DEVLOG #1 — Locations, Grappling Gone Wrong, and Bench Violence

The Settlement

We've been heads-down building out the first major environment for a while now and we're finally at a point where we can show some of it. Check out the screenshots below! Steam post image

The location is a dark fantasy settlement — think a town that has survived things it probably shouldn't have. War, occupation, something worse. Whatever happened here, most of the people didn't make it out the other side as people. The streets are filled with demon-possessed warriors and villagers, which... yeah. Sets the tone. There are some other characters lurking around too, more mysterious types, but we'll let you discover those yourself. Steam post image We're not spelling everything out for the player, but if you pay attention to the architecture, the broken shrines, the way the streets are laid out — there's a story there. We want the fights that happen here to feel like they belong in this place. So far we think they do.

Still doing lighting passes and background dressing but we're really happy with how the atmosphere is reading already.

New Move: The Throw-Back (working title, lol)

So this one was basically a small nerf that turned into something that actually feels really good.

We kept watching our character just... manhandle these massive opponents. Walk up, grab, throw, repeat. And for a while it was honestly kind of fun to watch — there's something deeply satisfying about a smaller guy ragdolling a giant. But the more we played the more it felt off. It stopped making sense. These things are enormous and we're just tossing them around like bags of flour. So we added a denial for grapple attempts against heavier enemies. Go in for the grab on the wrong guy and they catch you and send you flying instead. It's a small change in the grand scheme of things but it makes encounters feel a lot more grounded. You have to actually think now about whether reaching for that grab is smart.

Still tuning the damage and recovery on the landing but the core of it feels right.

New Move: Environmental Slams

This one is exactly what it sounds like. You pick up something heavy nearby and hit someone with it and they go flying.

We've had environmental interaction on the roadmap basically since day one but this is the first one that's actually in and feeling finished. Benches, heavy objects, whatever the world puts in your hands — the animation has this great weight to it regardless. There's a windup, a real commitment, and when it connects the enemy gets sent properly airborne. Feels rather satisfying. Steam post image

Objects break after one use which we think is the right call. It keeps it from being spammable and makes the moments you use it feel more deliberate. Also fits the setting — nothing in this place is in great shape to begin with.

More environmental stuff is coming. We have some ideas.

That's the update for now! Still a small team doing this mostly on evenings and weekends so progress can be slow sometimes, but we're genuinely proud of where this is heading. Thanks as always to everyone following along — it means a lot more than you know.

Stay tuned 🤛

— Fire Sparrow Studio team