Riftsletter 6 - Demo's coming!

Hi! I'm Vikku, or Mahou Boshi if you prefer to be official. If you stumbled onto this randomly, first, thank god the algorithms are working for me for once, and secondly, welcome! What you're currently seeing is a Devlog/Newsletter for Riftaway, a 3D platformer focused on narrative and exploration of spaces in space, and my love letter to, like, a good half of all 3D Mario games. Learn more about it here!

Now let's get to business!

Hey! Sorry for the radio silence this past month, and for publishing this newsletter so close to month's end. I've been pulling that good ol' crunch we totally love in this industry for the demo, but the final build is currently being reviewed by Steam for lunch, so let's talk this month about what's been happening, what's in the demo, and what you can expect to see in the future!

My silly ass

So, this whole month has been spent ironing out bugs and finishing placeholder stuff, so I haven't had much time to post anything. I kinda panicked near the end since my silly ass decided to start testing a week before having to send the build for reviewing, but despite that I managed to fix everything and then some, since once again, my silly ass, failed to realize I had to send the demo's store presence first for review, so I had extra time to additionally improve on some aspects.

What's cooked and what's cooking

In this upcoming demo, you'll be able to experience the whole tutorial level as well as half of the first world! The other half is still under development unfortunately, as well as the dialogue for memories and the overarching story of the place, so you'll have to wait for the game's release for that. Besides, we wouldn't want any spoilers would we?

I want this demo to focus on the movement system and the environments, since I believe this core should make for something fun on it's own before it can be garnished with story and all that. This is as much a public test as it is me gathering public opinion before proceeding forward with anything, as I've been working sort of blind until now. I want to make a game both for me and for you, so I want to hear you!

When and where you may ask? Wonderful question. The where is easy. The place I'm more likely to find your suggestions and comments is over on Discord, but you'll find a couple of links at the end of this post and on the demo's intro screen so you can access all the game's socials. The when? Well... Next Fest begins the 15th of this next month, but... If everything goes smoothly, the demo itself shall release the 4th! If there are complications of any kind and I have to delay it I'll make a quick follow up post here, but otherwise I'd love to release the demo that day, so make sure to mark that day!

I am still a bit burnt out from the crush so I'll leave it at that and rest a little. I hope you look forward to the demo and I hope to hear your thoughts when it releases! Take care!

• Vikku (Mahou Boshi)