Happy summer, magical ones!
We have several exciting pieces of Stardander news to share today. Although we are not yet ready to release the next chapter of the game, development progress has been happening, and the Stardander original soundtrack is now complete and available!
Soundtrack Release
Chase Bethea composed an incredible, spellbinding original soundtrack for Stardander - a feat which took 3 years and countless hours of hard work, revisions, and thoughtful collaboration.
Chase took inspiration from folk and ethnic soundscapes to craft these tracks. He describes the music as “a sound world that boldly deviates from the listener's expectation. This video game soundtrack evokes the mood and tone of folk music blended with whimsical / fantasy and light electronic sounds. [...] with unexpected chords underpinning dense layers of dancing multi-ethnic melodic lines and busy percussion.”
For anyone who has already played the game - you already know how mesmerizing and truly special these music tracks are. But, if you need a refresher, just listen to a few of the previews which Chase has shared on his youtube channel:
- Trouble and Mystery: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDl-5NxdA2w
- A Gift of Character: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpfWQ6qsn98
- The Inventors Imprudence: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYVnwo6YlNE
We hope you are able to purchase the soundtrack and enjoy many hours of listening while working, studying or relaxing!
You can buy the complete soundtrack via Steam right here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3049970/Stardander_Soundtrack/
Development Update
Development on Chapter 5 has been slow but steady. The script for chapter 5 is now complete! Woohoo! It is currently the longest script of any of the chapters, currently sitting at over 43 thousand words (this could change with editing). Choices are starting to matter more at this point in the story, so there are more narrative branches - especially with your choice of romance route in this chapter. We’re excited about how the chapter 5 script came together - and we hope you will love getting back into Callie’s perspective now that she is older and really owning this “magic” thing.
Progress is being made on the final art pieces needed for chapters 5-7 as well. These include sprite changes and alternate outfits for the older versions of the main characters. The Stardander story spans seven years of time, and young people can change a lot in seven years! We absolutely wanted the character's visual appearance to reflect their unique journeys.
As a behind-the-scenes treat, here is a selection of outfit variation roughs for Callie (these are concepts and may not reflect the final design seen in-game). Which styles do you like best for her?
Thank you for your patience as we work hard to finish the second half of the game. We will be back again - hopefully soon - with a playable version of chapter 5!