Hello ːtobdogː !
We're happy to be here to talk about what we've been working on and what's coming next for the game in the near future.
Return of the demo
You heard it, the demo is back ! We tweaked the content and added some new functionnalites since the last time (controller support, richer option menu, new musics & sounds, planing mode, ...). We'll let you discover all of this by yourself ːdipː.
Playtests
Playtests are still running (they have been for 3 weeks) and the first feedbacks we've received are very useful. Thanks to them, we've fixed a lot of bugs that appeared since the last updates and we tweaked a huge amount of levels.
We're still working hard on the difficult balance. Our goal is to avoid frustrating and/or difficulty spikes (these spikes were reported especially in the END levels which are a bit special). Don't worry however for all of you Dark Souls lovers out there, bonus levels are there to spice things up. They will be unlocked as you progress through the game.
Currrent Work
Here are the subjects we're working on right now :
- Controller support : We just wrapped the support for classic controllers (Xbox & Playstation). It's now possible to play the game entirely with a controller. There's still a bit of polish before we make it available but it should be in the demo.
- New worlds, new levels : Work is never over regarding the game's content. We're constantly adding new levels. Right now we finalized 126 levels (bonus levels included), for a grand total of 7 worlds. Our goal is 8 worlds at release.
- Steam achievements : A list of steam achievements has appeared and we're updating it regularly. The implementation is about to begin. We don't want to only create 'completion' achievements, but also special and interesting ones.
- Easter eggs : We love a lot of games/movies/series so we couldn't miss the opportunity to add some easter eggs & references in our own game. Maybe you'll recognize where does this comes from ?
- Polish : Each game has a polish phase to guarantee the quality of the final game. In our case, we spend time on each mechanic, kept a healthy codebase in order to reduce the length of this last step. Every week we tweak another UI component, we're fixing issues, or add some other improvement of some sort.
- Musics & Sounds : Worlds theme are keep growing in numbers, we currently have 3 main themes and new sounds have been added for the character jumps, some new UI elements and new mechanics (that haven't been revealed yet).
Planning Mode
The planning mode is a communication & organization tool that we mentioned in the last dev update. It's time to see it in action :
By pressing a button, you'll enter the planning mode. You won't be able to move and a cursor will appear that allows you to aim at interactable objects of the level (doors, pressure plates, buttons, ...) as well as exchange zones.
When you choose an interactable object, you'll be able to open two selection wheels. The first one will display colors and the other one will display symbols. When a color is selected, the object will take the chosen color and when a symbol is selected, it will be displayed next to the object. This will be useful to clearly identify an object and to communicate more efficiently with your partner by establishing links between objects that work together.
When you choose an exchange zone, you'll be able to send a signal to your partner on a specific zone. Of course, when you send a signal on the top right of your screen, the corresponding zone on the screen of your partner will be pinged (like a mirror) on the top left. This will allow you to explain to your partner the way to proceed or where to send his key/box.
Please note that this tool is still a WIP and will evolve, we already planned to bring some modifications to it thanks to the feedback of the playtesters.
This is it for today, I hope this recap interested you, we'll see you very soon to talk about the release of the game !