APRIL 2026 UPDATE

April felt like the longest month, yet also the shortest month. I got a lot done, yet feels like I got nothing done at the same time. 

I guess the first thing I should talk about is how I’m scrapping the Tora-Con video. After reviewing the footage, I have deduced that the information could be presented far better as a dedicated video. I still have the script and all the assets from the slide show, so I’m just going to do that once I have the time and motivation.

This means I have less than a month to release something to meet the spring quota. I have an idea of what that’s gonna be, a comic project that I’ve been benching on for way longer than I should’ve. But recent events have spurred me into getting it done. After my day off tomorrow I’m gonna set a personal goal of how quickly I can churn this out.

In the meantime, I’ve continued to playtest project Marth. It’s alpha stage is complete, now I am moving on to it’s Beta stage. The gameplay is all set, now I just have to fine tune the economy and level design. It’s mind blowing how map layout can completely break a game that’s otherwise very functional, and I think it’s a discipline in game design that isn’t getting enough credit.

I also got all the art for the units completed, even the box art is sketched and inked up. Once I get this beta round of testing done I think I’ll be ready to show it off and announce it to the world.

I’ve also met up with a buncha New York game designers to playtest GunRiders. Many of these guys are tabletop professionals who had games published and put on store shelves, or ran successful kickstarters. They are my 2nd ever playtesters and their input has been extremely helpful.

The good news is that the gameplay works and requires very little explanation or clarification for people to understand and get into playing, which was exactly what I was hoping for. (Still need to get this in kids hands or casuals to see if they can also grasp it). The main point of criticism was in the starting units for the tutorial game. Originally I had the very first game people will play would all use the same SCATT-3 units, the worst gunmech build possible.

This was to give players an even playing field so they can just focus on learning the mechanics. The guys said that the game is so simple and easy though that it would be worthwhile to show more diverse builds that could better illustrate the fun of mixing and matching parts, and creating more interesting strategies. Also the starting game mode of Shoot-Out would very quickly turn into a mosh pit which would lead to interesting strategy.

Thankfully I already have pre-made builds that meet this criteria, and I’m changing the starting game mode. Gonna swing by sometime later this month and show the guys the updated build and see if it makes a difference. Afterwards I’m gonna ask around on what its gonna get this thing made for a 2027 release.

All of this progress in other areas has meant that the Zelda RPG has completely stalled. I’m debating on whether or not to pick up the project again before or after the 30th anniversary news. On one hand I’m running out of time to get this thing attention before it gets drowned out by the news of an OoT remake (or whatever they end up doing) but on the either hand, the news of a new game might be the thing to re-ignite my interest and passion for the project again.

I dunno what to do at this point. But I am gonna stick to my goal of getting one thing done a quarter, so expect SOMETHING by the end of May if not sooner.

~An Eli paddling in a circle.