Hey everyone, it’s been a while! We all know what’s been going on in the world, so I’ll just say that I sincerely hope everyone out there is safe and healthy; and hopefully not going too stir crazy from being stuck at home.

My thoughts go out to everyone at this difficult time, but I know that we’ll get through this. 2020 doesn’t have to be a “wasted” year, nor does it have to belong to some virus. Circumstances are difficult around the world, and I don’t want to minimise that for a second; but there’s still a lot of good to be found – even if you’re stuck indoors!

I’ve had a lot of opportunities to help family members and other people I know over the last month, which has been time consuming (sorry 8-Bit Adventures 2 fans!) but also very much worth doing. On the fun side of this, though, was buying Animal Crossing to play with my Grandmother – partly to try and give her more activity and mental stimulation. She has trouble with the controls, but she did surprisingly well – especially seeing as the last game she played was Kirby 64’s multiplayer mini-games in 2001! We got her camp set up, gave her tools, and I made her a birdhouse =P I don’t know when we’ll get to do it again due to current restrictions, but she genuinely seemed to enjoy it and said it made her use her noggin, so it was definitely worthwhile haha.



And honestly, I think this situation is a time for video games to shine. Not just for keeping us all connected and interacting with each other, but also for helping us stay positive and happy. I always approach game development with the perspective that a game is a kind of “conversation” between the developer and the player. The developer presents ideas or mechanics, and the player decides how to perceive and utilise them; there’s this moment-to-moment back and forth, as the game shifts from player directed to developer directed over and over.

I’ve been playing Threads of Fate on PS1 recently (a pretty obscure Square Soft title from 1999) and that game’s just a sweet, earnest, feel good adventure – with way more narrative depth than I expected at the start. It’s not exactly what I’d call a good game mechanically, but its charm wins out over any flaws, and it always left me feeling cheerful and optimistic. And that’s what I adore about video games! I’ve played so many titles like that over the years; and right now, I think we could all use a bit of that =)

So my personal recommendation? Hunker down with some old favourites – ideally anything which features a cheerful vibe, whatever makes you happy – and see what messages those developers left for you. I personally have always found games like that to be really helpful in lifting my spirits and bringing a positive attitude to the people around me!

Anyway, with that tangent out of the way, let’s get out onto some 8-Bit Adventures 2 talk!



So March was, once again, a slightly compromised month. The first week featured the memorial service for my Aunt, so the start of the month was really still about supporting family and getting back into routine. Zepht, Klara, Pierre, Seamus – thank you all very much for your condolences and consideration; it was sincerely appreciated! Hopefully I didn’t miss anyone! And then, with everything else that’s gone on, and trying to be helpful and supportive to people I know, that’s eaten up another chunk of time.

BUT, the month got off to a great start and progress has still been good all the way through. With the turn order bug for battle fixed in February, I finally was able to move forward in my testing. The first hostile area of the World Map was properly tested (a set number of enemies randomly spawn in different locations and chase you down if you get to close), and I also had to test what happens if the player attempts to backtrack to areas that you’d never normally bother to return to.



The really fun part about this was that it’s where the game starts to feel like a fully fledged classic JRPG; when the player can temporarily go off the rails and poke around in places for no other reason than because they can. I loved doing that as a kid, because it made the world feel more real and tangible – even though I wasted a lot of time haha XD

Anyway, moving on from there, you might’ve seen me talk about completing testing for the 5th dungeon on March 9th via Twitter. There are no standard enemy encounters in this one - instead it features a mix of light puzzle solving sprinkled between two boss battles. I tried to find lots of little ways to vary up the dungeons in 8-Bit Adventures 2 and particularly to make sure that no dungeon overstays its welcome (Sylph Cave in FFIV, I’m looking at you 0_0).

The next town-style location and 6th dungeon have also been tested; however what I’ve spent most of the month doing is implementing and testing new bug fixes! Sufyan (the programmer) has done a lot of work this past month, and some really important features and fixes have been implemented. For example, we now have a proper battle transition!



Most of them aren’t very visual, or at least not very exciting to talk about, but they make the game a whole lot better. It feels so much more solid and final to play now than ever before! And that’s been really helpful for me, because it makes balancing the game a lot easier. Now that the characters are gaining more Abilities in my playthrough, it’s been really fun to experiment with them.

For example, I can put Charlie into a Parry Stance (which lets his block most forms of damage for 3 turns) and then use Warrior’s Decoy ability to make all single-target attacks focus on him. Or swapping slower party members in on faster characters’ turns when I need a quick heal or to use some other ability (e.g. swapping out Thief to bring in Robot so that I can use his Heal Ray to keep the party alive). It feels really satisfying to run rings around normal enemies like this - fun stuff if you love turn-based battle systems!



One of the other cool things that’s been added this month is a Palette Shader effect for battles and fade transitions. Essentially, this removes opacity and transparency effects from the game, and instead uses specially made palettes to fade to white and black, or flash the screen. It probably doesn’t sound like much, but it makes a big difference visually and brings us a lot closer to the enhanced, faux 8-bit aesthetic we’ve been aiming for. That’s how fades and other effects were done on the NES – in simple terms, they’d alternate between palettes; for example, swapping a lighter colour for a darker colour on the NES palette and stepping down, colour by colour, until they reached black, for a fade out.

There’s still a lot of fixes and tweaks for Sufyan to make, but there’s one from March that I do have to mention…

Simply put, the humping glitch is finally fixed! Long live the humping glitch!



...I might've spent more time doing this than I'd care to admit haha.

So what’s next in April? Hopefully a lot more fixes (it’d be ideal if we could have all of the fixes/tweaks I need from Sufyan done by the end of April – but we’ll see what happens), and a lot more in-game progress! Next up for my testing is a city under siege which concludes Act 1 of the story, followed by two big towns, a court sequence where you’re your own lawyer, and a very familiar optional dungeon for players of 8-Bit Adventures 1 to revisit. So it should be fun! …Assuming the game doesn’t decide to break every five minutes =P Ah, the joys of game dev!

