Hello wonderful people from the internet!
Hey there, and welcome to the ninth round of our development journey! Each week, we’re peeling back the curtain to show you what’s really happening behind the scenes, progress, pivots, and everything in between.
Blood, sweat, and definitely not enough sleep but the power week is done, and we’ve made up for lost time! From Thursday to Sunday, we managed to catch up on almost everything we had planned and even got ahead in a few areas. In this update, we’ll walk you through what we’ve accomplished and what’s next on the agenda for this week.
What is the current state of play?
Let’s start with Game Design. We’ve now fully defined all four realms, each with its own atmosphere, weather, landscape, flora and fauna, and even its own god. Detailing each of these in a single blog post would be far too much, but don’t worry, we’ll be diving deeper into each realm through upcoming Shorts and dedicated blog entries. The story and tutorial concept have also been fleshed out. The aim is to introduce players gradually to the game’s core mechanics, like the rotation system and various gameplay possibilities, in a smooth and intuitive way.
We also revisited and refined the Gearskill system. With those adjustments in place, our programmers can now start implementing it.
Speaking of programming – big progress here! We’ve completed development on the partial level loading system. This allows us to build large, seamless worlds without constantly worrying about performance issues.
Showcase of the partial level loading system!
Additionally, the realm-switch mechanic is now functional. This marks a major step forward, as it brings our central concept, the ability to switch between realms, into play. A quick explanation: Players exist on a single realm at a time. The other realms aren’t visible in full, but walkable platforms are color-coded to indicate their presence. It’s a bit abstract in text, but things will become clearer once we showcase it in video form or during a livestream as we already did here only now its really well implemented.
Speaking of livestreams, mark your calendars! On Friday, August 1st, 2025, we’ll be hosting another Dev Update live on Twitch.
We also began a full overhaul and expansion of the Gearskill system, as previously mentioned. The bonus attributes that will be attached to gear items have been revised, and we’ve made several changes to the underlying code architecture to support future flexibility. On top of that, work has started on implementing runes and the rune upgrade system, which will add even more depth to player customization.
Now over to the Art department: We’ve begun working on world concepts and have also started illustrating a teaser image. This artwork is intended to capture the core essence of the game in a single visual, perfect for use in pitches or presentations.
Now let’s take a look at what’s planned for this week across the different departments.
Game Design
This week, we’ll be finishing the narrative. Some parts had to be reworked to better integrate the tutorial, those sections will now shift into the main game. Our goal is to avoid heavy text and instead rely on atmosphere and the classic “show, don’t tell” approach. The narrative will lean more into world-building and lore rather than following a strict, linear storyline.
The tutorial concept will also be finalized and expanded this week, giving us a clear roadmap for how to introduce players to the game’s mechanics, without relying on a traditional, standalone tutorial level. Our goal is to integrate guidance naturally into the gameplay, so that learning feels seamless and intuitive.
We’ll also be finalizing the UI for the rune upgrade system. We already have an interesting concept in mind and will be expanding on it throughout the week.
Art
Environment assets and world concepts are on the agenda this week. Now that the realms have been carefully fleshed out by our designer, it’s time to bring them to life in our own visual style. We’ll begin developing and refining concept art for each realm individually. While we’ve already created some initial concepts for the teaser image, these will go through further iteration and become more diverse as we explore the visual identity of each world.
Programming
We’ll continue working on the rune upgrade system this week. The goal is to develop the UI together with the designer while also implementing the core functionality. Our vision is that players will collect runes during gameplay and then visit the Runeweaver, who will be able to enhance them. This system, offering much more depth, complexity, and content than it might sound like, is something we aim to complete by the end of the week.
In addition, we’ll start integrating key tutorial features designed to ease players into the game and introduce the rotation mechanic in a smooth, intuitive way. To do this, we’ll need to expand the supporting systems so that new features can be unlocked gradually as the player progresses.
That wraps up this week’s blog! While there’s still a long road ahead, it’s incredibly rewarding to see the pieces slowly falling into place. Bit by bit, we’re shaping the game into what we’ve always imagined it could be.
Whether you’ve been following along, cheering us on, or sharing your thoughts via livestream, we truly appreciate it. Your support keeps us going, and we can’t wait to show you what’s next in the coming weeks!
