- Release Date Announcement! - 28 July 2025
Hello everyone! Just a quick announcement: the game will release on July 31st! I hope that you'll enjoy helping King Shorty escape! Making this game meant a lot to me and I'm incredibly excited to share the final result with you. Of course, if you run into any issues report them on the Steam forums and I'll do my best to address them. King Shorty is waiting for your help! Thanks for your support and have a great day! -Giuseppe
- Devblog #8.5 - 28 June 2025
Hello everyone, today is saturday, and the Miningdom of Coboldia is waiting for you to buy something, just like every other day! As the game is basically at end of development, this will be the last devblog, as I want to give it 100% of my attention.The remaining nations (humans and orcs) do not appear in the game, so there won't be any "loreday" about them.As for the Living Hell of Scylla, I originally planned a loreday, but I ultimately decided against it. I believe leaving their corrupted lands shrouded in mystery makes them more intriguing. With that out of the way, let's start! Map: Miningdom of Coboldia Lavic Origins Long ago, in the depth of the mountains, there was only fire. Magma. From this burning abyss, the Cobolds were born, not in a divine act of creation or cosmic balance, but by sheer and unpredictable geological chaos. According to coboldian myths, the lavic currents sh…
- Devblog #8 - 25 June 2025
Hello everyone! Today is Wednesday, and I'd like to talk about one of the last mechanics of the game, along with the enemy type they are mostly tied with! Let's start! A Literally Ground Breaking Mechanic Let’s kick things off with a quick introduction to one of the core mechanics: the breaking ground. This feature was one of the first ideas I had when designing the game, but I initially struggled to find a creative way to integrate it into the Tower. In the early zones, its role was filled by the spikes, which I'll leave for you to discover while playing. However, the breaking ground finally found its perfect role in the game’s fourth zone. Since this part of the game is set underground, it made much more thematic sense. At first, I imagined Shorty falling into an endless void, but visually, that turned out to be pretty boring, given the camera of the game. Then, during a break, I stum…
- Devblog #7.5 - 21 June 2025
Hello everyone, today is saturday, and the turn has arrived for the mole people to shine... even in their underground cities! As I say in every ".5" blog, this is an extra dedicated only to the lore of the game. If you are not interested feel free to skip this one! Prepare for a very... unique society of (un)organized people. Let's start! Map: Moles Organized Anarchy A Blind Origin Ancient oral traditions tell of how the Moleoids were born deep within the earth, formed from the leftover remnants of the primordial crucible that created the dwarves. In essence, they were incomplete dwarves: deformed, more beastly in appearance, shaped by some unknown primal force that forced them into existence. From the very beginning, they proved to be despicable, mischievous creatures. Anyone who’s ever had a moleoid from Silliseria as a neighbor knows it all too well: they leave trash in front of your…
- Devblog #7 - 18 June 2025
Good afternoon! This wednesday, I'll introduce to one of the late enemies of the game: the Moleoids! What makes them unique, and what differentiates them from similiar enemies? Let's take a look! Gameplay (they are still work in progress, of course. I think I should position them better on the tile...) The "Moleoids" were created to fulfill a specific need: enemies capable of avoiding traps. Some might argue that dwarves already serve this purpose, but from a strictly technical standpoint, that's not quite accurate. Dwarves can avoid obstacles, but if an obstacle is placed directly in their path, they are forced to stop. Moleoids, on the other hand, are not. If they need to go underground, they will; nothing stops them! The only way to block them is to place an obstacle exactly where they resurface. Otherwise, there’s nothing that can truly halt them! They also have a particularly inter…
- Devblog #6.5 - 14 June 2025
Hello everyone, today is, once again, Saturday. As always I'd like to remind you that this ".5" blogs are focusing just on the lore of the game. If you are not interested, come next week to discover a new enemy type! With that out of the way, let's start! Here in Italy, summer has slammed the closing doors of spring, and as such... it's damn hot outside! That's the reason for the choice of this devblog, in which I'll tell you something about people that hate hot temperatures... Dwarves! Map: The Dwarven Skaldom The Origins The roots of the dwarven people are cloaked in mystery. The only surviving account of their ancient history comes from the Manual of Western Races, written by an anonymous monk of the Eastern Thunder Order: “Long ago, Dwarves were grotesque beings born deep beneath the earth, shaped from blood and mud by the will of a forgotten god. All they knew was battle. When that…
- Devblog #6 - 11 June 2025
Hello everyone, Last week, I talked about new enemies that shake up a bit the game’s rhythm. The second zone is almost entirely built around this very concept. In the previous devblogs, I introduced the Imps, but this week, it’s time to talk about the Dwarves! I won’t hide it: I’m a huge fan of dwarves. I love them: stocky, grumpy, heavy, bearded warriors with horned helmets and a cheeky attitude. While their lore deviates a little from the classic fantasy archetype (that you can discover on Saturday), their visual design leans heavily into it, because I love that. So, you might be wondering: How exactly do they change the gameplay rhythm? Gameplay Unlike Imps, Dwarves speed up the pace of the game. They move two tiles per turn! However, there’s a twist: the first tile is “safe”, so King Shorty can pass through those tiles without taking damage! I'm genuinely happy with this design choi…
