Unsung Warriors: a Story Driven Action-Platformer

Devlog - Weapon Upgrades, Otherworld tease
11 months ago – Mon, May 05, 2025 at 02:42:58 AM

Hi all,

Spring is setting in here in the Netherlands, time for a new dev update. We'll briefly touch upon the roadmap and then we'll show some of the things we worked on.

About progression

Past months, several of you contacted us about the progression of Unsung Warriors. Some of you urge us not to rush the game at the expense of quality, while others express concerns and grievance about the delay. We welcome both. Although we've cut some content and speed up in certain development areas, we won't let the game fall below a certain artistic minimum. In our next update, we'll go over the roadmap again to show where we're heading.

Weapon upgrades

Now about some of the things we worked on. One of them is weapon upgrades. When you enter a shop, the choice is yours: upgrade your existing weapons or buy new ones?

When it comes to melee weapons, the advantage of upgrading is that it's relatively cheap. And as a bonus, it'll also increase its resell value. However, there's only so much you can upgrade a weapon. So at level 3, most weapons are maxed out, and at some point you'll have to buy a more expensive weapon that you can then start upgrading again.

Upgrading your magic items will likely be more than just a stat bump. Many upgrades add functionality to a weapon. For example, upgrading the poison bow will create a poison cloud, hurting multiple enemies.

A popular weapon from the prologue also has a nice upgrade. When you spend some gold on it, you can chain lightning attacks, making it very powerful when you bunch enemies together.

The Otherworld

A large area that we are currently working on is the Otherworld. It is a place between life and death, between dreams and reality. This location was first described in our initial Kickstarter campaign. Although it was just a block of text back then, the artwork for building this area is now in development, and the central hub has been completed.

The Otherworld is where you meet an important character named Lance, who is trapped there and helps new arrivals find their way.

Time works differently in the Otherworld. The longer you stay, the more memories begin to fade. Lance likes to listen closely to the stories of new arrivals, hoping their words will bring back memories of his own.

Fun fact: If you were to zoom out this scene, you'd see that the structure is actually a massive tower turned upside down.

A Familiar Face Returns

Another scene we've been working on features the return of a familiar character. Some of you may remember this sorcerer from the prologue. This Necromancer that lies at the core of the conflict in Unsung Warriors.

That's it for now. We'll be back early July with a new update.

Cheers,
Mikel & Ramon

Devlog - Level Design update, Stealth mechanics and Warden Boss
about 1 year ago – Mon, Mar 03, 2025 at 05:59:55 AM

Hi all,

In our last update we updated you about our roadmap towards release. This update will be an old fashioned content update, about the actual work we got done. So stick around for a new area, new Boss, and some stealth gameplay.

Prison Area

One of the areas that has received a lot of attention is a vast underground prison. We won't spoil the details, but let's just say you'll have some choices that will determine the fate of the prisoners.

The Warden (Boss)

In this area you have the chance to encounter a Boss called the Warden. Last month, we successfully completed this boss fight. Though he is not imposing in size, this agile boss leaps and swings across the screen, striking down victims with his whip (which was quite a challenge to animate).

Stealth

The prison area relies heavily on stealth mechanics, something we touched on in our original Kickstarter campaign. While sneaking up behind most enemies for a backstab is always an option, in this area we’re taking it a step further by introducing hiding spots and bells.
 

Bells

This location is heavily guarded. When guards spot you, they'll summon a magical being that is immune to your physical weapons, so it is up to you to prevent enemies from ringing the bell.

Hiding Spots

So what can you do to not get spotted? Well, sneaking and insta-killing is one option, but you can also use the environment to your advantage.

Ally NPC's

In a previous update, we mentioned that we had started working on a system, an Ally mechanic where NPCs could assist you in battle. That is now finished. We do not use these NPC allies in all levels, only on certain occasions to keep the gameplay varied and mix up the rules to keep things interesting.

That's all we have for this update. Take care and see you at the start of May for our next update!

