Hello, this is the SnakeEagle team!
It has already been a month since our Early Access launch, and now we are entering early April.
For those of you who are waiting for the game’s completion,
we would like to share a short development log at the end of each month.
(If possible, it will be posted at the end of the month, though it may occasionally be delayed until the beginning of the following month.)
In this development log, we would like to talk about a brief overview of the past month’s progress and our plans going forward.
[March Progress Update]
Most of March was spent implementing the feedback we received.
In particular, the following improvements and adjustments were made:
Improvements to game feel and controls, including the introduction of an input buffer and a slight increase in attack speed
Addition of Practice Mode
Ongoing balance adjustments for each difficulty level
Improvements to presentation and visual direction
Bug fixes and optimization
At this point, we truly feel that starting Early Access was the right decision.
No matter how much internal testing we conducted, there were still areas we could not fully anticipate on our own.
Thanks to the feedback from our players, we were able to identify and improve many of those aspects.
In particular, regarding the balance at launch,
the difficulty of Stage 2 on [Easy–Normal] was so high that it was not significantly different from [Hard–Lunatic],
which caused many players to struggle.
As of version 1.4c, we believe these issues have been greatly improved.
We are always grateful to hear your thoughts on the new version, and we will continue to listen carefully to your feedback.
Moving forward, we will continue to reflect, refine, and improve the game while staying true to the core identity of KILL THE WITCH!
[Upcoming Plans]
The full version of Kill the Witch is currently planned to consist of a total of six stages.
During the Early Access period, we plan to release Stages 3 and 4 as separate updates, one at a time.
Stages 5 and 6 are planned to be released together with the full launch.
After the official release, we also plan to add an EX Stage as a final side-story stage.
In addition, this Development Log will, whenever possible, be posted at the end of each month, or at the beginning of the following month if delayed.
We plan to continue sharing updates regularly, focusing on parts of the past month’s work that contain minimal spoilers.
As Stages 5 and 6 will contain major story spoilers leading directly to the conclusion,
we kindly ask for your understanding that the Dev Log will only cover up to Stages 3 and 4.
Of course, even after that, while it may no longer be in the form of a Dev Log, we will continue to stay in touch with regular updates and messages.
[In Closing]
Every day, I often ask myself, “Why am I making this?”
For now, I tend to answer it simply with, “Because I feel I would regret it if I didn’t.”
But I hope that the true answer will reveal itself as we continue creating, or perhaps after it is finally complete.
We are always sincerely grateful to everyone who has joined us on this journey and shown interest in our game.
We are all living through a strange era, each carrying our own challenges and difficulties.
It brings us great joy to be able to meet so many wonderful people through this game.
With that, we hope to greet you again around the end of April, together with a new character :)
Please stay healthy, always!
[Bonus]
KILL THE WITCH is being created under the influence of many different kinds of works, including games, novels, films, and more.
Among them, the medium I engage with most often is music.
I find it especially helpful while working, as it does not demand visual attention and is easily accessible through YouTube.
Above all, what I find truly wonderful about music is how it can condense stories and emotions into such a short amount of time.
With that in mind, I thought it might be nice to occasionally share some of the music that has inspired the game.
Today, I would like to introduce some of the tracks I listened to extensively while thinking about Nana from Stage 2.
Songs for Nana
Erik Satie / Je te veux (Performed by Soprano Son Ji-su and Pianist Moon Jae-won)
クリープハイプ / 憂、燦々 (Creephyp - Yu, Sansan)
ヨルシカ / 憂、燦々 (Creephyp - Yu, Sansan [Yorushika Version])
超☆社会的サンダル / 可愛いユナちゃん (Super☆Social Sandal - Kawaii Yuna-chan)
Amy Winehouse / Love Is A Losing Game
윤하 / 약속 (Younha - Promise)
Playlist (YouTube)