As much as I know I’ve let you all down with constant delays and the speed of production, I am glad in some ways to not be releasing just yet - given the current situation. A game like Final Fantasy VII Remake will be fine because it has such a big fan-base, but a smaller title like mine really relies on word of mouth and being featured in the media. While I’d really love to have it out for you all to play right now, I think it’d be very difficult to have a successful launch in the current climate.

Of course, it’s a moot point anyway because the game isn’t ready haha, but I just wanted to comment about that. I’m thinking about release every day, and I’m aware that all of you who’ve stuck by me – some since even 2015! – are all waiting for this. I know how hard it is to wait for a game you’re excited to play, and it means the world to me that people feel that way (this is the first game I’ve ever made where that’s been the case!). So when I finally figure out what that right time is, you’ll be the first to know =)

To make sure you don’t miss any news in future, I recommend following @CriticalGamesAU on Twitter, as that’s the best way I’ve found to keep up-to-date!

You can also check out the 8-Bit Adventures 2 Website for more info and screenshots, or check Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/CriticalGamesDev

And don't forget to visit the Critical Games Creator Page:
https://store.steampowered.com/curator/33038547
Follow that page or wishlist the game to be notified when 8-Bit Adventures 2 is finally released!

I hope this update lets you know how things are going; and I truly hope things are well with all of you too! At least, as well as they can be =)

Now if you'll excuse me, Final Fantasy VII Remake has just been released early in Australia, and I've been losing my mind over that while writing this! XD Honestly, it's surreal getting something first here (almost 2 weeks early) because when I was a kid, we were always the last! Not to brag about it though (sorry international people) =P I'm crossing my fingers that everyone else will get the game this week too! I'll probably tweet some spoiler-free thoughts once I get to start playing, if anyone's interested.

All the best, and please stay safe and healthy! =)
~Josh

Hi everyone,

You might be wondering where the February Update post is, so I just wanted to let you all know what's going on.

Last weekend, a dearly beloved member of my family passed away - my Aunty Carol. It's been a very difficult time for my family and I - both in the lead-up, and now that it's happened - and consequently I haven't prepared my usual monthly update. I haven't had much time this week to rectify that either, as I've been helping to prepare for my Aunt's memorial service. Honestly, in my downtime, I've just been turning off and collecting Pokemon haha - it's funny what we go back to when we're dealing with something like this =P

She and my Uncle have given me money every birthday to help fund 8-Bit Adventures 2 - even when I told them not to worry. My Aunt always gave me her love and support and believed in me. My deepest regret is that she won't be here to see the release of my work after all this time, but I'm going to do all that I can to live up to the faith that she placed in me. She was already going to be included in the Special Thanks section of 8-Bit Adventures 2, but the end of the game will also now feature a dedication to her. One of the themes of our story is about what it means to live a full life - and she was a woman who exemplified exactly that; a life filled with family, friends, and love.

On the brighter side of things, in case you missed it on social media, after 3 long months, the 8-Bit Adventures 2 battle system is finally working again! When Sufyan (the programmer) sent this fix to me, I let out the biggest sigh of relief you can imagine haha. There are still plenty more bugs to fix, but we've been back on track for testing again - and things are feeling really solid =D

Anyway, I just wanted to write this quick update to let you all know what's going on. I'll be alright, and the game is moving along - I just wanted to clarify why there's no proper February update. I sincerely apologise for that and hope to speak to you all again soon =)

~Josh

A late Happy New Year to everyone! I know 2020’s gotten off to a rough start (certainly here in Australia), but the generosity and solidarity I’ve seen from ordinary people around the world to help combat every new challenge has been really inspiring. I know we’re all working to help each other and make this the best year we possibly can! And for me, part of that means releasing 8-Bit Adventures 2 and hopefully making a lot of people happy – even if only for a few hours =)

So let’s kick off this release year with the January update for 8-Bit Adventures 2!

Okay, so let’s start with the good news – Sufyan (the programmer) is finally back home and working on 8-Bit Adventures 2 again! He’s sent me a couple of requested tweaks so far and is working on fixing the major issue which has left the battle system broken these past few months. We’re not quite there yet, but we’re in a much better position than we were when I last spoke to you. Hopefully in February everything will finally be fixed and I can start zooming along again with testing.



For anyone who’s been following this whole saga, I really can’t apologise enough for the delays here (this completely caught me by surprise too), and hopefully I’ve been open enough in communicating what’s going on. Unfortunately, this has been one of those things that’s just completely out of my control, and so all I’ve been able to do is wait - and keep working on other things.



Thankfully, I’ve been getting a lot of things done! Including a few extra odds and ends that I wasn’t sure were going to make the cut – such as a hidden Black Market for enterprising adventurers to discover (an Airship might be required to find it, though!). I’ve also been doing final mapping and detail passes on some of the optional dungeons, a couple of which needed some expansion. I mentioned in December that we’d just passed 800 individual maps that make up the world of 8-Bit Adventures 2. Now we’re nearly at 850 maps – which should be the final tally (there are just a couple more optional areas I want to add, seeing as I have the opportunity while waiting for the battle system fixes).



So things are definitely looking up! …Buuuuut it’s still not an ideal situation.



Last month, I showed off some of the concept art made by Jerram (the artist). This time, I thought I’d include some more – but with a little extra context. So let’s take a brief, simplified look at the process of making monsters for 8-Bit Adventures 2!



In general, I like to introduce two or three new enemy types per unique environment, as I think this helps to keep battles feeling fresh and varied; as well as maintaining a sense of mystique (as the player has no idea what any new foe might do). So there are really two factors that went into my monster concepts. Either I’d consider the environment I wanted them to inhabit and think up a design which fit, or I’d come up with some ability or unusual quirk/mechanic for an enemy and imagine it from that basis.



