Hello everyone! With today's update I wanted to focus a bit less on the usual status report and talk more about a central mechanic of Numina: The relationships between the characters and how it actually affects gameplay.

Through the 4th Wall into Shawn's Head

The central relationship in the game is obviously your bond to Shawn. If you're new around here (welcome!! ) one defining feature about Numina is that you as the player are a character in the game itself - as a mysterious voice in Shawn's head. Shawn is the protagonist or at least shares the spot with you. In-game you're being referred to as a guardian spirit. You interact with Shawn through player choices and he, along with the other characters, react to your decisions. They can agree or disagree with your views which will influence the strength of their relationship bond.
This is indicated by a icon that pop ups on the right of the screen (see in the screenshot above, this can be turned off in the game's settings if you wish to). Also "Manu" is my guardian spirit's name. If you got confused about a new character you never heard of before

C-C-Combo!

Shawn and you might share the center stage of the story. But the other party members are just as important. Even though they can't directly hear your voice you'll often get put in situations where you can influence Shawn's decision:
But now the central question: How does this impact gameplay? One thing I've always loved about some RPGs are Combo-Attacks. Two characters team up and combine their moves for an unique and cool-looking attack.
Improving these relationships not only unlocks new stroy paths (and maybe some romance options... possibly? ) but unlocks these powerful attacks that get stronger, the stronger your bond to that character is. It was important to me to not only have the relationships impact the story but also feed into combat.

Alpha Version Progress

I just finished polishing & playtesting the 1st chapter... so 2 more to go. But I can tell you that I'm growing more confident about the end product. It's a bit daunting thinking about all of you lovely people being part of Numina's history, waiting for the full release. I don't want to disappoint you and deliver something that's worth the wait. I also had a little suprise at the end of the 1st chapter... It actually took me a bit over 7 hours to finish and I only did a few of the available sidequests
So loads of content waiting for you! The other chapters aren't necessarily the same length, but I guess the full game will weigh in around 15-20 hours. Like... An actual game! Feels surreal that I actually did all of this. Also, if you want to get any future updates & news on the release or just to chat with other lovely people join the official Numina Discord! Thanks so much for sticking around & see you next time :)