The Last Kingdom - Blogger Update 21

Hello again, everyone!

As one more half week comes and- will go... so comes another update! This update is significantly larger than last week, as over these past two weeks, a lot has been done and is being done. I have made great strides in completing the Windermagne Stronghold section of the game, sounding that the end of Act 2 is upon us. There have been a few changes to this portion of the game, but it does still roll as it does. Aside from progression and gameplay, there are changes to art, and other deals.

More art is in progress. Art for the introduction; art to be encountered in game, character reference sheets, character sideview animations, and tileset art. I will add a few pieces to the end of this update. I am also pretty excited to say that the first comic book of our "Project Ebonlight Stories" series, and soon I'll be posting the pages to Twitter. All I can say is these are probably the most in depth and time consuming portions of the game design. Time really flies.

Anyways, for the short, that is the update of these past week. I hope that you feel the same excitement, that I do, and soon you will see what we have! Thank you for being here, once again! See you for the next update!

Pollina Battler Pose

WIP

Saa'veedra Alternate Skin (2)

The Last Kingdom - Blogger Update 20

 Hey, everyone! Hope you all had an awesome Halloween, and first of November! This year has passed by exceedingly quickly, and for that... another month is upon us. Now, straight into business.

These past couple of months, I have been working on implementing new dialog, scenes, and quests for the player to experience in the Windermagne Stronghold portion of the game. This process had slowed down over the past months due to a project I have been working on for my job, but now that it is complete, process will be back to normal speed.

I have also been working with a few different artists on character reference sheets, character animations, and illustrations based on the scenes the player will come in contact with. The introductory cutscene is still in progress, and has come to about 45% of its runtime. I am excited to present these things to you.

Besides all of this, things are moving and back in order. There is more on the horizon! Thanks for checking in!

[This is WIP scene from the introduction cutscene.]

The Last Kingdom - Blogger Update 19

 Hey, everyone! How are you all doing this fine Sunday (PST)? I think I say it every update, but this one is no different. Time is really flying, and as it does, the updates keep getting shorter. Again, this update is no different there either.

As this update is short, I'll go over the quick basics of it all. I am working on the complete connection of the Windermagne Stronghold storyline. As some of the dialog has changed, I have to work on making it cohesive with the rest of the storyline here. That part is moving as well as it can, but that is the length of the struggles. Anyways, no matter how short this update is, thank you for checking it out. I'll be back with another update at the end of the month, and hopefully it will be a little more substantial. Thanks, again for being here!

The Last Kingdom - Blogger Update 18

Hey everyone! Here we are again, back with another update! I have come to the conclusion that posts should have some form of content attached to them these days, shouldn't they? So as I have a few times in the past, I will be adding content to posts in the future. Not every post, but more than I have in the past. That being said, on to the actual Update!

To start, I have completed about 15% of the second act (2nd) pass, and I can say it is going well. The story is already available, so I am implementing quests that are related to the player's relationship between the characters, and refining the current dialog spoken between them all.

As for art related details, the creation of the story  introduction is making progress. It is being worked on, illustration by illustration, by one singular artist, who is amazing at what they do. No spoilers for this yet, but I will have a preview for it, sometime soon. 

Anyways, progress seems to be shuffling away, and it will for the next few months. We are close to a point where an early access can be available, and we will stay on the grind until it can. Thanks again for checking out this update, and I'll see you in a few weeks! Also... WIP content...!

WIP screenshot of the Xorania Territory on the Overworld!

Screenshot of a WIP night parallax section of the Xoranian Territory! 

The Last Kingdom - Blogger Update 17

Hey, everyone! Short, but quick update... the development of the second act is in progress. The intro to the act is almost complete. Just a few dialog additions, and event connections are to be done. Basic stuff. Alongside that, the game introductory cutscene is in progress. More is being worked towards it, but I do have something to show for it now. The music and narration has been completed for a while now. I am excited to share it with you soon. Anyways... these weeks have been flying by, and as always, thank you for checking out here, and I'll be back to update soon!