As you can probably tell, a lot of my monster concepts are a little quirky and strange. Part of that is the influence of the Mother/Earthbound series, but in general it’s JRPG tradition to skew towards the weird and wonderful when it comes to common enemies. I personally like this approach – not only because I think it adds to the world’s personality, but because it keeps the game feeling more unique and surprising when your next foe can range from utterly bizarre to deadly badass.



Of course, this only works when you have a unifying visual style that can make these two extremes feel coherent, and that’s where Jerram came in. I’d describe my vague ideas for the enemy, providing the most relevant references I could find, and then he would take that information, filter it through his own imagination, and turn it into something dynamic and vibrant!



Generally no revisions or debate were required; it just took one pass and we’d both be in total agreement about the design. Occasionally I’d make a tweak or comment (or Jerram would make a change himself), but generally it was a seamless flow from idea, to concept art, to enemy sprite – which all turned out far better than I could’ve ever imagined! Jerram did an amazing job creating a cast of fiends that are both memorable and filled with personality; many of their battle animations also really helping to express that.


The Grinning Ember – one of the few enemies to get a re-design (and an attitude change!). I'm pretty sure Jerram was the one behind these alterations =)

The last thing our monsters needed was a name; and when you play 8-Bit Adventures 2, you’ll quickly learn that I have an affinity for alliteration, puns, and silly jokes – some of which might only make sense to me XD But sometimes these quirky names generated ideas too! For example, in the City of Sounds dungeon, I was trying to come up with enemy designs and thought of the name ‘Electric Guitarist’, which immediately struck a chord with me. As this is a high-tech area, the idea of an electrical enemy was perfect, along with the musical connection and name pun. This then lead to the idea of a whole band of enemies who are stronger when they fight as a team - and this really gave the area an extra dose of character - and a more distinct identity.



Obviously this is a pretty simple breakdown of the process (especially for Jerram - there's a whole lot of amazing design work on his side of things!), but I hope you enjoyed this quick look at some more concept art from 8-Bit Adventures 2 =)

I’m not sure if this is of interest to anyone here, but in my spare time over the past 9 months, I’ve written a six-part essay - titled Kingdom Hearts III: A Conclusion without a Story - which analyses Kingdom Hearts III’s approach to storytelling; viewed both from the perspective of a player, and a writer/game designer.

Click here to check it out!


My intention was to examine the game’s structure, ideas, and mistakes, and draw out numerous lessons that could be applicable to the reader’s own game – all centred around a main hypothesis. The hope is that anyone can read and enjoy it, but that developers can gain a lot more from the topics explored.

But the reason I bring this up is because, in this essay, I analyse Kingdom Hearts III through the same kind of lens that I apply to 8-Bit Adventures 2. So if anyone is curious about my perspective or approach to game design, story telling, or character building – especially in the context of a JRPG – you might find it interesting! Or at least get a sense of where I’m coming from with my own work =)

To make sure you don’t miss any news in future, I recommend following @CriticalGamesAU on Twitter, as that’s the best way I’ve found to keep up-to-date!

You can also check out the 8-Bit Adventures 2 Website for more info and screenshots, or check Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/CriticalGamesDev

And don't forget to visit the Critical Games Creator Page:
https://store.steampowered.com/curator/33038547
Follow that page or wishlist the game to be notified when 8-Bit Adventures 2 is finally released!

I’m sorry for the lacklustre update to kick off the year, but I hope the news that Sufyan is back on the job and working on those fixes as we speak adds a tinge of optimism to the post! Believe me, I’m biting my fingernails and counting the hours in anticipation of that – I can’t overstate how big of a challenge this issue has been over the last few months.

So let's cross our fingers and look forward to a February filled with progress and success! And I mean that for every single one of us, to be clear =) I hope you all have a wonderful month and I'll see you in the next update!
~Josh

Told you I’d be back earlier than usual! Yes, Christmas time is here and so is a jam-packed December Update for 8-Bit Adventures 2 =) We’ve got a lot to get through (plenty of fun visual content too!), so I’ll skip my mad ramblings this time and jump straight into the content!

If you missed my previous posts, the website IndieDB has been running their annual competition highlighting indie games, and thanks to our wonderful fans (all of you!) we made it into their Top 100 – which is absolutely fantastic! But the competition isn’t over yet; now we’re in the running for Top 10 Upcoming Indie Games.

Getting onto this list would gain 8-Bit Adventures 2 even more visibility, and would be a definite feather in our cap. We're up against 42 other games, so every vote matters. You've all done more than enough already; but if you can keep supporting 8-Bit Adventures 2, I'd sincerely appreciate your vote =)

If you’d like to support us, please follow the link below and click the big red ‘Vote’ button next to 8-Bit Adventures 2! It'd be the best Christmas present you can give me ;)

https://www.indiedb.com/groups/2019-indie-of-the-year-awards/top100#vote62132



For the next week (until 10:05 AM on January 2nd Pacific Time), you can get 8-Bit Adventures at 60% off! That means you can own it for just $4 USD! You can also get the fantastic Remastered Soundtrack 30% off ($3.50 USD), or the Game + Soundtrack bundle 45% off (that’s only $6.60 USD)!

http://store.steampowered.com/app/370300
Additionally, my most recent game Tales Across Time is also participating in the sale, making an already cheap game even cheaper! You can now get it 20% off - that's just $2.39 USD!

http://store.steampowered.com/app/461710
As I've said before, these discounts won't get any lower in the future, so now's the time to buy!

As has always been the case, every purchase goes towards 8-Bit Adventures 2's development. Most things are now fully paid for (thankfully!), but we've still got a few things to cover, so any and all support is greatly appreciated!

Last year in November, I released a sizzle reel showing off some scenes from the game. The video was unlisted, and while some of you may have already seen it, it never got many views. So I’ve cut out the initial minute-and-a-half of me giving an old progress report and re-uploaded the 2 minute sizzle reel portion of the video. So if you haven’t seen it, please check it out below!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eST6W2_aP3Y&feature=youtu.be
I really wanted to make a new one this year, but these things take quite a bit of time and with the battle system’s turn order still in shambles (more on that below), it doesn’t make things easy. So I think at this stage I’ll make a final trailer closer to release and leave it at that. Don’t want to get *too* spoiler-y!



