



In general, Earthblade feels like an even more collaborative effort than Celeste, to the point where I'm questioning whether a "Director" credit even makes sense this time around. We often find ourselves all gathered around one team member's desk, discussing the finer points of some piece of the puzzle. There have been periods where one or all of us are off working on different parts of the game separately with less frequent communication - such as when Pedro recently fell down a calligraphy rabbit hole (with great results!) - but this is the opposite, a task that requires all of our attention and problem solving. Noel, Amora, Pedro, and I are all weighing in and trading work back and forth constantly as we assemble this jigsaw puzzle. One aspect of developing the introduction that I'm really enjoying is the amount of very close collaboration that it has necessitated. But it will be infinitely easier to rework and polish this sequence than it will be to create it out of thin air. It's more of a first draft, to be revisited and touched up later in the process. Untangling all the prerequisites for a functional and entertaining intro to this game is forcing us to answer a lot of big questions that have been looming since the project's inception.Īnd as usual, what we make now won't be the final version that you'll eventually see. It's also a daunting task, but it feels like the right time to tackle it. It's exciting that we've built up the foundations to the point where this is possible. This week we've been working on the game's introduction - what happens when the player starts up Earthblade for the first time. Progress never feels fast enough, but whenever we look back it's undeniable that we're getting a lot done. Hey there Cadets, the time felt right for another EXOK newsletter :) So grab a warm drink and a purring cat, and dig into this cozy winter update.
