High Elo Girls News

[p]What’s up, Reckoners![/p][p][/p][p]It’s been a hot, HOT minute since we’ve queued up an update, haven’t we? From slaying mighty beast after mightier beast, we’re getting closer and closer to finally bringing this game to YOU, The Gamers.[/p][p][/p][p]We've got a lot of ground to cover, so strap in for one hell of an update![/p][p][/p][h2]MAJOR UPDATES[/h2][h3]GDoC Expo 2025[/h3][p]Welcome to the folks who found us through the Game Devs of Color Expo! Our tiny crew consists of esports lovers (and haters) from all walks of life, and we take extra pride in being able to share the good, good (read: terrible) news about the mighty church of esports to an audience as diverse as we are. [/p][p][/p][p]In honor of our presence at this online event, we're super stoked to drop a fresh new story-driven demo that introduces you to the player character of Rafaela (or your name of choice) on her MMG gaming house move-in day! [/p][p][/p][h3]FRESH NEW DEMO[/h3][p]Set three weeks into the game after you’ve successfully made it onto the team, you'll get to experience your new teammates face-to-face for the first time as a cohesive group of coworkers with their own interpersonal dynamics.[/p][p][/p][p]Our Toya and Kae routes can give you a taste of what's in store as far as animations for our sprites go! Over the next week, we'll be dropping more updates to show off sprite animations for Senny, Daphne, and Grace, too!
[/p][p]Our new demo is live for all to try out! We can't wait to hear your thoughts, so dive right in and have fun![/p][p][/p][h3]HEG'S FINAL RELEASE DATE[/h3][p]We've gone through a few delays over the years in search of that perfect balance between authenticity, heart, and fun. It was tough, and we had our (more than) fair share of ups and downs, but we think we've finally cracked it![/p][p][/p][p]HEG will now see a guaranteed full release in early 2026 on Steam and Xbox! We're still in talks with Playstation and Nintendo Switch, but we'll have more goodies (and exciting news!) to share leading up to launch.[/p][p][/p][h2]Inside The Gamer Game Dev’s Den[/h2][h3]BACKGROUNDS, ILLUSTRATIONS, & UI! OH MY![/h3][p]We've crossed that coveted threshold of 100% art completion! Experienced narrative game players (and devs!) will know that art can often be the heaviest lift for visual novel development. We're super pleased to report that all of our backgrounds, illustrations, and UI art assets are complete, and we've got some teaser previews to share![/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]SUPER SECRET COLLABORATION NEWS COMING UP SOON![/h3][p]Lastly, we all know how dangerous it is to go alone - especially in our current game development climate! Our team is lucky to have friends in scary places, and we're super excited to tease our upcoming "trip" to visit a mysterious town plagued by sinister happenings. 
[/p][p]What do we mean by this, exactly? You'll have to stay tuned to find out!
[/p][p]But we promise, we're just as excited to dive into the world of this game as you'll be (if you aren't already!)[/p][p]-[/p][p]That’s all for now! Follow our official Bluesky (@split-fate.bsky.social) for game updates, memes, and more. More HEG news, devlogs, memes, and more are in the works, so prepare to hear from us a lot more often!
[/p][p]We hope to see you on the Forsaken Lands soon!
[/p][p]Cheers,[/p][p]Viv, Comms Manager - Split Fate Studios[/p]

What’s up, Reckoners!

We hope you’ve been doing well since our last update. It’s been a HOT minute, so we’re here to bring you up to speed on the production of High Elo Girls (HEG).

Art, writing, coding, sims, everything. E-VE-RY-THING.

Queued up yet? Yes? Excellent! Here’s the rundown:

[h2]HEG’s New Release Date & Platform Update[/h2]
Once again, the High Elo Esports Meta has changed — which means we have to (again) change our game strategy. As a result, HEG will now see a potential release date in Spring 2025. This will give us enough time to really make the game extra fun, extra special, and extra Extra.

On top of a new release date, there’s also a new platform update. In addition to Steam and PC, High Elo Girls will also be releasing on Xbox! If you’re an Xbox console gamer, you’ll now be able to get the full High Elo experience alongside your friends on Steam/PC.

Or, you know, you could also get the game on all the platforms and play them back-to-back. We won’t judge.

[h2]Inside The Gamer Game Dev’s Den[/h2]

[h3]NEW IN-GAME UI![/h3]

We’ve refreshed the UI for Reckoners of Forsaken Lands (RoFL)!

