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Hi Everybody!
So I've been working on it for quite some time now. Although it's not 100% pure roguelike I thought some of you might like it. The only exceptions from Berlin Definition (http://www.roguebasin.com/index.php?title=Berlin_Interpretation) are: not ASCII, not turn/grid based. I would prefer to keep it that way so to be safe we're trying to use roguelite/action-roguelike tags as well :) I plan on posting updates about the development from time to time. Hope you'll like it :)
(http://media.indiedb.com/images/games/1/53/52826/Soulblight_TempleOfTheRoguelike_Banner.2.png)
It all began with a single drop. Form it two primal forces emerged. Forces of life and death. They fought one another in a futile effort to renounce their allegiance, only to realize that to exist separately is against their nature. From that communion the Soul Tree was born and with it the world as we know it.
(http://media.indiedb.com/images/games/1/53/52826/Soulblight_Gif_02.gif) (http://media.indiedb.com/images/games/1/53/52826/Soulblight_Gif_04.gif)
(http://media.indiedb.com/images/games/1/53/52826/PickUpGif_Soulblight_Tumblr.gif) (http://media.indiedb.com/images/games/1/53/52826/Soulblight_Gif_05.gif)
Soulblight is a dark, top-down roguelike luring you to cross the thin line between good and evil. Instead of XP grinding, it introduces a Tainting Mechanics. While traveling through the shattered reality of the Sanctuary, you will receive personality traits based on your choices. These will be the main source of your strength. To harness them, you will have to act accordingly. Becoming an alcoholic means that you will be rewarded for getting drunk, but from that point being sober might prove to be unbearable.
Features:
- A unique Taint System designed to encourage role playing.
- Tons of weapons, armor, and utility items.
- Dynamic and tactical combat build around stamina management and distance control.
- Optional stealth approach that complements fighting.
- Randomly generated, visually breathtaking levels.
- High difficulty level emphasized by permadeath mechanics.
- Gameplay-driven narrative.
Soulblight on Live Steam!
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Soulblight_ConceptArt08.png)
Hi Everybody
So we're finally here - Just a moment ago Soulblight when live on Steam. :)
http://store.steampowered.com/app/530930/Soulblight/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvbmU8r_tBA (Story Trailer)
As you might know Soulblight is a personal project for us. For this special day I asked our story designer Jurek to tell you about it:
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Hi, Jurek here
Today I wanted to tell you about a week when I got really annoyed with Kuba - Soulblight's designer, programmer and generally the heart and soul of the project.
With our release date approaching Kuba wanted me to write something personal about our game and about what we wanted to say with it. I wasn't really happy with the idea, for two reasons. Firstly, everything I wanted to say with Soulblight I already said in the game using all the tools we had to convey it. I feel that retelling it here would spoil it for those who are actually going to play the game. And secondly, I don't think it's ever a good idea to interpret any piece of art form for someone else. That's something that has to come to every single person individually.
But Kuba insisted. We argued a little bit about it, I tried to explain that I don't know anything about marketing, and of course as a writer I had to throw in "I'm not a salesman" somewhere into the discussion. But it still didn't change his mind.
So I sat down and tried writing knowing that I will fail so that I could show him the results and say "See, I told you so!"
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Soulblight_ScreenShot15.png)
I tried approaching it from many different perspectives. I started by explaining why we wanted to make a difficult game. The obvious reason being that those are the games that we ourselves enjoy. We like the challenge whether it be a From Software production or something conjured by the likes of Bennett Foddy. I would also slip in something about how what we wanted to say would not work had the game been easy.
But I wasn't quite happy with the result so I tried another approach
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Soulblight_Gif_Game13.gif)
I started writing about what kind of a gamer is a rogue-like player? Someone who is willing to lose all the in-game progress with every attempt and what does that say about them and their determination? Then I started to wonder what would happen if they were presented with another way? A short cut. Would they take it? What if we tempted them enough? Then I touched a little bit on morality systems in video games and how we wanted to incorporate them in Soulblight.
But again it seemed that with every word I wrote I got further away from what's my personal take on this game.
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/IMG_20170523_105405_1.jpg)
So I wrote about how the idea of Soulblight came to be. I explained how Kuba surprised me when he told me about wanting to make a story-driven rogue-lite. I didn't expect that since it's not typical of a game of that genre.
But I didn't feel that it was good enough either. I told Kuba that I don't know what else to do, but he annoyingly (to me at that time) said "keep trying and remember keep it personal". I felt hopeless and angry.
I needed some way of venting my frustrations. So instead of writing I, naturally, started to procrastinate. After a while I decided to pick up a controller and play our game, you know to "look for inspiration". It successfully managed to distract me from what I was really supposed to do. So I played and I died a couple of times, as I usually do. But I didn't quit, knowing what's waiting for me as soon as I'm done. With each play through I got a little bit further. After a couple of hours of playing something unthinkable happened. I managed to beat that one boss that I always lose to. I couldn't believe it. I had to adjust myself in my seat as I continued to play. I got a little further then I beat another level and then another boss. That's when my palms started to sweat as I knew I was getting closer and closer to the end. Then another boss fell. Despite the fact that I knew exactly what would happen next I got nervous and a thought came to my mind "Oh my God, I'm going to do it! I'm going to beat this game!". After an evening of avoiding responsibilities I did it, for the first time since the beginning of the production process I managed to beat our game from beginning to end.
As a game creator you hope to invoke partilucar feelings in people playing your game. But because you yourself designed it, wrote it and seen it numerous times you can't know for sure if you achieved that effect. So the only thing you can do is to hope that it's there and that the players will know what you meant. And when I finally beat the game, despite hundreads of hours of testing I have a feeling that maybe they will. That's when I thought "Maybe that's something worth telling people about?".
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/DA_SIE.png)
That's all I wanted to say. Sorry it took this long to say it, but if I was to shorten this whole thing to a single line, I don't think it would do us any good - "Soulblight - it's more fun than writing a paper".
Lastly, if you got through this whole text, I applaud you. That's a good indicator that you don't give up easily, so maybe, just maybe you're the person we're speaking to.
That's it from me. I really hope you'll enjoy our game.
Jurek
*Before writing this I didn't realize that I'm this childish.
Links:
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDo4xmliHKk (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDo4xmliHKk)
Soulblight on Steam: http://store.steampowered.com/app/530930 (http://store.steampowered.com/app/530930)
Website: http://www.mynextgames.com/ (http://www.mynextgames.com/)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MyNextGames (https://www.facebook.com/MyNextGames)
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MyNextGames (https://twitter.com/MyNextGames)
Tumbler: http://mynextgames.tumblr.com/ (http://mynextgames.tumblr.com/)
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/3/+Mynextgames (https://plus.google.com/u/3/+Mynextgames)
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Sounds and looks pretty cool to me---keep at it! 8)
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Soulblight on Square Enix Collective! (http://collective.square-enix.com/projects/290/soulblight)
Square Enix Collective is a platform where creators post their game ideas and let gamers judge which of those should come true. Essentially they’re trying to help small teams to build awareness of their ideas and help them collecting feedback. Every week on monday a new game pitch is published. This week is for Soulblight.
(http://i.imgur.com/nRERQfr.gif)
If you want to know more, visit our Square Enix Collective Pitch :
Soulblight Square Enix Collective Pitch! (http://collective.square-enix.com/projects/290/soulblight)
Don’t forget to vote for us!
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Both of those Square links have bad text.
http://collective.square-enix.com/projects/290/soulblight
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Both of those Square links have bad text.
Fixed! Sorry for the inconvenience :)
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Soulblight on Square Enix Collective - Update #1
The First week of our Square Enix Collective Campaigning is behind us. And so it is time for our first update. Let's begin with zooming in on the Taint System.
Update #1: More about Taints (http://collective.square-enix.com/projects/290/soulblight/updates/262/update-number-1-more-about-taints)
And here's link to our pitch if you haven't voted yet
Soulblight on Square Enix Collective (http://collective.square-enix.com/projects/290/soulblight#pitch)
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Soulblight_ScreenShot_05.png) (http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Soulblight_ScreenShot04.png)
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"Feeling of Lose"
Should be: "Feeling of Loss"
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"Feeling of Lose"
Should be: "Feeling of Loss"
heheh Fixed! Sorry for that and thx for the heads up :). I have dyslexic and English is not my first language so things like this sometimes slip my attention :)
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Soulblight on Square Enix Collective - Update #2
Week two of Soulblight being presented at Square Enix Collective is is now over. So far we're at 91% approval rate! Thank you all for supporting us. Today we've published another update to encourage you to vote for us. This time we're talking about our approach to the challenges of top-down perspective - Update #2: Challenges of Top-Down View (http://collective.square-enix.com/projects/290/soulblight/updates/264/update-number-2-challenges-of-top-down-view)
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Soulblight_ScreenShot01.2.png) (http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Soulblight_ScreenShot03.png)
If you want to know more, visit our Square Enix Collective Pitch:
Soulblight Square Enix Collective Pitch! (http://collective.square-enix.com/projects/290/soulblight)
Don’t forget to vote for us!
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Already voted yes and good luck with your campaign !
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Already voted yes and good luck with your campaign !
Thanks hendrikk1 :)
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Soulblight on Square Enix Collective - Update #3
And so the final week of our Square Enix Collective Campaigning begins. To encourage you all to vote for us we're once more sharing some details about our game. :) This week we're talking about combat
Update #3: Closer look at Combat (http://collective.square-enix.com/projects/290/soulblight/updates/268/update-number-3-closer-look-at-combat)
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/SAMPLE2_700.gif)
If you want to know more, visit our Square Enix Collective Pitch:
Soulblight Square Enix Collective Pitch! (http://collective.square-enix.com/projects/290/soulblight)
Don’t forget to vote for us!
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Our game Orbiz (http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=796400113) was on Square Enix Collective too. The "Yes" votes are enough, but maybe the comments or feedbacks aren't, so they didn't make a crowdfunding campaign.
Already voted yes and good luck with your campaign !
Thanks hendrikk1 :)
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Well I don't think we're gone catch up either. We're more doing it for feedback on our pitch. How many 'YES' votes were you able to gather?
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68 %, you can check here (https://collective.square-enix.com/projects/223/orbiz)
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well I'm not asking about ratio. I mean how many people voted
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Just few days after our Square Enix Collective campaigning is over a new competition Emerges! Well I guess it's this time of the year again :). Starting today for next 10 days you can vote for us at Indie DB.
(http://media.indiedb.com/images/groups/1/26/25073/profile/ioty-500.png)
Check out our page and help us get to top 100!
Soulblight on IndieDB (http://www.indiedb.com/games/soulblight)
Don’t forget to vote for us!
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Sorry for the late check, well, it's just 69
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Today I've decided to share with you some weapon designs. As you can see we're trying to marge tech witch medieval weaponry.
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Soulblight_Weapons02.png)
The fear of all that is technical is rooted deep in the hearts of the society. But you have to overcome it as those devices are much more potent than simple swords made by the blacksmiths of the present day.
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First glimpse at story behind Soulblight
What is Soulblight? When technology was still present in the world, the Sanctuary was a safe haven for those who sought knowledge. A place where greatest minds could practice science freely manufacturing many wonders of technology.
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Soulblight_ConceptArt03.png)
That is until something happened that science could not explain. A machinery that studied foundations of human nature imploded giving birth to a mystical tree. With it came along a power so great that it shattered a space-time around it, leaking anomaly from alternate dimension - Soulblight.
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Christmas is almost here. You can feel its spirit even in a basement where I have my office. Cozy isn't it :)
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Xmas2016_small.png)
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!
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Another piece of the story
No one knows where did the crystal covered beasts come from. But the fact remains, they did come. As conventional methods of warfare proved themselves useless against the aggressor mankind has no other choice but to turn to the Ancients and their secret of forgotten technology.
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Soulblight_ConceptArt.png)
Holding it is the legendary Soulblight - tree growing in the center of the abandoned Sanctuary. The prophecy says that wisdom to create powerful machinery awaits those who will drink from the roots of the tree. But beware wisdom has a price. Will you dare to find Soulblight and bring peace to this broken world?
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New Year’s Resolution
Hello everybody! How’s 2017 so far? New year is always a good excuse to introduce some changes into our lives. My New Year’s Resolution is to get more in touch with all you people reading thous posts of mine.
Some of you recently complained that, in the information jungle out there, you often miss my updates. Well… We’re just few people working on a game and sharing our content. Sometimes we just can’t get through all the noise and commotion. But don’t worry - I’ve decided that the first step for us to know each other better would be to create a reliable way for you to fallow our adventures. And so I’ve set up a newsletter.
