Lots of news this time around, including a brand new content update for the 8-Bit Adventures 2 Demo!
But let's get the business stuff out of the way first:
Weeklong Sale Discounts
For this week only (until 10:00 AM on April 16th Pacific Time), you can get 8-Bit Adventures at 60% off! That means you can own it for just $4 USD! You can also get the fantastic Remastered Soundtrack 30% off ($3.50 USD), or the Game + Soundtrack bundle 45% off (that’s only $6.60 USD)!
http://store.steampowered.com/app/370300
Additionally, my most recent game Tales Across Time is also participating in the sale, making an already cheap game even cheaper! You can now get it 20% off - that's just $2.39 USD!!
http://store.steampowered.com/app/461710
These discounts won't get any lower in the future, so get 'em while they're hot! ;)
And remember, every purchase goes towards 8-Bit Adventures 2's development. As many of you know, I am funding development myself, so any and all support is greatly appreciated!
8-Bit Adventures 2 Delay
Okay, so let’s tackle the elephant in the room – it’s Early 2018 Josh, so where’s the release? Well, as you might have guessed by this point, 8-Bit Adventures 2 will not be releasing in Early 2018. No excuses; we’re simply not ready and the game is not finished. And I really can’t do anything else but apologise for this.
Honestly, there’s probably no one more eager to release 8-Bit Adventures 2 than I am, because the game is essentially my livelihood. Until that’s released (and hopefully sells well…wink, wink; nudge, nudge =P) I don’t have an income. But, of course, there’s no way I’m going to release an unfinished game – that doesn’t work out well for anyone.
Now, I do think it will be sooner rather than later and I have an estimate of when I think it will release (which is less than 6 months away). But I don’t want to say anything specific until I have an exact, locked-in, unchangeable date to give you. It *will* be released before the end of this year though; that I can promise you unequivocally.
But I am sincerely sorry that I have failed to meet this deadline and can only ask that you continue to support us as we finally (*finally*) approach release.
New Content Update for Demo
In lighter news, you guys have definitely been doing that! Over 1000 people have downloaded and played the 8-Bit Adventures 2 First Look Demo, and nearly 1500 people have added the full game to their wishlist! This shows an intention to purchase the game on launch, and it makes me incredibly optimistic about 8-Bit Adventures 2’s chances for success (which in turn will allow me to continue making games in future). So thank you very much to everyone who has played the demo or added the game to their wishlist.
In fact, player feedback has provided lots of valuable information, so I sincerely appreciate all of the responses I’ve received. By far the most common request I’ve seen is for the addition of a ‘Run’ button. Your feedback convinced me that this was the right way to go, and not only has it been implemented in the full game, but I’ve updated the demo to include this as well. The demo also now includes new tweaks to the battle system, a new bonus boss, a new playable character, and a silly alternate ending! So if you’re in the mood, I hope you’ll check it out =D
Note: At the time of writing, the demo has not yet been updated. I’ll remove this note once it has, but Steam should let you know when the update is downloaded. I apologise for the delay; just trying to be thorough and make sure I haven’t accidentally broken anything!
Behind the Scenes: Music Samples, Art, & More!
So then, what’s going on behind-the-scenes? Well, I am very happy to announce that I have commissioned a professional comic book artist to draw a piece of promotional art (the “box” art, essentially) for 8-Bit Adventures 2. I won’t say who it is just yet, but the artist and image should be revealed sometime next month, so please stay tuned. Needless to say, I’m very excited to see it!
Beyond that, with enemies, battle backgrounds, and tiles done (among many other things), Jerram Fahey (the artist) is hard at work tackling the remaining Battle Animations – and trust me, that’s a long list! The seven playable characters alone have around 98 abilities in total. And then when you add enemies and items into that mix, well…there are lots of crashes, bangs, booms, and whams that need animating.
He’s also working on something that I’ve been hoping to do since before development began – something that will be used to enhance a handful of key cutscenes. Those of you who’ve played Ninja Gaiden on NES might have an inkling of what I’m talking about ;)
The soundtrack surpassed 50 songs last week, and we’re still not done! Carfonu (the composer) has been working very hard, and I really can’t wait for you all to hear his work in full – the variety of sounds and styles he’s managed to create, despite the limitations of the NES (Famicom technically) sound chip, is incredible. Have a listen to some new samples!
Bruneus
https://soundcloud.com/8bitadventures2/bruneus-sample
Mystery Theme (What will it be?!)
https://soundcloud.com/8bitadventures2/mystery-theme-sample
Anbu City Theme
https://soundcloud.com/8bitadventures2/anbu-city-sample
As for me (Josh - I design/develop the game), I’ve been making steady progress. Fun fact: I’ve apparently written over 100,000 words of dialogue so far, which is pretty crazy to think! This past week, I’ve been finishing up the continent of Anbu – which is the Japanese-inspired area you might have glimpsed in some trailers and screenshots. The main dungeon here is an old, ruined pagoda (fortress) with a heavily guarded exterior and 8-storey tower. It’s a fairly lengthy dungeon, and has some cool moments (like using Robot to slam through the gates leading up to the tower’s entrance while fighting off undead soldiers and ninja), so it was a lot of fun to design!
I’ve also started putting together the Instruction Manual. While it’s not quite the same as the old days, everyone will have access to a full colour, 25+ page manual when the game is launched – complete with silly jokes, concept artwork, information about the world, and even some useful information!
You can read a ‘Press Release’ that I made in the same style on the 8-Bit Adventures 2 website (www.8bitadventures2.com), but here are a couple of sample pages from the final manual if you’re curious.
That's All Folks!
But anyway, that’s really all I can say for now. Again, I sincerely apologise that the game is not available yet, but I hope you’ll stick with me in this final stretch.
And please stay tuned for more updates! I always post 8-Bit Adventures 2 news here on Steam (including on the new 8-Bit Adventures 2 Steam Page!), but I also highly recommend following @CriticalGamesAU on Twitter, as that’s the best way I’ve found to keep up-to-date on news!
You can also check out the 8-Bit Adventures 2 Website for more info and screenshots (including our new Dev Blog), or check Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/CriticalGamesDev
Let me know what you think about the demo updates!~
Josh