Hello! Things are moving. I've been staring at a blog draft since November. Some noteworthy things have happened since the last demo, but any time I have to write I typically spend working on the project. From here on I'll focus on more bite-sized updates, mostly for accountability and keeping you up to speed on the game progress.



I got a lot of great feedback from the demo. Thanks a bunch! Feature-wise it's not quite where I want, but it's a good starting point. I don't want to dump features for the sake of features anymore, but I do think more variety around character progression/customization, enemies, and things to do in battle might go a long way. Details to come on those features down the road, once they're a bit more solidified.

Feedback, thank you!

Speaking of demos, the demo release picked up some attention around the internet. Here on RMN I was pleased to hear I won The kentona Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence. This is extra special to me because the 2k3 version has been nominated in the Misaos a few times, but its never formally won anything. In the Gamemaker community, SU was selected for "Best Puzzles" in a GXC Community Showcase event. Lastly, I started a twitter account specifically for game updates, and the rebuilt swimming & diving system gained a bit of traction.



Updates

So what's new since the last demo? For the sake of organization, I've broken the game down into 5 rough acts. The July demo consists of a rough Act 1. Act 2 will triple the length of the game by adding 4 more dungeons, a new village hub area, and plenty more minigames/puzzles. Drafts of the core cutscenes are all written, with about 40% of them actually implemented. The first two dungeons are mapped out with two of my favorite mechanics from the 2k3 version making a return. I'm currently tackling dungeon 3 as I continue to implement more scenes.

At a high-level, that leaves more cutscenes, two more dungeons, a whole slew of monsters to sprite and implement, a new gameplay feature, some minigames, and tons of balancing left. I'm bad at giving dates but if I can finish this by the end of summer I'll say I'm at a good pace. We'll see, though. Please cheer for me.

Thanks so much for reading. Take care!

Key Stats
99 Maps
333kb Database (skills, cutscenes, player data, etc in plaintext)