Hello!
It's been a long while since the last devlog. I spend the time polishing up the visuals for the rest of the worlds, implementing small enhancements, but also took a long break from the project to clear my mind after some built up frustration.
Now that I'm back in full swing, I realize that I won't be able to finish the rest of the game by the planned date of August 31st. Therefore, I've decided to postpone the release to an indefinite period in Q4 2023. I want to make sure the game is as polished as possible, alongside giving me time to finish World 3 and other content that was omitted by the cutting board.
Speaking of cutting: unfortunately, I made the decision to cut some of the planned functionality. The Vaults proved to be too much work and are simply not fun, and altered levels for the challenge mode are also hard to work on and properly balance. In addition to that, it also requires extensive testing, which in itself would simply require a lot of time as it's another set of 60 levels, albeit altered to challenge the player.
Simply put, I want to focus on making the game as polished as possible, while retaining the amount of features at a point where I can easily maintain them. For instance, it takes much less time to add a new level, skin or an unlockable than a full blown separate game mode. This change will be also reflected in the game's pricing to set the proper expectations. I believe this change is necessary because at the present state, the game suffers from issues like balancing or bugs, and no amount of new features will counter that.
So, in short:
- The game is delayed to Q4 2023 to give me more time for polish and World 3.
- Vaults won't make it into the final release, and challenge mode will face a major overhaul to reduce the amount of time required to implement it, while retaining the "fun" associated with it.
- The new priority is to finish World 3, polish the already existing features, and add small content such as more skins, colors, secrets, etc.
I know some of you might be disappointed by the news, but hopefully this will result in an overall better game.
That is all for today's devlog. See you next time!
Daniel.