Anathema News

As we gather to bid farewell to 2023, this seemed like a great (and long overdue) opportunity to provide an update on Anathema's development. Overall, 2023 was subjected to multiple setbacks and delays due to somber personal life-events that took precedence and attention away from Anathema, but we managed to exit the year nonetheless with some major milestones. Please read below for further details!

• All in-game audio has been completely remastered. This allows for more headroom in the digital audio spectrum and should produce far less "clipping" audio and artifacts that was present in the 2017 demo.
  
• The cover artwork is currently being drawn by our good friend Craig Daversa (his game can be found here). We can't wait to unveil it when it's ready; the work-in-progress updates we've seen have been fantastic.
  
• The polish phase has commenced. Below are select comparison screenshots from the 2017 demo to the 2023 pre-release build. Note that these are all still very much a work-in-progress and the animated version's resolution and color count have been lowered due to the service used to make the animated images.

• All in-game cutscene artwork renders have been completed and are now functional in-engine. This doesn't include the game's ending, which will begin production in 2024 after we reconvene to plan storyboards.
  
• The number of images in cutscenes completed total to a whopping 593 panels that took approximately 100 hours just to render the imagery.
  
• There are 28 cutscenes that span a 70 page script.
  
• Voiceover lines were recorded in 2017, but will have some additional voiceover recordings for minor NPC characters.
  
• Music, sound effects and voiceover lines are next to be added to cutscenes. The voiceover lines need final selection of best takes for each character, music will need to be scored for select scenes and sound effects where applicable.
  
• Below are some screenshot examples taken from cutscenes at various points throughout the game.
  Note that all dialog text has been censored to prevent any potential spoilers of the story.

For those that have followed the development of Anathema since it went live on Steam Greenlight in 2015 (remember Steam Greenlight?), we've firmly not set a release date until we feel confident it is a date we will successfully deliver on. Anathema's core gameplay loop of all 13 stages is fully playable and complete from front-to-back and combined with the below updates and milestones, we can confidently say Anathema will release in 2024. While we're not ready to nail down a specific date, we feel this window is more than reasonable, but we will share more updates on the release date as they become available.

Stay tuned for more updates in 2024! There's going to be a lot more as we ramp up towards the marketing and awareness phases leading up to release!

Hello!

We have received a few emails asking about the development status of Anathema and thought it would be a good time to give an update on where we are currently at.



We're very pleased to say we are extremely close to finishing the game! Since the last update from October 2020, development slowed significantly due to working around day jobs and personal lives but we've made some decent progress along the way still, albeit not at the rate we were making until May 2021. Things are ramping up heavily again now that we're in the final stretch! Here's what has been completed in that timeframe:

• Steam Deck compatibility! Early testing with the newly released Steam Deck is fantastic and runs great using Proton Experimental. Further testing is needed as the Steam Deck is still new, but so far it is working fantastically.
  
• 11 bosses have been added. All that remains in this category is the final boss!
  
• The cutscene system has been entirely revamped and is moving away from FMVs entirely. The intro and ending will maintain a similar style of direction that was utilized in the demo but will be built entirely in-game to ensure 100% compatibility across all player machines. Cutscenes between levels will be more akin to Shantae. This will help us also ensure the Steam Deck compatibility is high and avoid prior codec issues demo users sometimes receive.
  
• The Inventory screen has been completely redesigned for a better flow and user experience.
  
• Controller compatibility has been greatly extended. The game is now natively compatible with Xbox 360, One, and Series S/X controllers, and PS4 and PS5 controllers. The Nintendo Switch Pro Controller is also compatible using Steam's built-in Nintendo controller support. Players can select their preferred icon set for their preferred controller.
  
• The Level Select/Map screen is completed and fully functional.
  
• The save system is now fully functional. On this particular note, how many save slots would you suggest be available?
  
• Localization code has been created to support future localizations. Currently, we only have plans for English, but based on feedback and wishlists we may add other localizations in the future.
  
• The tutorial area has completely replaced the demo's tutorial video and is now a fully interactive segment. Brief and to the point.
  

