**This blog was posted several months ago, and we will be posting the other months soon to catch up on the Steam news tab. If you want to see all of the blogs now, visit our website**
2024 Developer Blog: January
Hey there! It's been a while since we stuck to a true update schedule as we've been hard at work on Dark Deity 2 and keeping our heads down for the most part. I'm thinking it's time to really get down to it and let y'all know what we're up to throughout 2024! We're planning to bring you a developer blog at some point during each month this year, letting you know what we've been working on and where progress is sitting at with the game. That all being said, let's dive right into it, shall we?
Staying Flexible
In late 2023, we had our first significant batch of gameplay testing and looks at what a full playthrough of DD2 might look through. We'd reached the point where most systems in the game were playable - and even had nearly the full game's worth of levels and story to wade through (albeit in early stages of quality).
What we found was that we had some more conflict between systems than we had realized, and though we were happy with many of our gameplay systems individually, that didn't necessarily mean they were working in unison to be greater than the sum of their parts - something we hadn't quite achieved yet. In a somewhat funny twist, DD2 felt a LOT like DD1 at the time - lots of fun to be had engaging with the systems, but it felt like there were a ton of obvious ways in which it could be better - obviously not at all what we want out of a sequel.
This led us to commit to a full redesign on some of the most significant progression systems in the game and really go back to the drawing board to make sure everything we put in the game truly advances our goals and leads to tight design. Now having some true testing under our belt and enough content in the game to keep feeling things out as we go, we feel really good about where the game is headed.
With the rush around DD1 being my first game (and really my first real *career* job after graduating college mid-development and mid-covid), I just didn't really have the time, expertise, or ability to take these kinds of looks at the game, and it feels amazing to look at systems that feel good-not-great and say "I want this to be GREAT, let's go back to the drawing board."
Storytelling Focus
Around the same time in the final days of 2023, we finished the full first draft of DD2's story. Where the gameplay section of this blog is a big fat "we're still working things out", the story section is a resounding success. We feel really strongly that we've created a more grounded narrative that values character development above all else. The story is a big epic fantasy adventure, sure, but the focus is deeply rooted with the Sildairan family (pictured above) and their struggles, development, and bonds.
We'll likely have a blog post at some point in the year that focuses in on the difficult and fun parts of crafting a sequel to a story as flawed as DD1's was (my bad), written by the person actually doing all the writing.
Where We Are Now
The team is firing on all cylinders as we move into the new year, with (in theory) all of our roles filled outside of voice acting - which is of course one of our focuses for the coming months. We're ramping up our internal casting discussions as we get closer to finalizing scripts and knowing exactly what we need from different roles. We'll have some exciting news in that area soon.
I'll be finishing up the system redesigns in the coming weeks, as well as finishing up the level implementation for the final few chapters - meaning we'll be back to internally testing all 30 chapters of gameplay and progression some time in February. There is still a mountain of work to be done regarding side quests and training levels, so don't take that to mean the game is all that close to finished - but we have a really solid foundation to be making sure the game plays and feels amazing.
Twisted Destiny
Something that might be a bit of a downer is that we're in somewhat of a flux point with Twisted Destiny. The further we get into development, the more we've realized that we probably can't do a true roguelite mode the justice it deserves within the systems we have without an absolutely massive additional workload. A lesson we really wanted to learn from Dark Deity 1 was that we'd rather make a really good game that is less ambitious than one that tries to do a ton but gets stretched too thin. Twisted Destiny as we have discussed it looks more and more every day like it falls in the latter camp, and I won't compromise the quality of the game itself for a side mode (regardless of how badly I want to make it).
I want to apologize to those who were really excited for a true roguelite DD, it was a personal failing of mine letting scope creep get to me and talking about it publicly before it was far enough along to know we could really get it done. It's definitely a hard part of my journey as a developer accepting my own limitations and not trying to do too much, but I think it might just be the most important one. As a solo programmer and the only team member that works in engine, but also one of the 'idea guys', sometimes the "holy shit this idea is so cool" in me gets ahead of the "be serious we aren't there yet".
That being said, we are planning at the moment to take the grounding principles of Twisted Destiny and apply them to a different side mode that is a little less ambitious. Something people were really excited about back during the Kickstarter ideation process for DD1 was a possible endgame dungeon mode, and that's where we are leaning at the moment - though all of this is flexible at the moment. I will keep you posted throughout the year as Twisted Destiny twists and evolves along with the rest of the project.
TLDR
-We have been testing a ton and reworking progression systems.
-All 30 chapters of story and their accompanying gameplay are playable.
-We are super happy with the story and moving into the editing process.
-Twisted Destiny is being redesigned, stay posted for updates there.
-More dev blogs to come in future months this year.
-We're aiming for a more transparent 2024 and to let you all in on the processes of developing this sequel
**Once again, this developer blog was months ago, so have moved forward quite a bit since then. We will be posting the other developer blogs soon so we can get the Steam audience caught up!**