So as you might’ve gathered, the bugs I’ve been complaining about these last couple of months (especially the turn order part of the battle system being broken) still aren’t fixed. Sufyan (the programmer) has had things in his work life that have taken all of his time up and put him under a lot of stress, and he’s just trying to cope with it all as best he can – working around the clock. He’ll be back in (and is very much looking forward to) January though, so hopefully we’ll be able to get back on top of it all in the very near future. As always, I just want to be open with you guys on what’s happening =)



But let’s get onto the fun stuff! I wanted to show off a few more locations that you haven’t seen before – in fact these are some of my favourite dungeon aesthetics in the game. Specifically, we have a deep forest near Estriatus that’s connected to a fan-favourite subplot in 8-Bit Adventures 1, an underwater cavern that serves as the lair of an ancient ocean-dwelling beast (the diving suit returns!), and an abandoned, ruined prison complex which was once used to hold the Glitch and is now run by broken down, insane robots.



It probably doesn't mean much to anyone else, but the game contains over 800 individual maps - which is a lot haha! In addition to the massive amount of content in the main quest, this includes both meaty optional dungeons and small, one-off areas you can discover by exploring the World Map.



I’ve really tried to make 8-Bit Adventures 2 feel content-rich without sacrificing pacing or bloating the game. It’s a tricky balance to get right in a genre that so often leans too far one way or the other – I’ve definitely played some JRPGs that felt too long for the wrong reasons. So I often look to Chrono Trigger (one of the best paced games ever made in my opinion) and the scale of their content for inspiration (the size of dungeons, the number of enemy encounters, the structure and speed of battles, and so on).



I think the world of 8-Bit Adventures 2 has become really fun to just explore and run around in now that everything’s connected up. Truth be told, whenever I complete an area, I spend several minutes just sprinting around in it XD Mainly because I’m trying to see if any odd tiles stick out to me or if anything needs a last minute adjustment (I need to make sure everything looks and feels right) but…I also do it because it’s fun haha.



If you’re like me, then you enjoy seeing behind-the-scenes content from the games you play – especially concept artwork! Well, Jerram (the artist) gave me pretty much everything he ever drew for 8-Bit Adventures 2 (over 100 sketches) and I thought it might be fun to show this off – as something different for the end of the year! I personally enjoy concept art that looks a little rough and early (sorry Jerram! =P), but I've tried to include a mix of types. I’ll definitely release all of these drawings in some form at one point, but here are just a few fun selections I made =) Enjoy!















To make sure you don’t miss any news in future, I recommend following @CriticalGamesAU on Twitter, as that’s the best way I’ve found to keep up-to-date!

You can also check out the 8-Bit Adventures 2 Website for more info and screenshots, or check Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/CriticalGamesDev

And don't forget to visit the Critical Games Creator Page:
https://store.steampowered.com/curator/33038547
Follow that page or wishlist the game to be notified when 8-Bit Adventures 2 is finally released!



I’ve said it all before, but thank you – every single one of you reading this – so much for all your continued support and excitement for 8-Bit Adventures 2. 2019 has been a rough year in some ways, and failing to release the game in a year that I was *so* confident about definitely didn’t help that. But whatever happens – by hook or by crook – 8-Bit Adventures 2 is getting finished and released!

I know I say this all the time, but I honestly can’t wait for all of you to play it. I develop games to make people happy – that’s my goal - and there’s no greater joy for a game developer than players actually *playing* your game! I think even the most ardent of perfectionists (of which I can definitely be – at least, I take the time to get things right haha) wants that.

I want to wish you all Happy Holidays, a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year full of wonderful possibilities and joy! Thank you everyone and I’ll see you in 2020! (You just can’t get rid of me haha =P)
~Josh

Holy moly, 8-Bit Adventures 2 is in the Top 100 of the 2019 IndieDB Awards!! This is *entirely* thanks to you guys - thank you all so, SO much for voting & showing your support the game! =D

With that said, as much as I hate to ask for anything else, it turns out the competition isn't over just yet...

And that's because voting on the Top 10 Upcoming Indie Games has begun! We're up against 42 other games, so every vote matters. You've all done more than enough already; but if you can keep supporting 8-Bit Adventures 2, I'd sincerely appreciate your vote =)

https://www.indiedb.com/groups/2019-indie-of-the-year-awards/top100#vote62132


I don't know how much of a chance we have, but I honestly didn't expect to make it into the Top 100 either - you guys are the ones who made that a reality! So hey, you never know ;)

Regardless, a massive thank you to everyone who's already voted; it means the world that so many people are excited to play 8-Bit Adventures 2! The December monthly update should be coming next week, so keep your eyes peeled for that too!

Thank you so much everyone =)

If you've been following my work for a while now, you'll know this is a pretty unusual post for me. But this is something I wanted to take a chance on. If you have an IndieDB account & want to support 8-Bit Adventures 2, I'd be ecstatic if you'd consider voting for the game in the 2019 IndieDB Awards! You can follow the link to vote, or find more info below:

https://www.indiedb.com/games/8-bit-adventures-2



The goal of these awards is to get under-the-radar indie games more attention, "without being buried under a mountain of asset-flips and achievement grabs" (to quote the competition itself). In addition to supporting indie devs, everyone who votes has a chance to win game keys from the modlove Collection too!



I don't know how much of a chance 8-Bit Adventures 2 has here, but any attention the game gets would be a *massive* help for me in the lead-up to release. It's taken several years of development, but I honestly think we've created something special for RPG fans (like myself) and I want to get it out there as much as possible.