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Soulblight_SignUp_Newsletter.png) (http://www.mynextgames.com/)
Every month I’ll be sending out a summary of all that happened recently in our project. If your interested - visit our page and sign up!
My Next Games Home Page (http://www.mynextgames.com/)
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The Idea behind Soulblight
So I've been sharing with you updates on my game for few months now. Today I've realized that I haven't told you what is the underlining reason for my making Soulblight. Some of you who may have browsed my game might already know what we're trying to achieve but For thous who haven't here we go :)
Video game RPGs are in the strange place right now In my opinion. These days every game with leveling mechanic calls itself RPG. We play those games traveling through awesome worlds maxing out our stats and grinding XP on every opportunity. Over the years though it became more mundane than enchanting.
I look with nostalgia at my pen and paper RPGs memories. Back then gaining XP was only part of the fun, becoming our characters was the rest of it. Sometimes role playing stood in a way of solving the quest at hand, but we connected with our characters and they felt more alive that way. Video games are different. We cannot expect players to avoid fighting giant spiders just because their character has arachnophobia. That way they will lose precious loot and XP. They know the game will penalize them for that by becoming more difficult. If we want players to actually role-play the game need to encourage them to express this kind of things. Only Best RPG games menage do it with dialog options and branching story lines. To make it all believable the game need's to have tremendous amount of content. Every single outcome needs to be thought out and scripted. When me and my friends started Soulblight we simple knew there was no way that we can pule it off. We ware simple too few to do it. We started to look for a different, new way to allow players to express they're characters. And this is how our Taint System came to be. :)
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Soulblight_ScreenShot13.jpg)
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The Taint System
So a week has passed and It’s time to shed more light on the enigmatic Taint System I wrote about in a previous post :). Basically the main goal is to integrate actual role playing into character progression. Before entering each level of the Sanctuary you get to choose a taint that represent a certain personality trait. Each taint unlocks a new way of gaining power - a custom mechanic designed to encourage acting like a person with that attribute. Let’s look at few examples:
(http://media.indiedb.com/images/games/1/53/52826/Soulblight_TaintExamples.png)
This method of character progression channels our will to survive into actions in alignment with hero’s personality. The deeper into the Sanctuary you get the more varied taints you’ll be able to acquire. Think of it as if the dungeon itself was a skill tree of a kind. While making a choice you’ll have to be careful as it will shape your personality and experience to come.
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Nifty. I like that taints give a bonus as well as a penaly. It made me think of the system in Vampire and other World of Darkness-games, where each character defines an archetype as their Nature. If you managed to "live out" the trait defined in your Nature, you gained a Willpower boost.
In tabletop rpgs, I always thought such rules were a bit construed, since we were just roleplaying away, anyway (the archetype system in Vampire was a great aid for that, though). OTOH, I think it makes more sense in computer games to give a tangible boost for acting in character. I've actually been thinking on something similar for my game LoSt, but as "codes of conduct" which give you skills/bonus/reputation if you follow them (vow of poverty, duelist honor, lawfulness, chivalry, whatever).
Anyway, keep up the good work. The project seems promising, and I must say the art looks mighty nice (though I found the Paranoid icons a bit vague, placeholder-ish).
As always,
Minotauros
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Yee I know what mechanics you're talking about AgingMinotaur. I'm a huge fan of World of Darknesss pen and paper RPGs :) Any way glad to hear you like Soulblight :)
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(http://media.indiedb.com/images/games/1/53/52826/Soulblight_Gif_Game12.gif)
This week I've decided to share with you a gif so you can notice all these little ambient animations we're adding. Although players rarely notice them while enjoining the game they are very important. Without them environments seem dead artificial.
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In Soulblight we're going for tactical stamina based combat simular to that you might know form Dark Souls series. On that note here's one of the spear attack animations for you :)
(http://media.indiedb.com/images/games/1/53/52826/Soulblight_Gif_Anim01.gif)
Because our game's combat mechanics in inspired by Dark Souls I try to play it every day after work :). I do so relax and learn a bit more about it's design. I've discovered it's much more fun to do it in the company and that's why I started streaming.
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Twitch_Backgroud.png) (https://www.twitch.tv/mynextgames)
My Twitch Channel (https://www.twitch.tv/mynextgames)
So how about it? Want to join me in my gaming adventures?:)
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This weeks's update is a bit early then usually as In two days we'll be presenting Soulblight at White Nights Conference in Prague. Recently I've introduced some new solutions to our combat mechanic to add even more tactical depth to it. The festival is a perfect opportunity for play test. We will see how human specimens will handle the challenge I've prepared ;)
(http://media.indiedb.com/images/games/1/53/52826/WhitetNights_Prague2017.gif)
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And so I'm back form Wight Nights Conference in Prague. It was a very intensive even. Throughout the entire visit in Prague I had time for only this one picture :)
(http://media.indiedb.com/images/games/1/53/52826/Soulblight_WightNights2017_02.png)
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Choose wisely! The path you take will shape who you will become...
(http://media.indiedb.com/images/games/1/53/52826/Soulblight_Gif_Game13.gif)
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So it's Monday again and it's time for another update. Today I've prepared an Info grphic showing few difrent Taints you'll be able to acquire in Soulblight
(http://media.indiedb.com/images/games/1/53/52826/Soulblight_Taints_InfoGraphic.png)
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Loot Sneak and Fight! All to survive your quest for Soulblight
(https://media.giphy.com/media/xUPGcdTMYoIwuI8nok/source.gif)
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(http://media.indiedb.com/images/games/1/53/52826/Soulblight_ScreenShot08.1.png)
During your journey through the sanctuary you’ll come across rare A'dr gems that can fuel a mysterious process of transmutation. Legend tells that some of thous crystals can also be infused with a human soul.
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Passed week was an intensive one but it was definitely worth it as we've reached the ALFA!
(http://media.indiedb.com/images/games/1/53/52826/Soulblight_ALFA.1.png)
Different developers define "ALPHA" in a bit different way. For us this means you can actually play and finish the entire game. You can visit all the locations and all the mechanic are already in place. This doesn't mean the game is finished thought. There's still a lot of work ahead of us. Most of the locations lack light, particles and ambient animations. ALPHA doesn't mean the programming and designing work is finished as well. From now on though we will be focusing on adjusting and balancing the gameplay. This means soon we might be in need of testers so stay tuned :)
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(https://media.giphy.com/media/26gR1qoYVS4mYlN7O/giphy.gif)
To seek out the Soulblight you will have to face strange and horrifying machine created hundreds years ago in the Age of Wonder. Meet Marauder, Brute and Sentry. Know that there are many other iron monster that will stand in your way...
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Soulblight Alpha Tests - Want to help us?
(http://media.indiedb.com/images/games/1/53/52826/Soulblight_Alpha_Tests_1280.png)
As you all know Soulblight has reached Alpha recently. Now it's time to begin some tests. Want to help us? Sign up for our newsletter.
Every monday we'll randomly choose few people from our newsletter list and send them an invitation to Soulblight Inner Circle :) Accepting means you'll receive a demo steam key. It'll gives you access to a short part of the game that we'll update every couple of weeks. Along the steam key you'll also receive an invited to a special Discord channel. There you'll be able to talk to us and help us decided on the direction we'll be taking the game.
Sing up for our newsletter
(http://media.indiedb.com/images/games/1/53/52826/Soulblight_SubscribeMarch.png) (https://www.mynextgames.com/)
Don't want to wait your turn in our little lottery? You don't have too :) Just tweet about our game using the #Soulblight tag and send us the link. The person that scores the highest number of retweets that week will receive an invitation as well.
Tweet about Soulblight (https://ctt.ec/JeI4B)
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(https://media.giphy.com/media/3o7btWv99Y8bc6kYgM/giphy.gif)
Sometimes it is better to take your enemy out without the fight... if your honor allows you to do such a thing... Be careful though, the environment might be traitorous. One wrong move and the sound you make will alert your prey.
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(https://media.giphy.com/media/3o7btPtEfJ6UIQtjk4/giphy.gif)
Second week of alpha test is behind us. So far everything seems to be going well. Besides clearing out few minor bugs we've added new combat action - dash (you can see it on the gif above). It's effectiveness scales down with the amount of armor your character is wearing. This allowed us better differentiate play style of heavily and lightly equipped characters. Thanks to our testers we've been also able to better evaluate the difficulty of our game. It seems our complex mechanics tend to confuse players at the beginning. To smoothen the difficulty curve without lowering it all along we've decided to create a short introductory level. Don't worry you won't have to play it over and over again with every run :) It will launch only when you play the game for the first time.
That's all for this week Folks :)
Remember if you're interested in joining our alpha test sign up at my home page (https://www.mynextgames.com/)
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You should probably let people run the tutorial any time, not just the first run.
So they can decide if they have learned every thing.
Its just one more button on the start screen.
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Well by introduction level I don't mean tutorial. It's more like a very easy zone when you can try out everything. Something like asylum location was in Dark Souls 1. Part of the fan of the game is slowly discovering mechanic and then using it to your advantage. I just want the player to have the place where he can try out all the buttons without warring he's gone die instantly if he don't do the right thing :D
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(https://media.giphy.com/media/3ohzdKBXvUKAWx01G0/giphy.gif)
Today I would like to show you a parry mechanic. How it works is it throws enemy off balance when you perfectly time your block. Additionally you revive a few seconds of slow motion. You can use it to reposition before striking a deadly blow
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(https://media.giphy.com/media/3o7btQxqsbjTFoz160/giphy.gif)
Haven't show any attack animations for some time so here's one with 2h-weapon.
Also I've set up a subreddit for ourself this week. Me and other members of the team post updates on the game there as well as share info on other games we find interesting. Here it is if you'd like to follow us there r/MyNextGames (https://www.reddit.com/r/MyNextGames/)
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(https://media.giphy.com/media/3ohzdZTMCd70tlkj0A/giphy.gif)
To avoid tedious tutorials that prevent you from jumping straight into the game we use top-down perspective of our game and just leave the hints on the floor
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(https://media.giphy.com/media/xUA7aLZzhWb8hC8YHC/giphy.gif)
Wohoo! Soulblight has been chosen as one of Digital Dragons: Indie Showcase finalist
If you happen to be at the Digital Dragons next week drop say hello and give our game a try
And here's the link if you'd like to know a bit more about the event: Digitla Dragons Conference (http://digitaldragons.pl/)
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(http://media.indiedb.com/images/games/1/53/52826/IMG_20170523_105405_1.jpg)
This weeks post is a bit late as we've just wen't back from showcasing Soulblight at Digital Dragons It was one awesome event! And here you have few photos from our stand :)
(http://media.indiedb.com/images/games/1/53/52826/IMG_20170523_131215.jpg)
Jurek - Soulblight Story designer on the right, and me - Kuba on the left :)
(http://media.indiedb.com/images/games/1/53/52826/IMG_20170522_102902.jpg)
As you can we had an awesome view. Wawel - The castle around witch the city (Kraków) was build straight a head of us on the other side of the river
(http://media.indiedb.com/images/games/1/53/52826/IMG_20170522_081845.jpg)
convention main hall looked quite impressive as well :)
(http://media.indiedb.com/images/games/1/53/52826/IMG_20170522_095317.jpg)
And here's our trusty orange air-arm chair we take with us on every event :D
That's all for today folks
cya next week :)
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(http://media.indiedb.com/images/games/1/53/52826/characters.jpg)
We've recently started designing NPCs you will be able to meet in Soulblight :)
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(http://media.indiedb.com/images/games/1/53/52826/characters_1.jpg)
Last week I brought you some early NPC designs. Now I'd like to show you how they look like a bit further down the line. We're trying out a new way of shading to better differentiate them from the backgrounds.
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(https://media.giphy.com/media/3ohzdOOh2Dy9xEf1V6/giphy.gif)
Haven't show any GIFs for couple of weeks so here comes a shield & axe attack animation. I'm pretty satisfied how we can present complex movement on our 2D character without frame by frame animations :)
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Today I have something special for you :D I was browsing through my hard drive and found some of the first screen I ever took from the Soulblight. Well actually back then it didn't even have a title yet. Heheehe :) thous were the days...
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Soulblight_Prototype_Screen01.png)
I referred to it as "The Hero Project" because defining the personality of the main character was something I was going for from the very start. And here's one of the new screens so you can see the difference :)
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Soulblight_ScreenShot12.png)
We've come a long way with our project since its beginning :) don't you think?
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All these images looks wonderful, but it's all what I can say. I'm waiting for more detailed infos, but you keep your posts, well, simple.
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heheeh wasn't sure anyone was reading my post :). Well... What would you like to hear more about Avagart? Some combat mechanic details? More on survival elements? More on Taints?