- Devblog #5.5 - 7 June 2025
Hello everyone,Today is Saturday, and that means: it's the day of the lore!As always, you won't find gameplay details here, just a story background for my game!It is a bit shorter than usual, as I've caught a bad flu and I can't focus that well, but I hope to deliver something interesting nonetheless!Today I'll tell you about one of the most important places of this world: The Magic Islands!Let's start!Map and InspirationThe "Enchanted Isles" of the mages hold a place of immense importance in the vast and mysterious lands of Silliseria.When I created them, I drew inspiration from well known literary sagas and iconic video games. Out of caution I’ll leave it to you, to spot the many subtle (and not so subtle) references hidden within the map and mentioned locations. Consider it a little challenge, one that may not be too difficult for the keen eyed.The Island OriginsLong ago, these isles…
- Devblog #5 - 4 June 2025
Hello everyone, This Wednesday's update is a bit different: instead of talking about an enemy type, I want to focus on the core design of the game: how the genre choices were made, the challenges I faced, and the solutions I came up with. Let’s get started! Why Turns in a Puzzle Game? This decision dates back to the earliest stages of development, when the game was just a concept for a gamejam. I wanted to blend several genres in a meaningful way, while preserving the key elements of each one of them: Puzzles: Every move should be deliberate. The game is best played when the player thinks ahead, since each action has predictable outcomes. I hope that solving tricky situations or escaping seemingly impossible blocks gives that satisfying “I got it!” moment. Turn-based: The idea of "turn economy" forces the player to think strategically within a limited number of moves. Ideally, this lead…
- Devblog #4.5 - 31 May 2025
Hey people, today is Saturday so... it's lore day! As always, these ".5" blogs are an extra, meant to be read by those interested in the world's backstory. Today I'll tell you something about the Imps, which are inspired by... Italy! Their culture revolves around the most stereotipical trope of my contry, which is, as you probably already guessed, food! However, their origin story is inspired by the "barbarian invasions", infact they are not a native race to the now called "Impalian Peninsula". Instead, they conquered it thanks to a big crisis that happened in the Holy Human Empire, but that is a story for another time. Let's get into the Imp's lore. Map: The Impirium Who Are The Imps? Little is known about the Imps before their sudden and somewhat clumsy invasion of Silliseria. What is certain is that, being creatures of demonic origin, they were created by the Archdemon Scylla, presum…
- Demo Update - 29 May 2025
Hey Everyone! It’s been about a while since I've launched the Steam page, and I’m super excited about the small but awesome results I’ve gathered. Every step counts! Honestly, reaching this point in the project feels like a big milestone for me. My ultimate goal is to create a fun little (or should I say short-y? Ahaha, so funny, nevermind) puzzle game, centered around pathfinding. It doesn’t have to be overly complex, both in terms of story and design, just a fun experience that’s a bit challenging at times. If you are curious about the project and its "behind the scenes", I invite you to read the devblogs that are already present in the Steam News/Discussions, and the others that will come in the following weeks. With that in mind, I’m thrilled to announce that the demo of "Will The King Escape?" is coming out... right now! Your feedback will be super important to me as I evaluate the…
- Devblog #4 - 28 May 2025
Hello everyone, Today I'll tell you something about the first race I've NOT designed around the mechanic of the sunlight: the Imps! Why Imps? During the development of the game I realized that in certain situations, during the creation of the levels, I was blocked with some technical limitations that were, apparently, impossible to avoid. They were inherited by the design of the original enemies, which move every turn. One of these problems was that, at a certain point of the game, I wanted to create "tunnels" of two tiles each, or even less, with enemies that guarded them. The problem was obvius. Given that enemies move by one tile each turn, it was impossible for Shorty to get through these areas. So, whats the solution? Let Them Sleep! It came to me while solving a rare bug, in which enemies could not move for a turn. Fortunately the bug was resolved quickly, but everytime it happene…
- Devblog #3.5 - 24 May 2025
Hello everyone! Today I will introduce you to what lies in the land of the filthy Nagas that have invaded King Shorty's Kingdom! As usual, I'd like to remind you that Saturday's posts are extras, tought solely to provide some additional background for those who are interested. If you only care in gameplay mechanics, check out the Steam page next week, on Wednesday to learn about the Imps! For those of you still here, let's begin! Who are the Nagas? Forget everything you've ever imagined about Nagas: they are not cursed elves or dragon progeny, but fishes that, millennia ago, human mages used as test subjects for dark experiments, aiming to merge humans and snakes. Contrary to popular belief, they are not very tall, as they are only a few inches taller than the average dwarf. They live in the eastern lands of Silliseria, and what makes them peculiar is their obsessive dependence on water…
