Okay. It's September. In my last post, I said that I would launch the crowdfunding campaing before summer ended. And there's only 20 days left for that.

I'll totally try to make it before September ends, but if I'm not able to and I have to wait 'till October, let's just not get mad about it, should we? I mean, I've been living with virtually no incomes since Novemeber (when I said bye to my former boss), I'm sure you will do fine if you have to wait a month or two!

Jokes aside, I've been really busy working on -everything. Graphics. Code. Music. Design. Concept Art. PR. All you could imagine. There's nothing new about this for me: I know that making games is no easy task and that things  seldom go as planned.

But if you never give up, and you're willing to sacrifice almost all you have, and start from scratch when needed, then, as Kipling said, "yours is the Earth and everything that's in it, and -which is more- you'll be a Man, my son!"

I've little left to sacrifice for this dream of making and publishing my own game, the game I want to create. And I'm starting to feel that it's possible. That I can live the dream.

But you want news, don't you?


1st.- Kickstarter news.




For now, all I have to say is that I'm doing my best to launch it in this month of September beginning today. I might have to cut out the demo for debugging issues (I need to debug the game on many different OS's and I don't have the time. Plus, there's a lot of small bugs and unfinished things that would go unnoticed on a Kickstarter pitch video, but that would take me looong to fix in order to achieve a playable state!)

So... be patient. Please, understand!


2nd.- Here are some animations

I noticed that the animations in that "What's Spirit Huntress" post were slightly outdated. I've made a lot of improvement on Hibari's sprites and animations since them. Particularly, I tried making her anatomy more realistic -less boob bounce- and generally, add more key frames and less inbetweening.

Check them out, but don't mind the background images, since they're taken from an unfinished level.











There are much more animations to come. Special attacks, Kick-combos, spiritual powers (namely a technique called the "Soul Purge")... You'll see much more in the Kickstarter pitch video really soon.



3rd.- Any screenshots?

Sure, why not? I've posted some of these on twitter recently, but there you have them anyway!






The first one (Hibari running on some rooftops) is from Istoch Town, the place where the game begins (you'll be hunting your first angry spirit really soon this time!). And hopefully, you'll be able to play that segment of the game if I can complete the demo.

The second one is from the Plains (temptative name), a transition level that connects the Desert area (Sarkans Canyon, formerly known as the Red Desert).

The third one is from the base of the "Cracked Skulls", which also happens to be Al's house. It's kind of a central point in the game and you'll have to go there a lot. Until certain event happens, that is...

And the final one is, again, from Istoch town. There's already a secret in that screen which isn't to difficult to spot...

I hope you liked them. I'm pretty fond of how they are coming out. 

Just keep in mind that they're still a work in progress and that many things in them need -and will- be changed!


4th.- More music

This time, I'd like to share with you two themes from the game's Original Soundtrack.

The first one, "Surrounded by drippling leaves", was uploaded some weeks ago on my Soundcloud account. So, if you've visited this blog or my account on SC, you'll probably have listened to it already.

It's intended for a Forest Area where rain it's almost always raining: the Ada Forest.

(I'd recommend watching this gif while you listen to the track)





Then  there's this other theme, one I think you'd like best. Let me say beforehand that it's (as usual) a work in progress. Particularlly, this track isn't even halfway done yet. But I love how it's coming out.

It's called "The Circle of Death" and once finished, will play when you face certain kind of enemies. Like the one in the picture below:




I hope you liked them!


5th.- Merchandise? What's this?!

If you're familiar with Kickstarter campaigns concerning indie games, you'll have probably notice how the developers try to add some sauce to their attemps by giving the backers the chance to adquire all kinds of merchandise.

It has become a sort of costum, and honestly, I'd like to produce some merchandise of Spirit Huntress.

What kind of merchandise? I haven't decided all the details yet, but the most important, the 3d-printed figurine, is on its way since last month!

Exactly, you'll be able to have (if you're willing to expend your money like that) a fabulous 3d-printed figurine of Hibari, sculpted by the very talented 3d artist Leti Moreno (@erakkia on  twitter).

So far, the 3d model is almost completed. I'll be good and let you look at some WIP snapshots of the model, as well as a photoshop painted preview!




I'm really excited about this! To think I'm close  to have my original character turned into actual merchandise... 

I just hope that someone is actually interested in getting it (other than the people who have "kindly" asked for one as a gift, lol).



6th.- XBox One

Exactly! Two weeks ago, Yoyo Games announced a partnership with Microsoft in order to develope a exporting solution for GM:Studio games to the Xbox One.



This means that, once Spirit Huntress is finished, I'll do my best to bring it to PS4, XBONE, PC, MAC, and LINUX. The WiiU is out of reach by now (which is a shame because I LOVE Nintendo).



That would be all for now, folks. Don't get too far from here, since the Kickstarter campaing is really close (this time, for real, I hope) and I'll be needing all of your support.

Thanks for reading this and have a nice day!