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Just tell me about your game. What are your goals? What do you like most in Soulblight? What will make it good?
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Hi Avagart
Sorry for delay in answer was away for couple of days.
What are my goals? Well I want to create roguelike where you character will have a bit more personality then "I kill monsters". I want for the character to have traits like Greedy or Coward. I want for the player to be aware of them and take them into account when making the decisions. If your a coward you can't run into every fight without thinking. If your greed think twice if you get your money's worth before you purchasing something. Rogulikes evolved from table top games like D&D but thous games had an RPG elemnt that seems to be forgotten. it's more about grinding now. So with my game I want to create a character progression system that focuses on personality instead of XP. And this is also what I personally like the most about Soulblight.
There are a lot of other things I like/I'm proud of:
- I like how we ware able to build the feeling of space and convexity in top down perspective. When I started making the game every artist I meet told me not to do the top down view because the game will look flat
- I like that the combat requires tactical thinking. You have to take into account your stamina your position on the battlefield the weaknesses of your opponents. And the fact it's not turn based add a lot of tension to all of that
- I like that every boss in the game is different and you need to find a new way to win with each of them
- I like that if you want you can sneak around and take out the enemies form behind
- I like that you can get wounded in different ways. Sometimes your bleeding and need to stop it with the bandages. Othere time you need to sew the wound up with a stitching kit. Using low quality items may make the things worse but sometimes it might be wrath the risk
Well I like all thous things and more. This is my game - I made it the way I wanted it to be.
You ask me if it's good. Well... I like it but will you? I think the best way to find out would be to join the alpha test we're running and see.
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So... that post gave me better overview about Soulblight than all posted screenshots and photos. It sounds really interesting. If it's not secret, can you explain, how you'd *encouage* player to, for example, thinking twice before purchasing if character is greedy? Some kind morale penalty?
I didn't ask if it's good. I asked 'what makes it good'. But I got answer already.
To be honest, I don't like newsletters, but access to alpha / demo would be nice. How much are you flooding mailboxes with that newsletter? :D
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I didn't ask if it's good. I asked 'what makes it good'
Sorry must have miss read.
If it's not secret, can you explain, how you'd *encouage* player to, for example, thinking twice before purchasing if character is greedy?
No it's not a secret :) So the game doesn't have leveling mechanic Instead we have something we call synergy/integrity. This special state greatly increases your damage output and resistance. So the more you have the more chances to survive you have. Now at the beginning of every part of the dungeon you get to choose a personality trait we call taint. What it dose is unlocks a way of gaining synergy but only if you act in a certain way. It dose it in a form a special buffs. Here are few examples:
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Soulblight_Taints_InfoGraphic.png)
How much are you flooding mailboxes with that newsletter?
Try not too floood. I send out an e-mail once a month except at the beginning when i send 3 emails:
- Welcoming e-mail (after you sign up)
- Email explaining how to gain access to alpha tests (the day after you sign up)
- Email explaining in more detail the entire idea behind Soulblight and the taint mechanic (the week after you sign up)
The monthly e-mail usually consists of news or explains in more details the design choices I took while creating the game. I'm writing the one for this month right now - it's gone be about combat :)
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This week I would like to talk in more detail how we build Soulblight tactical combat around distance control :) So each character during the fight is surrounded by the circle which represent its position on the battlefield. By pressing the right button you can light up a frontal part of it and activate what we call the grip. When the grip touches another circle the characters become engaged to represent the clinch combat. This maneuver besides linking the characters together also forces them to use a secondary attack
(https://media.giphy.com/media/l0Iy6l2s6RzefLqHS/giphy.gif)
Depending on the weapon this attack might be less or more powerful than the main one. The wielder of the more cumbersome weapon now will be forced to find a way to disengage. The easiest way to do it is by performing a special slam action. He need to be careful though this maneuver burns through a lot of stamina.
(https://media.giphy.com/media/3o7TKusMfQpGRx9yKI/giphy.gif)
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(https://media.giphy.com/media/xUPGcEEqNLJLoj30Yw/giphy.gif)
By implementing certain level of inertia depending on how well armored your character is we’ve allowed the faster character to be able to outmaneuver the heavier foes. This way you can get on the back of the heavier opponents and gain a massive advantage by doing so. Though it isn’t easy it greatly increases the damage you deal as well as prevents the enemy from hitting you with his attacks.
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(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Soulblight_Cecil.png)
This week our first character started to have something more to say then "MISSING TEXT" :D If you wish to have a lovely little chat witch Cecil you can sign up for #Soulblight alpha tests at: www.mynextgames.com ;)
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(https://media.giphy.com/media/3ohryxv6EMCILiLsAg/giphy.gif)
Today I have just a little update as we're preparing for a big announcement next week :) We've recently improved on our shopping mechanic. Now you will be able to acquire individual items instead of paying for entire batch. The interface became more intuitive as well!
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Hey Everybody!
As I mentioned last week, today I have a big announcement :) We’ve been preparing it for weeks, and now we’re finally ready! Soulblight will go live at kickstarter on August 17th! We will be revealing more info on what’s to come as we get closer to the date. For now help us announce the news to the world and support our Thunderclap:
https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/59652-soulblight-live-on-kickstarter (https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/59652-soulblight-live-on-kickstarter)
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/SoulblightLogo_KickstarterHeading.png)
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(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Xbox.png)
Something special came in a mail today :D Do you know what this means? ;)
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(http://media.indiedb.com/images/games/1/53/52826/SoulblightLogo_PAX2017.png)
Yes everybody! We’re going to Seattle! The main point of our upcoming Kickstarter will be our visit at PAX WEST. We’ve been selected by Foundation Indie Games Poland to showcase our game at their stand this year. If you happen to be at PAX this year drop by Polish booth and say hello :)
P.S Soulblight Kickstarter will go live on AUG 17th. Don’t forget to support our thunderclap: https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/59652-soulblight-live-on-kickstarter
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(http://media.indiedb.com/images/games/1/53/52826/Soulblight_Alpha_Tests_1280.png)
We’ve announced last week that as a part of Soulblight upcoming kickstarter we will be visiting Pax West 2017 Besides it being a perfect opportunity to spread the word about our campaigning. PAX will also be a culmination of our alpha tests
Don’t worry though - Certain things will remain the same!
- If you have alpha access you will still be able to run the game any time you want
- I will continue to sharing the steam keys every monday
- You will still be able to sign up at www.mynextgames.com for the chance to receive the key
What does the end of alpha tests mean? Well… The only thing that will change is the fact that I will no longer update the build regularly. This doesn't mean though the game won't need testing. But how we will be doing it I will share with you next time :)
P.S Soulblight kickstarter will go live on AUG 17th. Don’t forget to support our thunderclap: https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/59652-soulblight-live-on-kickstarter
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(http://media.indiedb.com/images/games/1/53/52826/Soulblight_IntelLevelUp2017Finalist.png)
It's 6 days before Soulblight kickstarter launch. I wake up to learn we've been selected Intel Level Up Contest Finalist! :D Nice timing don't you think ;)
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Soulblight beta on the horizon as kickstarter reward
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Soulblight_BetaTests_1.png)
As I mentioned couple days ago our alpha test program will come to an end with our visit at Pax West 2017. This doesn’t mean though the game needs no more tests. Soon after the kickstarter campaign we will be beginning the beta test. The beta build will include much bigger part of the game. You will be able to face all 3 bosses we’ve prepared as well as acquire up to four taints. The access to the beta tests will be one of the kickstarter rewards.
Soulblight kickstarter will go live next Thursday (AUG 17th)
Don’t forget to support our thunderclap :)
https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/59652-soulblight-live-on-kickstarter
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(http://media.indiedb.com/images/games/1/53/52826/Soulblight_Alpha_Tests_1280.png)
One of you members of our Steam Community suggested that I would post the Alpha Update change logs here to help you all follow on the development. This is an Awesome idea. Not sure why I haven't thought about it earlier :P It happens that I just recently uploaded new update so here comes the first one:
- The alpha build is now in the form of Kickstarter Demo. It's a bit shorter as we don't want to show the locations that still contain assets in a concept stage(like camp and chapel)
- Chrono Inhibitor armor set added. Armor of this type allows you to use time slowing mechanic.
- Spiked armor set added. Armor deals passive damage to the enemy when in Grip.
- First light armor set added.
- Items made of black steel can no longer kill you. When you equip an item with that tag while on full wounds you simply don't receive the Black Steel Curse buff until you heal.
- 6 light shields added
- 6 medium shields added
- 6 heavy shields added
- Spear primary attack speed has been increased. This weapon type seemed to be a bit under-powered.
- The loot you receive as a taint reward is now more varied.
- Bosses movement speed increased. You should no longer be able to infinity kite him.
- Now when you’re sneaking through the creaking zone the range in which the sound is heard depends on how fast you're walking (You can sneak slower by gently moving the analog stick)
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Soulblight - ‘ok’ is not enough
After over a month of intense work on our Kickstarter campaign last night we finally finished. We sat down to look through all the materials we've prepared. It seemed to be ready to go as everything was "ok". However deep inside we felt that "ok" was not good enough.
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Soulblight_ConceptArt06.png)
You see one of the things that we’ve learned while working on Soulblight is that making a good game isn’t enough this day. We live in an age of the information overflow. Usually you have only a few seconds to get someone's attention. Keeping that in mind our idea of “More literal approach to RPG” isn’t easily transferred into a single picture or a 5 second video. That is the reason we struggle when we present our me to new people. And this is also the reason our Kickstarter campaign at its current stage is just "ok".
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Soulblight_ConceptArt05.png)
Don’t worry. This doesn't mean we want to sacrifice our vision of the game to make it more “promotable”. The game will remain unaffected. What we need to do is find a new, more approachable way to communicate what we have to say.
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/DELAYED.png)
We have some ideas on how to do it but now we just need some time to make them happen. This means that we have to postpone Soulblight Kickstarter campaign for a month or so Launching it without solving that problem might do more harm than good.
Once more thank you for all your support and sorry for the delay. :(
Regards,
Kuba
P.S Postponing the kickstarter doesn't mean we won’t be showcasing Soulblight at PAX West this year. Actually I'm writing this from the airport waiting for the plane. If you happen to be in Seattle this year drop by booth #6003 on the 6th floor and say hello :)
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/DIgyygVUQAAdXXU.jpg)
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Hey Everybody
PAX West is over and I’m finally back home. It was one hell of an adventure so after sleeping it off it’s time to write a recap of the event :) Before we go any further there is one thing you need to know. The gaming events from the point of view of a developer are a bit different. You spend at least 10h a day at the show but sadly you don’t get to play too many games. However the events from this perspective have their own unique charm. I personally really love it and I would like to share some of my feelings with you today :)
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/DIqejwrUwAEcUN2.jpg)
Let’s start with how we got there. For a tiny indie studio like ours showcasing a game at PAX West wouldn't be possible if not for the Indie Games Poland Foundation (IGP - www.igp.org.pl). Every year IGP chooses best indie games from Poland to showcase at PAX West. Soulblight was one of those games this year :).
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/21248292_1454357174640403_2798822542704437746_o.png)
Couple of my indie friends also got accepted so we’ve decided to team up together and rent a house. There were 7 of us: Piotrek & Paweł form Digital Melodies (Timber Tenis (http://store.steampowered.com/app/321160/Timber_Tennis/)) Tom from Crunching Koalas (Mouse Craft (http://store.steampowered.com/app/252750/MouseCraft/)), Sebastian from Transhuman Design (Butcher (http://store.steampowered.com/app/474210/BUTCHER/)), Rafał & Bartek from Licht Hunt (Lichtspeer (http://store.steampowered.com/app/434740/Lichtspeer/)) and me (Kuba - Soulblight (http://store.steampowered.com/app/530930/Soulblight/)). Here’s a photo of our crew (I’m the short guy in the middle :) )
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/21392963_1402170036503851_1671975239_o.jpg)
I got to Seattle around noon of AUG 30th and the first thing was to meet up with the rest of the crew. The airport’s Starbucks was our meeting point. After almost 15 hours in the air we really needed a cup of coffee :D Now we were ready to get to our place. I have to admit Tom who organized it really outdone himself. Just look at the view!