- Devblog #3 - 21 May 2025
Good afternoon, everyone! It's Wednesday again, the usual day in which I share my ideas behind the enemies and the mechanics of game. Today, we're talking about the last main race involved with the sunlight mechanic. Sun Under A New Light During development, I thought of another way to interpret sunlight as a mechanic. Gnomes are purified, goblins are stunned, what else can I do? In the deeper areas of the Tower, sunlight will have a primarily offensive role, but in the early levels, light has an additional mechanic: that it isn't always an helping tool for the player, and this is where the nagas come into play. These overly elongated snakes, as King Shorty would say, are immune to sunlight (for reasons you can discover this Saturday if you want). This fact introduced a very interesting twist during level design, opening up new possibilities, including the fact that the player is in dan…
- Devblog #2.5 - 17 May 2025
Welcome Everyone, Today I'll tell you more about the most important people of the game: the Gnomes! As always, I'd like to remind you that the Saturday blog is an extra, dedicated to those who wish to know a little bit more about the world in which the game is set in. If you are only interested in the mechanics... the correct devblog is the Wednesday one! With this out of the way, prepare yourself because this is a long one and let's start: I present to you the Kingdom Of Gnomia! Where is Gnomia? The Kingdom of Gnomia has never stood out for its strategic position: the gnome nation is, infact, surrounded by bigger, more powerful countries, often more... invasive than other, remote, states. The Gnomes, often called "the little people" (or "the smallest people", as the Dwarves say), are notoriously peaceful. The reason? They are awful fighters. Their technique is... extremely lacking, but…
- Devblog #2 - 14 May 2025
Hello everyone! Here we go again with the usual Wednesday devblog, where I dive into the design ideas behind the game’s enemies and mechanics. The Game's Protagonists Today, I want to talk a bit about Gnomes: how they interact with the sunlight, the core concept that shapes their behavior, and a special mechanic regarding one the most important of them. As those of you who read the post about Goblins already know, sunlight is one of the central mechanics the game was built around from the start. Last week I explained how it affects Goblins, however it also has a unique effect on Gnomes! The Army of Gnomia While working on the early stages of the game, I felt that King Shorty was a bit too limited in terms of what he could actually do. It’s easy to imagine a king trained for battle, but handing Shorty a sword and letting him fight off the invaders felt like a quick and lazy solution, tha…
- Devlog #1.5 - 10 May 2025
The Green Saturday Welcome everyone! I believe weekends are the perfect time to explore lighter topics, things a little less tied to gameplay, at least directly. That's the reason why I've chosen saturday to tell you about the background story of the game! If this, and all the future, "x.5" blogs don't interest you, I fully understand, but the "lore" of a videogame is essential to me, hence why I've chosen to dedicate the saturday to this "events". If you are only interested in the mechanics and the enemies of the game, come back every wednesday, because I'll write something about them. If you are still here, let’s talk about some goblin lore! Inspiration When creating their lore and culture, I drew some loose inspiration from the steppe civilizations of Asia, particularly the Mongol Empire, mixing that with classic fantasy tropes about goblins: greedness, cowardly warriors, and grubby…
- Devblog #1 - 7 May 2025
Happy Wednesday, everyone! Today marks the first time I’m sharing a bit about the game’s mechanics, so I thought I’d start from the very beginning, with the main game idea and the first enemy type I implemented: Goblins! The Theme and the Idea When I first came up with "Will The King Escape?", I was partecipating in the Godot Wild Jam #66. I had a few days to create a short game and there was a main theme to follow, along with optional “wildcards” suggesting mechanics to include. The main theme was "escape", which later inspired the game's title and the gameplay loop, and one of the wildcard mechanics was "sunlight". That optional card immediately got me thinking about a system that would encourage more interaction between the player and the environment. The only problem? I didn’t have a game yet to build that mechanic into! The Game and the Goblins Origin I decided to create a turn-bas…
- Devblog #0 - 3 May 2025
A Short Introduction Hello everyone! Welcome to the very first devblog of the game: Devblog #0! I’m taking this opportunity to let you know that, starting from this coming week, I’ll be posting short development updates twice a week. These devblogs will be shared through Steam announcements and will give you glimpses into the game's mechanics, the enemies you'll encounter during Shorty's escape, and the world’s lore. Also, I’m excited to share that the game’s demo is currently in testing and will definitely be ready in time for the Steam Next Fest this June. But Devblog #0 isn’t just an announcement about announcements, so... A Fantasy World to be Created For this first Devblog, I have decided to focus on a topic that’s close to my heart: Let me introduce you to the world where the game takes place and let’s start from the beginning! During development, I realized that even though the g…
