- AoA Weekly #35 - Demo testing and Ending started - 20 September 2026
This week was filled with testing the flow of the scenes we've made so far, and Bro A (That's me) preparing the ending to the demo. The testing went well, and the pacing of the story has been refined. As stated in another update, pacing is everything in an RPG - we take it very seriously. :) Not just that, I managed to put in some last minute quests/NPCs to the demo that I think add a nice layer to it. But the deadline is fast approaching! Soon the demo will be finished from start to end, and Bro B will play it blindly for the first time! This won't mean the demo gets released right away - right after the first impression, we'll both work to refine it and test it fully before release. With that said, there isn't too much to show this week as most would be spoilers. Bro B has been hard at work refining the sprites in the main game of Ancients of Arkar while I've been making this upcoming…
- AoA Weekly #34 - Demo: Lost & Found - 13 September 2026
Another milestone met this week, with the completion of the Lost & Found town in the demo. This is an area where people with no 'purpose' go. Everyone in Arkar wakes up at the 'Pools of Reflection', and from there, they wander the world. Since the pools are looking for only a single correct spirit, a lot of individuals don't get picked. This place was built as a refuge for those who aren't the Influential One. It houses some NPCs that will help bring the world to life, and also an important shop to help you in your battles.We've included a wide range of different NPCs to speak to, each one enhancing the lore of the world. We hope you look forward to meeting them! Bernanson is one of these NPCs, and he's a cold and calculating business man that observes the oddities around the camp and the world. He'll sell you things he's collected throughout Arkar. Try to shoot for his more expensive i…
- AoA Weekly #33 - Demo: Battle Ready - 6 September 2026
A small update again to keep our viewers posted: we have finished the mechanics of each boss fight and implemented their environmental counters. This means, for most of the Truth fights you'll be encountering, there will be a way to make them weaker or alter their fight by interacting with the environment. I could go into specifics of each fight, and how to make them easier, but this would end up as a strategy guide for Corren Bro B, and he has to play it blind. So for now, let this stand as a milestone marker. I can give a couple examples below:Before engaging in battle, looking around your environment can be a good idea. In this case, if you sneakily maneuver around, you might find a hidden room with an item that acts as a Truth's counter. Now, it'll never say '\'s counter', but by reading what the item does and applying it to the enemy, you'll see it serves as one. Another example is…
- AoA Weekly #32 - Demo: Artwork week! - 30 August 2026
A bit of a small update here, because this week was full of mostly just drawing the required artwork for the demo. We drew Zulzin's stages for his cards, Vialianso's stages, the Truth boss cards, face portraits, etc. I'm extremely excited this was finished in a week, as we can now start polishing the fighting portion of the demo. Here's a brief look at some of the art we did this week:A preview of Zulzin's ingame cards! In Ancients of Arkar, as you level up, the card changes, and you get an entirely new set of moves to use. It's one of the coolest aspects of our battling. Although, they are thematically similar across a character's stages (Like a character who is AoE focused, stays AoE focused).A look at Vialianso's cards and face portraits! She is a damage over time (DoT) focused character. Obviously with the blood you see.A look at one of the Truth's you'll be facing. This boss will b…
- AoA Weekly #31 - Demo: Archives Story Finished - 23 August 2026
We reached the end of the Archives Main Story Quest (MSQ) this week, and now have it sitting and waiting for the Truth Seeking side to conclude. We'll be shifting our focus on that side now, and at long last polishing the rest of the demo. Here's a brief outlook on how the finale of the Archives went:The player arrives at the Archives, but it appears his instructors are now ignoring him. Their attention is drawn elsewhere... When confronting Lanarii, she was asked to give Zulzin the grim news. What was that grim news? Well, that would be a spoiler! :) Lanarii is known to be a deeply caring person, so her conscience compels her to break protocol and explain to Zulzin the real purpose of his arrival. She was never meant to do this, and it will set up her story in the main game beautifully. This is also a driving force for the main Ancients of Arkar story, And thus concludes the Archives l…