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/DIz2cIoUIAAovS4.jpg)
Next day started with a visit to Valve’s headquarters organized by IGP. Each of us got a few minutes to present their game. After that we had an opportunity to speak with people responsible for running Steam Store about its current state and about store’s future. By the way there is this huge Dark Souls statue in the middle of Valve’s HQ - a real treat for a souls-fan like me :)
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/DIk7p32UQAAYjZs.jpg)
After our visit at Valve we went to the PAX West convention center. The rest of the day was spent setting up our stands for the event. When the work was done Maciek Miąsik invited us to chill out at his place. Maciek is one of the most experienced Polish game developers. He used to work in CD-Projekt Red as head of production department during the development of witcher 1 & 2. Now he’s an indie developer (his game Beat Cop (http://store.steampowered.com/app/461950/Beat_Cop/) was released this year). We all like to refer to him as “The Pope of Polish Gamedev” as he always has a word of wisdom to share with us :) We were all really tired after all days work at the stand but how could we say “No” to an invitation from “The Pope” :) It was definitely a good decision though. The view itself was worth the trip :)
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/DIm8g5UUQAAYE82.jpg)
On the next day it was time to start the festival. During the event our daily routine was pretty much the same. We woke up early it the morning, went to the convention center, worked at the stand and then when the day was over we ran off to some new party :) As I said not much time to check out any new games :) There was a ton of other attraction though. When else can you get a chance to chat with people from team 17 (I was raised on their games) party with guys from 11 Bit Studios or just bump into the developers of that game you’ve been waiting for (Moonlighter (http://store.steampowered.com/app/606150/Moonlighter/)).
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/DIvYKvSUIAA_Ia1.jpg)
A really unforgettable adventure :)
Cya Around,
Kuba
P.S
During 4 days of PAX i pitched the game to more people then I can count. It was an awesome excercise and the one I really needed. I think I finaly found a way of presenting Soulbligt game idea in just few words :) Now It's time to use it while redesigning our Kickstarter campaining :)
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(https://media.giphy.com/media/xT9IgmY6PgQpXlugHm/giphy.gif)
This week we've been slowly going back to our routine after PAX West. To jump straight into the development we've took on the feature we've been excited to implement for a while now - Dual Wielding
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(http://media.indiedb.com/images/games/1/53/52826/Soulblight_DualAxeAttack02.gif)
Almost finished dual wielding this week. All what's left is fixing few minor bugs. There is one thing I'm still considering thought. Adding ability to combo the attacks like on the gif below. What do you think?
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(http://media.indiedb.com/images/games/1/53/52826/Soulblight_Gif_Game22.gif)
Rip their hearts out and charge in! ;)
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Hey Everybody!
Some of you might have noticed that our steam page has undergo some changes. Yes :) recently we've been working on increasing #Soulblight visibility on a Steam. We've added gifs, upgrading description and prepared new banner art work. If you have a moment please help us out and add some tags to our game. Just go to our store page, press "+" button and add all the key wards you think are relevant to our game :)
(http://media.indiedb.com/images/games/1/53/52826/SoulblightAddTags.png)
Here's the Steam page link: http://store.steampowered.com/app/530930/Soulblight/
Thank you all in advance - Your support means a lot to us
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(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Soulblight_Kickstarter_LifeIn.png)
Hey Everybody!
As you know last month we’ve decided to delay our Kickstarter campaign in order to spend more time polishing it. Since then we’ve been working very hard and this time I’ve decided not to mention anything about it until we were 100% satisfied with our pitch. And now, since we are, the time has come to finally announce it - Soulblight Kickstarter campaign will go live on October 17th ( btw it just so happens that it’s just one day after my birthday ;) )
Now let's talk a bit about some of the improvements we’ve made to the campaign:
Demo
First of all to reward you for waiting we've decided to add a demo access as an additional Kickstarter reward! :) We will send out the demo keys just after the end of the campaign! So if you decide to become our backer you will be able to try out Soulblight really soon!
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Exclusivre_Demo.png)
New Main Message
One of the main reasons for postponing Kickstarter was the fact that our “More literal approach to RPG” pitch was a bit too abstract to get across without at least two paragraphs of text. However removing this aspect from the game to make it more “promotable” was absolutely out of the question. The only solution was finding a new way of talking about our game. The answer came to us at PAX West. While chatting with all the people visiting our stand we’ve realized that we’ve been focusing on a wrong thing in our pitch. Instead of talking about game’s mechanics we should be emphasizing what we’re actually trying to say with it.
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Soulblight_LeadingArt.5.png)
Probably some of you already know what I’m talking about :). The question: “Why the personalities you can acquire in the game are always negative?” was popping out quite regularly. It was natural as all the little signs were already there:
- The name of the game - “Soulblight” suggest that it’s about the sickness of the soul
- The quote form “The Divine Comedy” in the trailer pointed in this direction as well
- Our main art presenting that the greatest danger in the game will come “from behind you”
- The fact that we chose to call progression system in the game “Taining Mechanic” was also a hint
All this was already there. What was lacking were three sentences with which we could explain all that to the person that knows absolutely nothing about the game. (btw never thought writing 3 sentences can be that hard) And so here it is:
Soulblight is a dark, top-down roguelike luring you to cross the thin line between good and evil. Embrace your flaws to survive a journey through an unforgiving Sanctuary. Gluttony, Lust, Cannibalism - how far are you willing to go?
New Main Art
Another thing we’ve addressed was our main art. It wasn’t that we weren't satisfied with the one we had. On the contrary we really liked how straightforward it presented the top down perspective and at the same time shown the danger of Soulblight lurking behind the character. The thing that we considered a problem was the fact that once you scaled it down its readability dropped drastically. This unfortunately was a deal breaker as most of the time the art will be viewed in a crowded social media feed. And so we’ve decided to prepare a new one. This time focusing on the character and it’s transformation into something evil.
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Soulbglihg_01.png)
Social goals
To make our campaign more fun we’ve decided to gamify it a little bit and set up some social goals. Have a look at these three “vaults” we have created.
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Kickstarter_SocialGoals_Vault.png)
Each of the vaults contains a special piece of in-game equipment. When opened the item will be revealed and added to the final game. How to unlock them? By reaching our social goals. The number on top of the vault shows how many are needed. Here’s the complete list of our social goals:
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/SocialGoalsGraph.png)
If you want you can already help us reaching the social goals :) Here are all the links:
- Steam Page (http://store.steampowered.com/app/530930/Soulblight/)
- Facebook Fan Page (https://www.facebook.com/MyNextGames)
- Twitter page (https://twitter.com/MyNextGames)
- Subreddit (https://www.reddit.com/r/MyNextGames/)
- Newsletter (https://www.mynextgames.com/)
That would be all for today folks :) I would like to once more thank you for all your support and patience. Especially thank you for all the words of encouragement you sent our way after we were forced to delay our Kickstarter campaign. It meant a lot to us!
Cya Around,
Kuba
P.S If you would like to help us with the announcement of the Kickstarter campaign, and you haven’t done so already, don’t forget to support our Thunderclap! (https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/59652-soulblight-live-on-kickstarter)
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Soulblight Live on Kickstarter
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Soulbglihg_Kickstarter.jpg) (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1752350052/soulblight)
And so it's finally October 17th. Just a moment ago I clicked the button to activate our Campaining :) Now Soulblight is Live on Kickstarter
Here's the link:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1752350052/soulblight
Keep your fingers crossed everybody! :)
Cya Around,
Kuba
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Hey Everybody!
It's time for our first Kickstarter update. Today I would like to talk in more detail about combat in Soulblight. Before we go any further you need to know one thing about me. I’m a martial art enthusiast :) As a programmer and game designer I spend most of my days in a dark room in front of the screen :P This way of life isn’t too healthy so to balance things out I train Judo. You don't believe me? Here's a gif of me (barely) performing a throw :P
(https://media.giphy.com/media/xUPGcew6lQOWgA8FAA/giphy.gif)
The thing I love the most about fighting is the fact that what matters the most is not the strength but tactics. This is a different kind of tactics than you know from strategy game though. It’s more like thinking about the plan under the pressure of things happening right here and now. This is what I wanted for our combat mechanic to be all about. In my experience tactics in martial arts consists of the following elements:
- Management of Strength
- Distance Control
- Balance Control
Now let’s talk in more detail about those elements and see how they are represented in our game mechanics.
Management of Strength
You have to be careful not to use use all of your strength during the fight. If you do, you will run out of steam very fast and will be easy overwhelmed. The tactics here is about finding the right moment to catch your breath. This element of fighting has been pretty well represented in gaming through the years by the stamina mechanics. I’ve decided for it to be a base of combat in Soulblight
(https://media.giphy.com/media/3ohzdXDVa12mfzHxJu/giphy.gif)
Distance Control
Though stamina management was a relatively obvious thing the same couldn’t be said about the distance control. Video games often do away with clinch combat. This results in removing a lot of tactical depth. Suddenly everything boils down to your attack speed and power. Meanwhile in reality a double handed sword isn’t nearly as useful up close as from afar. When you engage an enemy wielding a heavy weapon he cannot keep swinging while in clinch - he needs to find a way to disengage. To represent this I’ve decided to create a grip mechanic.
(https://media.giphy.com/media/l0Iy6l2s6RzefLqHS/giphy.gif)
During combat each character is surrounded by a circle which represent its position on the battlefield. By pressing the button you can light up a front part of it and activate what we call “the grip”. When your grip touches your opponents circle the characters become engaged in clinch combat. This maneuver, besides linking the characters together, also forces them to use a secondary attack. Depending on the weapon this attack might be less or more powerful than the main one. The one who wields a more cumbersome weapon now will be forced to find a way to disengage. The easiest way to do it is by performing a special “slam” action. But be careful this maneuver burns a lot of stamina.
(https://media.giphy.com/media/3o7TKusMfQpGRx9yKI/giphy.gif)
Balance Control
Ok this part of the mechanics is explicitly linked to the martial art I’m training :). Judo is focusing on the clinch combat and can be translated as “The path of the least resistance”. The idea is that while engaged you need to move in a way to throw your enemy of balance so you can use much less strength to defeat him. How this idea is implemented in Soulblight? - you ask. When engaged you cannot move away from the enemy but you can move around him. By implementing certain level of inertia depending on how well armored your character is we’ve allowed the faster character to be able to outmaneuver the heavier foes. This way you can get on the back of the heavier opponents and gain a massive advantage. Although it isn’t easy it greatly increases your damage as well as prevents the enemy from hitting you with his attacks.
(https://media.giphy.com/media/xUPGcEEqNLJLoj30Yw/giphy.gif)
The combat in Soulblight might look a bit Hack & Slashy at first glance but the truth is button mashing won’t get you far. If you have any questions feel free to ask them in a comment section :) And don't forget to visit our kickstarter page: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1752350052/soulblight
Cya around,
Kuba
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After an update on combat it’s time for the one about sneaking. We design stealth in Soulblight to be complementary to fighting. This means that when properly used in combination with fighting it will give you a huge advantage.
(https://media.giphy.com/media/l378yq5qJPh40kEjC/giphy.gif)
Let’s start with how exactly Stealth mode works. By holding a button you enter the sneaking mode. What it does is it lowers your speed of movement making your steps silent and at the same time it enables you to see the enemies cones of vision. Now all you need to do is get behind your enemy and snap its neck.
(https://media.giphy.com/media/3ov9jJ3INPRPK6uRlC/giphy.gif)
The challenge starts when you bump into squeaking terrain like old wooden footbridge - here every step will make a noise. To mitigate that you will have to move even slower with gentle use of the analog stick.
(https://media.giphy.com/media/l1J9vcp2YJ6OBNP6U/giphy.gif)
To upgrade your sneaking capabilities you can use special equipment that increases your speed or allows you to ignore the loud terrain. There are also the Chrono Inhibitors capable of bending the time itself slowing it down for a moment when you most need it.
That would be all for today - hope you like it.
Cya Around,
Kuba
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What we’re often asked is:
“Why did you choose pure top-down perspective instead of for example an isometric view?”
Answer to this question is quite complex :) But here's a short take on the thought process behind our decision:
(http://media.indiedb.com/images/games/1/53/52826/Soulblight_ConceptArt02.png)
Creating a game in which you can express states of character psyche requires designing many different interactions and mechanic through which you can do it. To be able to do everything we want in isometric view we basically would have to create everything in 3D. Unfortunately this takes much more time. The level of gameplay depth we strived for would be very hard to achieve in 3D by the small team like ours. We knew it would most likely mean that we have to either simplify the game or compromise the quality of our art.
“If not isometric, then how about side-view”
The problem here was a combat mechanic we’ve chosen for Soulblight. We didn’t want for our game to be about button mashing. What we wanted is for the player to always think one step ahead while fighting. Because battlefield positioning was supposed to be a big part of tactics we felt that “Platformer” view limited a bit too much what we could do.