Cheers,
Mikel & Ramon

Roadmap update - What still needs to be done
about 1 year ago – Fri, Jan 10, 2025 at 02:51:07 AM

Hey all,

2025 just started, and we hope you had some great holidays. This update is a little different than usual, as we want to take a step back and look at what's been done so far and what remains to be done. This update may contain a bit more spoilers than usual, although we did our best to avoid/hide them.

Roadmap

As we step into 2025, we acknowledge that the full game still hasn’t been released. We apologize for the delay. Reflecting on our initial timeline, we had aimed to release the beta in 2022 and the full game in 2023. These estimates were based on the time it took us to develop the prologue. However, it turned out that we underestimated development. The refined art style, the scaled interaction of game mechanics, combined with the fact that artistic creativity sometimes just can't be squeezed out, makes us slower at creating content than we would've wanted to.

As a result, we released the beta in mid-2023. To help make up for the longer wait, we granted all backers access to the playtest in May of last year. While it’s not the full game yet, it does provide a few hours of gameplay to enjoy.

Pivoting to increase development speed

On one hand we want to make something that is of sufficient length and quality, but on the other hand we also want to release within a realistic timeframe. To speed up development, we took several measures:

• Shorten end-game content
• Scrap some optional content
• Focus more on reusing environments, as a lot of our time is spent on art
• Partially rely on procedurally generated side content (more on that in a future update)

There is a bare minimum of what we think the game should consist of, so further scrapping or splitting is not an option for us.

Without further ado, this is what our roadmap looks like (click on it to view spoilers). 

This can be a little bit hard to interpret, so here's some remarks for context:

• This roadmap focusses on areas, not on mechanics. Mechanics have mostly been fleshed out and we didn't put all mechanics on the roadmap yet.
• This shows what we have for the main story content. Some side content - such as optional quests and random encounters - are not shown on the roadmap.
• We think the latter half of the game can be created faster than the initial half, because the Mountains and Darkwoods are definitely the biggest areas, and what remains to be done reuses a lot of areas/art assets.

Other rewards

Besides the game, there are also some other rewards that you are entitled to. So here's how that is going:

• Cavern of names: done
• Beta: done
• Credits: done, although the credits will see an upgrade in the full game.
• Digital art book: this can only be done after the game is complete. We're sorry about that, but we haven't found a way to make this possible before finalizing the game's art development.
• Physical art book: same as above. As soon as the game is done, we'll start working on this asap. The good news is that throughout development, we've already set aside numerous sketches, concept art pieces, and finalized artwork with the creating of this book in mind.
• NPC's, statues and paintings: done (besides definitively placing them). As a compensation for the delay, we offered backers of this pledge to have their art pieces included in the prologue, of which you'll be seeing an update soon.

The other things we have to do

So far we've only talked about creating the game, but then we haven't mentioned all the other things that come with game development. The most obvious example is marketing, like creating social media content and occasionally showcasing our game. While this doesn't contribute to creating the game, it is something we have to spend (more) time on in order to be commercially viable. All in all, we hope that you understand that not all hours in 2025 will be spent on creating the game. But the vast majority of them will.

What do you think?

It is said that waiting is easier if you have a feeling how things are progressing. Although we cannot provide a definitive answer, you can see the roadmap above as a "progress bar". We hope that combined with the playtest, many of you can bare the waiting a bit longer.

Maybe you are not convinced. That's cool too, feel free to let us know. Also, we don't want to lock anyone in a project they don't want to be in anymore. If that's the case, it's best to contact us privately, preferably via email.

That's it for now. Of course we'll be reading the comments to check what people think. And you'll be hearing from us again in March.

Cheers,
Mikel & Ramon

Devlog - Allies, Skill Shards and Music
over 1 year ago – Mon, Nov 04, 2024 at 10:54:14 AM

Hey all, 

We're getting closer to the end of the year, and it's time to update you on our progression. Today we'd like to talk a bit more about Allies, Skills, and show work in progress when it comes to music.