That said, please don't feel pressured - to be honest, I hate asking anyone for this XD But every time I do a news post, 8-Bit Adventures 2 reaches top 100 popularity on IndieDB, so I really wanted to take a chance on this opportunity =)



I don't think I can actually see the votes, but to anyone who does, thank you so, so much in advance! I'm constantly astounded by how much support I've received for 8-Bit Adventures 2, & feel incredibly grateful. And if you'd like to help the game get more attention, please spread the word! =D

Thanks for reading! You're the coolest ;)
~Josh

Wait a second, a monthly update that's actually *in* the month it's named after?! To answer your first, and frankly most obvious question: no, I'm not some shadowy impostor who's killed Josh and begun wearing his face as a kind of grotesque mask in order to usurp development of 8-Bit Adventures 2 - I just had the extra impetus of the Steam Autumn Sale to get this out a little sooner than usual! The December update will probably be a lot earlier than usual too, so please keep an eye out for it =)

Without further adieu, let's charge into the fray!



For the next week (until 10:05 AM on December 3rd Pacific Time), you can get 8-Bit Adventures at 60% off! That means you can own it for just $4 USD! You can also get the fantastic Remastered Soundtrack 30% off ($3.50 USD), or the Game + Soundtrack bundle 45% off (that’s only $6.60 USD)!

http://store.steampowered.com/app/370300
Additionally, my most recent game Tales Across Time is also participating in the sale, making an already cheap game even cheaper! You can now get it 20% off - that's just $2.39 USD!

http://store.steampowered.com/app/461710
As I've said before, these discounts won't get any lower in the future, so now's the time to buy!

As has always been the case, every purchase goes towards 8-Bit Adventures 2's development. Most things are now fully paid for, but we've still got a few things to cover, so any and all support is greatly appreciated!

I'm not actually going to bore you all with bug reports haha, but that's definitely continued to be a big theme in November. Unfortunately Sufyan (our programmer) hasn't been able to address any of the bugs I've been dealing with this month due to personal circumstances. To make matters worse, due to a fix that didn't quite work at the end of last month, battles have been left a tad broken. So the situation hasn't been ideal, but I've still been making progress and am basically at the end of what I'd call Act 1 (assuming we break the game into the traditional 3-Act Structure). Once we squash some of those battle bugs, things will definitely be a lot easier to test, but for now I've just been doing what I can.



Sebastian (our composer) just sent me his final track - a whopping 6 minute long Credits theme - which plays over the ending of the game, and is utterly beautiful. It conveys the emotions of the characters so well, and I couldn't be happier with it. I think that when everyone gets to the ending, it'll make you feel exactly the way the end of a grand adventure should make you feel =)



A lot of the work I've been doing is pretty steeped in spoiler territory, so I won't say too much (and I'm trying not to show much either!). One of the jobs I've tackled is trying to make the Processor (the environment from the First Look Demo) a little more lively. Tanks roll around on the roads, Clockwork Soldiers guard street corners, and the bodies of poor, defenceless worker robots litter the city.



It's actually a little crazy how much things have changed since the old demo, and working on this area really drove that home. And that's in regards to menus, animations, fonts, the removal of random battles, the addition of sprinting, plus battle system and story tweaks. Honestly, it feels good to see!



I'll also note that I got past the point in 8-Bit Adventures 2 (around the 5-6 hour mark, depending on your speed) where the player gets the final additions to their tool-set; specifically party switching (as now you have more than 3 characters), the Robot's 'Part' system (he doesn't have normal abilities, but instead equips 'Parts' to extend his repertoire), & Augments (a special equippable which can enhance a character's stats & provide all kinds of unusual effects). Basically, my intention was that by the end of 'Act 1' (as explained above) the player should have complete access to all of the game's mechanics; with the final two dungeons of this act allowing them to start exploring these mechanics. Thankfully, that's worked out pretty well!



Thanksgiving naturally isn't celebrated in Australia, but I hope everyone who does partake enjoys the holiday and has plenty to be grateful for this year. I know I'm certainly grateful for all of you - especially for sticking by me in this long, long development cycle! And I'm also so, *so* grateful for Sebastian, Jerram, and Sufyan - without them, making this game would've been impossible, and they've all done such incredible work. Thanks guys =)



I truly thought there was no way in the world 8-Bit Adventures 2 wouldn't be released in 2019, and grappling with that reality has been a little crushing these past few months. To spend such a large chunk of your life working on a project like this is kind've terrifying haha. But we've come this far, and I'm trying to be as transparent and open with all of you as I can be (while also not saying anything stupid or super spoiler-y =P). I'm gonna get it right and I'm gonna get it out there.



To recap on the year a little, the content's pretty much all there; all I'm doing is just testing, polishing, tweaking, balancing, and bug fixing. All graphical assets are done; all music is composed; the game is playable in some way from start to finish. Hey, we even have a decent website now! 2019 has been the year where all the pieces have really, finally come together and it's made me very confident in the quality of 8-Bit Adventures 2. Has the year been challenging? Yep. Has it gone the way I wanted? Definitely not. But I've worked hard, done my best, and I think it's all paid off.

...I'm definitely making a smaller game next time though XD



To make sure you don’t miss any news in future, I recommend following @CriticalGamesAU on Twitter, as that’s the best way I’ve found to keep up-to-date!

You can also check out the 8-Bit Adventures 2 Website for more info and screenshots, or check Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/CriticalGamesDev

And don't forget to visit the Critical Games Creator Page:
https://store.steampowered.com/curator/33038547
Follow that page or wishlist the game to be notified when 8-Bit Adventures 2 is finally released!



I think I covered most things above, but as you can see from my image choices, I'm trying to really avoid big spoiler content at this point. Hopefully these updates are still interesting to read, and give you a solid insight into where we are/what I'm doing. As I said, I should have the December update out much earlier than normal too, so please keep an eye out for that!

Oh, and have you guys been watching the Mandalorian? It's like a live-action Genndy Tartavosky production (i.e. Samurai Jack); so precisely paced, allowing everything room to breathe and developing its characters with minimal dialogue. Its plot isn't going anywhere fast, but I'm really enjoying it! His Dark Materials has also taken me by surprise. As someone who knows nothing of the books, I've gotten really invested haha.

