(This blog was initially shared on social media on January 31st, the anniversary of AwSW's release date.) Another year has gone by as today marks Angels with Scaly Wing's 8th birthday. Wow! It's hard to believe it's been this long. When I was initially planning the sequel (around 2017 if I remember correctly), I knew that the game with its increased scope and planned improvements compared to AwSW would take a long time to complete. It was then that I decided to create the webcomic Angels with Broken Hearts to both bridge the gap and give greater context to the setting and characters - which will be very relevant in the sequel. Of course, AwBH then turned out bigger than I initially expected as well, which I suppose is only fitting as it continues to tell new stories about the AwSW characters while I diligently continue working on the sequel. With over 300 pages already released, we may end up with over 400 in total when it's all said and done. For the last few years I believed the end of development for the sequel to be in sight, and we have never been closer to that than we are now. However, after missing the previously announced 2023 release date I am hesitant to make any announcements I may not be able to keep. As such, only expect one when we are very close to release and I'm sure we'll make it this time - even though I do already have a date in mind I'm aiming for. But while development has certainly taken its time, for me it is finally starting to feel like we're getting there. Why am I saying that? Because in our current build, the first playthrough of the game (seeing the first ending) is already fully playable, including the possible endings and all main character routes. Why is this such a huge milestone? Because the first playthrough alone will take the average player longer to play than getting 100% in AwSW (with all achievements and endings). As such, it should be no surprise that the script of this build is already significantly larger than that of AwSW in its entirety. So, what is the current state of development? What have we achieved so far, and what is still missing? Let's break it down: - Planning / Game design is 100% done. This includes the plan for the overarching story, mechanics, mini-games, characters, main and secondary character routes, all endings, etc. - Character designs are about 95% done. - Backgrounds are about 90% done. - Music is about 90% done. - We have finished sprites for 30 story-relevant characters so far. The sprites for about a handful of these characters are still missing (which makes a total of ~35 characters with story relevance in the game), and after that we only have to add an extra sprite to a character here and there based on other aspects of the game (such as what happens in certain endings and playthroughs beyond the first). AwSW had sprites for 21 different characters (with story relevance) + 8 one-off characters (cameos which only had a very small role in the game). The sequel will have many one-off characters as well, though they are handled differently this time. The current build has about ~30 of them so far. - Programming/writing is about 80% done. I still need to write and implement everything that is not available during the first playthrough based on my extensive notes for what we have planned for this. This includes secondary character routes, certain endings and things that can change throughout the game based on prior playthroughs. While nothing to scoff at, this is dwarfed by the content that's already in our current build. - CG Illustrations: ? These are pictures that are usually only seen once during a playthrough, such as when meeting a character for the first time (like Adine in the rain in AwSW) or as part of the story. We haven't made quite as much progress with these yet as with the other areas, mostly because many CG illustrations are dependent on certain other things in the game being finalized first. But with the previous milestone being met, making more of these illustrations is a focus for us now. The good thing is there is really no upper limit to how many of these we can include. Most likely, we will just keep making more until it's time to release this game. With all the progress in mind, I feel like I can finally start to share a lot more about the game in the coming months. For example, I already have a gameplay clip in mind I want to release soon. Of course, I know people still have a lot of questions about the game. I believe these are answered best by experiencing the answer, rather than just being told. To that end, I am also considering to release a demo for the game that would feature the entirety of the game's first chapter. With over 70.000 words, the script for chapter 1 alone is already the size of a novel. Preparing something like this might only be possible once we are close to release, though. Perhaps another option could be to release a smaller chunk or two of chapter 1 as their own demos. What do you think? In the meantime, I'll try thinking of more fun and interesting ways I can share more about this game.