For context, we have a fairly complex backend system designed to integrate your in-story choices (and consequences) with your in-match choices. This called for a more robust UI and UX system, giving you the opportunity to min-max to your heart's content!

(We also just wanted to show off more of our Art Director's amazing illustration skills to help break up the monotony of staring at the same isometric map every match. So relatable, we know.)



Additionally, instead of our current overreliance on Playstyle indicators (Follower, Showstopper, etc), we overhauled the system and are now utilizing early-game Playstyle notifications. That way, you can decide if you wish to continue down one particular path, or play towards other (perhaps more sociable) strengths for the rest of your playthrough!

We've got a lot more in store for this feature, and we hope you'll enjoy testing it out in our refreshed demo coming soon!

[h3]NEW BACKGROUNDS![/h3]

In addition to our Art Director, we’ve got some talented artists who are bringing their own artistic flair to the High Elo world. We’ve got the amazing Gaming Lab background (BG) above courtesy of Pinga Penguins, whose work you’ll get to see more of as you play through the game. Additionally, we’ve got Jules Riseling to thank for revamping and polishing the game’s UI, enhancing your gameplay experience and dropping all of our jaws.

We’re super appreciative of both Pinga and Jules providing their skills to our game and cannot wait to showcase them more!

[h3]SUPER CUTE CHIBI EMOTES!![/h3]

They’re very cute. No notes.

[h3]ALT OUTFITS???[/h3]
We love a classic High Elo fit — you know, the same fit you find esports teams wearing as they stand in a line and cross their arms (you know what we mean).

But the alt outfits…the High Elo Alt Outfits…are on a WHOLE DIFFERENT LEVEL.

Picture it: early-mid 2010s. concert lights, and…

…Kae???

Good googly moogly.

And this is just one of several outfits and scenes you’ll get to explore once the full game comes out. For now, however, we’ll leave you with this one teaser. Trust us — it'll last you a while.

[h3]FRESH MEMES[/h3]
We’re slowly churning out the game, and we think a fresh batch of game content should come with a fresh batch of memes! Here’s one of our favourites:

(insert sounds from the world’s smallest violin)

That’s all for now! Follow our official Twitter (@split_fate) and Bluesky (@split-fate.bsky.social) for game updates, memes, and more. And while you’re at it, join our Split Fate News Discord to get priority notifications via devlogs, memes, and more.

We hope to see you on the Forsaken Lands soon!

Cheers,
Vivi, Comms Manager - Split Fate Studios

Hey there, everyone! It's a new year, and you know what that means - new updates!

We know that it's been a PIPING HOT minute since we last updated, but it's for a good reason! Our dev team is still working on writing the words, doodling the art, and programming the...programs. We’ve also done our fair share of watching esports tournaments (for market research, of course) and taking much-needed breaks when necessary. That said, we want to bring you a quick update on the status of HEG. Here are our notes!

[h2]Release Date Status: Updated![/h2]
Just like classic esports, the meta has changed yet again, which means the game release date has also changed! In order to give ourselves time to rethink our game strats, we’re pushing the release date of High Elo Girls to Q4 2024. This will give us time to experiment with different builds, test our approaches, and really give us a shot at bringing you the best esports game experience possible.

[h2]Game Demo Status: Updated! [/h2]

We released our extended game demo back in October! If you enjoyed the fun and immersive experience of the original demo, you’ll be in for a treat with the new demo! This extended demo includes a revised Toya route as well as a bonus length Daphne route. We hope you’ll enjoy what’s been added to the game as the team continues to build out the other routes and round out the rest of the game.

That’s all we’ve got for now! We know this update is small, but rest assured the game is mighty and we will continue to update you as we continue through its development process. If you want to stay up-to-date on the game’s progress (and maybe get a meme or two), follow our official Twitter (@split_fate).

We’ll see you soon on the Forsaken Lands!

Cheers,
Vivi, Comms Manager - Split Fate Studios

Hey everyone! We hope your 2023 has been going well so far.

It’s been a while since our last devlog, but we’re still on the Game Dev Train and working hard on making High Elo GIrls (HEG) come to life. As the comms conductor of this train, I’m here to deliver a short update as well as a recap of where we’ve been and where we’re going.

[h2]Update on HEG's Release Date[/h2]
The esports meta has changed quite a bit since our last devlog, so the team will be looking to optimize our team strategies. Because of that, we will be pushing the release date of HEG to Winter 2023. Don’t count us out, though — we’re still bringing our A-game and giving you the Ultimate Gamer Experience with HEG.

