Hi! I'm Vikku, or Mahou Boshi if you prefer to be official. If you stumbled onto this randomly, first, thank god the algorithms are working for me for once, and secondly, welcome! What you're currently seeing is a Devlog/Newsletter for Riftaway, a 3D platformer focused on narrative and exploration of spaces in space, and my love letter to, like, a good half of all 3D Mario games. Learn more about it here!
Now let's get to business!
Heyaaaa. Yup, I am late, I know, this March has been a bit slower for me and I want to get to the reasons here! It's not all bad news/excuses however, as I also have some promising information for ya!
Karma, I guess
So, to address the main issue first, why do I say that this month has been kinda slow? Well, firstly, Pokopia came out (Btw, not sponsored). Yep, I am not immune either to game releasing out and completely consuming me. I wasn't sure if I wanted to buy it so it wasn't right after launch, but when I got it I spent a whole week where I saw the game even in my dreams... So obviously as one of the responsible adults in history that I am I disregarded progress on Riftaway to "try and get bored of Pokopia as soon as possible" (My favorite is Chandelure btw-)
So, after a week of craze I am finally returning to my senses, and then, boom, a whole week of vacations here where I live, and to dampen my will to work even further I grow sick, awesome! (It's just a typical spring cold, don't worry about me.) So yeah, that's what happened, tho that doesn't mean I didn't do nothing this month either =w=
What I DID do
The "main course" of the second island of the Lunar Archipelago has been completed! I am now going around making secrets and side dishes so the place doesn't feel too linear, like this cave!
I was missing some gravitational action from the main level so I thought this would be a good place to add some. I've also done some tweaking and improving of systems, like a smarter camera when transitioning between cams or wall jumping, or improved gravity queue with priorities n'all! Even the art for the tutorial level is all complete! (Shoutouts once more to Kada/Cellu! Thank you!) So while it has been a slow month is has been a fruitful one! You must be so excited to try all this out... Well, if you're as excited as the tiny voice in my head, I have good news for you!
Concrete dates? In my Riftaway???
I have finally made my mind and decided to put Riftaway's Demo up in this Summer's Nextfest! I'll be putting all my efforts these next 2 months into having as much as possible ready for June! And that's not all! I have contacted a convention in Seville, Spain (Mangafest) to try and have the game featured in the event with its own stand and all! I have yet to receive an answer from them so this is anything but confirmed, so you'll hear about how that goes hopefully by the next newsletter! Or sooner through the socials if they do get back to me before the month finishes lul, so stay tuned for that!
And that's all the news for this month past month newsletter! Apologies once more for the delay, expect the next newsletter as usual by the end of the month! Stay safe out there and don't catch a cold! I'm starting to think I may be allergic sheesh... Bye!
- Vikku (Mahou Boshi)