I'm so excited to finally be starting work on the Death Update. This is where death changes things.

No more sitting around watching your living teammates explore and have all the fun.

This week I've been working on player tombstones, which display the dead player's name. Living teammates can collect their belongings and bring them back to the ship, keeping them safe until that player comes back to life.

Dead players will also be able to explore the levels and discover special ghost only areas that living players can't see. These hidden locations will contain strange surprises, lore, and cosmetic unlockables.

However, if a dead player gets caught by the Reaper, they'll be dragged off to Ghost Jail, where they'll have opportunities to escape. Alternatively, they can relax and watch their living teammates explore on the giant TV screen.

The goal is to make death an entirely different experience, giving players something interesting to do rather than simply waiting to be revived.

I'm looking forward to sharing more as the update progresses.

Would you watch the TV or try to escape? Whats a death mechanic you really enjoyed from a game?

What is Club Vex you ask? Utter chaos wrapped up in a neon package. After a long hard day of trying not to die, players can visit Club Vex for some recreational madness!!

There is a disco floor with a Robot DJ who can play and edit playlists, Air hockey table and working arcade machines. Pic-Bot is also there to take any pictures of the crew for displaying on their drop ship wall.

But the highlight of Club Vex is the bar. A cheeky bartender is there to serve players cocktails. The company doesn't condone alcohol in the workplace so these are nice and safe alcohol free DNA altering cocktails. With over 200 cocktail combinations, buffs, debuffs and other unique effects Club Vex is the place to be!!

The Terrarium is where players can build their own chaotic alien zoo. Any plant or creature DNA discovered during missions can be brought back, grown or released into the Terrarium.

Every creature is different. Some fly, some crawl, some hunt, and some even eat each other. Watching all these creatures interact is part of the fun and chaos.

With underground caves, underwater environments and other areas to explore and fill with life, the Terrarium is a big part of the game's discovery and collection system.

Explore, discover new lifeforms and collect them all. Just don't expect everything to get along!

The War room is where players go before missions to choose their weapons, artifact and drone load outs that they have unlocked or purchased. This lets them choose their individual and team buffs and play style. There is also The Confobulator, a machine that lets players customize their outfits with crazy neon holograms, accessories, spray paint and more.

What do you think of the visuals and design? I'm particularly happy with the "For glory and death" over the top corporate statue. The company is a bit suss and probably expects too much from its employees.

The control room is where players go before and after a mission to choose the next one and suffer any consequences of the previous. There is a terminal for information on any discovered biome, enemy and specimen as well as a holographic display for Zone and level selection.

The Wheel Of Misfortune (W.O.M) however is always there to add a bit of chaos to missions. If players are in debt then they must spin the W.O.M and for that mission one debuff will be applied to the team. Less health, slower, torch drains faster. There are a mix of consequences but thankfully they only last for the mission. There are also ways to combat any debuffs given such as cocktails and Artifacts, so players are not always going to be at a loss.

What do you think? Any questions about the mechanics or comments on the current design are welcome :)

The Shop is where players can spend their credits earned between missions. To prepare for the descent there are a variety of traps, weapons, drones and other items that can be purchased.

There is also a mystery item display in the center of the room. This is for items that are unlocked through achievements and are quite useful, some chaotic.

This shop has everything a player could want for various chaos and play styles. I can't wait to see the different things people buy and use. Fair warning, and antigravity trap and sticky grenade are not the best combinations if your teammates are stuck in it with the enemy as well...or maybe that is more fun 🤪

The Drop ship resides in the main ships Hanger and is the primary vessel for players missions to and from the Mysterious planet they are exploring. This small 4 crew ship is equipped with underside mining lasers, powerful enough to explore the dangerous cavern networks below the planets surface.

The drop ship comes equip with a resurrection station for players who have died and need a new body to be re cloned at a cost. The ships engine has limited fuel for the journey and mining lasers, so players must keep it refilled. Once it reaches zero the drop ship automatically returns back to the main ship.

There is a player vitals screen to keep track of your team, a table to collect any items living teammates saved after your recent demise and a few customization decorative options such as ship control figurines.

With the enemy update complete, I have moved on to giving the main ship a huge overhaul. I'm gonna go room by room and make it epic as hell for everyone :)

What do you think of my main hub area?

I’ve spent the last few days rebuilding the enemy systems for The Grim Crew, and the Enemy Update is finally starting to come together.

Enemies now emerge from organic spawners scattered throughout the caves. Black, fleshy growths lined with bone-like teeth that slowly open as creatures rise from beneath the ground.

I’ve also built a new roaming system. Enemies emerge, patrol the surrounding caves, and can eventually retreat into one spawner before resurfacing somewhere else.

I can't wait to release the teaser trailer for the enemies. What do you all think so far? Here to answer any questions or listen to suggestions 😁

Another look at The Grim Crew’s upcoming Enemy Update.

Each creature is being designed around its own unique mechanic rather than simply chasing and attacking the player.

Pictured here is The Watcher. Look at it, and it can’t move. Look away and it is fast as hell.

I can't wait to show these enemies in action in the upcoming teaser trailer. What do you all think of The Watcher?

The last few days have been really fun for developing the cosmetic unlockables in the game. Trying out holograms and accessories have been so fun to create and mess around with.

