#gamedevlog

[donegames]

Day 126 of Development

On this video we share how our environment art looked like in 126 day of making Firva strings of fate, a dark fantasy game that we were passionate about.

[nohumanza]

Rust & Decay Devlog 001

I've started a project with some people to make a survival horror schmup. It's inspired by my love of horror games but also a recent game called Fear & Hunger.

I started out just figuring out how @gamemakerstoolkit worked again first by messing around building simple schmup mechanics.

Once I had that figured out I roped @skarikafterdark into helping me start really chopping into the work I wanted to do while also working on developing the art style I wanted to go with.

My own style while taking cues from Fear And Hunger proved to be a winner. So I started really pushing into the vibes I wanted. So far we've really made progress on making the project feel tangible.

The spouse is currently working on getting hex grid type map working. They walked me through how to set up a hex in game maker over the course of a day.

So for now we are still working on the basic game loop but I'm really happy so far with the progress! I'll be updating tumblr more as we progress.

[foolsandkings]

04/12/2022 - Basic Quest System, Start on Map

This week was spent fixing a couple minor bugs in what I had built so far, and creating a bunch of new art assets. Namely, I am taking the advise of Pixel Architect on youTube and approaching the map from a more painterly perspective.

I'm drawing a whole scene at once to make sure there's enough interest in each scene. This is taking super long, but I think the results will be much better than the asset mashing I started with. Problem is that I haven't planned out the whole map yet, so really it's probably a bit foolish to start this process, when so much might yet change.

Anyway, here's what my WIP looks like!

...specifically for the docks section, that is, and a part of the worker's district.

The biggest project I took on this week coding wise is a basic quest system.

Here's how it works:

I have an enum quest {} which lists all available quests in the game. Then there is a struct for each quest, which holds its name, description, quest giver, quest recipient, quest type, reward type, reward value and more.

When the player speaks to a quest giver, a script scr_add_quest() checks that this quest ID isn't already in the quests_array of our quest manager, and then adds it to the array. The active quests get listed in a quest menu. At each step, the quest manager runs a script scr_check_quest_receptor to see:

a.) if there are quests in the array whose status is "ready" (for being handed in)

b.) if the quest recipient marked in the quest ID's struct is in this room. If so, it checks a boolean in the receptor to tell them they are waiting for a quest, and the recipient, upon interaction, runs script scr_complete_quest, whcih pays out the reward and removes the quest from the active quest list.

Right now the only functional quest is picking up a quest from the lady NPC to drop something off at the post box, and the player can interact with the postbox to earn some extra money.

What makes this system work for me is that it works even when I leave the room - it should enable me to access recipients across the whole map, no matter where they are, and only interfere with their dialogue when a quest actually becomes relevant!

Because I never wrote a quest system before I'm quite pleased with this little set-up so far and hope it will be decently scalable for various quest types in the future. I've already set up the barebones of fetch quests that require the player to collect multiple different items!

My next big project will be change my dialogue setup a bit.

Right now, when an object creates dialogue it has to give it its ID, and when dialogue ends a boolean "dialogue end" is turned on. Based on this, the object could give out an item or quest at the end of the dialogue. But this means I have to run all the if-statements I ran to determine the dialogue all over again to determine what text-end condition is required.

So instead, I want to extend the create_textbox script to accept instructions for what should happen after the textbox closes. Like running a script, or adding an item or quest. Then the textbox object, when it closes, will run that script.

[unstablescientific]

I’m having fun making NPCs today! This guy, head of the secret semiconductor lab, needs a name.

[donegames]

The Legend Starts Here

Devlog #06

Hi everyone,

In our last post, we talked about how our vision for the final game has evolved, and while some changes, made by choice, others by necessity. We also outlined our design pillars and defined what kind of game we truly wanted. In that case, what we came up is :

[Firva: Strings of Fate Must be a story-driven action-adventure with cinematic atmospherescenes and set pieces, set in a rich, grimdark world and tone, with engaging combat.

Players will step into the darkest fate as Firva, driven by vengeance and bound to revenge, mastering the precision of parrying or the thrill of dashing through danger.]

With this new identity taking shape, we realized the best place to begin was not with new gameplay features (even due there are a lot to cover there) but with our visual identity. Our old logo, icon, and logotype no longer reflected who we’ve become or the story we want to tell.

Even due Much of our narrative remains intact and, in many ways, improved, but we needed a new symbol that truly communicates the soul of our world: something ancient, majestic, and steeped in legend.

FIRVA is identity reflects a world where threads of destiny bind every being mortal and divine through forged consequence. The visual language balances ancient mythic weight with modern narrative clarity, creating a world that feels eternal, sacred, and beautifully doomed.

Before we move forward with the redesign, we want to take a moment to look back at what our old logo represented, how it shaped our early creative direction, and what we learned from it.

Image of Old Logo Type of Firva (Not in Use anymore) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Typography & Form

Our original logotype was crafted using a sharp, custom font designed to look aggressive and dangerous, as though each letter could cut your hand. The typeface was metallic and stylized, evoking forged steel and weapon edges a visual language that resonated strongly with fantasy and action RPG aesthetics.

