Monthly Devlog #1 - 10/19/2023 - Colorblind Options & Riflebird Progress

Monthly Devlog #1 - 10/19/2023

Well, this is new. I've been wanting to do something like this for a while but haven't had the chance to, so I'll be trying to have a little development update once a month (hopefully towards the middle of the month) with any updates as well as info if there wasn't much progress. It's going to be formatted like past development posts, but I'm also going to try formatting these a bit differently for better readability.

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Garenburg Penitence: The Riflebird

Remaining Progress

I'll actually just be blunt and say the game is almost done, but still a bit away from releasing. What's left to add, you may wonder?
  • The final level and a bonus level as a tribute to Irisu Syndrome
  • Finishing writing the files you can read
  • Level editor improvements
  • Bug fixes, testing, and quality of life improvements
Yeah, that's pretty much it! We're really close to release now! The biggest focus is finishing up writing all the database files as that is what makes up the main plot, and that's just been a headache because it's a lot to write and I've had to do a few rewrites and revisions over the three years the game has been in development. I'm really happy that it's getting this far, so it shouldn't be much longer. I am hoping for an early 2024 release. But for now, I'll have some mention of the quality of life I'm trying to add.

Colorblind & Accessibility

I think it's fair to say that a game focusing on matching colored spheres isn't going to be the most colorblind friendly, and I do also know that a lot of games of the genre don't have much in the way of options for this. So, I'd like to make sure that this is something that can be a little better here, though I realize it may still be tricky due to the nature of the game. It doesn't hurt to try and add support for things!


Currently, there is support for complete customization of sphere colors! You can change them to whatever you like unless they're all the same hue or pitch black (as pitch black spheres are used with the powerup in Wave Mode).



And boom! It's as simple as that! It's really helpful for myself too when I'm working at night since I use a blue light filter.

I intend to also add some default options for colorblind presets using high-contrast colors, and I also intend to add the option to have a less-detailed shooter that is easier to tell on its color, symbols on spheres for matching, a bar at the top letting you know what color is selected, and a few other things that may be useful. It shouldn't take too long to add these, and it's definitely worth it just to make it a little more accessible.

The biggest challenge is going to be just determining how to handle GREEN Mode levels (which are I imagine it would absolutely going to suck for people with colorblindness for green), so I'll likely have some way to have those levels be skipped or have an alternative challenge in place of them during the Story Mode.

I'll continue working at this and see how it goes!

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Garenburg Woods

I'll have a small upcoming patch for the game soon, it's just for a few tweaks and bug fixes I want to add and improvements to some visuals like the credits at the game endings. It's really minor, and I said I planned to do it like a month ago, and then... did not finish it? I'll... get around to it soon enough!

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Game Soundtracks & Streaming

This was also done a month ago, but I didn't make mention of it here and only on the Discord server. Some past game soundtracks are now available on streaming platforms! Since my distributor for this only supports a set amount of tracks per album, the soundtrack for Garenburg Woods is split into two volumes and Garenburg Penitence will have to be as well once it releases. 

These are also available on places like iTunes and other music storefronts for purchase. Sorry for their high prices, I would have to pay more to make them cheaper or free, which is kind of ironic?That said, you can still find the albums for free and lossless on Bandcamp. I'll also have some music there for some other past projects that I do not intend to put on streaming platforms.

Currently available albums are:
  • Charmolypi: Ordinary Sunrises Original Soundtrack
  • Garenburg Woods Original Soundtrack Vol. 1
  • Garenburg Woods Original Soundtrack Vol. 2
  • Garenburg Woods Glockenspiel
  • // The M​รถ​bius Strip Original Soundtrack
Albums I plan to upload include:
  • Garenburg Penitence Original Soundtrack (on release)
  • Garenburg Woods Extended Soundtrack
That's all for that which I can think of being noteworthy!

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That's all for now! Thank you for reading and I hope you have a wonderful day.

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