Getting close to the end...
The tunnel is bright with outside light
I am very close to wrapping up Candlebook Island. So close! I can taste it! And it tastes like coffee and chocolate. I can count on the things left to do on one hand, which is great. Although, one of the things left is a lot of debugging, so it depends on how well that goes, etc. That could be a big setback if it doesn’t go smoothly.
Once that’s all said and done it will be sent to my publisher, mazette! who will then get it ready for the Switch launch, etc, etc. A few months after it launches on the Nintendo Switch, I’ll set about porting it to Steam and Itch.io. What a long strange trip it’s been.
One of the nice things about this game is that the engine it’s built on is very solid. I’m making it so that it’s easy to make new games using the same engine, hopefully cutting down my time quite a bit. Last year I tested this idea out by making Catacomb Kitties, with an older version of this engine, and it worked great! Making the new adjustments to it barely took any time at all.
One thing I’m really happy with is that I took a day or two this month to build a virtual in game manual system, where I can quickly build and deploy manuals accessible in the game itself. It was a lot of fun making one for Candlebook Island, and I do miss manuals for games, physical or otherwise. It’s very much a lost art, these days. With people preferring fourth wall breaking in game tutorials instead.
Anyway! Onward and upward. I’m starting to get ideas for my next few games. One that I’ve been going back and forth on for years is a full length, epic, JRPG style game. Catacomb Kitties was a dry run for this idea. With that, I made the classic JRPG I’ve been wanting to make since I was a kid- like Ultima:Exodus/Avatar on the NES, Final Fantasy 1 or 3, or Dragon Quest 1-3, where you can choose your character class, etc. Games that were less story based on more about exploration and combat.
This next game will be inspired by the later JRPG games that I loved as well, the SNES and PSX and GBA era, where the games were tightly narrative driven, and the whole point was to experience the story. I toyed around with a basic tech demo idea, where I used mode7 style fake 3d to make a 3d combat…and it looked amazing. Def plan on using that for this game idea.
Other games that might happen will be smaller, simpler games. Games that I could hammer out in a month or two, and not take a year or more. But I keep going back to this epic JRPG idea…it’s one I’ve been toying with since I first started learning how to code video games, back in the late 90’s and early 2000’s.
It would be cool if it actually came to fruition. Anyway! Candlebook Island will be coming soon to the Switch! It’s a fun chill game, where you care for monsters and learn about your coworkers. No overall plot, no goal, not endgame. Just an enjoyable thing where you can kill an hour or two a night with simple fun.
Until next time!