July Progress Report

Monthly update time.  As if nothing major has happened at all.

I've been working on a lot of behind the scenes content this month, stuff that's not quite ready to share just yet.  So we'll focus specifically on the new narrative content I got done and show off some of the artwork and locations.

Picking up from chapter 9, Red ventures toward her final destination.  However she comes across the most peculiar thing on the way.  A robotic person digging holes in the ground with his bare hands.  Just what is this about?

The man informs Red that he is a Clockwork Man, and insists that she call him Tinman despite her reluctance.  He was once a human but had his body undergo a transformation into mechanical parts.  As for the holes well, turns out he's lost his heart.  Seeing as they're heading the same way, Red offers to help find his heart in exchange for some back up against the monsters ahead.

One of the gimmicks of Chapter 10 is the Shovel item you can find.  Certain spots on the floor will allow Red to search for hidden items. These can range from useful magic rings to complete duds.  You can also take the shovel to earlier maps or wait for New Game Plus mode to go and find tons of hidden treasures throughout the first 9 chapters locations.

Tinman's battle programing and art is not fully completed yet but you can see that his bust is ready for now.  Being made out of machinery he's a very unique character and will interact with the mechanics and systems in interesting ways.  But I'm not going to sit here and talk about all of that without the proper visuals finalized.  So we'll save that chat for another day.

After much searching the duo will eventually find Tinman's old place of employment.  I must apologize here as this playtest had the lighting break on me and I did not have time to run through the whole section again on a new save to fix the issue.  So broken lighting is what we're stuck with for a few of these images.  That being said the two agree to split off here and it'll be up to you to head inside the ruins of the manor and uncover Tinman's buried past.

There's no serious combat or encounters in the mansion so you'll be free to explore it at your leisure.  Tons and tons of optional lore and information is stored in these walls.  So whether you're invested enough to seek it out or just want to move things along you can handle this section as you like.

Regardless, the things you uncover don't exactly go over well with the Tinman.  Despite her attempts to help him, he lashes out at her before asking to be left alone.  Defeated, Red abandons her new friend to his sorrow and resumes her quest.  After all her life is on the line.  And you don't have time to spare.

Annnd that's about all that I think I'll share regarding this story.  Chapter 10 doesn't really feature any dungeons or special encounters really.  It's a much tighter narrative.  But this is contrasted with Chapter 11 comprising almost entirely of the games final dungeon with little in the way of narrative moments.  Together they form a nice complimentary whole.

But on that note I will make something clear here.  This will be the LAST devlog heavily covering the games narrative and story.  From here we reach the climax.  All the games main endings, the final dungeon the, final boss, etc.  And I will not be spoiling anything related to these elements.  I really want you to enjoy the developments and be surprised by how things play out in the full game so this is something that needs to be done.

So with that being said, what will future devlogs look like?  Well there will still be plenty of other things to show off.  Certain CG's or enemies, as well as cleaned up parts from earlier in the game.  For example this month saw me actually create the games first dungeon which has been on the cutting room floor for a long time.   So things like that will be shown off.

Patreon will also have new rewards in light of the inability to share as much game as well.  The latest poll already decided that August will include some bonus Red x Monster themed artworks so, if you're into that you can consider supporting me there.

August will likely also have my first paywalled demo.  It's nothing crazy just a way for me to get feedback on the new battle system and game design.  It will basically just be a more finalized form of chapter 3 and 4 (ending with the Slime King battle) so if that's something you REALLY can't wait to play it'll be available as well.  I'll make another post here once that's available so no need to support now and then be stuck waiting.

All in all I wasted a few days being pretty bummed out this month but I'm already back on the grind and working toward the end goal.  I'm still excited to keep working and get this game in your hands, however I have to do it.

As always thank you for your continued support and kind words.