Hey everyone,

Uff... it’s been a while - a few intense weeks since our last development update full of drawing, designing, testing, and writing. But we’re back with the April update from our studio, and there’s plenty we’re excited to share with you.

This post is all about where we are with the development, what’s new, what we’re working on next - and most importantly, how to sign-up to be able to play Scriptorium: Master of Manuscripts public playtest in the future!

Let’s start with the big one - as you know, we announced that we will be doing public playtests a few weeks ago, if you missed this you can still sign up! Just head to our Steam page and click the big green “Request Access” button. That’s it - once we’re ready, you’ll be among the first to grab a quill and design your own medieval manuscripts. You don’t need to do anything else, just wait until we’re ready - we’ll let you all know well in advance when the playtests will start.

…But when can you finally play the playtest build?
The only answer we have is - soon. We’re polishing the build so that your feedback can focus on gameplay adjustments and creativity - not bugs or technical issues. It’s important to us that your first impression of the game centers on its creative side, not technical problems. That said, while we’ve worked hard to make the experience as smooth as possible, it is still an early development build - so you might encounter the occasional hiccup. If you do, feel free to report it - every bit of feedback helps us make the game better.
Also, to clear up something a few of you have asked: yes, you’ll be able to export and share your manuscripts on social media, even in the playtest version. We can’t wait to see what you’ll create!
Okay, let’s move on to what’s changed in the game itself.

Over the past few weeks, we’ve made solid progress in bringing your scribe - i.e. the avatar you’ll embody while crafting manuscripts and designing your scriptorium - to life. Here’s the character customization screen!

It is still in mockup form, but it’s coming together. We’re aiming to make it immersive and personal. We’ve also begun animating different scribes. The first few are already moving, breathing, and ready to help bring your manuscripts to life. Each has their own look and personality, and we’re working on giving you more visual customization options so they truly feel like your scribe.

We’ve also spent time properly refining the UI, which until now had mostly placeholder elements. The gif below shows off our latest iteration of the interface frames, color swatches, composition tools, and dialogue bubbles for the clients who’ll commission your work.

As you can see, we’ve deliberately separated the visual style of the UI and the manuscript canvas to reduce distraction and help you focus on the creative side of things.
Dialogue bubbles also use a distinct visual language to highlight the narrative layer of the game, separating it from the purely creative one. Let us know what you think - everything’s still a work in progress, and your feedback matters!

From a technical perspective, this new UI style helps maintain visual clarity, especially when switching between layers of gameplay. Clear contrast between UI components and the manuscript should help reduce eye fatigue and improve usability - especially during longer design sessions. It also makes it easier for us to iterate on modular UI elements, which improves our efficiency when polishing features in the future.

We’re testing something truly special that we’re proud to share with you: medieval gilding! Yes, just like in authentic, historical manuscripts, you’ll soon be able to add gold embellishments to your designs.

Historically, gilding was used to elevate the prestige of a manuscript - often reserved for religious texts, royal commissions, or important ceremonial works. Medieval scribes used real gold leaf, applied meticulously with gesso and brushes, to add shimmering highlights to initials, borders, and symbols. Gilding was often the first decorative step, applied to specially prepared parchment or vellum. Gold’s brilliance was seen as a symbol of divine light, making it especially prized in religious works. We’re aiming to replicate that feeling in-game, as authentically and faithfully as possible.

In the game, gilding will be available for specific decorative elements. We’re still figuring out how it’ll work from a gameplay perspective, but most likely it will require rare resources and come at a higher cost - though the visual impact will be worth it. Imagine an ornate initial letter glowing with golden brilliance, or an emblem illuminated by the candlelight (yes, the gold will shimmer and look different depending on the camera angle!). We hope it adds a satisfying layer of depth to your creations. Please keep in mind that this feature is still early in development, and most likely, we’ll ask for your feedback in one of future playtest sessions!

A major design focus has been on commissions - the core quests clients give you that guide your journey and shape the scriptorium you build.
We’re working to ensure that every commission feels meaningful. Some will be purely decorative, others metaphorical or symbolic. A few may even get a bit bizarre or just outright hilarious. Our goal is to have as many of them reflect the personalities of the clients who request them.

And yes, some clients will return for follow-up projects - and in these cases, their stories will evolve along the way. Some of them may even feel familiar… including your favorites from our previous game, Inkulinati (pssst… which is currently on sale on Steam, if you haven’t tried it yet 👀). We’re also working with a few guest creators from YouTube and social media who will appear in the game as special clients with their own commissions created just for you! We’ll share more about that in a future update - you’ll meet many wonderful creators you probably already know from their medieval content on the biggest social media platforms.

And for the sake of clarity - for those of you who prefer to create without taking on client jobs, don’t worry: there will also be a sandbox mode where you can focus entirely on your own creations without interacting with anyone in-game.

Want to hang out with the dev team, suggest manuscript references, or follow our journey more closely? Come join our Discord community! Just scan the QR code below and say hi 👋 Our entire team is there - we’d love to see you there too!

Phew… this turned out longer than expected, but we hope it was worth the read! As you can see, we’re working really hard - and with care - to make sure Scriptorium: Master of Manuscripts becomes a place where creativity, storytelling, and medieval artistry come together that you’ll want to return to again and again.

Thanks for being with us on this journey. Let us know what you think - and of course, feel free to drop your questions in the comments below!

- Your Yaza Games and Mythwright teams