- AoA Weekly #30 - Demo: Lesson 3 and more - 16 August 2026
The Main Story Quest is near completion this week as we wrap up work on Lesson 3 of the Archives! This is near the end of the actual narrative for the demo (Next week concludes it), and after this, we start tying everything together. Here's a preview of how things progressed: The player once again rests, and this time a terrifying revelation is met in the dead of night. Vialianso is there to rescue Zulzin, but Zulzin makes her promise not to mention a thing... The next day, Zulzin arrives for a rematch to try influencing once again. Things go especially poorly, and desperation kicks in. Vialianso and Zulzin proceed to try and win the waning favor of the instructors, but to no avail. Zulzin believes he's pulled it off... but the instructors know. Later on, the player can sleep again, and we dive deeply into Zulzin and Vialianso's companionship. The next wake up scene for the final day de…
- AoA Weekly #29 - Demo: Lesson 2 Done - 9 August 2026
Work continues this week with both sides of the main story quest (MSQ) advancing further. The player is now able to tackle the second lesson at the Archives, and finally learn about the Gallery. Let's take a quick look at how these sides have progressed.After finishing lesson 1, and removing the truth from your sleeping quarters, the Player may finally sleep and advance the story. Sometimes, they'll be haunted at night... When visiting the Archives in the next story day, the player is met with their first Influencing task. They are asked to influence a normal person from the 'Lost and Found' to show off their skills. This test doesn't go according to plan, and the player is once again asked to return the next day for their final lesson... The player may now choose to sleep, and continue to the next day for lesson 3! On the Truth Seeking side, the introduction to the Gallery has finally…
- AoA Weekly #28 - The paths have split! - 2 August 2026
Both sides of the main story quest (MSQ) have finally started, and each one has had their introduction finished. As we left off from last week, the player at this point is presented with the World Map, and a choice. We don't want to be intrusive at all with quest markers, but we want it to be intuitive. There are 'beams of light' that guide the player gently to each 'main objective'. With this, they know where they can advance the story when they'd like to. As you can see there are two. Let's start with the Archives side to see what was made! Advancing the Archives story will test the Zulzin's influencing abilities. You start off meeting Kiiwiki, the one whose attunement powers the Tree of Spirits. That's how you were called to Arkar. Afterward, the player proceeds to their first lesson. This lesson includes removing stray spirits from the world, to see if Zulzin possesses the correct t…
- AoA Weekly #27 - Demo Intro complete - 26 July 2026
We've finally finished the beginning to the demo this week. Most of these updates have highlighted work that's supposed to support the actual structure for the demo. Levels, sprites, mechanics, etc. This time, however, we've finally started the actual demo content. And the beginning is a perfect introduction! Without spoiling too much, we made a mysterious title sequence with a prayer from an unknown source. This leads directly into you starting to play, lasting only about 40 seconds. Immediately, you take control with no intrusive dialog. It is designed to be intriguing, mysterious and ready to be explored. Here, the player is subtly introduced to mechanics as Zulzin slowly remembers his abilities. Something happened here, and the player is starting at the end of the event, and uncovering what happened. Proceeding from there presents the player with 'ability test rooms'. Only 3, and th…
- AoA Weekly #26 - Battle Ready Environments - 19 July 2026
Another simple update this week, as we finished the battle stages for our demo. As you may not know, when you run into an enemy, it switches to a battle view with you vs. the enemy group (like most turn based games), and the demo demanded 4 unique stages! We look forward to everyone battling enemies in these levels. Most enemies you'll be fighting are called 'truths', and they are all essentially bosses. Can you find things in the environment, or counter items to beat them all and finish the demo? That'll be the real challenge! Speaking of environment 'things', we finally finished implementing all environment 'puzzles' or interactions for these truths. I hope you have fun finding them all. We also finished some hidden world map levels. On our world map, it starts as a somewhat clean slate. When you wander, you my find 'hidden areas' where you can reveal brand new levels! They'll remain…
