Pictured is the Gryphon boss battle. She is fast and aggressive, and victory requires the player to dodge her rapid-fire dives and charges while exploiting split-second openings to hit her. Upon being defeated and purged of her corruption, she bestows the protagonist with the ability to do a diving stab, allowing him to cross large gaps and hit enemies with a powerful sword strike.
Next up is the Unicorn Temple, which I actually started late in March - I'm running a bit ahead of schedule. Goal is to release by the end of 2025, and so far, that's looking likely. Development roadmap is as follows:
- 2023: Engine, UI, Phoenix Temple, Demo (completed)
- 2024 Jan-Mar: Gryphon Temple (completed)
- 2024 Apr-Jun: Unicorn Temple (in progress)
- 2024 Jul-Sep: Minotaur Temple
- 2024 Oct-Dec: Final Dungeon
- 2025: Overworld, intro and ending cinematics, polish, closed beta
Development process for each individual dungeon generally goes like so (with the exception of the Phoenix Temple, since I built many parts of it concurrently with the engine):
- 1st month: Plot dungeon map, design and implement dungeon's unique enemy's puzzles, and other mechanics with placeholder art and sound assets, build and test entire map except for the boss (on track to finish this by the end of April for the Unicorn Temple)
- 2nd month: Art assets, sounds, and animations for the dungeon.
- 3rd month: Program and gameplay test boss; once satisfied, create art, sound assets, and post-fight dialog for the boss. Give the dungeon to a few close friends for playtesting, then make adjustments based on results.