Hopefully in the next week I have the Confobulator ironed out a bit and some cosmetics locked in. For now please enjoy the silly pictures of stuff I'm trying out 😁

I’ve been building the first zone for the game for a while now, and I’ve finally finished all nine environments that make up Gaia.

So I put together a short environmental teaser showing off the world itself. No combat or big gameplay showcase this time, just a look at the places players will be exploring (and probably dying in). Gaia is split across three biomes: Forest, Roots and Reef, with three different  biome varients for each (9 in total)

I’ve been trying to make every environment feel beautiful, strange and slightly hostile, while still giving each one its own identity. Would genuinely love to hear which biome/environment catches your eye the most.

Next teaser will be Enemies :P

I couldn't help myself. I was supposed to move on to enemies and work on that but I really just wanted to make some fun stuff for the game.

Players can now spray paint their suits with multiple colors and go wild with designs. Also the Lucky Gem, a rare find in the game now will activate a green sparkly shield of immortality for a few seconds for players who should have died.

I think a few more fun things shall be created before enemies. I may....may have created throwable sticky grenades today as well 👀

Hello fellow gamers! After a long time creating 9 unique levels for my Gaia zone in the game I am finally done. It feels so good to have this part done, now I can test out all the levels and get feedback about the environments. I will still go back and adjust things as needed but as a whole I'm really happy with what I've created.

I will be releasing a short Gaia Zone environment teaser video in the near future so keep an eye out on that. Now I can move onto giving my Enemies some love and creating the base enemies that are scary, behave or misbehave in a way that's fun and engaging. Thank you for your support, please leave comments if you have any feedback or just want to talk :)

Last Reef variant and then that's all 9 levels of Gaia zone done. Players must solve multiple rooms of puzzles and environmental challenges and dangers. What for? To unlock the treasure room and fill their pockets with as much gold as they can carry.

After this I can move onto my main enemies and bringing these environments more to life. with the screams of players...

Welcome to “The Trench,” dear gamers.

Deep within this cavern, something stalks players through the foggy waters. Something huge... something hungry.

Players will have to dive for ore while avoiding this giant enemy. Oxygen is limited, so vents scattered across the cavern floor provide precious chances to refill.

Just don’t stop for too long, lest your greed turn you into a snack. What do you all think of the atmosphere and general look of this area?

After a month long break, I've finally made the move from Dunedin to Wellington!

My trusty 7 year old PC has been passed down to my brother, and I've treated myself to a brand new PC. Now I can get back to developing The Grim Crew and finally play some of the newer games I've been missing out on.

I'm jumping straight back into finishing the Reef biome and can't wait to show you all what I've been working on over the coming weeks.

Hello fantastic people 😊 I won't be uploading anything new on here until around the second week of August.

I'm in the middle of my move to Wellington and my old PC that I've been working on my game with is going to a better home.

I'll see you all in August, stay safe and game good.

Been working on the piranha enemies for my Reef biome!

What starts as a single piranha dealing minor damage can quickly spiral into a feeding frenzy. The longer a player stays in the water, the more piranhas are drawn to the commotion, eventually building into a relentless swarm of 5 to 6 that can tear through anyone who doesn't escape in time.

This Reef biome variant features a massive underground lake scattered with small islands. The deep water is packed with valuable loot and treasure, but every second spent diving increases the danger. Risk it for the rewards... or get eaten trying.

I've spent the last few weeks bringing the atmosphere and level design of the first Reef biome to life. What do you guys think of the atmosphere and look from this screenshot?

I also have some exciting changes coming up! Over the next month I'll be moving to Wellington to chase my dream of making games full-time. Development on The Grim Crew will slow down a little while I focus on the move and enjoy my final month here with friends and family, but once I'm settled I'll be jumping straight back into development.

Big things ahead, and I can't wait to share more with you all!

I've spent the last few days working on the environment of my Reef biome, adding more points of interest and making the area feel more alive.

One of the new additions is Jellyfish. They're harmless if you keep your distance, but venture too close and they'll swarm the player, dealing damage.

I've also added Treasure Piles, hidden within the deeper parts of the biome. Those willing to risk the descent can find gold and other valuables, but they'll have to survive the jellyfish and the unknown horrors that lurk in the waters below.

I'm now moving on to the Reef biome and its design. As the final and deepest biome of the Gaia Zone, it is filled with ancient ruins, flooded caverns, and things lurking beneath the water. I'm currently working on the first of its three variants, the Lake Islands experience.

This massive underground cavern is dotted with small islands surrounded by a deep lake. Rich ore deposits and valuable rewards await players willing to dive beneath the surface, but danger lurks below. Swarms of ravenous creatures patrol the waters, ready to overwhelm and devour any unfortunate souls who venture too far...

As the title suggests, the focus the last week has been reworking the Forest Biome and making it look cool. The image here shows the Bliss Blossom garden, one of the discoverable specimen areas in the forest biome. This garden contains the Bliss Blossom and a calming pink mist and waterfall. Such Bliss, such serenity. A good distraction for players, and for the creatures lurking in the shadows, waiting to pounce!!

Now that the main ship is looking good, I'm back to working on the Gaia Zone biomes. Right now I'm focused on the Forest biome, creating unique areas for each level and refining its atmosphere.

The forest's plants survive thanks to giant crystals that emit sun-like radiation. These crystals charge up and glow for a time before cooling down and plunging the biome into darkness. When night falls, predators emerge and both creatures and players become the hunted.