“Polish everything. Break nothing.”
With the soft opening just around the corner, this week was pure execution. Three levels of gameplay, a full physical installation, and a free-talk AI mode all need to work together seamlessly. No more “we’ll fix it later.” Later is now.
All Three Levels, All the Way Through
The biggest milestone this week: all three levels are playable end to end, and we spent the week hammering on polish across every layer.
Level 1 (the carbonation experiment) is our most mature content, so the focus there was UI refinement, sound effects, and performance debugging. Level 2 takes players through the Birmingham Riots and Priestley’s move to America, and we iterated on the tone shift at the end. When the painting frame restores and Priestley says “Yes, they did burn my house,” the mood needs to land differently from the playful carbonation level. We reworked the delivery from a generic “Well done” to something that carries real weight. Level 3, the most emotional chapter (Mary’s death, the house design), got glass sound effects for the bedroom, kitchen, and lab scenes, plus adjustments to the puzzle layout to feel less orderly and more like scattered fragments of a life.
The transitions between levels got a major pass too. We added video cutscenes between Levels 2 and 3, and reworked the ending sequence so players see the restored painting frame first, then the restoration visual effects. Small reordering, big emotional difference. Check out the demo reel to see the full picture.
The Ending: Welcome to the Lunar Society
We built out the ending sequence this week, and it might be our favorite piece of the whole experience.
After completing all three levels and restoring every painting frame, Priestley reveals a secret: he was part of the Lunar Society, a real group of scientists and inventors (including James Watt and Erasmus Darwin) who helped shape the Industrial Revolution. He tells the player that through their curiosity, they’ve proven themselves worthy. And then he inducts them as an “Honorary Successor of the Lunar Society.”
Players sign their name on a certificate. It’s printed out as a physical bookmark they can take home. It’s cheesy in the best way. A teenager who walked in not knowing who Joseph Priestley was walks out holding a personalized certificate from his ghost.
Installation Gets Real
The painting frames went from concept to physical prototype this week. We tested acrylic boards with laser cutting, figuring out how to mount screens behind decorative frames so the paintings can “come alive” during gameplay. Three identical frames, each playing video content that transforms from faded to vivid as players progress. We also ran tech tests on the physical props (bladder, envelope, microphone) with a focus on something we hadn’t thought enough about before: maintainability. How does a librarian replace a bladder prop when it wears out? How do you reset the envelope between sessions? We started drafting a maintenance manual.
The microphone setup got a practical backup plan too. We’re adding a small button as a fallback input method, with a keyboard tray and a “left ctrl” label, so the experience doesn’t break if voice input fails. Practical? Yes. Glamorous? No. But an installation that works 100% of the time beats one that works beautifully 80% of the time.
Free Talk Mode Goes Live
The free-talk mode is now functional. After the guided experience, players can ask Priestley anything. We connected it to a RAG system fed with distilled knowledge: Priestley’s connection to the Lunar Society, his actual experiments, and a spreadsheet of verified Q&A pairs. We’re also preparing RAG content specifically for the clients, so Harry and JJ can use the free-talk mode as a tool when talking to visitors about Priestley. Check the demo reel to see the performance.
Looking Ahead
Next week is the installation mock-up: decoration, final prop fixes, painting frame purchasing and mounting, envelope printing, and a maintenance guideline document. On the gameplay side, we’re polishing the free-talk mode, doing a final voice actor recording session, adding subtitles, and building a credit list. Week 14 is final polish and presentation prep.
The ghost is almost ready to move into his new home.
Carnival
On Thursday, the team also got a chance to attend Carnival as a group. It was fuuuuuun.
Link to media and material files from the Week:
- Week 12 Demo Reel
- RAG Demo Reel