Welcome to follow the game, and I’ll follow back first!
Hello everyone, I’m Liujiajun, the developer of YANI AGAIN.
As usual, I’ll write down whatever comes to mind and share this month’s development progress with everyone.
Here comes the endless August once again.
After Shenzhen experienced an unusually long period of heavy rain last month, we are now facing continuous extreme heat. Combined with the Workwork Debuff that appears every summer and winter vacation, my development efficiency this month was probably only around 30% of normal.
But the good news is that the game is slowly becoming more complete.
Game Introduction
Current official description:
YANI AGAIN is a high-speed action game where you travel between reality and cyberspace, exploring dangerous race tracks hidden throughout the world and completing every challenge at extreme speed.
One-sentence description:
Explore the world, unlock abilities, find hidden secrets, discover race tracks, complete challenges, unlock more paths, and keep exploring until you finish the game. Oh~ yeah.
The game does not really fit into a traditional genre. It’s not exactly a Metroidvania, and I’m still not sure how to categorize it properly. I’ll leave that judgment to everyone later.
(Btw, this game description may continue to change as development progresses. During the process of making an indie game, I’m still exploring what the game wants to become.
I already have a general direction for what YANI AGAIN will eventually become, but it is still not specific enough.
So through each development log, I’ll continue adjusting the description and slowly find the clearest way to explain the game, while making sure it matches the actual experience.)
Current Progress
I have completed the basic construction and connections of 4 areas so far.
(The current plan is around 12 areas in total.)
From the beginning, when I only had a few test scenes, to now being able to move between different areas, the map is finally starting to feel a little more like a real game.
Currently, I’m mainly working on various small elements, including environmental interactions, mechanisms, decorations, and details that improve the exploration experience.
Design Direction
The core direction of YANI AGAIN remains:
Make exploration and race track modes feel as smooth as possible.
Players can freely explore the map, discover hidden race tracks, unlock them, and challenge their own best times.
Exploration is not simply about collecting things. It is about becoming familiar with the map and gradually discovering faster, cooler, and smoother routes.
At this stage of development, I have naturally encountered some design problems.
However, many of them can probably only be solved by slowly testing things myself and organizing my thoughts.
For example: I’m considering adjusting the health bar system, or even removing it completely.
In exploration mode, the game probably doesn’t need to be too difficult. I think it could give players more freedom.
In speedrun mode, a health bar may not be necessary, because falling into pits or taking damage will already reset the race.
I really want to let everyone test the game as soon as possible, but I think I should polish it a little more first.
"Frankenstein Moment"
Recently, I came across a concept called the "Frankenstein Moment" (mentioned by Thomas Brush on YouTube).
The idea is that game development often goes through a very long stage:
Every day, you add and remove content, fix bugs, and adjust details. The whole project still feels boring, and you may even wonder if you are just stacking random pieces together.
But then, at some point, all those scattered pieces suddenly connect.
The game starts to develop its own feeling.
I think YANI AGAIN is slowly approaching that stage.
Before, I was mostly building features. Now I can start to see the map, character, movement, and race tracks creating some kind of chemistry together.
It’s a really strange feeling.
About My Other Games
Speaking of something else, my previous game Super Drift Blade teamed up with Mewsturbo’s Mew Cat in a bundle this July! The result has been pretty good so far.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2847740/
https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/81365/Girl__Cats_Collection/
Super Drift Blade is also approaching 350 reviews!
By the way, if there are other developers making games with a similar knowledge-lock structure, feel free to contact me. Maybe we can make a bundle together!
If you enjoy these two games, your support would mean a lot!
Finally
I honestly don’t really know what else to write here~ Uh.
The development of YANI AGAIN is still progressing steadily.
If you are interested in YANI AGAIN, feel free to join the community discussions, or add the game to your wishlist to support it.
Every suggestion, comment, and wishlist helps motivate me to continue building this world.
Thank you for reading, and see you in the next development log!
Liujiajun
August 12, 2026
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