Hello everyone, After a week of excitement, Next Fest June 2024 Edition finally comes to an end. To each and every one of you who tried out the demo, provided feedback, and wishlisted the game--thank you so much!! I'd like to make a few announcements and let you know my plans as they relate to the demo release and Next Fest. Later this week, I will have a detailed postmortem on Next Fest from the developer perspective, which I will post on www.studioalemni.com. Then, regular monthly Developer's Logs will resume, updating everyone on the game's progress.

Demo Staying Available

In case you missed it: the demo was not removed, and will remain available until closer to the game's release. There were so many games in Next Fest, I see no reason to penalize folks who had interest in the game but haven't been able to check it out yet. So please feel free to take as much time as you need to check out Legends of Astravia's demo! And be sure to try it on the Steam Deck if you have one. In my opinion, that's the best way to experience the game. Also, if you plan on streaming the game on Twitch or creating a video on Youtube, feel free to let me know! I'm always happy to see how folks experience the game.

Summary & Response to Common Feedback

Many of you filled out the demo feedback form and provided a lot of great feedback. There have been many kind comments and positive feedback, which means a lot, as well as some critical feedback which helped bring my attention to areas I otherwise may have missed. For those who weren't afraid to be honest--I do really appreciate it! Next Fest as a whole has been a learning experience, and it's given me a better idea of what aspects of the game work and which ones do not. I wanted to acknowledge some of the most common feedback that came in, and my plans to address it in the full version (or future patch to the demo, if possible).

Battle System

The battle system is by far the most contentious feature in the game. Some folks really loved it and had a lot of fun with it, while others wished it was just plain ol' turn-based combat. It will be both fun and challenging to expand on the system and ensure it is enjoyable for everyone who has an interest in the game. For what it's worth, difficulty options are planned for the full game as I think it is the only way I can ensure both casual enjoyers of the story and more dedicated JRPG fans can enjoy the game to the fullest extent. Many expressed that while the battle system was interesting, it was also awkward, overwhelming, or felt lacking in depth at times. Being a relatively unique system, it's been challenging to balance. I especially felt that the demo didn't do a great job of showing its full potential, and the balancing was poor resulting in later battles getting a bit boring. I plan to make usability improvements as well as improve the excitement and reward. Also, there was a pretty egregious bug I didn't discover until mid-fest: Being unable to defend and fast forward at the same time with most controllers. The problem has been identified and the fix will eventually make its way into the demo.

Overworld Exploration

Exploration and puzzles are a huge part of Astravia, and once again I think the demo just did an "OK" job of showcasing it. Some folks expressed that picking up items felt a little awkward and cumbersome, and jumping over gaps felt slow and stiff. These are things I'll definitely be addressing in the final game, if not the demo. And of course, with my advertising the game's similarities to Golden Sun, there will absolutely be more puzzles in the final game than just a few push blocks. I'm sorry for not being able to include more in the demo!

Art and Design

A lot of folks really liked the pixel art, and most folks enjoyed the artwork. Quite a few people noted that there was a bit of a cohesion issue with the pixel art, character artwork, UI and sound, and I think this also may have had an impact on the game not doing so well during the fest overall. Some of this is a resource limitation (which ultimately is still on me since I am creating a commercial game)! Despite some commissions and occasional help from colleagues, I am still just one person. If I could, I absolutely would use gorgeous 100% custom pixel art and assets in every part of the game. But regardless, I think a lot of it genuinely can be improved. For example, I completely underestimated just how much those damn RPG Maker sound effects would affect the game's overall impression, and would have replaced them ahead of the Fest if I knew better. As development continues, I hope to make the game feel more cohesive and improve the art and sound where I can.

Future Plans

I am admittedly quite burnt out from the demo launch and Next Fest as a whole. I will discuss this more in the detailed postmortem, but I will need to take a little bit of a break and re-center myself before getting back to my regular development schedule. I'd also like to allow more time for feedback, reviews and thoughts to come through. When I get back into it, my plan is to make a few QoL adjustments to the demo, and then start working on mechanics adjustments and game content. As mentioned above, monthly developer logs will return in July, so keep an eye on those if you're interested on hearing more about the game's progress. And that's all for now! I'm looking forward to continuing development on the game. Everyone's support has been wonderful, and has served as a reminder as to why I do this :) Thank you so much! -Jaiden