Tuesday, February 23, 2021

Playing FFX again...

 I have a newfound appreciation for Final Fantasy X after playing HD Remaster on the Switch after not playing the game in 20 years. 

I remember having so much trouble clearing out the puzzles when I was 10 (I remember that ice temple being a LOT bigger) and struggling on that airship boss fight for weeks. Probably didn't help that I just used Yuna's aeons and nothing else leaving everyone else weak and not ready for it.

My gaming style has changed quite a bit in 20 years, or maybe I was so salty from the first playthrough that I knew what to expect. lol

After working on Selatria I now appreciate all the hard work to making a cohesive game with cutscenes and voice acting. I didn't give them enough credit for then and just considered it an inferior experience to FFIX. 

Monday, February 1, 2021

Whim Independent Studios - Development Log #55

Hi everyone! Here is the February update for what's going on at whimindie. Note that some of this information will be cross-posted to our Spellbearers project page on Kickstarter for our backers.

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Spellbearers

In last month's development log, we showed off some initial shots of Level 2, this month we have a giant update on the progress of the level, which we're tentatively calling "Pagosia". The Spellbearer has a mission to go through Pagosia to find the lost Spellmaster Goniah, who they believe might be peril. 

Our team has been hard at work this month to put some of Pagosia together. And we a new preview picture and some brand new footage to show you. (Do note that while this is a good representation of what the level looks like, there is still some polish needed to be done before we consider this final.)





What kind of other scary threats will you encounter in Pagosia? I'm excited for you to find out.


In last month's development log, I talked about Selatria having Achievements, and we also plan on implementing Achievements for Spellbearers as well. Though we're only at a conceptual phase at present, we have started scoping out the art needed for the user interface for achievements. As with the other user interface elements, Jessica is currently working on the mockups for this before we move into implementation in-game. Do note what you see here is rough and subject to change.



This was a great collaborative effort by the team. The music you hear from Pagosia is from Christopher Nuño with vocals by Julie Seechuk, the terrain art was developed by Parker Colon, and the props and additional art was developed by Deborah Groves and Nikolai Gilliland and VFX by Zion Jones. The Achievement mockups were developed by Jessica M. Jacuinde. With game direction and implementation by Gerren Willis.

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Selatria

The main focus over January has been separated between cutscene development, achievement implementation, and finishing up incomplete work. From a development standpoint, we're currently prioritizing developing areas that are tied to achievements and cutscenes and then going back and filling in the blanks and tying the game together. That's the tough part. 

I do have one shot of concept art for one of the upcoming dungeons that I can show. This was done by one of our newest artists/mappers on the team, Kevin Picotte.


And here are some enemies you will encounter in some of the final chapter. This art was developed by character artist Deborah Groves.





...Hmm, they have both Selactic energies in them. How is that possible?  Wasn't the Dakk'rian source destroyed? Interesting, indeed...

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That's all for this development log.
Thanks for your support, and be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Twitch, and join our DiscordUntil next time! Wishlist Selatria - Full Version on Steam Wishlist Spellbearers on Steam