It’s been a couple months since Hell Maiden’s release in July and we’re taking a breather to get you up to speed with all we’ve been working on recently.
GAMEPLAY
New Circle of Hell means new enemies and, just like in previous Circles, there are new thematic enemies that will make your life a little bit harder.
Meet our Gluttony Sinners, the base enemies for this Circle similar to the Brotchi in Circle 1 (Limbo) and the Lust Sinners in Circle 2 (Lust).
Jolly little guys, aren’t they?
Of course, this means there will be a new species of Brotchi, as each Circle of Hell has its very own.
Circle 3 (Gluttony) features 7 new unique enemies.
There are new types of traps as well. We won’t say too much about them to not spoil the jumpscare surprise, but it’s a good idea to invest in your dash charges and movement speed to make sure you can escape them.
That’s right, in Hell Maiden the traps chase you! 🫵
While there won’t be mid-bosses in every single Circle of Hell, we’re including one in Circle 3 (Gluttony) as well. The attack patterns are being tested, alongside the Circle’s Final Boss who is considerably more melee-focused in comparison to previous bosses.
But don’t be fooled: she’s got a challenging signature attack that has called for the creation of 3D assets and may remind you a little of a certain Touhou Project character.
A new Poet of Limbo is also being added to the game and, alongside her, a new Signature Weapon and Spell, which have been implemented and are currently undergoing balancing.
Unlike previous Spells, hers will be a targeted attack you can control at will: perfect to pierce through big, fat hordes of enemies!
The next Poet of Limbo will be revealed on October 16th, so keep your eyes peeled! 🩸🪞
SYSTEM
We’re also prioritizing a few fixes that are essential to ensure a smoother experience throughout.
Several improvements have been made to the card selection menu during runs to ensure a more comfortable deck rearrangement experience. We’re striving for an interface that works seamlessly between controller and keyboard, which has been a challenge to achieve.
Another improvement we’ve developed recently is a Quest System refactor. This doesn’t mean a complete overhaul, but rather a rework of how it was implemented and wired in Unity.
In sum, this allows future quests to be more flexible so that it can now accommodate cutscenes during runs more effortlessly, all the while taking into account checkpoints, hierarchies and completion statuses.
Sometimes you have to revisit older systems and give them a bit of a makeover to make sure there’s a more solid baseline for future updates.
This will make our lives a lot easier and your experience a lot smoother!
ARTWORK
Just like in Circle 2 (Lust), we’re taking heavy inspiration from the Divine Comedy’s own worldbuilding.
So, just like in the original poem, Circle 3 (Gluttony) will be gloomy, grey, and a little more metal than previous Circles. Of course, a new Circle brings a ton of work to our art department.
A new Poet of Limbo requires a brand new Signature Card illustration and character portrait for cutscenes and idle dialogue interactions; both of which are complete!
The 2D animation cut for her Spell is also underway, but we’ll keep it under wraps until the release of the new update! 🤫
Our new Final Boss’ character portrait has also been completed, as are all her sprite animations for the final battle. As mentioned before, her attacks are more melee-focused, which creates the need for more dynamic poses and animations!
New character portrait expressions are being worked on for both the new Poet of Limbo and Final Boss are currently on queue to be produced.
All new Weapon and Mod card illustrations are currently wrapping up production as well.
Another one of the art department’s tasks is to add cool and flashy special effects to each new attack and Spell — here’s a little sneak peek of what’s to come!
WRITING
The writing department oversees a lot more than just the story and dialogue here at AstralShift and works way ahead of every other department as well!
Circle 3 (Gluttony) has been written out since February which is essential given Hell Maiden is a story-driven game and a lot of the decisions that go into everything else stem from the writing and worldbuilding.
Localization, voice acting and assignment of the character portrait expressions are all part of the writing process and all under-way as we speak.
We have some phenomenal voice actresses working with us for this new update and we can’t wait to share them with you!
IN SUM
Circle 3 (Gluttony) is releasing later this year (release date TBA) and we’re working hard to make it happen as smoothly as possible! We’re also working on a ton of stuff on the side to bring you new and exciting content.
The best way to keep up with our every step is to follow us on social media, subscribe to our Patreon and join our Discord server!
Thank you for reading this far and for all your support for Hell Maiden! ❤️🔥
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