For now though we came into this month with some big changes to the game's foundation and we're gearing up for the sprint to the next playtest. Our hope is that we can make most or all of the game's content this year, and then release in 2023 after some form of (private) beta test, polishing, localization, and of course the dreaded console certification. All told, it feels like we're close to what we'd call "full content production mode" on Earthblade. We suspect that we'll want the playtest frequency to increase as we progress further, as the changes we're making become more granular and a higher feedback interval becomes more valuable to really finetune everything into its final form. This cadence feels right for the team and the project right now. Additionally, sprinting gets tiring for us when it becomes our sole mode of work - when used sparingly (and without overtime!) it can be a fun and engaging mode of work that applies juuuust the right amount of pressure for magic to occur. This makes sense because sweeping those tasks under the proverbial rug serves the immediate purpose of keeping the game playable, but we still want space to think through and solve these problems properly after the fact. In the week or two before a playtest we often adopt an attitude of "we'll fix it later!" for complex problems that arise. We chose the monthly interval because we don't want to be always sprinting - we still need time to tackle things like large refactors or prototypes of new mechanics. Another benefit of these playtests is they function as deadlines - the week or two before one becomes a sprint to prepare the game so that we can maximize the usefulness of that session (and because it's just plain motivating to see your work played!) As expected, we're gaining valuable insights from observing how people from outside of the project experience it. We're currently scheduling one for the end of every month, tapping friends of ours who aren't yet familiar it. We recently started formally playtesting Earthblade! For this game we wanted to wait for quite a long time before beginning playtests, so finally getting here has been very exciting and energizing for us. Stay tuned for the latest updates.Maddy here with another EXOK newsletter :) Most recently, the team added developer commentary as part of the game's third anniversary.Įarthblade looks like it's a long way from release, but we'll be watching its development closely here at Shacknews. While the game hasn't had any official new content since the release of Chapter 9, Extremely OK Games continues to support the game to this day.
"The truth is that we don't know how long it will take, just that it will take as long as it takes (and that it will take a long time)."Ĭeleste has been a big favorite here at Shacknews, so much so that we didn't hesitate to name it our Best Indie Game of 2018. "Now it sounds optimistic to say out loud that Earthblade could be released within 5 short years of Celeste," Thorson said on the Extremely OK Games website. There's plenty of time to speculate, too, because even Thorson isn't quite sure of how long the game's development cycle will run, given hurdles like the continuing COVID-19 pandemic. There's no word on what kind of game Earthblade is, which leaves the door open for speculation. There's nothing to go on outside of a name, a logo, and a clip from the game's soundtrack. There isn't a lot to say about Earthblade or what it is. The next release from the Celeste team, coming 20XX. Extremely OK Games' next effort will be called Earthblade.Ī 2D explor-action game in a seamless pixel art world.
There isn't too much to say about that game, except that now it has a name. The team has since founded Extremely OK Games and begun work on the studio's next official project. A lot has happened since Maddy Thorson and company released Celeste back in 2018.
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