After Midnight
A downloadable game for Windows
PILOT ISSUESATURDAY, OCTOBER 31, 1998WORK IN PROGRESS
A short first-person game, told in pieces.
ONE NIGHT
IN ALDER COUNTYPAGE 2
FREE DEMOA GAME BY NORTSITH
“I was immediately
drawn into this dark,
rain-soaked world.”MIDNIGHT MATINEE GAMES
K-ROW 106.6 FM * ON THE AIR TONIGHT: THE GRAVEYARD SHIFT WITH SAL MERCER, MIDNIGHT TO SIX * REQUESTS 147-1066 * IF YOU HAVE SEEN KEVIN DAHL CALL THE SHERIFF, NOT US *K-ROW 106.6 FM * ON THE AIR TONIGHT: THE GRAVEYARD SHIFT WITH SAL MERCER, MIDNIGHT TO SIX * REQUESTS 147-1066 * IF YOU HAVE SEEN KEVIN DAHL CALL THE SHERIFF, NOT US *
The Pilot.
The Pilot is a first slice. Each season follows one case. Free-roam mysteries come next, and a few loose threads are already out there. Later comes a mode with no handholding, where you just choose your adventure in Alder County and solve cases.
A World That GrowsEvery episode adds a new place, a side mystery to solve in free roam, and polish on everything already here. Social features come later, if enough of you show up.
The Teaser
Credits
Typeface: Special Elite, by Astigmatic.
Motel: Umut Fatih Senturk
Vehicle and building models: Daniel Zhabotinsky, CC BY 4.0.
Billiard table: appsnation, CC BY 4.0.
Characters, roadside places and props: elbolilloduro, CC0.
Environment and prop packs: Pizza Doggy.
Kitchen props: Nicowlas.
Songs made by Nortsith with Suno.
Made with Unity and Yarn Spinner.
Made with FMOD Studio by Firelight Technologies Pty Ltd.
From the Editor
After Midnight is a place I want to keep telling stories in. The Pilot is also where I'm testing the world, its systems and making games with AI.
I mostly used AI to create the tools that build things, and generated the songs over many iterations. With those tools, most of what you see in the game came together in about a month. I wrote the story and most of the lines. AI edited them and drafted a few. If the writing is bad, it's because I'm still trying to get better, and that's on me.
I put a lot of work into the atmosphere, and I'd like to know where the line is between a game made with AI and AI slop. If something here feels hollow or generated, tell me where in the comments.
Nortsith
The Specs
- Walk and drive a port city, a mountain town and the roads between.
- Light on mechanics. A phone, a notebook, a folded road map and a die.
- Nobody speaks aloud. Every word is a low hum under the subtitle.
- About 30 minutes. In development.
- Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit. Keyboard and mouse. English.
- Made by Nortsith at Gremlin Cult.
- Contains murder, dead bodies, strong language and flashing lights.
Rate the Pilot
Played it? Give it stars on itch. Ratings help other people find the game.Rate After Midnight
Download
Development log
- Hoa Hoa Season in Alder County2 days ago
- Sitting down5 days ago
- Hands off the wheel5 days ago
- Showing you where to click6 days ago
- Let the player play the game6 days ago
- Every tool in this game started with me getting annoyed7 days ago
- What changed since the Pilot went up7 days ago
- The Pilot is up8 days ago
Comments
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This is insanely good. Just became my favorite. Need more please.
The K-ROW 106.6 graveyard-shift banner — "if you have seen Kevin Dahl call the sheriff, not us" — already drops you into that rainy 1998 county before the demo starts. Also appreciated the editor note asking people to say if anything feels hollow; that's a better ask than generic feedback.
Very good game, kudos to this game.
awesomee !!!!!!!
Check out my no commentary playthrough and full review below!
