•  A new character to meet at the Heater
• You can now see the bin in Camp Hood

Major Changes

•  87 New lines of Dialogue 
• 20 New items
•  19 New Locations
• 5 New Characters
•  4 New pieces of music
• And of course, introduced some more typos

It’s been a while since the last update. I mentioned in The Morning After update that the one planned after this would be huge (essentially doubling in size), and I wanted to get a solid head start—especially on the graphics—to flatten the mountain ahead.

Also, the time I can devote to this project has significantly diminished since starting my PhD in September last year. This update took longer than expected, but on the plus side, it gave us time to plot out a roadmap for wrapping up the game.

As I’ve mentioned before, this game is meant to be a prequel, setting the lore for an Oregon Trail-style game that takes place two years after the events here.

I figure there are three major updates left to achieve this, so based on the current pace, the roadmap looks like this:

• End of 2025 / Early 2026: Mad Jack’s (Huge Update – introducing 20 new characters)
• Mid 2026: The End Game (Another huge update—by then, the size of the Corridor’s world will have doubled)
• Early to Mid 2027: The Last Farewell (Final update & polish—so many items to find, you could open a museum)

In addition to these, several minor updates will be released more frequently. The player base is small but has been growing (especially since the start of this year), and one of the most common pieces of feedback is that players enjoy meeting people in the Corridor. So, I want to capitalize on that and make the game feel even more immersive.

There’s also a lot of technical cleanup to be done in the background, along with some minor retconning (lore expansion is probably a better term) and general rewrites—particularly the random encounters at Colin’s, which I mentioned in the last update.

The Evolution of the Corridor’s Art Style

I wanted to use this update to talk a bit about the art of the Corridor—blimey, it sounds a bit wanky typing that!—and how it has developed, more for myself than anything.

I like to think I have a reasonable level of technical competence when it comes to drawing and painting with traditional materials. However, I deliberately wanted to handicap myself when working on the Corridor. There’s something not quite right about the world in the game, and I wanted my artwork to reflect that same not quite right feeling.

Original Art Constraints

At the start, I set up the following rules for myself (I use Procreate):

• I could only use two brushes and two layers.
• The Turpentine Brush for lines.
• The Grunge Brush for colouring.
• No fills or guidelines.
• The first attempt is the best attempt.
• Minimal erasing—overpainting preferred.

The Grunge Brush makes it hard to get clean edges, but it creates some wonderful texture. The Turpentine Brush, on the other hand, has this translucent quality that smudges what's around it, which gives a nice rushed, messy effect.

One of the biggest things I find useful when painting in real life is continuity—being able to spend time on a piece or come back to it later. So, for the Corridor, I did the opposite. I created an ever-changing list of the artwork I needed and then used a stopwatch. At ten minutes, I stop working and move on to the next piece. That means it can take weeks—sometimes months—to finish a drawing, but I believe this adds to that not quite right atmosphere.

I originally had a dedicated color palette to reflect how Element-Zero corrupted blue light in the electromagnetic spectrum. This meant reds and blues were slightly off, and everyone’s skin had a green tint (you can see this in the Hookey character, for example). However, with updates to Procreate and general disorganization on my part, that idea went out the window pretty quickly—but it’s something I want to revisit in the sequel. 

Refining the Art Process

By the time I got to Colin’s update, the setup wasn’t working—especially for interiors, which took too long. So, I needed a way to keep the style but speed up the process.

The biggest change was using more layers, particularly for faces. Here’s the breakdown of how I structure them now:

1. Eyes & mouth: fill (Grunge Brush)
2. Eyes & mouth: detail (Turpentine Brush + Jagged Brush)
3. Skin: mid-tones (Grunge Brush)
4. Skin: Highlights and Shadows (nose, cheeks, chin, forehead) (Grunge Brush)
5. Skin: Neck (Grunge Brush)
6. Clothes: Fill (Grunge Brush)
7. Clothes: Detail (Turpentine Brush)
8. Hair: Fill (Grunge Brush)
9. Hair: Detail (Turpentine Brush)

This process allows me to complete a character portrait in about 20 minutes while still keeping that something’s off feeling.

Adding a New Brush to the Mix

Another major problem was fine detail and straight-lines– especially on small items. Initially, I used the Small Pine Pencil, which is good but requires a lot of blending to fit in with the Turpentine and Grunge Brush style.

Another major issue was fine detail and straight lines, especially on small objects. Initially, I used the Small Pine Pencil, which was good but required too much blending to fit with the Turpentine and Grunge Brush style.

Then, in a completely unrelated project (a storybook for my band which you can find here), I approached illustration differently. I needed a single brush that worked for everything while still maintaining a painted look. So, I tweaked the Jagged Brush settings to make it slightly more opaque. The result? A tenfold increase in speed.

Now, I’m using the Jagged Brush alongside the Turpentine and Grunge Brushes. Moving forward, you’ll start seeing the result of this three-brush combo in the game.

Revisiting Earlier Artwork?

This does also beg the question of whether I should go back and redo some of the earlier artwork. There are definitely a few pieces that could use a touch-up, but I also quite like the idea that, just as the story evolves, so does the game world. There’s something interesting about seeing that progression reflected in the art style itself.

That said, if any older illustrations feel particularly out of place, I might revisit them. Some images are also being planned for use in the sequel.

One unsolved part of the art process :

One thing I still haven’t figured out is how to depict the motorways. I think the biggest issue is the lack of good references.

Aside from the obvious—most motorways are not enclosed in concrete walls with steel mesh roofs—most photos are taken from passenger or truck perspectives, which is totally wrong for someone walking. And then there’s the roof—I’ve struggled to find a satisfying way to represent the wire mesh. Depending on the lighting, mesh wire either vanishes into the distance or turns into a solid block of color.

I’ve been considering making a 3D mock-up to get the perspective right, but 3D graphics really isn’t my thing. I’ve looked briefly at Crocodile 3D, but I’d love to hear any suggestions—especially if anyone has a trick for visualizing distorted mesh in perspective.

Finally

Seeing the player base grow, even just a little, has been really motivating. One of the biggest reasons I pushed this update out sooner was the kind words and feedback I received. So, if you come across any small indie projects, please consider leaving feedback, or sharing on social media—it really does make a huge difference!