- AoA Weekly #25 - The Truths are unleashed! - 12 July 2026
Simple update this time, as work continues on the demo. We finished the large sprite work for all bosses in the demo (Well, except for an ultra-hidden one!). This process is a huge stepping stone, since now we know what they look like, everything else follows. These truths will be your main objective in the demo, and will test your battling knowledge. We hope you look forward to seeing them all! We also ironed out and polished the levels that were exported last week. So now all the levels are connected, have their music implemented and some unique ambience if you get close to certain parts. This also means Vialianso's ability to help Zulzin in the environment is fully done. It's seamless, too. You can call her to be a platform in certain areas to help you up and more. It's really cool. Last, but not least: we got a new batch of music that we can't wait for you to hear. :) Again, small u…
- AoA Weekly #24 - Large level update - 5 July 2026
Our demo has had a significant amount of new levels added, and the polish phase is on the horizon. This will involve adding the gameplay, shortcuts/routes, items and possibly enemies. In the Ancients of Arkar demo, you're playing a completely unqiue RPG experience, one separate from the main game. Whether you play it before the main game, or even after, we're making sure there's always something to be excited about. We made the final Truth level, with the final boss you'll be hunting, and the hidden path required to find him. It'll be tricky finding your way to him on the world map, as it's tucked away, but it'll be a good learning lesson for the player to discover world map locations. Please look forward to the exploration in the demo - there's a lot of it. :) We also finished the Arkar Steps, and the inside of Arkar where your main objective will be. So that's quite a bit of progress…
- AoA Weekly #23 - Where We Meet - 28 June 2026
Work continues on our demo. Please remember, and spread the news that it is a completely unique adventure, separate from the main Ancients of Arkar. It's like downloading a free, high quality RPG. Regarding the work this week, the foundational levels of the demo are nearly complete. This time, the Archives have been constructed, along with the 'spirit tree' that sits sprouted outside. There's also some sneaky secret here, but you didn't hear it from me. :) Along with the Archives, a new level was added where the player will fight one of the 'Truths' they hunt in the demo. This place is a charred, burnt down part of the woods with a terrible creature sitting in the middle. It also has a small environment puzzle that can weaken the boss, if the player discovers it. With those two done, and the world map continuing to garner improvements, the Demo is moving steadily along. The next week wi…
- AoA Weekly #22 - Demo Level work - 21 June 2026
As predicted from last week's update, we've managed to get the world map finished and put in the game this week. Not only that, we also finished 4 world map locations, and 1 secret area! Phew, it's been a lot of work. These areas are ready for the player to explore, and most of them are 'off the beaten path', so I hope you're ready to look around. :) In our game, our world map is somewhat unique - you have to run around and 'discover' hidden locations which will reveal their cool little graphic on the map. So when you start the game, don't be fooled by the clean look of the world. Try running around and finding locations originally hidden. The levels we made include a level with a neat item, a place where Zulzin will 'sleep' to pass to the next story day, a vast lake and the corpse of an 'Ancient'. As for the hidden area... well... :) Each of these demo updates I do want to reiterate th…
- AoA Weekly #21 - The Demo foundation - 14 June 2026
Work continues on the demo as the first major level is finished. This is the level the player wakes up in, and it consists of 6 levels in one. It's designed to let the player roam and discover mechanics on their own. Long, long ago we made a demo that was extremely hand-holding, and it was bitterly rejected. Fast forward to now, and we actually agree with the sentiment.Players want to discover the game, not be told about it.And that has been the motto not only for the demo, but our game as well. There are light 'hints', but a lot of it is left up to the player to figure out. So the level we've made has small 'puzzle rooms' to let the player naturally discover the mechanics. It makes development so much easier if you just design it smartly instead of shoving tutorials everywhere. And it's more fun for the player! :) With this level came the creation of the basic model set for all demo le…
