November Progress Report

Hey there! Hope everyones doing well and happy holidays to those gearing up for Thanksgiving.

There's no demo update this month, but I did want to share a lot of the new content that's been cooking behind the scenes.  Chapter 5 and 6 are probably the most intensive in the entire game to update to the new style.  Between entirely new sections and set pieces and the nature of actually reaching Broomhill village which...ya know, requires me to draw up a whole VILLAGE lol. But let's take it one step at a time.

So while there are quite a lot of new things worth showing off, the fact of the matter is that none of it is worth a version update for.  Most scenes beyond the current demo have minimal to no voice acting.  And so I wouldn't want to give out an update that pretty much only has unfinished story content.  That being said there are a number of new maps to look at, a couple of new enemies that are currently in the prototype phase, and the first official party member to join Red.

So  let's dive into some of the stuff you'll get to experience in the next update!

First things first, a reunion with everyone's favorite Hunter.  And FINALLY a name reveal at last, so I can start properly calling him by name.

And the name is Hati!  He'll be playing a big role in chapters 5 and 6 so better get used to him.  For now he points Red in the direction of Broomhill Village, and you'll be able to chat with him a bit about Werewolf hunting.  Eventually he'll even be a fully playable party member for the latter half of Chapter 6, but that's still a bit far off for now.  So, taking his advice Red heads down the right path.

And we'll meet our brand new enemy type.  The Crow Bandits.  Now there are a few variants of these guys that you'll be encountering but for now there are just two that I haven't even properly set up as enemies yet but we can take a look at the battle sprites regardless.

Up first is the "standard" variant, known as the Crow Claw.  For his well, claws.  This is the first human common enemy that Red will be encountering and with them comes a number of new mechanics and concepts.  Bloodlust will be a brand new mechanic, it functions as a sort of give and take.  The more humans you kill, the bloodier Red's bust will display.  And at various levels you'll get a variety of buffs and debuffs.  Culminating in a "Frenzy" where Red gains a massive attack buff, but at the cost of her defense dropping to nearly zero.

For our second enemy type we have the Crow Archer.  The first enemy to two hand a weapon.  He's more of a support unit who shouldn't be too bad in a one on one fight, but once these guys are in groups it's gonna start getting ugly real fast.  But let's go back to discussing "Bloodlust" for now.  When striking human type enemies  Red will be sprayed in the enemies blood.  So if that's how Red can get progressively more and more Bloody, the question becomes, how do you remove the Bloody state?

Great question!  And the answer is pretty simple.  MOST bodies of water will feature an option for Red to take a bath once she's bloody.  Doing so will wash off the blood and give you some randomized events.  But maybe DON'T try bathing in this new river map...or do.  I ain't gonna stop ya!

Getting back on track, eventually Red reaches the outskirts of Broomhill and Broomhill farm.  It's here we meet a brand new face.  I won't even play coy with this one, so give a warm welcome to the one and only Scarecrow!

Red encounters him in pretty bad shape.  Crucified and run through with a metal rod. Yet somehow he still clings to life.  Much like Dorothy though, Red manages to free the Scarecrow from his post and the two become friends pretty quick.

My version of the Scarecrow doesn't actually have a name, with him being given it by Red herself.  It's a nice little touch, at least I think! I hope you'll look forward to meeting him and seeing just what he's like, especially since...

Scarecrow will be your FIRST official party member!  In a twist that will shock anyone who played the games original versions since he wasn't even present. But that's right, help the guy out and you'll reach the first section in the game where you have someone following you around. For some context, Scarecrow was created to protect Broomhill village, but the Crow Bandits subdued him and tore through the place.  I have yet to begin work on the village proper, but I do still have a bit more to show off.  With the duo's first stop.  The Farmhouse, where Scarecrow's makers live.

The place is far too big to fit in a single frame, but the farm area has a lot of little places you can explore.  The house itself is quite large as well and will have a main floor, second floor, attic AND cellar.  So let's take a look at what you'll find inside.

A cryptic letter, and mention of a Wizard? What oh what could it be I wonder? Anyways the house has seen better days and theres broken things and blood all over the place.  Eventually you'll find the Cellar and have to find a way inside.

I wont go into detail about whats on the higher floors or where to find the key.  But I will leave you with one last screenshot to ponder. The view once you reach the basement.

Project Red has only just begun, and chapters 5 and 6 will mark a shift into some much darker content.  So if you're in for the ride, then strap in. It's about to get bloody...

So, that's a bit of a teaser as to the new content I've been working on.  I'm sure you can see why it's not really something worth updating the demo for though.  While there are plenty of new areas and scenes, there isn't much in actual GAMEPLAY here beyond exploring.  The new enemies aren't fleshed out yet nor do they have finished walking sprites.  Not to mention their unique mechanics like when they defeat Red and drag her off to their hideout and Red has to escape like in the original Metal Gear games.  And the village itself has yet to be started on, not to mention the art for bathing or bloodlust.  There's still a LOT that needs finishing.

That being said I am hopeful that I'll be able to get ONE LAST update before the end of the year.  I won't promise that it'll cover all of chapter 6, but it should contain chapter 5 in full and possibly half of chapter 6.  That should be more than enough for people to sink their teeth into then.

Once chapter 6 is complete, the games progress is going to take off VERY fast.  As there's only two more areas that will require this level of asset creation, and even then they won't be as tricky as designing multiple exterior and interior houses. 2025 is looking to be the year of Red's full release, so I hope you'll look forward to that and keep supporting me!