Demo Update 1.0

More great news this week as we are happy to announce that we have just reached our alpha milestone so we are now feature complete! To celebrate, we have added some extra content to the demo so now is a great time to come get another taste of Backbeat before our release later this year.

[h2]New content[/h2]



The full version of Backbeat has forty levels that progressively introduce four musical resources, twenty themes, special power moves, and point-based tricks. A lot of the unique mechanics in Backbeat are spread out slowly so the player is not overwhelmed at the start. To help give you a tiny taste of some of the time management challenges, we've added an additional level to the free demo where the player may learn about the keys/doors mechanic which requires synchronization of the four characters' timelines. A new character, the saxophonist Chaz, showcases the mechanic.

[h2]Audio polish[/h2]

Starting in this version we have added chatter sounds to the dialogue engine so when characters are talking you can get a deeper sense of their personality. The four members of Backbeat each have their own instrument timbre, and NPCs are unified with softened woodblock when they speak. An new musical theme is also included in the expansion level.

[h2]Usability tweaks[/h2]

We have a number of features designed to help the player when breaking conditions occur in the game. When a musical resource or turns have been depleted, the character triggering the conflict will appear and specify exactly why play cannot continue. This is especially important when a timeline break is about to occur.



We also adjusted several levels in the tutorial slightly to improve visibility of obstacles.

[h2]More to come![/h2]

All levels in the full version of Backbeat are now complete! In the next month we will be working on adding the unlockable instrument and audio effect customizations, graphical polish, and performance optimizations. We're looking forward to sharing more with you in April's dev blog.

[h2]More from you![/h2]

Some of these improvements came directly from suggestions made by superfans like you! Do you have another idea for an improvement to make the funky story of Powerslyde even better? Drop us a comment below or shout at us on social media.

Stay cool and funky!
-- The Backbeat team at Ichigoichie



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