The Last Kingdom - Blogger Update 16

 Hey everyone! It's another 'other' Sunday, and there's another update to be had! As programming moves along, it is a slow stepping process as I move towards ensuring the game is in a 100% playable state. That being said, the 1st act of the game is complete! The game can now be played comfortably, from the start of the game to the end of the 1st act. In progress now is the second act. It will be a solid skeleton at the end of this stage of development.

From there, more art is being put together, and is on the way. Again, art is one of the most time consuming and difficult bits in game development. Ensuring something looks good, and is in a position to present. Alongside the in game scenes, there is a new game logo in the works, as well as a cutscene that will be awesome when it is complete. Stick around, and it'll be presented soon! Thanks again for checking in and I'll be back in a couple of weeks!

The Last Kingdom - Blogger Update 15

Hey everyone! Mid-June already and it feels like time has been flying by! Today is a very short form update, since the last update applies a lot to this week's update. Let's begin!

I have been running through the gameplay progression and timing my playthrough. That's really the gist of everything lately. Every so often, I'll run into an issue where progression is stunted by something that I may have changed later in development, and so from there, I'd cut time, and continue from where I start next. Along with that, I've added a few more character interactions and player choice dialog expansions.

Second to all of this, I have been working on in game art, and putting together the game introduction cutscene. The audio for it has been completed for a while now, but the hard part of the project is getting the art/animations together to bring it together. However, it does seem like it will come together soon!

See, super short form update here... now, I'll see you in a few weeks for our next update! Thanks for tuning in!

The Last Kingdom - Blogger Update 14

 Hey, everyone! Another update here, and another update closer to release! Let's get to the details. These past couple of weeks has consisted of bug fixing, along with the implementation of new quests, and features. Among these features, a lot of player options have been added in order to make the gameplay tailored to how you want it. The option to show followers now exists, and there is now a music box feature (that is still under work), that will allow you to listen to the game music you acquire throughout your playthroughs.

Following all of these implementations, I will be playing through the game in its entirety to ensure that it can be played as such. There will need to be some work to the aesthetic of the maps to make them feel alive, but that will come after full story progression has been verified. Come next week, you will know of these developments. Once again, thank you for keeping up with The Last Kingdom, and I'll see you in the next update!

The Last Kingdom - Blogger Update 13

 Hey, everyone! Today's update is fairly short, but that is okay, because it includes a lot of additions. The introduction to the game is implemented and can be played through, into the game proper. From there, I've begun to implement the character interactions and enemy battles that you will encounter throughout. I have also implemented the enemy patrols, that allow each of the enemies to roam the environment, and chase the player if they are spotted. However, they won't chase the player indefinitely. If they lose line of sight, they will return to their patrol after not relocating the player. And with every enemy patrol system, comes the necessity of a player stealth system.

The stealth system works as allowing the player to hide in abnormally dark sections of the map, and can lose enemy sight by hiding in those spaces. However, if an enemy finds the player within one of these spaces, they will commence chase. This feature is in its infancy right now, but will be available upon the early access release. Thanks for checking out this short  dev-log, and I'll be back soon, to update you again!

The Last Kingdom - Dodo Brain Update

Hey, everyone! As most of you know, I have been basically AFK here on the website for almost a year now, and that is due to my HORRENDOUSLY [Dodo Brained] social media management. That being said, The Last Kingdom has been in development during this time, and so no time was wasted in between. As with keeping up to date with posting here and on Twitter, I plan on lowering my update post count to one per 2 weeks, that being on Sunday (PST). I've decided to make this change so that they each update can be a bit more substantial, and I have time to corral everything together.

In reference to the update for today, majority of the most recent work completed is directed to the new introduction that is currently being implemented. The pathing and routing for the player during this segment of the game is complete, leaving the dialog and cutscenes to be worked out before completion.

Lastly, I just wanted to mention a few things regarding the social media channels. I'm excited to say that we will be doing giveaways! To start, we will be mainly giving away video games by established developers, but when the time comes, The Last Kingdom will be included. The kinks haven't exactly been worked out about how they will be diverted to the winners, but most likely, it will be set by milestones being hit. That being said, I look forward to updating you guys again, real soon!