Hello folks! Hope you’re all doing well as we move into October. Today, we've got a big bulky blog post going over all of the progress we've made on the game in September.

This was originally posted to our Patreon a week early! If you're interested in recieving early news & BTS insights - and, when it's ready, joining our Closed Beta, feel free to sign up.

What we’ve got so far

Let’s get right into it - here’s what we've finished for The Contest of Gimmicks so far:

• Solid game design with examples for 4 out of the 5 combat archetypes (and the fifth is close to complete!). We’ll talk more about these below.
• A prototype with everything working end to end, including PvP and co-op play!
• A game rules engine that supports all the complex rules needed for our TCG system.
• Over 200 different cards implemented in-game.
• 30 unique encounters spanning 8-10 different monsters- each with their own abilities.

So, let’s talk a little about the archetypes. These archetypes didn't exist in the game beforehand - we just didn’t have a way to delineate between combat styles, really, which was a big sore point for us. Focusing on a stat like Defense didn't impact your combat play style any more than focusing on Attack or Strength. Now, a defence player will feel like their play style is significantly different to a player using, say, Strength. We’re finally able to begin opening up the possibilities for player expression and play style - which is something we’re super excited about!

As a recap from our previous post, in broad strokes, we can break down the archetypes like this:

Attack is about precision and accuracy, with a lesser emphasis on using tools like traps or caltrops to give you the edge in battle.

Defence players are a bulwark against damage and defeat their enemies by reflecting incoming attacks, whilst attempting to keep their defences up.

Strength decks throw caution to the wind in order to land decisive and powerful blows to decimate their enemies.

Ranged players need to keep their distance from their opponents and balance survivability and accuracy in order to dispatch their enemies.

Sorcery requires chaining elemental effects together to build devastating attacks or debilitating statuses.

And, as a sneak peak, here's a mockup of a battle scene - it's not final yet, but we're making some good progress!

What's holding us up?

Of course, Backers and Patrons may be wondering why the closed beta is taking so long to arrive! Here are the elements that are taking us longer than we expected:

Card visual design is one of the most important parts of the new system - and we’re taking all the time we need to ensure that we get it right. It’s likely that the design will change even from the mockup we posted above! UX design is in a similar vein - we want to ensure that we get it right, and that takes time.

We also want to ensure that combat feels intuitive, rewarding and responsive! We’re working on sound effects & animations to ensure that it feels good to play cards.

We’re looking to blow our previous tutorial out of the water - and to do that, we’re designing our TCG tutorial from scratch. This is one of our biggest delays, and something that we’re working on right now!

On the announcement side of things - we’re currently working on a brand new landing page for Genfanad, as well as an animated trailer for The Contest of Gimmicks! We’ll be announcing to a wider audience very soon - and we’ll be announcing the beta date alongside that - so stay tuned! We’re aiming next week for the announcement of the date.

So, what comes after?

Well, after that comes the beta! As above, we’ll be announcing the beta date soon. Whilst the beta’s running, we’ll be working on getting the following prepared before launch:

New skill mechanics. We’ll be working on integrating current skills into the TCG system, and developing new skill mechanics!

• Equipment progression past tier-1. It’s a lot of work to convert all of our equipment items into TCG equivalents! We’ll be working on getting all of the gear in the game up-to-date.

• Lots more cards! We’ll be adding a ton more cards to the game for you guys!

• Converting all the content in the world to the new system. Right now - and during the beta - we’ll only have certain sections of the map available to players. We’ll be working on converting the whole map before launch!

So, that’s where we’re at

And, so, that’s where we’re at so far. We hope this was illuminating (and enjoyable)!

As always, make sure to Wishlist us on Steam, Follow us on Twitter, consider subscribing on Patreon and Join the Discord if you haven't already so you can stay up to date on the game!