[h2]The Triple Panel Threat[/h2]
Dee (@epistellar) has been a guest speaker (a GREAT one, I might add) in several panels and events, including:

[h3]Black Voices in Gaming[/h3]
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Along with Destinee (@Dnbc32) & Redinfamy (@REDinFamy), Dee had a wonderful convo about HEG and even got to showcase some gameplay at Black Voices In Gaming! If you missed out on it, don’t worry: the full vod is available on YouTube for you to watch! Dee's segment starts around the 4 hour 57 minute 37 second mark and begins with the HEG trailer.

[h3]Black Writers Panel[/h3]


Our friends over at Black Card Members gave us the chance to host the fun (and chaotic) Black Writers Panel back in February! The wonderful Cel (@TheActualCel) served as a great moderator for this insightful conversation between Dee, Dani Lalonders (@danulmao), owl (@jelpiparade), and Adanna (@AFNarratives8).

[h3]Gayming Podcast[/h3]


Dee has made some appearances in Gayming Magazine before, but this time around it’s in a Gayming Podcast episode with Geneva (@Gensuta), Eugenio (@DMJazzyHands), and Katie (@PikaChulita)! Moderated by Miabyte (Miabyte), you can watch this episode on Gayming Magazine’s Twitch channel to hear everyone’s thoughts on why diversity in gaming is important (which also happens to be the title of the podcast episode).

[h2]Upcoming Things From Us[/h2]

• Dee will be at GDC! Feel free to say hi, but please be respectful. Or else.
  
• A small demo update is upon us! It will now include an animated intro made by our amazing art director Joe (@RealityAjar)!
  

That’s all for now! Follow our official Twitter (@split_fate) for game updates, memes, and more. See you on the Forsaken Lands!

Cheers,
Vivi, Comms Manager - Split Fate Studios

Hiya! It’s been a while, hasn’t it?

There’s been quite a few changes happening at the studio, but we’re all still working very hard to make High Elo Girls (HEG) happen! Let’s get into those updates, shall we?

Let’s start with…



The small team of two has now grown to a team of six! Dee has brought on a few new people to work on HEG. The full dev team for HEG is listed below:

Dani Dee: Project Director, Narrative & Gameplay Designer, Lead Writer, Programmer
Joe Byrne: Art Director, Character & UI Designer, Lead Illustrator, Writer

✨ NEW! ✨ Numinous: Lead Systems Designer
✨ NEW! ✨ Vivi Contrast: Communications Manager
✨ NEW! ✨ Jules Riseling: UI Artist
✨ NEW! ✨ Pinga Penguin: Background Artist



Split Fate has actually been presented or featured at several events in the past few months! Here’s where we’ve been:

[h2]LUDONARRACON[/h2]


High Elo Girls was featured at Ludonarracon back in May! We put together a super cool dev commentary video that was broadcasted on Steam, which you can now watch on the Split Fate YouTube channel.


[h2]DIGIPRIDE[/h2]


Dee was invited to speak on a Digipride panel about HEG! They were also joined by other queer game developers from studios like Lunaris Games, Veritable Joy, Soft Not Weak, and more. You can watch the full panel VOD on Gayming Magazine’s official YouTube channel.


[h2]GAME DEVS OF COLOR EXPO[/h2]


Dee is hosting a panel at Game Devs of Color Expo happening Sept 15-18! They’ll be talking with other amazing Black developers like Dani Lalonders (ValiDate: Struggling Singles in Your Area), Geneva Harward (Skate & Date) and owl (Belle Automata) about how and why they make games.

• As a bonus, I (Vivi) will be joining Dee to talk further about HEG with the host of GDoC, Sharpie!
  
• Am I excited? Hell yeah!
  
• But am I also nervous? Hell Yeah.

[h2]GAYMING LIVE[/h2]


We're showcasing the new HEG demo during the Gayming Live Steam Event, and Dee will also be on a panel with other game devs!

• Yes, Dee’s one busy person, but they’re doing a great job and we support them. We’re proud of them. ♥️

We just launched a revamped version of our demo! We've added a brand new UI to the game, and cleaned up some of the Strife messages. If you haven’t met all of your teammates yet, now’s the perfect time to do so!

As always, thank you for showing so much love and support for our little fan-game-turned-full-fictional-game. Please look forward to the full game launching Spring 2023!

Follow our official Twitter (@split_fate) for game updates, memes, and more!

Cheers,
Vivi, Communications Manager
Split Fate Studios