Paper Robot development status

[p]Hey everyone! Here's a little update on the current progress of Paper Robot development, as well as a rough outline of what the road ahead looks like. First off, I think a little bit of an introduction is in order.[/p][p][/p][p]Hi, I'm Dobbs! I'm the solo developer, artist, animator, writer, 3d modeler, etc. for Paper Robot! I'm not a full-time game developer, but hopefully I was able to fool you. I'm a big fan of automation games and platformers, and I have a soft-spot for the mini-genre-within-a-genre, paper RPGs. Small damage numbers, action commands, whimsical worlds, and a wacky cast of over-the-top characters, it all scratches a very particular itch. [/p][p][/p][p]Currently, Paper Robot is expected to be divided into eight chapters (plus a prologue chapter) spanning distinct areas, each with their own unique challenges and sights to see, and you'll join up with a total of six partners who will bring their own skills (and personalities!) to the party. [/p][p][/p][p]I've finished roughly one third of the game's main content. Optimistically, we're looking at the game being in a release-able state around 2028. That said, I have a LOT of side content that I'd love to include, too! From elaborate side quests to a twist on the classic optional battle gauntlet, I'm sure I could keep adding to this for a long time. But we'll start deciding what exactly goes in the first release as we get closer to that time.[/p][p][/p][p]One of the common questions I've gotten is: how close will this follow in the footsteps of existing paper-like games? Personally, I think the mid-2000s established some of the best battle systems, but also forced some of the worst back-tracking. The overall battle system will follow a lot of the established standards, though I have added a few fun twists to shake things up.[/p][p][/p][p]Lastly, I've got a bit of a milestone to announce! As of this week, I've added the one hundredth character to the game! One of my big complaints with one of the big paper series games is that so many of the NPCs are all the exact same. My goal is to make sure each and every character gets some unique design flair. It's certainly not speeding up the development, but looking at the massive collection of characters, it's definitely worth the effort. [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]If you have questions about where the game is heading (will it have X, how much Y is there, etc), head over to the Steam community discussion board! I check it frequently and would be happy to answer any questions.[/p][p][/p][p]-Dobbs[/p][p][/p]