Allies 

We've been developing an Ally mechanic that adds a new layer to the gameplay. At certain points in the game, allies can join you in battle, offering support. However, there are also missions where the roles reverse, and it's up to you to protect your ally to complete a mission successfully.

Skills

When it comes to developing your character, we offer you some different choices. There's upgrades to your weapon, shield and magic abilities, but you can also unlock skills.

There are several popular mechanics in games. We considered two options: a skill tree or swappable skills. We chose swappable skills because they offer the flexibility to adjust your gameplay style on the fly, allowing you to adapt to various situations.

How to get them

You can obtain skill shards by defeating certain powerful enemies or by straying off the beaten path. Skills can then be traded with specialized skill merchants who accept only one form of payment: skill shards.

Once you have collected enough of them, find a skill merchant and get that upgrade.

And with your newly bought skills, you can upgrade your character in the skill selection tab. 

At the start of the game, you'll only have one skill slot, but you'll be able to equip more slots towards the end of the game.

Types of skills

We haven't settled on the exact list of skills yet, but you we're trying to bring some variation in here. Some skills will alter existing stats (like the health or dash timeout) while others will grant you new abilities. Those that tried our playtest version may have already tried the ground execution in the arena. Below you can see another way to get rid of many enemies

Feel free to let us know in the comments what you think of what you're seeing, and what skills you would enjoy!

Music Update

You may remember from our previous update that we hired a composer. John has been hard at work and already delivered some tracks. We'd like to share a sample of the title suite here:

We're very happy with the result! John's been able to capture the atmosphere to our liking, while also using an interesting and fitting range of instruments.

That's all we have for now. Until next time!

Cheers,

Mikel & Ramon

Devlog - composer on board!
over 1 year ago – Mon, Sep 02, 2024 at 06:32:26 AM

Hi all,

Welcome to our late summer update. We're continuing to make progress with the game, but for this update, we would like to start off with something else: music!

Music

We both believe strongly in the importance of music. Whether it be classics like old school Zelda, SNES RPG's or modern hit pieces like Hollow Knight or Hades, they all have memorable sound tracks. So we set out talking to different composers to work with. Then we remembered that a lot of people actually praised the sound track of our Prologue. That sound track was mostly part of a royalty free bundle offered by a composer, so we decided to contact him as well. Long story short: John Leonard French is going to compose the score for Unsung Warriors!

About John

John has been writing music for games for more than ten years. His work includes music for Iris and the Giant, Vellum, Sovereign Tea, Keplerth, QuiVr, and many, many more, while his production music products, such as Ultimate Game Music, have been used by countless developers all over the world.

We asked John about his plans for Unsung Warriors, and he told us the following:

My plan for Unsung Warriors is to start with traditional elements, such as instruments that are, either, historically accurate, or sound like they are, but then use them in a modern way. Such as by introducing modern instruments and sounds alongside traditional ones, or by reusing what would have been period-correct sounds in a completely different way, such as by putting a Carnyx horn through Phase Plant to create a wavetable bass, for example. The idea is, that, even if I use an instrument or sound that doesn’t fit in ancient Gaul, it’ll still have a traceable connection to something that might have done. I’m hoping that this limitation will create some unique sounding instruments that will give the game an identity all of its own.

We're looking forward to letting you hear some of John's work in future updates. As soon as the tracks reach maturity. We'll also be implementing them in the Playtest version.

Work in progress

Past month we also finished a thrilling part of the mountain level. People who liked the crypt collapse level in the prologue are going to be excited to see this section of the game, where you'll have to slide your way through a perilous part of the mountain. 

The early sections start a bit more quiet, but later on, chaos will ensue!

Talking animations

We're now mostly focusing on making as much content as possible. However, occasionally we see a possibility to improve some work that's already done with little effort. One of these improvements are talking animations. Our art style allows for quite easy implementation of them. You can see the result here, and we believe this to be one of of those little things that can add to the atmosphere of our game.

That's all we have for today. We'll be posting another update in about two months!

Cheers,

Mikel & Ramon