Hello hello!
It’s been a while, but we haven’t been partying and wasting time… At least not a lot. 😄
Time has come for a new edition of Covenant: Project Zero game development blog!
We’ve been hard at work on the development of our game. Over the past two months, we’ve made significant progress on all aspects of the game, from character portraits and user interface to entirely new systems.
Dear AI – so long, and thanks for all the fish
We put some time into exploring this new AI fad, and then – soon after – dropped the idea of using AI-generated art in-game. After all, pixel art is both beautiful, stylish and easy to implement, giving a much more polished look. And pixel art was the whole baseline idea we started with, and it gives a whole new dimension to the game itself.
Game design
Our game designers tackled the task of creating a consistent user interface style. We came up with a futuristic yet simple design that the devs can easily replicate in the game engine without needing to import additional sprites. The game is now starting to check boxes both on game play and the overall design. We’re incredibly excited to see how it will look when it’s finished!
Game development
We have been busy polishing the first chapter, but more importantly, we’ve been working hard on implementing crucial systems such as saving, sound volume control, inventory, vendors, and items. Items were made more useful and interactive, too. For example, you can now hold a screwdriver in your hand to unscrew bolts. Additionally, you can now purchase weapons and protection gear from in-game vendors and equip them in-game to tip the balance of the battle to your favor! We’ve also put a lot of effort into overhauling the combat system, developing quest mechanics further, and setting up the method for unexpected encounters.
Writing
Writing was polished further, and we’ve added both humor and some audiovisual suspense in direction to keep things interesting. With our atmospheric soundtrack coming along great – we’re more and more realizing we’re having a very serious soundtrack on our hands, which will be published simultaneously with the game release.
Marketing and upcoming dates
We’re working on opening our Discord game server to the general crowd and showcasing the game. Still TBD, as we want to make sure we showcase a fully functional game, but our team is working hard. We want to make sure we have a polished demo to show is an absolute priority, and kind of the whole idea of what game experience should be to us.
One major date which everyone’s been asking us about is still not entirely fixed – the release date. So – here’s an update! Early Q2 2023 is now becoming a very real release time frame! We are now months, not years or even quarters from having a completely finished product! While we can’t fix the date yet – April/May are starting to look real good!
Overall we’re making progress in leaps and bounds – and are super excited to share our game with the world so – STAY TUNED!