...As you can probably tell, I never have any idea how to end these things XD But I hope everyone has an absotively splendificus start to the holiday season!
~Josh

Hey there, great to see ya! How’s everything going? Had a good Halloween?

Oh, me? I’m just writing the October 2019 update for 8-Bit Adventures 2! …Yes, I know it’s the 2nd of November. For some reason, that’s just the way I’ve ended up doing this. Eh, don't think too much about it. The months go by so quickly now haha. But enough small talk with myself – let’s get into it!

First off, Happy Halloween for the other night! I posted this little GIF on the actual day (via Twitter @CriticalGamesAU), but in case anyone missed it…

In 8-Bit Adventures 2, you'll find ghosts and ghouls galore! But despite all the fiendish foes you'll face, on this Hallows' Eve, I thought a stroll amongst the graves might be a more appropriate treat...



But these ain't your average, mindless Zombies. They may be maggot-ridden, but they're on a mission - to stop you from reaching their master, no matter the cost! Poor guy - that looks like it hurts...



This month will probably be a little light on the details, but I always like to show off a new batch of screenshots and animated GIFs! I’m approaching the end of testing what I consider ‘Act 1’ of the game (based on a 3 Act structure), so if you’re hyper concerned about spoilers…well, this update should be okay, but we’re getting to a point where I’m being extra mindful of what I show – while also trying to keep things interesting haha.



Oh, and don’t mind the names for Warrior/Thief/Mage – these images are taken from my personal save file (they’re actually the same names I used when testing the first game too!).

Jerram (the artist) has now totally, fully, 100% finished his work on 8-Bit Adventures 2, so give him a round of applause! He’s done an absolutely incredible job, and a lot of my time in October was spent implementing the ending assets he’s made, as well as many other odds and ends which enhance the look of the game, and frankly make it feel polished and complete – such as the final battle transition effect (which I’ll definitely be showing in the near future!).



We’ve still been contending with some very tricky bugs, but Sufyan (the programmer) has been hard at work taking care of them. There’s still plenty more to do (I just ran into one a couple of days ago where every time I defended in a particular battle, my character would get faster XD), but we’re on the road to making 8-Bit Adventures 2 airtight by release!

One of the dungeons I worked on this past month is the Ocean Cave – which is so dark, that unless you’re standing near a light source, you can’t see! These battles are pitch black and enemies appear only as vague outlines – which actually alters their moveset a little. To even the playing field, you'll need to lead them close to one of the many torches before starting the battle. This will let you fight them under optimal conditions, helping you see and revealing their true forms!



But if you do get stuck in the dark, don’t worry – Emma is blind, and fights using her other senses, so she’ll be your secret weapon! If you get caught like this, it’s usually best to put Charlie on support, using Items or Abilities to aid her. But the monsters here are no joke (well, power-wise anyway =P), so be careful and try to put yourself in the best position possible!



Another thing I wanted to briefly touch upon is team attacks! In 8-Bit Adventures 2, we have Combo (2 people) and Trio (3 people) Abilities which combine your party members’ various skills. To gain one of these special team-up attacks, both characters must have learnt specific Abilities. For example, Love’s Shield requires Thief to have learnt First Aid, and Warrior to have learnt Shield Wall.



These abilities can be activated by any of the participating characters (except Robot – he functions a little differently), however they also drain AP/MP from everyone involved - so be careful you don’t overuse them. Otherwise, your whole party might end up running on empty!

Also a minor mention, but the Escape Amulet from the first game returns in 8-Bit Adventures 2 (it’s one of the things I set up this month)! If you ever need to get back to the entrance of a dungeon in a hurry, just open up your Key Items and use the Escape Amulet to zip straight back to the entrance. Leaving the dungeon will re-spawn all of its enemies though (at least, under normal circumstances), so you’ll have to decide if it’s worth the risk!

To make sure you don’t miss any news in future, I recommend following @CriticalGamesAU on Twitter, as that’s the best way I’ve found to keep up-to-date!

You can also check out the 8-Bit Adventures 2 Website for more info and screenshots, or check Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/CriticalGamesDev

And don't forget to visit the Critical Games Creator Page:
https://store.steampowered.com/curator/33038547
Follow that page or wishlist the game to be notified when 8-Bit Adventures 2 is finally released!



As usual, I’m afraid it’s not the update we’ve all been waiting for – but I just want you guys to know that I’m still here and doing my best to get everything done. And you know, I’m really happy with how everything’s turning out! This might be a bit of a strange highlight, but emerging onto the Xanthus Desert section of the World Map for the first time felt really satisfying. I know I made the thing, but there’s something about a fully realised World Map that still just feels *right*. I’m hoping to deliver RPG veterans a lot of those moments – not just references that play to nostalgia, but moments that capture the style and feel of games long past in a new context.

And I guess on a grander level, I hope to tell a positive story about the things that really matter in our lives; one that embodies both a hopeful optimism, and a sense that we can overcome any obstacle. I feel these elements – the sense of “striving for a better tomorrow”, as Hironobu Sakaguchi once put it - were key to making so many JRPGs into beloved classics. We’ll see how I do, but essentially I want people to leave my games feeling happy and re-energised, rather than frustrated or depressed. In these troubled times, I feel like making people smile is the most helpful thing I can do with my work. Hopefully 8-Bit Adventures 2 will make you smile too! =)
~Josh

Phew, I’m so glad the August update’s done, now to get back to- Wait, what do you mean it’s the 1st of October?! Uh…well then, I guess we’d better get on with the September update!

Yes, while my understanding of calendars might be a bit iffy, I once again come bearing screenshots and insights into the seemingly ‘never-ending story’ that is 8-Bit Adventures 2’s development. Thankfully, that movie *does* in fact have an ending…which may technically be grounds for a false advertising lawsuit, but in our case makes me very optimistic! So hop on your nearest Luckdragon, and let’s get into it!

