Mini Progress

The previous devlog was over 4 years ago, with only three yearly status reports since, each of which could be summed up as, “Hey, I’m still here.” A lot has happened, though. Let’s unpack it.

For the past year and a half, I’ve been gradually building what could technically be called an engine for 2D RPG games. It’s still missing a lot of core features, and while I’m not happy with my productivity (over-engineering anyone?), I’m quite happy with the results so far. You can see the current state of it. The current build (v0.3 at the time of writing) is already 9 months old, but I’m aiming to release a combat demo in the next 2-3 months.

My focus so far has been primarily on tooling, architecture, and high-level planning – nothing too thrilling, although I might eventually write a series of devlogs covering it all in detail. In total, I’ve clocked about ~230 hours on this, which would translate to just over two months full-time.

Cross-Project Synergies

On another front, whenever I’m not working on FS Mini (usually every Friday), or freelancing, I’m focused on my Next Realm projects. This is yet another over-engineered project, and after almost six years, it’s still largely in proof-of-concept stage. It’s a platform for multiplayer games.

After all these years and roughly 6000 hours (based on my notes), I still don’t have much to show for it, but I finally feel ready to move beyond tech demos and start making actual games. Currently, there are two games live on nextrealm.io using this platform. They are more of a proving grounds than something to be proud of. Could definitely do that faster and easier without all this tech I’ve build around it.

Despite the long road, and in true sunk-cost fallacy spirit, I’m committed to continuing down it (the road). At some point, this path will intersect with Fantasy Sphere too, which brings me to the next project.

Snowball Challenge

This new project combines all the above work into a single, fun multiplayer game set in the Fantasy Sphere universe. Tied thematically to winter, my goal is to have it playable by the end of November – giving me about five weeks to make it.

I plan on using Krishna’s awesome Minifantasy Snowball Wars asset pack, and I’m aiming to keep the gameplay simple and, hopefully, fun.

The clock starts ticking now! Join us on Discord for regular updates and beta tests. I will report back in another devlog, possibly before the end of the year.