(http://media.indiedb.com/images/games/1/53/52826/Soulblight_ConceptArt03.1.png)
And so we’ve decided to go with a top-down view. It is the best way to present to player situation on the battlefield. On top of that top-down perspective works well with sneaking mechanic that we wanted to include in the game. This didn’t mean there were no challenges ahead. On a contrary there are reasons why this perspective isn’t a popular choice among the developers. We had a few ideas how to tackle those problems though. What were they and how we solved them? Well... this is a topic for another update :)
Cya Around,
Kuba
P.S Don't forget to visit our kickstarter page: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1752350052/soulblight
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Top-down perspective has multiple advantages. It allows to represent battlefield precisely, players can clearly see obstacles arrangement and distance from enemies. This view emphasizes tactical oriented combat and supports sneaking mechanics.
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Soulblight_ScreenShot11.jpg)
Despite all that, top-down is rarely used in video games. The reason is a difficulty in presenting the in-game world. There are many objects that don’t look presentable in top-down. Their geometry doesn’t allow to give us much chance to properly display them. In front view a simple wall is like a canvas on which we literally can put an intriguing painting on, but in top-down - it comes out as a line. To make things even more difficult there is also an issue with a lack of depth.
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Soulblight_ScreenShot03.png)
From the very beginning we were dedicated to solving those problems. We didn’t want to give up on all the benefits of top-down just because it was hard. We subconsciously started to design assets with interesting appearance in our perspective. Bridges rather than gates. Pits of pipes in place of columns. Flowery shrubs instead of walls. All of this led us to the unique art style of our game.
(http://cdn.edgecast.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/26308370/d8a6bf5969d301a2f2e5d73e040315dd5da474fe.gif)
There still was a problem with sense of depth thought. We solved it with parallaxing effect you’ve all seen on backgrounds in platform games. Assets are constructed from multiple layers which are slightly displaced depending of the camera position. Combined together they create an illusion of convexity like on the gif below
(http://cdn.edgecast.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/26308370/f7f869a3e1c251f4882de7f0fca2cd8a0a819c10.gif)
Hope you enjoyed our update!
Cya Around,
Kuba
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Today we have another extensive topic - Character’s Conditions :) Let’s just jump straight into it :)
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Card.png)
One of the early design challenges during the development of Soulblight was creating a context for all the action the player would have to take in order express his characters. To solve that we’ve decided to add a survival aspect to our game. We’ve done it by allowing the character to be a subject of various conditions. To avoid confusion and allow the player to easily compare buffs he receives we’ve created a special state called synergy. What it does is it represents the character’s overall well being (both physical and psychic) and greatly increases damage and resistance. To systemize the mechanics even further we’ve also divided the conditions into 4 categories:
- Positive Conditions - Simple buffs meant to make you stronger by temporarily increasing the synergy. Example: Rage
- Negative Conditions -Simple debuffs that won’t kill you but make you weaker by decreasing your synergy. Example: Hunger
- Injuries - Serious wounds. With every one of these you get closer and closer to death. You can sustain up to 4 Injuries at the same time. Example: Bleeding wound
- Taints - The personality traits you acquire during your journey besides giving you a passive synergy buff also unlock a new mechanics. Example: Greed
Now the fun part starts when the different conditions start to intertwine. Let’s look at hunger example:
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Conditions_Graph.png)
The hunger builds up with the time you play. It starts as a small harmless debuf but can build up to enormous proportion. That’s why It is important to eat regularly especially when you have a concussion injury (it will speed up the healing process). Saving candies for later might be a good idea but their nutritional value isn’t too high. This means that a piece of candy will nullify the hunger just for a short time. It is good thing to have one of these when hunger pins you down before the boss fight. When you run out of food and you’re very hungry you might also consider eating some bad berries. They will give you a food poisoning but sometimes it is better to suffer through it then allow for the hunger to build up even more. If you bump into this dilemma often it might be worth going with Glutton taint. One of it’s secondary mechanics is food poisoning immunity.
As you can see each mechanics condition is pretty simple. Put them tougher though and a deep gameplay full of interesting choices emerges :)
Cya Around,
Kuba
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(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Twitch_Backgroud_Kickstrter.png)
As you know our Kickstarter campaign will be ending this week. As the final gets closer I would like to invite you all to join me on the stream this Saturday. I will be showing freshly baked build of Soulblight and talking with Robert from RCandOP about how we designed the game. If you’d like to chat with us and check out how the game plays right now join us on twitch this Saturday at 23:00 CET ( https://www.twitch.tv/mynextgames )
Cya Around,
Kuba
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So our kickstarter Camping concluded yesterday. It was a close call and It went through just like 40h before the end. Thank you very match for all your support! I already started generating the demo Keys for the backers and will be sending them out as soon as they are ready :)
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Untitled-2.png)
Also as I mentioned before this Saturday me and RC and OP were running this stream of freshly baked Soulblight build. In case you missed it here's a chunk of it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQQ3na6JM7c
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(https://media.giphy.com/media/3oxHQxFmHmmvtIEOHK/giphy.gif)
With the kickstarter campaigning behind us this week we ware able to focus on development again. We've decided to start with adding some new enemies to the game
Also Indie DB has launch it's annual Indie of the year contest this week. if you have a moment drop by our page there and give us a vote: http://www.indiedb.com/games/soulblight
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(https://media.giphy.com/media/xUOxfjFfFOJA4UBaqQ/giphy.gif)
This week we've finalized punch cards mechanic. If you find one of thous little plastic plates during your journey bring it back to Quora the Scholar. She will decode them and let you read their content on the camp's floor screen. This way you will uncover Sanctuary's long forgotten secrets. The more you know the more powerful Prying Taint becomes.
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(https://media.giphy.com/media/3oxHQzBjy9B82OlM6k/giphy.gif)
This week we've finished putting together the camp. After playing Soulblight demo many of you mentioned the need of trying out different weapons without warring about getting killed. This is why we've decided that our camp will also include a training dummy.
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Hello and Merry Christmas :)
So the holiday season is almost here. The decorations seems to be everywhere. A little christmas tree even found its way to my basement-office :)
(http://media.indiedb.com/images/games/1/53/52826/XmasTree_2017.jpg)
With the festive season on the horizon we’ve been working very intensely for a last couple of weeks. As you know - we’ve been founded on the kickstarter last month. To once more show our gratitude we wanted to prepare a small christmas present for all of you :) And so we’ve taken on the task of closing Soulblight Beta before the holidays. Today I’m very happy to tell you - we’ve made it :)
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Soulblight_Beta.png)
So what does it mean that we’ve reach Beta. First of all, the backers that chose to support us with Early Seeker Kickstarter Tier or high will be receiving an access to the beta build (I will send out the keys in the moment). Besides that our demo build has received a significant update (It should update automatically via steam)
And here’s the demo change log:
- Access to the new camp location where you can talk to NPCs and prepare for the journey ahead
- Dual wielding mechanics
- Small improvements to the tutorial
- Rebalance of the taints available in the demo
- The pyraps can now spawn on the top of you when you enter a new platform
- Chrono Inhibitor power will now slowly regenerate over time
- Grip now works more as a tool that you can use against your enemies than obstacle you have to overcome
- The mobility state now increases your parry window
- The combat actions do not scale down when you don’t have enough stamina to perform them
- New spiked boots that you can find and use
- Now you can change targeted enemy with a right analog stick
If you’d like to share your thoughts with us on Soulblight - we’re gathering feedback on our subreddit r/MyNextGames (https://www.reddit.com/r/MyNextGames/)
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Subreddit.jpg) (https://www.reddit.com/r/MyNextGames/)
Meanwhile Take care of yourself, have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Cya around,
Kuba
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For this week update I decided to do something new - a video dev blog
Hope you like it :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFz012sZqX0 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFz012sZqX0)
Cya around and Have a happy new year!
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This week I'd like to show you few more automaton you will have to face while playing Soulblight
(https://media.giphy.com/media/3o752j1SxtbEyNgNa0/giphy.gif)
And here's this weeks dev blog update :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0ZBNobVHvc
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So This week we've been focusing on music and sound effects. Here's a sample:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBVvzXZqGdE
And if you'd like to learn more here's our weekly Soulblight dev vlog update:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18T6VyPWAg8
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This week's vlog update is a bit late as we're launching Beta Test sign ups today! :D
If you don't have a Demo key and would like to help us you can sign up here: https://goo.gl/forms/LUc8gZ8EOSCMQcS62
(http://media.indiedb.com/images/games/1/53/52826/Soulblight_Menu.gif)
And what we've been doing this week? As you can see we've been focusing on Menu. Yee yeee :) I know it is not the most exciting game element but someone smart once told me:
“Game’s title screen is like a first sentence of a book. It’s not a reason anyone reaches for it but it’s vital for drawing people in”
To be honest I’m not sure how true it is :) I personally am a slow reader and so books are not the medium I’m very comfortable with. But I’ve always been a fan of atmospheric game title screens :)
And of course here's vLog Update for this week :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIwwbz0xkmg&t=2s
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I like that zoom in effect.
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Thx :) Was trying to creating a feeling of entering the dungeon :)
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Yup, thats exactly what I saw.
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(https://media.giphy.com/media/l4pTbRU3W0H3ehqN2/giphy.gif)
Besides the bosses Pyropes are the most powerful enemies you will have to face on your way to the Soul Tree
And here's vLog entry for this week. Slightly longer then usually as I went in on some design decision details :) Hope You like it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hD1S8HUBjE&feature=youtu.be
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Hey Everybody!
For all of you who haven't noticed. We've launched our first round of beta tests yesterday. Don't worry if you've missed sign ups you can still apply for the next round here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdFNtX3nbWAx5fnHEnrDNpqZWtdraJLKhQAriCAcjDlM9ybkw/viewform?usp=sf_link
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Soulblight_BetaTests_1.png)
For thous of you who got the access to the game earlier Beta Tests also means a content update. Now let's go through some of the main changes:
- Now when your character get's wounded it emits a pulse that pushes away all the enemies.
- You no longer toggle the grip on and off with Y button. You now need to hold LT to have it active.
- Damage in grip dealt by the main character increased.
- New weapon type - daggers
- You can now use sword as w thrusting weapon by equipping it to the left hand
- Intro Update. It isn't finished yet as it still lacks the music but it already has a profession voice over.
- Menu overall including addition of option screen an credit screen
And of course here's this week's dev-vlog update. Am a bit tired in it as we've been crunching a bit to launch beta tests yesterday :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12EMWIEEEQQ
Cya around,
Kuba
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Before we go into the the main subject of the udate here's the gif for this week
(https://media.giphy.com/media/xUOwFSlrexXB6m3Hxe/giphy.gif)
We call thous guys Lost Souls they are the adventurers like you who've lost they're mind in the search of Soulblight.
So yee this week was the first week of our beta tests:)
First of all we had a quick fix update focusing on frame rate issues. If you've been experiencing frame rate spikes and slow downs you might want to update your testing version via steam.
Another thing is the keyboard controls. Some of you who played the game on keyboard mentioned the need of improving controls. I've decided it would be a good idea to have a broader open discussion on that topic with you all. If you have any suggestions on how to improve keyboard controls and would like to take part in the discussion here's the subreddit thread for that:
https://www.reddit.com/r/MyNextGames/comments/7x15r9/soulblight_keyboard_controls_discussion/
That would be all for this week.
Cya Around,
Kuba
P.S This week vlog will be a little late - I have some camera problems :/
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(https://media.giphy.com/media/EBZPQNiVG7hgnuTHxC/giphy.gif)
It's almost a tradition by now for me to peeper a gif for our weekly update ;) Today I have one showing a Pyrope Beast warping on top of me when I enter new level.
And if you'd like to know what we've been up to this week here's the vlog entry :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iff6urVAE-Y
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This week we've been experimenting with a new way of presenting dialogs. We’ve decided to go with this:
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/CharacterDialogNEW.png)
And if you’d like to know in more details what we’ve been doing her’s my weekly vlog update :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMpX7Wsx9y4
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Hello everybody
As you know for last couple of weeks we've been running Beta tests for Soulblight. This week we finally warped them up. It's time to summarize it :)
We run two rounds of test in which participated almost 500 people! We’re still going through the feedback but we’re quite satisfied as a lot of people really enjoyed what we’ve prepared :) The thing with which we were pleasantly surprised was the replayability. Although the beta test build included only one short level, most of people spend on it way over 1.5h that we anticipated to be the average.
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Soulblight_Beta_test_Time.png)
But not all our predictions were so much of the point. Testers found the game to be quite challenging (exactly how we wanted it to be:) )
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Soulblight_Beta_test_Diufficulty.png)
Although the feedback we’ve received was very positive it also helped us pinpoint few elements worth improving. To give more exposure to our characters in the camp we’ve decided to redesign the way we present the dialogues:
(https://media.giphy.com/media/65NtiC2E3cIyZ7uhoG/giphy.gif)
And to allow players to customize the controls we’ve added the control schemes. You can now select the one you like from 2 gamepad schemes and 6 keyboard schemes (2 of which support the mouse)
(https://media.giphy.com/media/5hgKVv0e7etuf4ZpdG/giphy.gif)
“Ok, so what's next?” - you ask. Well... with beta tests behind us we start to sail toward the release... but more on that soon :)
Meanwhile, Cya around
Kuba
P.S And here's the dev vlog for this week :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLiUompWKqc
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(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Soulblight_ConceptArt08.png)
Time to make it official!