September’s been an interesting mix of swift progress and frustrating roadblocks.

On the bright side, Jerram has finished the ending and is just wrapping up the last few odds and ends; after which, that’ll be the graphical assets completely and totally 100% finished! Obviously I can’t show you anything from it, but the ending looks utterly fantastic and is by far our most ambitious cinematic sequence in the game. This took a *lot* of figuring out – particularly trying to convey the emotions of the scene - but I really think we leave players on a high note. Jerram really went above and beyond here! But while I can’t show you the ending, I can show you one of my favourite shots from the opening!



Beyond that, I’m currently testing and tweaking the game at the 3 and a half hour mark. Even though hour-wise this definitely isn’t anywhere near as far as I’d hoped to be by the end of September, there’s a big reason for this - which *is* a type of progress of its own.

Basically, this has been the month of bugs haha. To give you some idea of what a difference they make, one large city area with no bugs took only a day and a half to finish, whereas one particular dungeon took a week and a half – partly due to cutscene issues in a big story sequence, but predominantly because of bugs. So while I’ve been trying to play through the game, I’ve also been spending a lot of time trying to figure out, document, and (in cases where I’m able) fix some very tricky problems with the game. Sufyan (the programmer) is currently working on a lot of fixes for me, so things should be a lot smoother once they’re implemented.



A lot of the problems have been things which only really reveal themselves if you’re playing the game in a linear, long-term form; like players will once it’s finished. For example, Thief has a passive ability which gives her a massive speed boost on the first turn of battle. But, at some seemingly random point in my playthrough, that ability just suddenly stopped working, which consequently throws off the turn order that the player’s supposed to have for every battle with her in it. And that then compounds with a bunch of other bugs, making balancing battles pretty tricky! Of course, that’s why it’s so important to test games as a whole, rather than just in vertical slices – you run into all the conflicts between different, evolving systems that way.



While it’s disappointing (and often hair-pullingly frustrating =P) to encounter these problems at a point when I desperately want to make rapid progress…they had to be found. Much better that I run into this stuff now than you guys at launch! So even though it can be a little disheartening, bug fixes are an important kind of progress too.



But the actual content I've completed has been pretty significant as well; both in terms of big story events, and the long-term progression of various gameplay systems. This makes it a little tough to show things off, but I’m making sure to stay well away from any big spoilers!



*Please Note - there are a couple of bugs on display within these battle GIFs with the enemy HP bars, and Omega Burst gauge. Apologies for this, but I still wanted to show them off!*

Some of the battle GIFs demonstrate the ways in which enemies can work together in battle. For example, the Molten Man and Lava Lady – when both foes are alive in battle – can combine their powers for a Red Hot Combination attack. Whereas the Rampaging Ram, with its randomised attacks (which will either attack the party or its own allies) can accidentally enrage The Hibernator, forcing the player to think on their feet (that bear is an enemy you want to keep docile for as long as possible!).



It’s a small touch, but I’ve also changed the way that shopkeeper dialogue works. We’ve all been there; we just want to buy a few dozen potions, but every time you have to skip through the shopkeeper’s opening and closing dialogue. The text gives the game some personality, sure, but it’s frustrating on repeat visits when you’re just looking to buy.



So what I did is open up the counter of every store. The first time you speak over the counter, you’ll get the full dialogue. But every time after that, now that you’re acquainted, you’ll just see a quick and easy menu that gets you right into buying and selling. And if you want to read the full dialogue again, just talk to the shopkeeper from behind the counter and they’ll be happy to have a good chinwag!



As I've said before, 8-Bit Adventures 2 is a mixture of old and new; both in its attempt to blend retro and modern game design, as well as in its environments which include the majority of locations from the first game (albeit re-designed!). As you can see below, the Volcano is one of these areas. It was a bit of a tricky dungeon in the original, but this time you've got a few more tools and tricks at your disposal - and a much better balanced game haha. Of course, even though you'll meet new enemies (as you can see above), there might be a familiar face or two to greet you...and maybe blow you up. Who can say? ;)



To make sure you don’t miss any news in future, I recommend following @CriticalGamesAU on Twitter, as that’s the best way I’ve found to keep up-to-date!

You can also check out the 8-Bit Adventures 2 Website for more info and screenshots, or check Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/CriticalGamesDev

And don't forget to visit the Critical Games Creator Page:
https://store.steampowered.com/curator/33038547
Follow that page or wishlist the game to be notified when 8-Bit Adventures 2 is finally released!



Everything I said in last month's wrap-up still holds true, so there's not much I can add at this point (I recommend reading it if you haven't!). It was just really important to me that I take the time to check-in with you guys, and let you know how we're going - both the good and bad. And to be clear, most of it *is* good! If you guys could see the full, spoilerific picture that I can see...well, I'm extremely hopeful that everyone will be really happy with what we've created here =) Because even though the speed at which I'm making progress can feel incredibly demoralising, I'm really proud of what we've achieved and I honestly can't wait for all of you to see everything 8-Bit Adventures 2 has in store!

On that note, for anyone concerned about this update format, I'm absolutely conscious of spoilers, and am doing my best to keep that stuff to a minimum =P I hope you all have an awesome October, and I'll see you soon with a (hopefully) equally awesome update!
~Josh

Summer turns to Autumn (well, Winter turns to Spring for me in the Southern Hemisphere!), and with it comes the 8-Bit Adventures 2 August update! I’ve made a bunch of new GIFs showcasing some of what I’ve been working on, so I’ll try and keep my commentary to a minimum this time! Will I succeed? Read on to find out…

…But if you look at your scroll bar, the answer is clearly no =P

*Please note, some of the below GIFs had to be slightly compressed, or their framerate edited, to fit into Steam's 3MB limit.*

August has been full of great progress, but I had a bit of a rough start to the month! The day after I wrote the July update, my dog tripped me over while we were crossing the road, causing me to face-plant on the asphalt XD Unfortunately, both of my hands (particularly my palms) were injured, and this really slowed me down for a couple of weeks. Thankfully, though, the rest of August went pretty smoothly!



