MagiBlade is a strategic metroidvania platformer set in the depths of a castle filled with evil and despair. Navigate rooms filled with dangerous monsters and traps with the small collection of weapons at your disposal!

Month 1 (January 2022):

• Week 1: 
  • I ended up releasing two versions of MagiBlade in this week.
  • These initial versions, which I refer to as InDev 1.0 and 1.1, consisted of a rather rudimentary collection of platforms and a wizard with very floaty, difficult to control jumping.  You could collect a total of three trophies, one of which required a rather poorly put together boss fight against a troll. These versions also contained the now removed goblin enemy.
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• Week 2:
  • Week 2 actually had three releases, bringing us up to InDev 1.3.1. The first downloadable versions were made, and are thus the earliest versions I still have playable copies of. This brought upon us the beginning of a rather long era of weapon selection. For debugging purposes, I let players choose from an assortment of 12 weapons that were added throughout the three versions created in this week. Music was also properly implemented. Also, bats were added.
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• Week 3:
  
  • This was the final week of January in which I released versions of MagiBlade, with only the initial Alpha release coming to itch.io. This was a very large step for the game, as an actual level was added, along with ghosts and skeletons.
  • Unfortunately, I can't seem to get past the first platform, so I don't have any interesting screenshots.

Month 3 (March 2022):

• Week 3:
  • After a rather random break for the entirety of February and half of March, I made a return with Alpha 1.1 and 1.2. This was the week in which my game transitioned from an unplayable mess to a playable, slightly pretty mess.
  • Each of these were rather unique and massive updates, so I shall discuss them separately.
• Alpha 1.1:
  • This was the version where I actually began spending considerable amounts of time playtesting and trying to make the game... well... good.
  • I fixed the nasty bug preventing me from jumping atop the first platform, expanding the world to actual playability. I then added a ton of lighting. I was actually starting to see my vision of the game come through, and it became my primary development project.
  • The world map grew bigger, lanterns were added, chests and keys were added. There were features everywhere. It was all coming together
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• Alpha 1.2:
  • Just two days later, after intense development and hours upon hours of work, I released a new version with new animation, sprite work, particle effects, double jumping and so much more.
  • This was the first version I consider to be a genuinely fun experience.
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April 2022, Week One (Alpha 1.3)

This was a week focused on making the player's experience fun and impactful. On top of retexturing some objects such as platforms and enemies like the troll boss, I added fluid animation.

Frame rates of several animations were increased, and I added a bit of cartoon flair, accentuated by squash and stretch, to the player and the troll boss.

Gameplay-wise, a lot changed. After deciding to prioritize platforming over combat (the combat system isn't very interesting), I implemented instant respawning and a new camera system, in a way mirroring the methods employed by the developers of Celeste to create a user-friendly experience when the player is faced with hard-as-nails platforming challenges.

In a similar light, spikes became a major focus as a way of insta killing the player, and fall damage was added to add a bit of tension to sections like the tutorial tower that has persisted since InDev. I also added saw-blades, smaller platforms and a host of other fun yet challenging obstacles.

Week Two, April 2022 (Alpha 1.3.2):

With a reasonable base for expansion set up, I was a bit laid back this week with development. However, I did make some important changes.

Firstly, and probably most noticeably, I added an actual background. It was a small change, but it completely transformed the atmosphere of the game.

Secondly, lighting has been enhanced by a high degree. Now, every enemy is illuminated, while walls have been darkened to reduce distraction and bring the focus to the important bits of the map.

Lastly, I did away with the weapon system (I actually did this in Alpha 1.3 but forgot to mention it). You can no longer choose from 12 weapons, and are tied to just 4. The idea is that in the final game, you will be able to unlock different weapons as combat options and platforming aids as you progress, rather than having everything unlocked from the beginning.

Week Two, April 2022 (Alpha 1.3.4):

Pretty much all I did in 1.3.4 was add a settings menu and squash a few bugs here and there.