Hey everyone! I'm Jordan, the solo-developer behind Haiku, the Robot.
I've been working full-time on the game for approximately 3 months now (thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign) and I wanted to share some snapshots of the progress that's been made so far.
A lot of work has been going into planning the map (which is the most important part of a good Metroidvania), the levels, and passing them all over to Unity game engine. I haven't focused on environment details yet so the screenshots are demonstrating what I like to call a "first pass" - which means a quick dressing of the room to set the tone and mood.
The Ruins (a working title)
This is one of my favorite areas in the game. It's so different from the normal machine world that Haiku lives in and it offers a nice change of pace and scenery while exploring. This is an exciting area which I can't wait to dedicate more time to and fill out with small details and story elements.
The Incinerator (a working title)
This is definitely one of the more intense areas of the game. Here, the flames burn fiercely as garbage is consumed to produce power/electricity. One of the next steps for this area is to add fire-type enemies, some interesting platforming, and potentially a boss fight!
The Core
This area acts as the central hub. Pretty much everything in Haiku's world needs electricity to function so it branches off into many different areas, The Incinerator being one of them.
As I am close to finishing transferring all the levels into Unity's game engine, I've started to work on trickier platforming as well. It's fun coming up with ways to introduce new platform mechanics to the player, teaching them, and then testing their abilities - I hope it adds another layer to the gameplay while you explore. (Screenshot above)
Steampunk Town
After I've finished moving over the last few levels to Unity, I can start to design and add more details to the world, such as this cute little town (which is still missing characters). I will also be able to focus more time on new bosses, enemies, and story elements to further enrich the experience.
Which area are you most excited for? Let me know in the comments below.
Overall, the game's progress is going very well. And things seem to be on schedule for my initial October launch plan but there is still a long road ahead. Watch this space as I will make sure to post more development updates in the future. Thanks!
If you liked this update then consider adding Haiku to your wishlist!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1231880/Haiku_the_Robot/
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