Soulblight will go Live on Steam MAR 15th!
http://store.steampowered.com/app/530930/Soulblight/
SHARE & SHARE & SHARE! ;) THE WORLD MUST KNOW! :P
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvbmU8r_tBA (Story Trailer)
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Soulblight hits Steam on Thursday meanwhile this weekend we were presenting and testing it at Create Together Conference in our home town Czestochowa :)
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/38940639670_0624b3117f_k.jpg)
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/40708074802_2337991989_k.jpg)
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/40751127601_9c3ec3d621_k.jpg)
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/40707898572_44f963dd6f_k.jpg)
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/39856190525_2d8335d0dc_k.jpg)
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/25879723917_28db31d39c_k.jpg)
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Ha, persistence does pay off in the end :) Congratulations, and good luck!
As always,
Minotauros
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Good Luck!
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Thx guys!:)
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Hi Everybody
So we're finally here - Just a moment ago Soulblight when live on Steam. :)
http://store.steampowered.com/app/530930/Soulblight/
As you might know Soulblight is a personal project for us. For this special day I asked our story designer Jurek to tell you about it:
=========================================
Hi, Jurek here
Today I wanted to tell you about a week when I got really annoyed with Kuba - Soulblight's designer, programmer and generally the heart and soul of the project.
With our release date approaching Kuba wanted me to write something personal about our game and about what we wanted to say with it. I wasn't really happy with the idea, for two reasons. Firstly, everything I wanted to say with Soulblight I already said in the game using all the tools we had to convey it. I feel that retelling it here would spoil it for those who are actually going to play the game. And secondly, I don't think it's ever a good idea to interpret any piece of art form for someone else. That's something that has to come to every single person individually.
But Kuba insisted. We argued a little bit about it, I tried to explain that I don't know anything about marketing, and of course as a writer I had to throw in "I'm not a salesman" somewhere into the discussion. But it still didn't change his mind.
So I sat down and tried writing knowing that I will fail so that I could show him the results and say "See, I told you so!"
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Soulblight_ScreenShot15.png)
I tried approaching it from many different perspectives. I started by explaining why we wanted to make a difficult game. The obvious reason being that those are the games that we ourselves enjoy. We like the challenge whether it be a From Software production or something conjured by the likes of Bennett Foddy. I would also slip in something about how what we wanted to say would not work had the game been easy.
But I wasn't quite happy with the result so I tried another approach
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Soulblight_Gif_Game13.gif)
I started writing about what kind of a gamer is a rogue-like player? Someone who is willing to lose all the in-game progress with every attempt and what does that say about them and their determination? Then I started to wonder what would happen if they were presented with another way? A short cut. Would they take it? What if we tempted them enough? Then I touched a little bit on morality systems in video games and how we wanted to incorporate them in Soulblight.
But again it seemed that with every word I wrote I got further away from what's my personal take on this game.
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/IMG_20170523_105405_1.jpg)
So I wrote about how the idea of Soulblight came to be. I explained how Kuba surprised me when he told me about wanting to make a story-driven rogue-lite. I didn't expect that since it's not typical of a game of that genre.
But I didn't feel that it was good enough either. I told Kuba that I don't know what else to do, but he annoyingly (to me at that time) said "keep trying and remember keep it personal". I felt hopeless and angry.
I needed some way of venting my frustrations. So instead of writing I, naturally, started to procrastinate. After a while I decided to pick up a controller and play our game, you know to "look for inspiration". It successfully managed to distract me from what I was really supposed to do. So I played and I died a couple of times, as I usually do. But I didn't quit, knowing what's waiting for me as soon as I'm done. With each play through I got a little bit further. After a couple of hours of playing something unthinkable happened. I managed to beat that one boss that I always lose to. I couldn't believe it. I had to adjust myself in my seat as I continued to play. I got a little further then I beat another level and then another boss. That's when my palms started to sweat as I knew I was getting closer and closer to the end. Then another boss fell. Despite the fact that I knew exactly what would happen next I got nervous and a thought came to my mind "Oh my God, I'm going to do it! I'm going to beat this game!". After an evening of avoiding responsibilities I did it, for the first time since the beginning of the production process I managed to beat our game from beginning to end.
As a game creator you hope to invoke partilucar feelings in people playing your game. But because you yourself designed it, wrote it and seen it numerous times you can't know for sure if you achieved that effect. So the only thing you can do is to hope that it's there and that the players will know what you meant. And when I finally beat the game, despite hundreads of hours of testing I have a feeling that maybe they will. That's when I thought "Maybe that's something worth telling people about?".
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/DA_SIE.png)
That's all I wanted to say. Sorry it took this long to say it, but if I was to shorten this whole thing to a single line, I don't think it would do us any good - "Soulblight - it's more fun than writing a paper".
Lastly, if you got through this whole text, I applaud you. That's a good indicator that you don't give up easily, so maybe, just maybe you're the person we're speaking to.
That's it from me. I really hope you'll enjoy our game.
Jurek
*Before writing this I didn't realize that I'm this childish.
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Hello Everybody
Hope you didn't think that I will stop posting after the launch :)
(https://media.giphy.com/media/LTGR27b6G1v1qPI7Cc/giphy.gif)
Although the game is released we're still putting some extra effort into it. If you haven't noticed Sunday night there was an update. Here's a short change log:
- Slightly decreased shop prices
- The Dead pixel issue in the middle of the screen fixed
- The info about game progress and best run time added to the save slot
- Minor fix in the Sound pipeline (hope this was the thing causing sound staggering. I can't be 100% sure as I wasn't able to reproduce it :( )
- Slight Taint power adjustment for the purposes of balance
- Other minor bug fixes
Also for thous of you who has been following us since the kickstarter. You might remember this stretch goal:
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/AlterEnding.png)
Forgot to mention It earlier but although we didn't reach this stretch goal we decided we can't imagine our game without it - the game has two endings :)
Cya Around
Kuba
P.S
For thous who follow my weekly dev vlog here's the missing one form the last week (I recorded it but didn't have time to post it)
https://youtu.be/hsqz6a9w1IQ
And here's another one I recorded yesterday
https://youtu.be/A0pfi4_pEeY
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Hey Everybody
Before we move on to this week's topic Let's tackle the official part first - New Soulblight update has just went live :) Here's the change log:
- New Language Support: French
- New Language Support: Italian
- Stamina Cost of Block lowered (We want for it to be more useful for heavy armored characters)
- Pad control schemes with inverse block and dash buttons added
- Every locked chest will now contain at least one item
- Slight re-balance of Dr. Morikay Boss fight. (More info here: http://steamcommunity.com/app/530930/discussions/0/2650805212060856683/)
- Other minor bug fixes
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Soulblight_WhatsNext.png)
Ok so now let's move to the topic at hand - What's next for Soulblight
Although the game has already been released we'd like to continue improving it on weekly basis. I've sat down this week and wrote up a roadmap. I decided it would be best to keep you guys up to date so here's the plan for 3 upcoming weeks:
- Taint Room progression
- Leaderboards
- Two additional taints
If you guys have any ideas on what you'd like to see added to the game feel free to post them on our subreedit - r/MyNextGames (https://www.reddit.com/r/MyNextGames)
Cya Around
Kuba
P.S
And of course dev vlog for this week :)
https://youtu.be/WMmeW-10OEI
And here's combat mechanics discussion thread I mentioned:
http://steamcommunity.com/app/530930/discussions/0/1697168437869857476/
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Hey Everybody - Happy Easters!
Yup! The new Soulblight update is now live. When you launch the game you might noticed the following things:
- Taints are now randomly assigned to the path
- Not all taint room paths are unlocked from the start
(https://media.giphy.com/media/ZxnNIUIir6TXdvPEtC/giphy.gif)
What we've realized during last couple of weeks was that allowing player to chose from all 4 taints every level actually decreased the replay value of our game. After few runs everybody has a favorite setup and stops experimenting with other available option. Yes - randomly assigning taints to the path and adding a lot of new taints would have solved the problem. Although we plan on adding new personalities it will take some time and we thought this problem couldn't wait that long. On the other hand some of you mentioned the game could use some additional progression mechanics. And so the idea pop into our minds - we've decided to kill two birds with a one stone :)
(https://media.giphy.com/media/7ziKpVb84K0xOkGMHK/giphy.gif)
Now at the start of the game only two paths with random taints will be available. This way you will no longer be able to use the same taint setup in every game. To get access to additional choice options you will need to unlock the other paths. You do it with Corrupted Cores. Every time you defeat the boss you will get one Corrupted Core. Power up the taint room with 3 of thous and a new path will open :)
(https://media.giphy.com/media/BMHu9qAeHWs5CZRHMD/giphy.gif)
To add even more depth to taint selection we've also introduced to the game a less powerful version of the core. The Energy Core will alow you to re-role one of the taint options and it is now available to buy at Cecil's Dungeon Crawling Paraphernalia Emporium ;)
Cya Around,
Kuba
P.S
The Dev vlog for this week:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoNbfnnuCwQ
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Hey Everybody
As you might know on Saturday we were celebrating Soulblight release in Kraków
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Party.jpg)
I stayed up a bit longer on friday to finish adding leaderboards to the game. And so the new the update is live :) Now the players will be ranked by two factors. First base on their progress, then base on their time. When you launch the game you might realize that actually it includes two simular rankings.
(https://media.giphy.com/media/kj41vc0DJ1jKpxC5DK/giphy.gif)
As I plan to regularly update the game to keep results relatively comparable the scores from the last few updates will be stored in the "THIS ROUND" category. This leaderboard will be cleared on month to month bases. Don't worry though, we won't let your best runs to fall into oblivion :) Thous will be stored in "ALL TIMES" category as well :) If you've been able to pull of particularity good run before this update and you have it on your Save Slot it should be included in the ranking as soon as you launch the game.
(https://media.giphy.com/media/x49Ee9qXHpEft3D2Hg/giphy.gif)
Hope to see some of you tomorrow in Kraków :)
Cya Around,
Kuba
P.S
And the dev vlog for this week :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJSjq6d8pxo
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(https://media.giphy.com/media/jlrRVSN6r1JhdJ7tCr/giphy.gif)
Hey Everybody
Another week - another Soulblight update :) This week we've added new Hypochondriac taint to the game. There is of course a new achievement available for aquiering it as well :)
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Hypochondric_Achivemnt.png)
P.S
In this week's vlog we have a special guest :) Bartek my cousin's son doped by basement studio :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEDB3aEoxh4
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(https://media.giphy.com/media/1yn1tZvznaopkjZlI5/giphy.gif)
This week somthing for speedrunners - The Impatient Taint :)
And of corse the dev vlog for this week:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mbGlDv004Y
And if you're intrested in Hyperion audiobook I mentioned here it is:
https://www.audible.com/pd/Sci-Fi-Fantasy/Hyperion-Audiobook/B002V5BLIW
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(http://media.indiedb.com/images/games/1/53/52826/Gauntlets_01.png)
For this week's update we have three new gauntlet type weapons. As you can see this are designed around dealing passive damage. We've also significantly increased overall passive damage effectiveness. With this changes we hope to create new play style for both faster and slower characters. Pick up a pair of gauntlets and bleed your enemies to death! :D
Cya Around,
Kuba
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(http://media.indiedb.com/images/games/1/53/52826/Gloves02.png)
Hello everybody,
This week we added three more gauntlets. They will empower your fist fighting efficiency or can be used in combinations with other weapons as well.
As you can see, we keep adding new stuff on weekly basis. We have lots of ideas for how to enrich the game and we want you to help us choose thous we should go with first :) This is why starting today once a week we will set up a poll on our Discord channel. Currently we're considering witch of the light armors we should add in the next update - sneaky Nerajatan Robe and spikey Camahueto Armor!
(https://media.giphy.com/media/5R2PZf8md78zD8XM3L/giphy.gif)
Here's the link to the discord channel where you can vote: https://discord.gg/trP7mPE
Poll will be ending on next Wednesday
Cya Around
Kuba
-
Hello everybody,
This week’s update is a bit late as we needed to patch couple of new bugs that you’ve reported after the optimization round we’ve performed last week. The build with all the fixes is now up and running :).