I was immediately struck by the look and style of this game. It has this fantastic dark, comic book noir aesthetic that carries through the entire experience. The visuals, music, and overall tone work incredibly well together, and I was immediately drawn into this dark, rain-soaked world. The story is unusual, but I think that works in its favor and fits the style perfectly. It's a long night on the trail of a killer, but not in the typical procedural way you might expect.What surprised me most was how much of the game revolves around driving. But honestly, I didn't mind at all. There's something incredibly satisfying about speeding through the rainy streets at night with the music blaring. The driving mechanics are surprisingly well done, too. The car has a real sense of weight, with handling and physics that make you feel connected to the road rather than floating over it. Combined with the atmosphere and music, it made the driving one of my favorite parts of the experience and absolutely justified making it such a central part of the gameplay.
Without spoiling anything, the ending delivers a great noir-style twist, but make sure you stick around all the way to the very end!
My main criticism would be the controls and occasionally knowing what to do next. I think a simple menu or clear control guide would help, as there were moments when I wasn't sure how to interact with something, which pulled me out of an otherwise immersive experience. There were also a couple of points where I wasn't entirely sure where to go or what to do next, but the developer was very kind and helpful in getting me back on track.
I was excited to see that this appears to be the beginning of something episodic, because I'd love to spend more time in this world. I also want to touch on the developer's openness about using AI in creating the game. Personally, I applaud the approach here. To me, this is a great example of using AI as a tool rather than simply a shortcut. It's helping the developer bring a creative vision to life, and I think that shows. There's a distinct style, personality, and attention to detail throughout the game that makes it feel like something the developer genuinely wanted to create, not just something generated by AI.
Great job! I really enjoyed this one and am looking forward to seeing where you take this world and what you create next!
Amazing review and playthrough! I was just working on the improvements and fixes we talked about.
Small note btw, you've got the game url is in the youtube video.
thanks for pointing out the game link error in my video description! I just fixed it. Hopefully my little video will get more people checking out your game and encourage you to keep making more.
Gave me the chills while playing! Loved the scenery and color pallette. Overall would recommend
Another banger from Nortsith! Incredibly immersive, with an exceptionally unique narrative that really sets it apart.
This is a great looking game but I am really struggling with the controls. Right now I am trying to show the clerk the receipt and have tried everything I can think of (but the right or obvious thing I am sure). Any help would be appreciated.
Hi thank you!
I'd love to help! Couple questions to figure out why you're stuck :)
After you found the receipt, did you already call Ray from your contacts on your phone? (This part was misleading in a previous build, I updated the cue in the new version.)
When you open your notes with [N] what does it say at the top of your screen?
Hi thanks for the quick response.
I did call Ray.
It says "Ask clerk about the receipt"
First time I talk to him he mentions the pool
when I talk again he says he's told me everything son
I have the receipt in my invetory when i press I and thought to pull it up and press F but it doesn't work
Ah! I see what's happening and see your confusion. And you're not the only one who got confused at the same story point, trust me :D I gotta improve that part a lot more!
You're talking to Mr. Loomis, he's the owner of the motel. If you open your map, you'll see a marked point. Once you get in your car, your blinkers will lead you where you need to go. The receipt is from "6Twelve - Last Chance".
Hope this helps! Have fun!
ah got it yeah with the red lines still flashing around him it seems like there’s more that needs to be done with him so I just assumed and didn’t even connect the name on the receipt I knew it was something I was missing thanks! One more side note if possible it might be helpful for someone like me to have a controls menu you can pull up to see all the different controls and what they do for example it took me awhile to figure out how to get in the car and realize that F is the main interact button. Just a thought. Anyways thanks for the help! This game is the kind I enjoy with great style and atmosphere so I really wanted to play through it. Keep up the great work!
No worries!
I really need to add the control schema you're absolutely right. I forgot to teach how to interact and grab doors :( Those small things can really be a show stopper and I really appreciate your feedback! I will work on a fix this evening to address your suggestions. You also gave me an idea about improving the gameplay with your "showing receipt" thing. I'll mention you in special thanks in the next update <3
Bro this game looks absolutely beautifull how did you managed to do this whoa
Hey thanks! It’s just a lot of help from AI and a lot of passion for making games. I’ll make a blog post about how I managed to pull this off in a month though 🙂
The atmosphere is SO good!! I was completely immersed. Amazing work🔥