Hello everyone, Apologies that this log showed up a little late! I have a lot of fun milestones to share in this slightly more long-form developer's log.

Organization & Documentation

January's primary focus was organizing and preparing documentation. This is actually a pretty common aspect of development that takes a lot of time, but it's hard to discuss in a developer's log since it's not entirely visual. There were two really big milestones in this category.

Ch1 Story Outline Finalized

The story outline for Chapter 1 has been completely finalized! In a document nearly 10 pages long, every aspect of the major story that will occur in the game has been summarized. There were a lot of sections I was worried about last year that are now completely cleared up. I think the story will feel very fulfilling to experience, even as a "Part 1".

Game Development Document

Generally, before starting work on a game, it's good practice to create a "Game Development Document" that serves as a blueprint for the entire game. While Legends of Astravia has always had plenty of digital documentation that describe the game's mechanics, story, and key elements, I never created a formal "document". There are some differing perspectives on this. Some believe in having an organic, digital, and always changing document, since the game very much can change throughout development. However, in my case, having a physical, printed document that I can hold in my hands is a valuable asset and motivator for the project.
So, at over 50 pages, the game has it's first official physical game development document! It's easy to understate just how incredible it feels to hold something like this in your hands and flip through it. For aspiring game developers who are feeling a bit "directionless", I really recommend this method.
The employees at the print shop that I had this done were also incredibly kind. They expressed that they were amazed to be able to work on something for a video game, and can't wait to check it out. After feeling a bit discouraged about my progress the past few months, this was a huge confidence boost. To those folks from the shop: if you're reading this, thank you for your kind words, and I hope the game meets your expectations!

1K+ Twitter Followers

The official Twitter reached 1,100 followers. This was a huge milestone! As a special celebration, I commissioned some art of Oliver:
Many of you have been following this game's development for a really long time, and it means a lot to have so many people wait for something and continue to have faith in it. I really hope to meet everyone's expectations with this project.

Continued 16-bit Progress

The 16-bit overhaul, while initially started in November, is somewhat of an ongoing process. Some of the areas that were already completed have been mostly reworked, and later areas whose assets were already created need to be recreated. It is going exceptionally well, and here are a few more screenshots and gifs of the demo areas in the new style:


As well as a preview of the new face graphics in action!:
Overall, development is going well, and I'm feeling very good about February's progress as well (which is in part why this devlog fell so far behind schedule!) Thank you for your continued support! -Jaiden