Welcome to another devlog for Whispers in the Moss, my upcoming retro JRPG with beautiful and ambitious textmode graphics. It's been a while since I wrote  a devlog, so a lot has happened and here's a recap of some of it. Finishing the game in Q4/2023 remains a priority and looks feasible. The Steam page for Whispers in the Moss has also been live for a while and the game can be wishlisted.

STEAM PAGE LIVE – WISHLIST NOW!

The game has a store page in Steam and can be wishlisted there. Wishlisting the game is a great way to support the game, so if you're at Steam, I'd appreciate if you'd wishlist the game now! The game will obviously be released here in Itch.io too. Click here for the Steam store page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1944310/Whispers_in_the_Moss/. 

RELEASE IN Q4/2023 or Q1/2024

I can also hereby announce that the game will be released in Q4/2023, although I'm keeping the door open for Q1/2024 too, depending on where life takes me. Since most of the game's content is already finished, it all depends on how long it takes to polish the game into the final product.

NEW AREAS AND MAP CONTENT

Since my last update, I've finished the penultimate dungeon of the game, the dwarven mines, and about half of the final dungeon too. The dwarven mines are a huge area as they consist of 9 different maps. The final dungeon is a bit more straightforward, but the game's ending with its script and cutscenes will be time-consuming.

I've also spent time polishing the older maps and I created a new story segment and area for the middle-part of the game. In the last few weeks I've also been designing many of the game's last side quests. I'm trying to make the side quests meaningful and interesting and minimize the amount of boring old fetch quests.

NEW MECHANICS

In addition to the new areas and content, I've added some new gameplay elements and visuals like improved spell effects et cetera. One of the most important new gameplay element is the possibility to customize your characters: at each level up, your characters will get the usual stat boosts, but now you can also grant a character one additional stat boost at each level up. Veda is naturally stronger in magic and Borín in physical power, while Ulric is a mix of both. With the added stat boosts you can either work on the weaknesses or further improve the strengths of each character according to your own liking. It's also another important way to give the player more agency, considering the pretty simple battle system of the game.

Another mechanic I've introduced is a "stacked EXP" system. The player can stockpile EXP from side quests, and it is awarded to the player at the end of their next battle. This will make completing side quests more satisfying and further minimize the role of your typical battle EXP grinding.

I've also completed some mini-games and I'm particularly proud of the fishing mini-game. The game has eight different fishing spots and a total of 12 unique fishes to catch. Catching new fishes gives you stacked EXP. I have to say the actual fishing game turned out pretty chill. It's very simple and uses Guitar Hero style input for reeling in the fish.

The battle system has for the most part been finished for quite some time, but I do still need to create some new enemy attacks and update some attack visuals.

LORE

I spent some time adding new lore into the game. This was mostly done by adding bookshelves, posters and notice boards all over the game world. They can be inspected for some added information about the game world. Some of the materials contain useful information too, like tips to the locations of rare enemies or hunt quests.

MUSIC AND SOUND EFFECTS

The game's soundtrack is pretty much finished, and I have to admit I'm very happy with it. There are still a few songs that I might have to compose. Certain story moments might require short mood-setting songs. I'm not completely happy with the game's "main theme" song, so that is something I'll still have to consider. Also, I don't currently have a "final boss" battle song, but since the regular boss theme became pretty epic, I'm not sure if I'm able to compose an even more epic song for the final battle.

A sneak peek at some new tracks from the game's soundtrack. (Video was recorded before any sound effects were added.)

During September I've also added most of the sound effects for the game, and they've provided a huge boost to the playing experience. While the soundtrack is self-composed, I'm using licensed sounds from Freesound.org etc. for the sound effects. Most of the sounds are already in place, but some still need to be added.

NEW ART

The story in Whispers in the Moss consists of six chapters, and I've designed new animated miniature textmode art pieces for the beginning of each chapter.

WHAT'S NEXT?

My ambitious goal is to finish the game's main content in September or early October, after which I'll move to some serious playtesting, polishing and adding some finishing touches. These are the things that I expect to take the most time:

• Polishing the script and adding the character portraits to key story moments, a massive amount of manual labor required!
• Adding some new story "cutscenes" to further bolster the storytelling and character development
• Possibly still expanding some of the earlier areas and adding a few new mini areas
• Adding the rest of sound effects, and finishing the last few remaining songs for the game's soundtrack
• Balancing the enemies, the battle system and character progression
• Tying up all the loose ends: there are some mini side quests and other things that require an ending

See you next time!

- T / Uncultured Games