Hello Scribes! This is the first of hopefully many devlogs, and while I'm new to this hopefully we can all get a good flow going. First things first Spell Unbound!! Our demo is finally out!

We initially intended to go live with it last week, but decided that another week would allow us to put our best, first foot forward. Now the next question, or rather better question: "What is Spell Unbound?"

It's a Singleplayer Rogue-lite, that gets it's combat inspiration from Pokémon Rescue Ranger. So you'll be entering a room, and trying to make circles around the enemies you come across to capture and defeat them. As simple as it may sound you will still need to dodge traps, enemies, and their projectiles.

Right now, our demo currently has the first 3 of 5 acts, around 21 floors, that will be included in the full game, and that is just The Descent. We have content already planned for the other progression routes which are The Ascent and The Palimpest. The full release will also include more characters, items, spells, more customization options, and just more everything!

As it stands now we have plans in mind for an expanded demo for October's Next Fest, and from there a November full release. Do not worry though we will be keeping an eye on things between now and then to make sure everything works as intended.

Speaking of keeping things running! We would love if you would add us to your wishlist and joined us in discord! Additionally, we have a form where you can give us your thoughts, feedback, and tell us if you have any issues with the game! We look forward to seeing what you have to say, and we truly hope you enjoy the game!

Now before we introduce ourselves, and you start getting to know us a little more. Our team has something we felt imperative to share about our development:

“This game's development workflow is assisted by AI. I think we're at a genuinely interesting moment, one where these tools could democratize game development so that more people can make games, and as a result more people can play them. I know this is new and divisive ground, but I hope Spell Unbound shows what these tools can do in the right hands. This game was not the result of a one-shot prompt. It was months of painstaking refinement, the kind most AI games just don't have yet, and I think that comes in large part from the years I spent designing and building games before any of this existed. I hope this inspires you to look into game development if it is something you have always been interested in but felt intimidated by. The world always needs more games.”

-“The Developer”

Now, to share a little about the people behind this project, and I feel there is no better place to start than with "The Developer", aka -

Hey all, my name is Slugbird and I've been developing Spell Unbound for the past several months, though the game is really the culmination of years of prototyping and forgotten projects.

The first game I ever played was Wario Land 3 on the Game Boy Color, and I played it into the ground. It lead to a passion for playing games that's followed me throughout life like so many and a curiosity for how they are made. As a result, I have been developing and designing games for nearly 20 years but Spell Unbound will be my first commercial release. I am excited to see what you think and hear your feedback!

Alright, thank you for that. Our next stop, and somehow also bird themed (not at all planned mind you) is me!

Hello again! Well, I guess more formally; Hello!
To give you a little bit about myself, I've played games since I was a kid, I wanna say Ocarina of Time was one of if not my first games. As I got older and expanded my list of games, or rather my backlog of games, I've started to put a lot more thought into the media I consume as a whole. Honestly, I never really imagined I would end up doing something like this ever in my life, and I'm so thankful to have had the experience(s) I've gotten from this!

Now, when it comes to my role and what I do, I'll give a brief oversight. I joined the team two or three weeks ago, and since joining I've taken up many hats. Between play-testing, designing, UI/UX designing, handling our marketing, and most importantly community management I've been super busy.

Well, while I would like to say that we'd be taking the day off to kick up our feet and celebrate what a victory these past few weeks have been for me (several months for Slugbird). We have a lot left to do! We will be keeping an eye out for any and all bugs, feedback, balance issues, as well as discussions online and in the discord.

We have a lot of great ideas and ambition to grow this project more and more! So we hope you enjoy this first peek into the world we have built, and we can't wait to share more with you!