A Short Introduction
Hello everyone!
Welcome to the very first devblog of the game: Devblog #0!
I’m taking this opportunity to let you know that, starting from this coming week, I’ll be posting short development updates twice a week. These devblogs will be shared through Steam announcements and will give you glimpses into the game's mechanics, the enemies you'll encounter during Shorty's escape, and the world’s lore.
Also, I’m excited to share that the game’s demo is currently in testing and will definitely be ready in time for the Steam Next Fest this June.
But Devblog #0 isn’t just an announcement about announcements, so...
A Fantasy World to be Created
For this first Devblog, I have decided to focus on a topic that’s close to my heart:
Let me introduce you to the world where the game takes place and let’s start from the beginning!
During development, I realized that even though the game is set in a single location - the Tower - I needed a solid foundation to make the enemies feel more believable and alive.
A "real" place they could actually come from.
In the world of "Will the King Escape?", goblins are dazed by sunlight, and imps skip every other turn, but in time I've started asking myself "why?".
To answer that question, about a year ago I started building the soul of this world: a fantasy setting that doesn't take itself too seriously.
So don’t expect tectonic plate accuracy or biomes governed by realistic climate rules.
Instead, you’ll find a lot of over-the-top and quirky details, because I think it is a better fit for the tone of the game.
The First (Bad) Map
I started by drawing a map. It was... awful, honestly. Hand-drawn, then painfully (and very quickly) redone with a mouse using a very well-known graphics program.
I’ll share it with you for a laugh, or a cry, depending on your perspective.
Unfortunately, I've lost the original paper version, so I’ll just show you the digital one, that also incorporates the (terrible) political map that I made afterwards.
Bad Political Map
Even though the map was just meant to help me decide where King Shorty's enemies lived, the more I looked at it, the more it felt... lacking, to say the least.
Because of that, after staring at that mess for far too long, I decided to redo it completely, with better preparation this time!
The New Maps
I have invested a bit in Wonderdraft (which I highly recommend to anyone interested in making fantasy maps!), and I've spent a couple of days recreating the world using its tools.
Normally, I’d draw everything by hand, which takes me ages, but I didn’t want to detract too much time from game development. This seemed like the perfect compromise.
(But in the end, I have done the """"heraldry"""" of each nation by hand in Inkscape).
The result? Maps that I genuinely like and which I want to share with you, to help you immerse yourselves a little more in the bizarre world of King Shorty.
Good Physical Map
Good Political Map
If you’re like me and love fantasy maps, spending hours analyzing every potentially meaningless detail, I hope you’ll enjoy these too!
What's Next?
Will I be showing more? Absolutely. But...
I want to keep things short (see the pun?! Incredible!).
So, for today, I’ll leave you with just these two maps. I hope you enjoy them, or at least that they’ve made you curious to learn more.
If the world of "Will the King Escape?" has caught your interest, don’t forget to add the game to your wishlist!
Next week, right here on Steam, I’ll be telling you more about the goblins.
I will talk about their behavior and gameplay mechanics on Wednesday, but their lore will come on Saturday (complete with a map of their homeland!).
I plan to follow this format for most of the game’s enemies, with a steady schedule of weekly updates.
So get ready to spend 10 minutes (less or more) with me every Wednesday and Saturday!
I wish you all a nice weekend!
-Giuseppe