The pointed ends and beveled surfaces on letters like F, R, and A suggested strength, tension, and destiny, aligning perfectly with our strings of fate concept. The varying stroke thickness and subtle curvature introduced a sense of motion and organic energy, balancing rigidity with fluidity symbolizing the clash between control and chaos. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. The Red String Motif

A defining feature of the design was the red thread winding through the letters. This was more than decoration it was storytelling.

Inspired by the East Asian myth of the red string of fate, which connects destined souls, (even due in the East Asian myth it is mostly used for love) the thread looped through the (R), with letter (I) highly resembling a sawing needle that was going to symbolize the power of sawing destiny with the theme that everything is connected by unseen strings. And interesting point is that the letter (I) unintentionally, ended up resembling a Japanese throwing knife.

Image of Icon Variant (Not in Use anymore) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3. Subtitle Design: The Strings of Fate

Beneath the title sat the subtitle on a torn red banner, rough-edged and textured to contrast the refined metallic letters above. The white serif typeface added clarity and poetic rhythm, grounding the design and reinforcing the subtitle as a narrative tagline.

Image of Icon Variant (Not in Use anymore) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Images is the Main and Final design ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Weight of a Symbol

When we first revealed Firva: Strings of Fate, our logo the sleek, metallic design entwined by a red thread, it represented everything we thought the project was about. It was sharp, elegant, cinematic. It looked like destiny forged by human hands precise, intentional, and alive.

But as the world of Firva began to deepen, something started to feel off. The more we explored its myths, the gods, the rituals, the forgotten civilizations that shaped the Strings themselves, the more the polished surface of the logo felt like an artifact from outside the world, not of it.

So we started digging, both creatively and literally.

From Logo to Relic

We realized Firva should not be a story told by modern hands. It should be an ancient myth inside its own universe to be rediscovered, a world that predated language and memory Our game is identity needed to feel excavated, not designed.

That is how the Relic Coin was born (inspired by Old forgotten Earth empires that told the story of heroes and kings), the circular coin etched with two figures, a bow, and strings of fate connected to it (the bow is a highly important object in our game) It was not drawn on a tablet screen; it was chiseled into stone. It was not meant to be read; it was meant to be remembered.

When we placed the Coin over the cracked Stone, something clicked. It was not a logo anymore, it was a piece of our game-world's truth. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A World Forged, Not Branded

There is a difference between a logo that represents a game and one that belongs to the world inside it. The first design worked beautifully for marketing; it was modern, cinematic, and precise. But Firva has never been about precision. It is about inevitability, decay, the weight of stories that refuse to die.

The Coin reflects that:

It’s uneven.

It is heavy.

It feels older than language itself.

In abandoning the polished mark, we embraced something imperfect, eternal, and human.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Visual Philosophy Shift

When we updated the logo, the entire art direction shifted with it: Our color palette darkened into embers and bronze. Our compositions became wider, slower, and more ritualistic. Even the UI started borrowing from ancient symbols rather than modern frames. Firva no longer shines; it glows from within. The fire does not reflect off it; the fire is it.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What We Learned

Art direction is not about what looks beautiful; it is about what feels inevitable. The Coin was not an upgrade; it was a revelation. It reminded us that Firva is not trying to sell a story. It is trying to remember one.

We left behind the thread and found the forge. And in doing so, Firva finally found its voice.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Final Reflection

We thought we were designing a logo. Turns out, we were uncovering a relic.

The change is not just visual, it is philosophical. The new FIRVA emblem is more than a title screen; its a key. A door into a myth that doesnot want to be told, only rediscovered.

So, let's dive into the Decision on the new logo

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1. Composition and Symbolism

At the center is a Coin made in honor of old legends, resembling ancient bronze so this could. The engraving depicts:

A bow-like shape at the top, representing a divine instrument, the literal string of fate.

two figures beneath it:

One human-like, representing mortality, order, the mortal world.

One animal-headed (wolf figure), symbolizing instinct, death, and the supernatural.

The descending lines from the bow connect the two beings, implying threads of destiny, life force, or divine control.

This imagery suggests duality: human vs beast, order vs chaos, fate vs freedom, all bound by an overarching cosmic mechanism.

Images is the Main and Final design

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. Materiality & Texture

The coin is designed to look hand-forged, with visible imperfections and weathering, communicating ancient myth and lost civilization.

The background of cracked stone, glowing embers, and faint heat distortion conveys an atmosphere of rebirth, destiny, and eternal conflict.

Subtle molten orange lighting hints at forging, fire, destruction, evoking the sense that fate itself was forged in flame.

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[donegames]

Firva Strings of Fate - Are We Dead? - Steam News

Devlog 001:The Harsh Truth of Indie Development If you’ve been around Steam long enough, you’ve seen it: A promising indie game appears a st

#postmortem

First Steam Devlog for Our Upcoming Project.

[nohumanza]

[unstablescientific]

I created a system in Photoshop in order to generate sprites of custom NPCs with a wide variety of assets such as hair and clothing, all without writing a line of code!