Hey everyone!
Welcome back to another Windblown Development Log!
Over the last month we've been hard at work on new additions and features for the game, with a focus on community feedback. Our closed alpha testers have been paramount to our progress and have continued to offer their insight into how Windblown is shaping up and what they'd like to see.
In the coming weeks we'll begin inviting more players to our test, as we move closed and closer towards multiplayer!
Here's a breakdown of the development work from last month!
Main Topics
- Prepared the game for our first Multiplayer alpha playtest (core tech, basic UIs, making some unlocks multi-compatible) - Multiplayer is our next major milestone, and something that has taken a lot of work. We can't wait to see how it's received, and how quickly everyone can break it...
- Gameplay rebalancing (order of unlocks, level generation) - Players reported that there could be difficulty spikes, so we wanted to look into the flow and progression of users runs through Windblown.
- Working on a new Shop (gameplay + graphics) - Thanks to player feedback, we looked to overhaul the system, increasing accessibility and diversity.
- Working on dialogue & scenography systems (dialogues, camera close up, NPC animations, sounds during texts) - Testers wanted to see some of the world building sooner than we anticipated, but it was important that they feel connected to the game and it's development. It's also important for players to understand the story, and why they should care!
- Working on something cool for the opening sequence of the game! - this feeds into the above point of player experience and world building. Without going into too much detail, this will help set the stage and paint the picture of Windblown!
Additional Work
- Drafting the Onboarding of the game (simplify discovery and develop the story from the get go)
- Made backstabs more visually clear
- Added a proper save system
- Added new types of secrets that require some special moves to access
- Explored the tech we’ll use for advanced UIs
- Posted our first gameplay trailer!
And if you didn't catch that trailer, worry not, we have you covered!
Plus lots of bug fixing (or making bugs features...IYKYK)
👀
(This was originally and bug, but players seemed to like the idea of carrying a weapon 10x the size of your character...)
Want to test Windblown?
Well that's simple - just head to our website and fill in the form!
We'll continue to expand out playtests as time goes on, and look forward to welcoming as many people to Windblown as possible ahead of it's Early Access launch later this year!
What's next?
Our focus remains on the development of the game, and our relationship with the community. Windblown is a game born with the idea of developing it alongside the players. After all, you'll be the ones playing it!
We look forward to bringing you updates on our multiplayer testing soon, along with some cool stuff we have in the pipeline.
You can Wishlist Windblown below, and stay up to date on our social media!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1911610/Windblown/