- AoA Weekly #20 - The Demo begins! - 7 June 2026
The time has come - and we are prepared. Work has started quickly on the playable demo of Ancients of Arkar, and we've made good progress already. This demo will be a completely unique experience, and acts almost as a loose prequel to the events of the main game. It'll be a bite sized RPG with about 3 hours of story content (More if you look around ;) ) It'll be packed with all the features present in the main game to be sampled and tested, so this is very exciting for us. We know playing an RPG demo can be kind of frustrating, because on release day, you have to play the same content to catch up, or load a save file from the demo you played 2 years ago. In that case, you probably would just start again. But our demo, again, is a completely unique experience. The whole demo will be hidden in the main game, too, in case the demo is ever taken down (for preservation) So this week, we star…
- AoA Weekly #19 - Stormbarrow Chapter 2 done! - 31 May 2026
It's finally finished! Stormbarrow chapter 2 has been completed, play tested and polished. We're proud to have finished this chapter in 2 months, considering how crazy things got at our household. Personally, I feel like this chapter is one of our best - and I can't wait for you guys to discover the hidden things within it! We finished all the cutscenes fairly quick. We've gotten very efficient with our workflow, and cutscenes are never a bottleneck (they're also some of the least boring cutscenes you'll see in a 2.5D game). What took forever this week was the extra content, and writing all the changing NPC dialogue! But we did it. :) Since brother B played it, I feel more confident with showing screenshots off (I know right now we're basically the only two reading these). What's next you may wonder? Here on Sunday, I've already started work on our Ancients of Arkar demo. Work never sto…
- AoA Weekly #18 - Events set in motion... - 24 May 2026
Another crazy week here at the Corren house, but we managed to get halfway done with the story cutscenes/gameplay in this chapter. And we got a slew of new sprites! Usually when Bro A is making the cutscenes (that's me), he'll come across parts in the story where a new emote could really be useful. Luckily, with Bro B being so sprite efficient, he'll usually get him the emotes he requested in a day! Well, we got a bunch of new emotes for these Stormbarrow characters. :)You'll have to excuse the quick updates (the 'heartbeat' updates?) as life here at the Corren house has reached cataclysmic chaos. Hopefully we'll make it out. And... that's about it for this week. I could discuss the story events I did, but that would be spoilers. ;) Next week, chapter 2 should be done. Then... it's demo work time. :)On to what we did this week:Added the level Road BlocksA massive level with technically…
- AoA Weekly #17 - Cleanup work and Cutscenes - 17 May 2026
Not the most productive week, as the Corren household continues to be a madhouse. We unfortunately had to settle into a completely new routine. Although difficult, it's also a great test of our adaptability. So we managed to start the cutscenes for Chapter 2 (and even sneakily edited the ending of chapter 1 to flow better). Not only that, work has concluded on ALL sprites for our demo main character. Our demo will be a completely unique experience, separate from the main game and act as a prequel. Yes, you'll want to play this demo for extra, juicy lore tidbits - and don't you worry, it will go over the basic flow of our entire game, so it's a great teaser, too. Beyond all that, work on the animated portraits went extremely well, and you might be seeing them in the demo coming up. :) Hopefully next week will be a solid routine integrating the new craziness interrupting everything, and w…
- AoA Weekly #16 - Dream items and Gameplay - 10 May 2026
Each time period chapter has its own set of unique items that come with it. These are all designed to work with each other for unique, powerful combinations. And sometimes, they're just key items. Considering Stormbarrow's gameplay feature is a combine feature (kind of like Resident Evil), we've been planning items around it. All the puzzle items and battle items are now finished, and with it the gameplay in each dream. The Excesses (basically left behind monsters) have all been implemented, and now we're close to starting the cutscenes for this chapter. Behind the scenes, things have been extremely turbulent at the Corren Bros household, so we're not exactly on schedule. Hopefully next week is a hybrid of all gameplay done, and cutscenes started. See you next week for another update.On to what we did this week:Finished all items for Stormbarrow Chapter 2A unique combination of items to…