(http://media.indiedb.com/images/games/1/53/52826/Poll_Winner01.png)
The new version of the game includes also a new Camahueto Armor Set that you’ve chosen to be added in last week’s pool. Its Passive Damage ability will empower your close-combat-oriented style and maybe help you survive a bit longer then without it ;)
(https://media.giphy.com/media/LTpoHpW9OXiUKNToKp/giphy.gif)
This week’s weekly Discord poll is already up as well. It gives you a chance to decide between another two armors - light Bull-leaper's Suit (on the left) and studded Armor of Oblivion(on the right). Poll is ending this Wensday
Vote here: https://discord.gg/trP7mPE
Cya Around
Kuba
P.S
Took a one week break from my weekly vloging and decided to move the vlog day to wensday. Here's the vlog from last week.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTtqCOU6njM
-
Hello everybody,
This week Soulblight armory have been enriched by Bull-leaper Suit which you've chosen in our Discrod poll! (www.discord.gg/trP7mPE) Although it offers small protection value its power lies with “Faster Sneaking” unique property. Thanks to this you’ll be able to avoid damage in another, more gentle way ;)
(http://media.indiedb.com/images/games/1/53/52826/Poll_Winner02.png)
Also this week we’ve added an utility feature that you all might find very useful - a chance to preview the taint before acquiring it! Just walk onto the selected platform and the card with all the info will appear. Now, you will never be forced to blind pick the taint when you don’t remember it’s symbol.
(https://media.giphy.com/media/fsct30zebya3VQg7Qb/giphy.gif)
And of course the poll. :) This week it’s a bit different as you are choosing between two taints: Superstitious and Slothful.
(http://media.indiedb.com/images/games/1/53/52826/Taints_pool01.png)
Which one should we add to the game first? Let us know by voting at our Discord channel: www.discord.gg/trP7mPE
Poll is ending traditionally next Wensday.
Cya around,
Kuba
P.S
I bumped into NetMoverSitan Soulblight series this week. Love his voice over for characters and epic episode cliffhangers :D Go check it out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kPzUm8InNQ
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(https://media.indiedb.com/images/games/1/53/52826/Supertitious_Poll3.png)
Hello everybody,
Yep Another week - another update :) This time in our weekly poll ( discord.gg/trP7mPE ) you’ve chosen the Superstitious taint to be added to the game.
There has been a lot of changes in Soulblight recently, hasn’t it? The time has come to refresh the competitive element of our game :) Today we'll be resetting our online ranking. (don't worry you best run will still be stored in all times section). Let us all take one final look at this rounds best players and congratulate Terk for being at the top for such a long time.
(https://media.indiedb.com/images/games/1/53/52826/Round01_resoults.png)
With the launch of a new round of competition we would like to spice the things up a bit and introduce Soulblight Weekly chellenge!
Here's how it will work:
- From now on every Friday evening we will be resetting "This Round" leaderboard
- The Person at the top of the board at the moment of the reset will be announced the winner
- The winner of the challenge will be rewarded with a little reword that we will announce at the start of every round
(http://press.bulbboygame.com/images/promo01.png)
This week you are fighting for a game made by our good friends at Bulbware - Bulb Boy: https://store.steampowered.com/app/390290/Bulb_Boy
(https://media.giphy.com/media/1esQDsJRlIORFQndyn/giphy.gif)
Ohh and a new weekly poll is already live! Once more we're choosing a Soulblight armory. Which one should we add next week? Light Estaut armor (right) or Studded Armor with passive damage(left)?
Let us know by voting at our Discord channel: discord.gg/trP7mPE
Poll is ending traditionally next Wensday.
Cya around,
Kuba
P.S
NetMoverSitan made a taint guide - go check it out
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mv7s7qbkJn8&t=0s
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(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/SoulblightDemo01.png)
Hello everybody,
Today we have a little surprise for you all :D This week we’ve launched Soulblight Demo on Steam! We will be updating it along the main game. If you’d like to follow our and you don’t own the game drop by our Steam page and Downlaod the Demo
https://store.steampowered.com/app/530930/Soulblight/
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Round_02_Res.png)
Our first Weekly Soulblight Challenge is behind us. Let’s all congratulate NetMoverSitan for winning this round!
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/57/56242/thumb_620x2000/realm_characteristic_01.jpg)
To those who didn’t make it - don’t warry, The next Soulblight Weekly Challenge is about to begin! This time you are fighting for “Archaica: The Path of Light” - The game made by two brothere Marcin and Piotrek Tureccy also know as The Two Mammoths.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/550590/Archaica_The_Path_of_Light/
As to our weekly poll - you’ve chosen the Estaut Armor to be added to the game. It’s a fancy one yet boosts your sneaking ability! It’s another one with “Faster Sneaking” special property. It seems to us you like this ninja-like approach to the game ;)
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Poll_Winner_Estaut_Armor.png)
And of course a new weekly poll is already live! This time your choosing on of two taints based on diferen designe aproach. Insted of granting you ability to build up synnergy they ofere a you a small fixed bonus and a powerful combat altering mechanics empowering certain equipment builds.
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Taints_-_Fierce_Unyielding.png)
Let us know witch of these should we add to Soulblight this week by voting in a poll on our Discord channel: www.discord.gg/trP7mPE
Poll is ending traditionally next Wensday.
Cya around,
Kuba
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(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Poll_Winner_Unyielding.png)
Hello
Another week is behind us and once more a new update is live. This time you’ve chosen an
Unyielding taint to be added to the game. Of course a new weekly poll is also already live. Armor of Oblivion or Nerajatans Robe decide which should we include in next weeks update. Vote on our discord channel www.discord.gg/trP7mPE Voting ends on next Wednesday.
(https://media.giphy.com/media/vNO1KQ5LFylbJg5DnD/giphy.gif)
As to our Weekly Soulbluht challenge - This week the winner is Kruker and he receives the Archaica steam key.
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Round_03_Res.png)
The “This Round” leaderboard has been reseted and the competition for another reward has begun. This time - Lust for Darkness. The game isn't finished yet but we've got our hands on the exclusive demo available only during their kickstarter campaign:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/523650/Lust_for_Darkness/
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/39642-teaser1.jpg)
Person on the top of "This Round" leaderboard next friday evening will be receiving the key
That would be all for this week
Cya Around
Kuba
-
Hello everybody,
And another Weekly Soublight Challenge is over! This time, Kruker is the winner of Lust for Darkness steam key! Congratulations!
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Round_04_Res.png)
We don’t slower the pace - the next prize to win in your struggle will be demo of a photorealistic survival horror game - The Beast Inside!
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/d7fa26467bf80ae1ad5c47b824f60904_original.jpg)
https://store.steampowered.com/app/792300/The_Beast_Inside/
Armor of Oblivion turned out to be our weekly poll winner!
This nice piece of armor have a fine protection from distant strikes and gives you a passive damage bonus, when you are in close combat!
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Poll_Winner_ArmorOfOblivion.png)
And finally, our new weekly poll is already live! This time we are moving to more advanced taints from second level. You’re choosing between Stubborn and Sly. The first one is for fanatics of exploration and long Soulblight sessions ;) The second Taint make your character borned with a silver spoon in his mouth - you obtain a chance of doging the atack, when you are seconds away from getting injured or even killed.
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/PollStubborn_vs_Sly.png)
Let us know which of these should we add to Soulblight this week by voting in a poll on our Discord channel: www.discord.gg/trP7mPE Poll is ending traditionally next Wensday
Cya Around,
Kuba
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Yeee it’s this time of year again - the summer sale is here! For the occasion we have -25% promotion. With this announcement out of the way time to get to our weekly update part.
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Round_05_Res.png)
This weeks high score leader is once more Kurker. Let’s all congratulate him on winning The Beast Inside exclusive kickstarter demo key. The price for the next week is Cyber Sentinel. It's a game made by fellow indie eveloper from our home town Częstochowa - Marcin Puchalski
https://store.steampowered.com/app/485970/Cyber_Sentinel/
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/cyber-sentinel-wip-canon-last-designed-level.webm.jpg)
As usually we have a new update live this week. In our weekly pool you’ve chosen the Sly taint to be added to the game. As we were working on implementing it we’ve realized it would be best to remove the synergy bonus in favor of increased wound avoidance probability. This way the taint will feel much more unique. We also decided to change the wording and the name to fit the theme of the game better
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Poll_Winner.png)
This time in our weekly pool we’re choosing on a new weapon. Citizen's Sting (Left) or Corsair (Right) - decide which one we will add by voting in on our discord channel: www.discord.gg/trP7mPE
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/bronie-01.png)
The poll ends as usually on wednesday.
Cya around,
Kuba
P.S
NetMoverSitan started to put together the the Soulblight Lore videos putting together all the breadcrumbs:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLH9Mit56r5dsPJ5G_Ik2hZuPaXbhVmY9p
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(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Round_06_Res.1.png)
Hey Everybody!
It’s Friday evening and the 5th Weekly Soulblight Challenge has just ended. This week's winner is NetMoverSitan. Besides claiming the reward he is also the FIRST PERSON EVER to reach 100%. This means he has not only reach the end of the labyrinth but did so without using any taints! We will need to find a special way to commemorate his achievement ;)
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Poll_Winner08_1.1.png)
Meanwhile the new 1.16 game update is up. Here's what's new:
We’ve added the weapon that you’ve chosen in this weeks discord poll - The Corsair.
Shields in the game from now on posses special PARRY property. Equipment with this tag will not decrease your blocking speed. Now the shields will no longer feel counter-intuitive when it comes to blocking. To balance this out we’ve also decrease the defensive stats of all shields. To use them effectively you will have to actively block the incoming attack. This will differentiate shields from other pieces of armor.
(https://media.giphy.com/media/dIUGcN4uNtcilP0UjO/giphy.gif)
As to our weekly poll. Once more you’re deciding on a new armor set that we’re about to add to the game next week. Poison Armor (Left) Boilersuit (Right) - Vote on Soulblight Inner Circle Discord Channel - www.discord.gg/trP7mPE
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/33/32982/thumb_620x2000/screen05.png)
https://store.steampowered.com/app/390290/Bulb_Boy/
And of course “This Round” leaderboard has been reseted and the new Soulblight Weekly challenge is now Live. The reward this time - Bulb boy. Person on the top of "This Round" leaderboard next friday evening will be receiving the Steam key
That would be all for this week folks! ;)
Cya around
Kuba
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(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Poll_Winner_BoilerSuit.png)
Yup - the new Soulblight update is up! :) Last week you've chosen a Boilersuit in our discord poll and so here it is! As you can see besides improving your sneaking abilities it also contains a black steam special property. This makes it an interesting choices for those walking the reckless path.
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/RESZ07.png)
As to our weekly Soulbligth challenge. This time we have someone new on the top of the list - Kraj of the Mimis. Congratulations - the Bulb boy steam key is yours!
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/HeartOfIron4.jpg)
Reward for the next week's top contender - Hear of Iron IV - https://store.steampowered.com/app/394360/Hearts_of_Iron_IV/
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/weapon_poll2.png)
And of course our new weekly poll is up. Once more you will be choosing a new weapon for Soulblight. Silent Guardian (Left) Scimitar (Right) - Vote on our discord channel - www.discord.gg/trP7mPE
Cya Around
Kuba
-
Hello everybody,
It’s time for another weekly update! This time we have many intresting new staff for you.
Let’s start with our traditional poll - this time you’ve chosen a Silent Guardian - quick and beautiful piece of steel, isn’t it?
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Poll_WinnerSilentGuardian.png)
On current poll we move back to the taints. Enter our Discord ( www.www.discord.gg/trP7mPE ) and chose between Stubborn and Slothful!
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Stubborn_Lazy_poll.png)
Also, this week we were improving our tutorial sequence to make it more clear and help you to learn how to survive in Sanctuary, using some fancy prompts and cut scenes like this one:
(https://media.giphy.com/media/9uIjF6TyPNXJdeilmG/giphy.gif)
Another thing we added is a new mechanics which allows you to learn recipes and brows them in character information menu:
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Transmutations.png)
At the end we are proud to announce that the winner of our Weekly Soulblight Challenge is NetMoverSitan!
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Round_08_Res.png)
His award is key for Hearts of Iron IV! This week you're fighting for Interplanetary: Enhanced Edition steam key!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/650220/Interplanetary_Enhanced_Edition/
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/s1-330a6800dddba84b421dc56f53bef940.jpg)
Good luck!
Cya around
Kuba
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Ok everybody - new Soulblight update is up. We've added The Slothful taint.
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/AAAAAAAAAA.png)
It was a crazy week. Last Thursday Foundation Indie Games offered us a chance to showcase our game at ChainaJoy conference in Shanghai. It is an awesome opportunity but there's a problem - the event starts on Sep 3rd.
