I'm not worried about it. I'm not worried about any of this.
A wild [REDACTED] approaches.
It is October, and that means one thing to the people of this household.
Harry Potter Marathon, you say?
Okay, then I guess it means two things.
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| Me, when someone says it's October. |
While there's nothing official to announce for other projects yet, just know that I am a creature of habit, which means that he will undoubtedly be the namesake of a character in the Azure's Favor universe somewhere.
This little miracle is going to bring with him plenty of time and responsibility, and as such, development time will be slowed even further (for a time). I figured we could put the "what is everyone playing" segment at the end of this letter so we can talk about what the future of Chronarian Games (and it's potential subsidiaries) holds.
And then there were two.
The first announcement is one that the eagle-eyed amongst you might have predicted a while back:
Jordan Byers has officially joined the team! Byers and I have known each other for many years - even going back to before our obsessions with Destiny began in 2014. He's an incredible musician, who has been hard at work trying to help me build a universe that we can all pretend to live in sometimes. I'll let him talk about himself, and then we'll talk about what he's going to be doing.
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Hey Everyone!I’m Jordan Byers, the new Director of Music and Sound Design here at Chronarian Games, and I’m excited to finally introduce myself to all of you. I’m a composer and sound design artist with a love for experimenting with foley elements. I’m currently studying music formally, which means my days are filled with equal parts coffee, and late-night “aha!” moments in front of a DAW. Piano is my main weapon of choice although I have a habit of collecting unique instruments to experiment with. My wife and I call Oklahoma home, where I spend way too much time listening to the wildlife and thinking, “that would make a great ambient track. When I’m not working on film scores and soundscapes, I’m probably diving into a good narrative-driven RPG because nothing beats a story that pulls you in and a soundtrack that won’t leave your head for days. At Chronarian, I’ll be shaping the audio identity of everything in the worlds we create from the subtle rustle of a dry leaf to the sweeping orchestral moments that (hopefully) give you chills. My goal is simple: to make sure every sound you hear feels alive, intentional, and full of story. And if things ever sound a little tense don’t worry, it’s probably just a minor issue resolving into a major one. 😉Jordan ByersDirector of Music & Sound DesignChronarian Games
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He sure is a wordsmith. "But what will he be doing?", you ask. Byers will be stepping up as the *checks notes* "Director of Music & Sound Design" for Chronarian Games. His first -- and primary -- responsibility will be making the world of Azure's Favor sound as unbelievable as my wildest dreams. This will include game SFX and Music, world-building pieces, and whatever else I can find to put his little piano-player fingers to good use. And as it turns out, he also has quite a bit of Unreal Engine experience as well, which means we'll be able to divide and conquer on future titles that will require actual level and game design. Huzzah!
Modern Problems Require Modern Solutions
The idea of bringing on someone with real-world scoring experience has opened up an avenue to a new venture that can help fund our Game Design dreams: Chronarian Scoreworks.
After MAKRANA finally comes out as a launch title for the PlayStation 7, we will be beginning a new project. In order to get money for things like console development kits and updated development PCs (those AMD Threadrippers ain't cheap), we're going to periodically work on picking up small contracts to do audio work for smaller indie games and teams. This will allow us to flex our creative muscles and learn to make music together, while bringing in that much needed phat cash that makes the world go around. He's even letting me dust off my guitars and copy of Superior Drummer 3 from time-to-time. Just imagine - you're playing another studio's game and think "man, this great music sounds kinda familiar". I can't wait for that day.
And That's All I Got to Say About That
For you as a fan, nothing should really change. You can still expect that I'm working on bringing you sci fi things to enjoy. It'll be a helluva lot easier to do with more than just myself, and it's been clear for quite some time that Jordo is on the same page with the direction I want to take our games and the Azure's Favor Universe as a whole. I didn't set out to be a "solo" developer, but up until now, that was just how it was. I'm very excited to have someone else pushing the proverbial cart with me!
Where are we at on MAKRANA?
Currently, I am finishing up a playable build to send to platform holders one last time. This final submission will determine which platforms the game is available on, and subsequently, which platforms we will ship on in the future. In my goal to not do paid DLC and give those who play our titles special things in-game through the PlayFab system, I want all (or as many as possible) of our games to appear on the same platforms. If you play MAKRANA on a particular PC platform, you should be able to play the next game on the same platform as well. Obviously, the future is always in flux and changes will be made accordingly, but we're a small enough outfit that we can continue to operate on our guiding principles and high-aiming desires for the foreseeable future.
As for the state of the game itself, I'd say we're at about 80% of the way. That's a weird and specific number, so I'll break down what I mean by that. The game is mostly content-complete: the paint jobs, thruster colors, upgrades, and achievements are in the game and unlockable. The gameplay loop itself is playable, albeit in need of some balance passes for things like "how often do the asteroids increase speed?" and "does the speed upgrade feel worth the cost"? With the exception of a couple additional pickup lines, all of the audio is in the game.
A recent victory was getting the PlayFab system to work as I'd hoped. Currently, it will attempt to login based on your current platform profile. If it doesn't detect that there's a PlayFab account linked to your platform ID, then it will give you the option to create a new one or sign into an existing one with email. On successful login, you are given the option to then link your platform ID and PlayFab ID together, which will allow you to automatically login on future runs. Cool, huh? I'm still exploring whether cross-save will be possible or even feasible, but it still feels like a big win.
An important note: this will be a completely optional system for those who are interested in having a single presence across our games. If you are the type who doesn't like giving out more information than necessary, the game will be playable without creating a log in, and there'll be a save value that keeps the system from further asking unless you change your mind. You won't be able to get the cross-game cosmetics we're planning, but you won't face any sort of unbalanced gameplay-controlling items that are exclusive to those who sign up. These items will be cosmetic-only, as this sort of thing should always be.
Once we've achieved content complete, it will be time to execute full-on testing. For those that aren't fascinated by project management and development, this process would most assuredly be boring AF. But it's unbelievably essential, even for a game as small and simple as ours. Once we feel confident in the bugs we squarsh, it will be time to submit to certification, and then decide when to release the game!
I know that's a lot to take in, so I'd like to make it up to you with a screenshot. There's still some detail work to do on the background, but I really like how it's coming together.
It's sometimes nice to just look at these and think about how far it's come since I started two and half years ago.
It's a Great Time to be a Gamer
October means fantastic games are hitting the market, and this year is no exception. I'm currently sitting at 56 hours in Ghost of Yotei, and I've got to say - it is an astounding experience. I'm playing it on PS5 Pro, and I cannot stop looking at the ray-traced reflections and amazing particle effects as I run around and stab dudes' guts out. Sucker Punch have absolutely nailed the "samurai film" game, and I'll be kinda sad when my playthrough is finally concluded.
In addition to that game, Battlefield 6 reared it's ugly head, and I'm hooked. I already talked about it in a previous post when I played the beta, so I won't continue to drone on about it. But suffice to say, it really is the best Battlefield game in a decade.
And Now, We Leave.
If you're reading this, I appreciate you making it this far. We sure did go for quite a ride these last few paragraphs. I know change can seem scary, but I'm confident that the changes I'm making are for the better. I'm not sure how chatty Jordo likes to be when I'm not forcing him to write something about himself, so stay tuned for future posts that may or may not have his insights in them. I'll just have to make sure I start saying "we" instead of "I". At the end of the day, I could not be more excited to have a partner to help make the stupid dreams in my head become reality. And until we have an office or headquarters that exists elsewhere, everything will still say "Sci Fi from Iowa". We have a reputation to uphold, after all.
Everyone stay warm out there!
- Chronarian Games
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