Ghostlore has come a long way since it's Early Access launch around this time last year. We launched with only half of the total planned locations in our game. Our only initial promise was to finish up all the locations in the main story and do some minor bugfixing and polishing. We worked hard to release a new map every month and by September, the game was story complete.
We didn't just stop there, however. Based on player feedback, we decided to spend the remaining months to go beyond the initial scope of the project, and implement major overhaul and expansion of the skill system and end-game systems. Here's a quick look back in case you missed it:
https://steamcommunity.com/games/1783280/announcements/detail/3430079961712346390
https://steamcommunity.com/games/1783280/announcements/detail/3654144191653657037
Although the development of Ghostlore in this current state started in 2020 when the COVID lockdowns enabled work-from-home, I spent the year before that working solo, spending my nights and weekends to create a prototype, and before that, learning the basics of how to create a game.
But even going as far back as my teenage years - even though the final vision was never a hundred percent clear to me - I had always dreamed of creating an action RPG. It was the reason why I went to university to study digital art and animation.
So Ghostlore is the fulfilment of a lifelong dream. It has been a long journey. Longer than I can express.
I am grateful to Adam, who I would say is half of what this current incarnation of Ghostlore is, using his programming skills to bring the world of Ghostlore to life in a much more fully realised form than I would have been able to do alone.
I am grateful to Sarah who signal-boosted Ghostlore and grew the community on various platforms, and provided me with networking opportunities as well as help navigating business contracts.
I am grateful to everyone else who contributed in the early days, before the game was even called Ghostlore, and to my family, who provided me with the lucky circumstances that enabled me to work on the game without having to worry about debt or illness.
And most of all, I am grateful for all the players who have bought, played, and even streamed the game during its Early Access period. Ghostlore is not going to be a game for everyone, but for those of you who get it, get it, and are able to sink hundreds of hours into the game.
Each and every one of you is important to us, and we have done our very best to fix the bugs you reported and implement the features you requested, to make Ghostlore the best action-RPG experience we could provide.
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…Well, what more can I say? Ghostlore is on a 25% launch discount, so get it while you can!
You don’t just have to listen to me though, you can check out what Splattercat and Tenkiei have to say about Ghostlore:
POST LAUNCH PLANS
Adam and I still have some cool ideas we would like to explore, especially when it comes to itemization. There are plans for more varied visual customization as well. We are aware of various balance issues, especially with the end game. We would also like to flesh out basic attacks more. We will continue to fix any bugs that are found. In addition, we are aware that online co-op is a highly requested feature, but it is a lot of effort and not something we can afford to do unless the game does well.
Currently however, I am tired and I am sure Adam is too. We would like to take a break from active development. In the meantime, we hope players will be able to enjoy all Ghostlore 1.0 has to offer.
Thank you and see you in Seaport!
Best,
Andrew