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/chinajoy.png)
So now we're rushing all the necessary preparations. This is also the reason this weeks update is a bit late. There is still a lot of work a head of us though. And we've decided it would be best to put our weekly updates on hold until we get back form Chainajoy. (This is why there has been no new poll this week)
Don't worry we will contionu with our Soulblight weekly challenges though. This week we have a brand new Contestor on the top of the board - Dundin! Congratulations!
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Round_09_Res.png)
The price for next week - Archaica the path of light. As usually person on the top of the board next friday evening will be receiving the key:)
https://store.steampowered.com/app/550590/Archaica_The_Path_of_Light/
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/maxresdefault.jpg)
We will keep you guys updated on our unexpected journey to China. Meanwhile take care! And see you back on September 10th.
Kuba
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Hello Everybody
Kuba from My Next Games here. How's it going? For us it's been very intensive two months. If you follow our social media or steam/discord weekly updates you probably know there's been a lot of new features coming to Soulblight recently. I will soon write an article summarizing all the changes but today I would like to tell you about our recent trip to Chinajoy.
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/mmexport1533468362411.jpg)
It all started very suddenly when we've been contacted by people from Foundation Indie Games Poland (IGP). They've asked us if we would be interested in becoming a part of the Polish Game Stand at Chinajoy this years. To be honest I was a bit surprised. I knew the event was in just one week but we weren't planing on participating. We didn't even apply for the IGP recruitment for it. The representative of IGP explained that one of the games that was supposed to participate dropped out on the last minute and that they are looking for a replacement. As Soulblight was already a part of the IGP Stand at PAX West Seattle twice they though that it would be a good game to showcase in China as well :D.
I've never been to China so I said - Let's do it!:D
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/chinajoy.png)
Day #1
After a week of intensive preparations and over 12h flight we landed in Shanghai. The airport looked like a regular European airport only bigger. The first noticeable difference was the wave of heat that struck us when we left the building. We were very glad that our hotel seemed to be not too far. We soon realized it wasn't exactly true. Taxi trip took us almost 45 minutes! It looks like everything is bigger and further away here. The rest of the day we spend sleeping of the trip.
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/chine_shanghai_terminal_fr_2013.jpg)
Day #2
After good 12h sleep we woke up at 10 A.M. The Chinajoy was still one day away so we decided to spend the day sight seeing and getting acquainted with original chines food ;)
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/DSC_0023.jpg)
Day #3
The first day of the event. We woke up at 6 A.M so we can get to the venue earlier and set up the stand. Here's how it looked like:
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/DSC_0024.JPG)
After the event we went for the Polish party organized by IGP and Polish Institute in Beijing. We didn't realize that It took place in fancy five star hotel. When we got to the sight we felt a bit under-dressed wearing our regular cloths. Fortunately when guests started to arrive the feeling disappeared. The party was specifically designed to promote Polish games. There were even a dedicated stations provided by the organizers with our games so the guest can check them out.
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/38425241_1806087722800678_7024239019118559232_o.jpg)
Day #4
The second day of the event. Today we decided to get to the venue by subway. We didn't realize we'er going to travel during the rush hour. It was so crowded that despite all the air-conditioning and ventilation it was still hard to breath. Fortunately the Subway is very efficient and we were able to get to Chinajoy without any delay.
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/20180805_170837.jpg)
After the second day of the event we got invited to the party organized by Sina Games. It took place in an exclusive Light Club in the city center. The Club itself had this awesome cyberpunky feel to it.
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/20180804_215310.jpg)
Day #5
As usually on this kind of events the last day was a bit slower. We got to the stand 15 minutes late but fortunately at the business section people started to show up that day an hour later. Evening that day we decided to take a bit slower as well. We went for a little evening stroll by the river.
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/mmexport1533551530132.jpg)
Day #6
It was the last day of our stay in Shanghai. We woke up around 11.00 A.M and packed up. Our Chines adventure was over
Cya Around
Kuba
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Ok we're back with our weekly routine ;) Last Soulblight challenge was a bit longer than usually but it's time to warp it up. The exclusive Lust of Darkness Kicstarter Demo key goes to Skralde10. Congratulations!
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Resoult_10.png)
The reward for this week Cyber_Sentinel: https://store.steampowered.com/app/485970/Cyber_Sentinel/
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/cyber-sentinel-wip-canon-last-designed-level.webm.jpg)
Person on the top of "This Round" leaderboard next friday evening will be receiving the key
And of Course our weekly polls are back as well.
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Weapon3.png)
Duelist's Faith or Officer's insignium - Vote on our discord channel ( www.discord.gg/trP7mPE )
That would be all for today :)
Cya Around
Kuba
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Hey Everybody! Just published new Soulblight update. This week you've chosen Duelist's Faith to be introduced to the game.
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Poll_Winner_Duelist_Fate.png)
Meanwhile the new poll for this week is up on our discord channel - www.discord.gg/trP7mPE This time your deciding between this two Tains.
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Fierce_Stubborn.png)
And of course Soulblight challenge. The last week's winner is Dyurahan. Congrstulations!
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Resoult_11.png)
The reward for next week - Hexlogic
https://store.steampowered.com/app/785890/Hexologic/
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Hex.jpg)
Person on the top of "This Round" leaderboard next friday evening will be receiving the key
That would be all for today
Cya Around,
Kuba
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Hi everybody
It's been over two weeks since I posted the last update. Don't worry It didn't mean there were no Soulblight updates. I just didn't have the time to write about them :) We continue to run weekly polls on our Discord channel ( www.discord.gg/trP7mPE ). This week we're deciding on a new piece of armor to be added to the game.
(https://media.giphy.com/media/KZ01u0Bf1zWGeDWuZ1/giphy.gif)
Meanwhile today I finally decided to sit down and sum up changes to the game of the past two weeks.
New Taint: Fierce
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Poll_Winner_Steel_Ivy.png)
New Weapon: Steel Ivy
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Fiercy_Winner.png)
Besides new game elements we've also decided to slightly redesign one of the already existing taints. Prying no longer gives you the bonus for transmutating items. It now rewards you for excessive container searching ;) We feel this mechanics fits much better that personality trait
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Prying.png)
That would be all for today folks :)
Cya around,
Kuba
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Hey Everybody
It’s time for my another monthly update. This time I would like to start with an announcement :) We’ve been working on it in secret for couple of months and now it’s ready. TADAAAM!
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Soulblight_Switch.jpg)
Soulblight will go live on Nintendow Swtich on October 4th :D You can already find it in e-shop’s coming soon page ( https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/soulblight-switch )
The upcoming Switch premier didn’t mean we stopped our updates this month. Traditionally every week there’s been a new poll on our discord channel ( www.discord.gg/trP7mPE ). The two new weapons you’ve chosen to be added to the game were “Dragon's Breath” and “Citizen's Sting”.
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Poll_Winner_CitizensSting.png)
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Poll_Winner_Dragons_Breath.png)
As a new armor set you’ve chosen the Studded Armor
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Poll_Winner_1.png)
And lastly you’ve voted for a new Stubborn taint
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Stubborn.png)
This is of course not the end of what we have in store for Soulblight - more new exciting things will come in the future :)
Meanwhile take care and cya next month,
Kuba
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Hey Everybody
Yes you guessed - It’s November and it’s my another update summary :) Here’s what we’ve been up to this past month.
If you follow my little updates you probably know that past few months were quite intensive for us. Weekly updates, trip to Chinajoy and Soulblight Switch launch - after all this we feel a bit tired out. We decided to take October a bit slower. In order to do that for two weeks we put our discord polls on hold. This allowed us to catch a breath and address two fetcher from our backlog that were sitting there for while - AZERTY keyboard control schemes and “Pedant of the Rabbit God”
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/RabbitGodPedant.png)
The pedant is our way of commemorating NetMoverSitan who couple of months back bit Soulblight without using any taint (He’s the first person ever to do it). Thought it was impossible? Here’s the video of him doing it :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLX_dlfhLjs (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLX_dlfhLjs)
In the second part of October we went back to our week poll routine. We started of with weapons and before the end of the month this two new pieces has been added to our armory.
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Poll_Winner_OfficersInsignium.png)
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Poll_Winner_Boar_Fang.png)
Now we're voting on a new armor set. Here are the two between witch we're choosing:
(https://media.giphy.com/media/2t9ALcjWYM3V5DMbsn/giphy.gif)
Cya around,
Kuba
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Actual game development looks funny. People run in places and meetings to promote the game and post tons of colorful images in random unrelated forums. I guess it's making money at least, so it must be worth all that trouble.
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Hey Krice - sorry for the late response
Not sure what you want I'm just a dev and I'm sustaining this thread more of a habit than of anything else. I treat it more like a chronic of the development than anything else.
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Hey Everybody
Kuba from My Next Games here. Another month is behind us so it’s time for my traditional summary :D. Today we have some announcement.
I’ve noticed Soulblight active player community has grow a bit recently. Because of that I’ve decided to reactivate our Soulblight Challenge Initiative. This time though we will do it on the monthly basis. The longer time period will allow us put on the better prices and increase further the amount of people participating. So here’s how it will work:
- From now on every Month we will be resetting "This Round" leaderboard
- The Person at the top of the "This Round" Steam leaderboard at the moment of the reset will be announced the winner
- The winner of the challenge will be receive a reward that we will announce at the start of every round
This month challenge will last until JAN 16th. The winner will be receiving an awesome RPG game I myself have been playing for the past month - Tyrany :)
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/446659644.jpg)
This is not the end of announcements for this month though! Here’s another one - Soulblight is now supporting Hungarian language :D For this awesome news we have to thank one of the members of our community - Lostprophet.hu. He translated the entire game by himself and is running this awesome gaming site: http://lostprophet.hu/ - go check it out.
Now before wrapping the update up let's look at new taint and equipment we’ve added to Soulblight this month
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/ParryDagger.jpg)
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/uppity_winner.jpg)
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/swordbr.jpg)
(https://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/53/52826/thumb_620x2000/Poll_Winner_PoisonIvy.jpg)
As always don’t forget to visit our discord channel
( http://www.discord.gg/trP7mPE ) and vote in our polls to help us decide what we will add to Soulblight next. And cya next month :)
Merry Christmas!
Kuba
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I treat it more like a chronic of the development than anything else.
So it's like a blog and it's in a wrong forum.
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When I was about to start this blog thread over two years ago I asked if there was a place in this forum where I can do it. I was directed here. I agree My game isn't 100% pure roguelike but it have a lot in common with them (and for sure is not one of thous modern roguelites or roguelike-likes ) I thought ppl here might be interested. There's a free pretty extensive demo available on steam https://store.steampowered.com/app/530930/Soulblight/ (https://store.steampowered.com/app/530930/Soulblight/) check it out maybe you'll like it.
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It looks very nice. I wonder how this game performed on steam.
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Hey, everybody!
Kuba from My Next Games here. It’s been a while :). Almost 4 years have passed since I stopped writing these monthly updates. Why did I stop? Honestly - It’s because I didn’t have too much to talk about. Back then we were running out of money and we were unable to continue the regular Soulblight updates like we would have wanted. In order to survive we were forced to do contract work and we didn't have too much time to create our own content.
That didn't mean we gave up on creating our own games. Whenever we had some time we’ve been brainstorming ideas for our next title. After a while we finally came up with a one we wanted to pursue. There was a problem though - even though the idea was small it was rather ambitious. As it usually is with this kind of thing we needed funds to make it happen.
(https://media.indiedb.com/images/members/4/3867/3866478/profile/Hank_DoDL_IndieDB_Banner2.png)
Luckily we live in Poland and this place has a lot of opportunities for small indie developers like us. We took our idea and applied for various government funding programs. We were lucky enough and our concept was deemed interesting enough to get two grants.
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans//26308370/c97d8be0fc3ac320501268f484f577de4181946d.gif)
So… Here we are. Let’s make it official :) We’re working on a new game - Hank: Drowning on dry Land. It's going to be about a vigilante named Hank who has time travel super powers. Pretty useful for fighting badguys but it's maybe not the best for his mental health. It'll be free so don't forget to wishlist so you don't miss when we release it! Here's the link.
Hank: Drowning on dry Land Steam Page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1937880/Hank_Drowning_On_Dry_Land/ (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1937880/Hank_Drowning_On_Dry_Land/)
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans//26308370/2fbdafded4cbb49d8aa8c7f6e814e1638a5ac2d2.gif)
And here’s a shout out to the two institutions without witch any of this wouldn't be possible:
(https://media.indiedb.com/images/members/4/3867/3866478/profile/KreatywnEuropa_logo_dark.png)
Until next time!
Kuba