After creating a brand new website, I've decided to also write brand new blogs. Previous blogs were primarily based on my work in Unity, and as I've completely restarted writing the game in the Godot engine (taking with me my self-created assets), most of those blogs became outdated.

In this blog, I'm describing the current state of the game, which serves as a baseline for future updates.

The title screen is the first thing you see when you boot up the game. The image you see above is a temporary placeholder until the game progresses a little further. I still have to think about a definitive design for the title screen, so this is very likely to be drastically changed in the future.

As you see, I intend to do two main playstyles: Story mode and Boss rush. Story mode brings you into the big adventure, and once you unlock the majority of bosses, Boss rush becomes available to test you to the limits!

Boss Rush is still a concept though. My intention is to make it a series of consecutive boss battles wherein you can choose an ability in the style of "choose one out of 3 randomized options from a pool". This ensures that each boss rush attempt is widely different and a fresh experience.

Using the settings screen, which is available from the main menu and ingame alike, you will be able to customize many different parts of the game to tailor it to your preferences.

Resolution

While the game is intended to be runnable from a wide range of different computers and consoles, please keep in mind that due to its pixel art style, the resolutions you can choose from are based on a multiple of 640x360 for example: (1280x720, 1920x1080, 2560x1440 etc). If your resolution doesn't fall within those multiples, black bars will cover the spaces.

This game does not only just feature a co-op mode, it actually revolves around it. The storyline is written with the two magical girls Arisa and Emily in mind, and both are playable characters aswell. You can play coop either using oldskool split-screen or over the network. Adventuring together has never become more fun!

But what if I want to play solo?
Don't worry, I got you covered! While the game primarily revolves around co-op, I will make sure to add in measurements to make it just as enjoyable playing in single player as in co-op. I just have to decide what to do with the playable character that's not being played. Many options crossed my mind already, such as having the AI control her, or have her pop in and out during story important moments (Genshin style), etc. I'm not fully decided on it yet.




When you play split-screen, a central divider crosses the screen, wherein player 1 plays on the left side, and player 2 on the right side.

The world map contains connected map pins that let you freely select which of your unlocked levels you want to play. Often, you have to backtrack to a level you previously played (because you got a hint to a secret exit, or obtained a new juicy ability that allows you to access new areas in an older level).

This map allows you to select your desired level and simultaneously have a nice overview of every place you've been before. While technically you're "Teleporting around", story-wise, your characters manually travel back to where you intend to play (you only don't see that part).

There is also happening a lot you don't see yet:

Storyline
A big example is the design of the storyline, which I sadly cannot disclose as I want to prevent spoilers and the story can drastically change. Let's just say I'm still in the outlining phase, designing all the characters and locations.

Music
My intention is to give this game bangers of soundtracks. However, that requires either hiring highly talented composers, or teaching myself to compose the tracks. This is still something I find very difficult, but soon I will give composing another try. I will not settle until the game contains soundtracks that gives you goosebumps.

Animation
I'm currently deeply busy in creating the animations for the playable magical girls. It's currently a lot of work, since every animation I add must work for all girls and look good.

I hope I gave you all a little more insight about what's happening.
My intention is to keep making blogs about my progress over time!

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!