As you may remember, I’m currently playing through 8-Bit Adventures 2 minute by minute, tweaking/testing/balancing/polishing every detail to get it ready for all of you! It took me the whole of July to reach the 30 minute mark, and now at the end of August I’m sitting at 2 hours in. Now, that may sound really worrying, but as I said last month, these early sections of the game are by far the most unpolished and were somewhat unfinished (as they were created relatively early in development, before most of the graphics were completed).



The great news is that the last half an hour of that 2 hour progression has only taken me three days to fully test – as opposed to the previous hour and a half which basically took 2 months. I’m finally getting to the point of the game where, back in 2017, I’d started to develop a syntax – a language and a logic for constructing environments, cutscenes, and recurring events (e.g. shops or map transitions) in this engine. So there’s now more and more consistency in the content I’m testing, which makes this whole process a much quicker and smoother experience than it was prior to this point. If this continues, as I expect it will, then we should be in a great place by the end of September.



Honestly, testing the game like this been a really good experience! Everything’s pretty much just as I hoped it would be. Battles feel snappy, responsive, and look great, cutscenes are concise and entertaining, everything feels very neatly paced (areas have enough time to breath, but you’re constantly doing something/going somewhere new), environments are fleshed out just enough without being intimidating or overbearing, and I’m still chuckling at some of the silly NPC dialogue I wrote a couple of years ago =P Obviously this is just my (extremely biased!) opinion, but I’m really proud of what we’ve made – and more than a little relieved ;)



One of the challenges in this early portion of 8-Bit Adventures 2 has been figuring out the right approach to difficulty. The player only controls a single character during the first dungeon, and in a Conditional Turn-Based Battle System (to borrow Final Fantasy X’s terminology) that singular party member can either receive too many advantages or be swamped by enemies, if the game’s turn order system isn’t designed correctly.



As it’s the start of the game, I’ve kept things fairly simple so that players who are inexperienced with turn-based combat can ease themselves in. In these first couple of hours, you can technically progress by simply mashing the attack button. However, this is definitely not optimal, and players doing this will likely take more damage and so use up more of their healing items. So even though this early stage of the game is quite easy, playing smart and making the most of your abilities still has its benefits for more advanced players!



One thing I don’t believe I’ve mentioned before is that your old pal Save Point has gained some new, handy features inside dungeons! In addition to telling you when danger’s approaching, he can also provide some general tips to help you prepare for upcoming boss fights. These tips are 100% optional, and they’re intended to reduce the need for obnoxious trial and error.

For example, say there’s a fire boss coming up, and your best attacker has a fire sword which will, consequently, heal the boss whenever you hit it. Well, Save Point might be able to warn you of that fact ahead of time; and so rather than forcing you to reset and equip a different sword (because you now know that the boss is a fire elemental), you could preemptively strategise, and go into that battle a little more prepared - no restarts required! I’ve played several RPGs which can catch the player off-guard in frustrating ways, so I’m hoping an optional hints system will help to alleviate this –for players who want the advice!



Additionally, Save Point can also revive all of the monsters inside a dungeon. Because enemies are no longer random encounters and physically roam the world, I didn’t want to make them respawn every time you left the room (that can quickly become time consuming and frustrating). But some players might be hunting a rare item, or wish to grind, and so I wanted a way for enemies to be re-fought. If the player leaves a dungeon, all of the enemies will be restored automatically, but what if you want to remain inside the dungeon? Well, just ask Save Point and he’ll revive every beastie you’ve slain!



While I don’t imagine this will be a commonly used feature, I feel it’s important to give players as many options as possible. In the very first RPG I ever developed, I made grinding impossible (you could only fight each enemy once – after that, they’d permanently disappear) as I didn’t want players to waste their time on it. However, I found that some players disliked this, as they either needed an extra boost to get past a challenging boss, or they simply enjoyed the act of grinding and feeling overpowered. Their feedback taught me an important lesson, and so I wanted to avoid this pitfall in 8-Bit Adventures 2 by offering players the choice.

And finally, as promised in last month’s update, I wanted to show off the Game Over screen effect that Sufyan (the programmer) has made for the game, with Jerram’s (the artist’s) excellent concept and visual design. Can anyone guess which NES game inspired the Game Over screen design?



But death isn't the end! You can immediately retry any battle (without any penalties), so there's no need to give up if you find yourself staring at this screen. Hopefully you won’t be seeing it too much though! ;)

To make sure you don’t miss any news in future, I recommend following @CriticalGamesAU on Twitter, as that’s the best way I’ve found to keep up-to-date!

You can also check out the 8-Bit Adventures 2 Website for more info and screenshots, or check Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/CriticalGamesDev

And don't forget to visit the Critical Games Creator Page:
https://store.steampowered.com/curator/33038547
Follow that page or wishlist the game to be notified when 8-Bit Adventures 2 is finally released!

I really wanted to thank everyone who's commented on these updates in the last few months (or written to me on Twitter or Facebook). Every single message has been so kind and supportive, and they never fail to put a smile on my face haha! I don't know what I did to deserve you all, but I am so incredibly fortunate to have such amazing fans and I sincerely appreciate each of you taking the time to write =D

Thank you so much for reading this update, and for being endlessly patient with me. I'm sure you're all getting a little concerned about release as the year draws closer to its end. All I can say for sure is that everything's going really well, and I'm trying my absolute hardest to hit that 2019 release!

To be completely candid with you guys, I don't doubt for a moment that the game will be finished before the end of this year; it'll just be a matter of finding the right time to release it. And because development's taken so much longer than I anticipated, that's where things get complicated! But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, let's get this done! ːOrbGetWarriorːːOrbGetThiefːːOrbGetMageː
~Josh