We are currently working on a horse chase segment of the game that hopefully, players will enjoy. This segment is approximately 85% complete and just needs some further level design revisions and additions. From there, it's a matter of completing the remaining cutscenes, the final boss, tightening up enemy AI, replayability rewards and placement, and some of the remaining music for the soundtrack.

We do have plans to issue a demo update in the future leading up to the release. The majority of work necessary is completed for that but does have a few items that need to be addressed before we can push that out for play.

While we're not quite to the point to feel confident in announcing a release date just yet, know that we're much, much closer to knowing when we can confidently set a date. Once everything is together we still have to run a period of beta testing and also marketing as we move into the final stretch!

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Where to begin? If you've kept up with prior development updates, you're aware we are working on this project around our day jobs with our free time. When Covid hit earlier this year, our employers responded like most - reduced work schedules or even furloughs. In a way, this was somewhat of a blessing in disguise because it allowed extra time to make significant milestone progress.

Since March of this year, we have completed all level's designs, layouts, and art assets. I repeat - all levels are fully functional and completely built, save for that final bit of polish at the end of all development cycles to make them shine their best. This may not be very exciting for you, but this is huge progress. In the end, Anathema will end up with 13 levels total, instead of the originally planned 12 levels.

The second major milestone achieved is 100% of all enemies are completely designed, animated, and programmed. There are currently 54 enemies in Anathema that do not include mini-bosses or main bosses. The enemies are also neither recycled sprites nor palette swaps - these are 54 uniquely designed, animated, and programmed enemies. Some attacks, patterns, or movements may be slightly similar (due to working in a 2D environment you only have so much range of motion) but each stage features its own unique enemy sprites. That said, as development progresses we may decide to add more enemies if necessary.

How about a look at some of the enemies?

[h3]PLAGUE WEREWOLF[/h3]

Anathema's backstory revolves around the fallen Angel, Azrael, who unleashed a terrible sickness known as "Devil's Plague." This (un)fortunate soul was able to survive the Devil's Plague only because it was also infected with Lycanthropy.

[h3]FIRE SPRITE DEMON[/h3]

In the deepest catacombs of the main continent lie the ruins of a misunderstood civilization that was exiled. The outskirts of the Exiled's rubble are teeming with creatures adapted to the hostile volcanic landscape. This demon will certainly scorch any to ashes that dare enter its domain.

[h3]BLACK DAWN ALCHEMIST[/h3]

In the opening of the Anathema demo, we mention a cult known as "The Black Dawn." These cultists blindly pursue the rebirth of Azrael after his defeat at the hands of Aurora's father, Corbin Delacroix. There are various roles the cultists play - sentries, alchemists, priests, etc. This particular cultist is adept with the art of alchemy and uses it with explosive results, albeit with a headstrong nature.

We would love to show more of the enemies, but also don't want to spoil everything in the game ahead of its release. But don't worry! We will show more as we near the finish line!




***Please note these are not final names, just what we use to refer to them internally.

[h3]THE ARCHREVENANT[/h3]
In the last update, we showed you a glimpse of the Ossuary and its Vampyr Elder miniboss. Here is a look at the final boss of this level. The Ossuary is the very next level following the end of the demo.


[h3]SNOW PEAK VILLAGE[/h3]
We posted this screenshot on our Twitter earlier this year (in animated form) so here it is in case you missed it. If you haven't already, give us a follow on Twitter @Esperware because we post things there that don't always make it here.


[h3]SCARECROW VALLEY[/h3]
Classic games would tout having a day and night system. Well, we have an eclipse system.


[h3]THE ALCHEMY LAB[/h3]
What hideous man-made monsters await in this isolated laboratory?


[h3]THE ZOMBIE VILLAGE[/h3]
There is nothing like a little R&R in the country, right?



As mentioned above, we've made two major milestones in 2020 that bring us two very big leaps closer to completing the development of this game. We want to finish this game and get it in your hands as soon as possible, but there are still some things left to do. Currently, development is focused on bosses and cutscenes. These are the final two remaining major milestones for the game. After that it's minor things like revamping the Inventory screen, adding the hidden Tomes that expound on the lore of the game, rounding out the final sound design (even though most is handled as we go), and the level select screen.

It feels really good to be able to say the end is finally in sight. There are still things left to do, but the hardest parts of the development cycle are now done and behind us. I am extremely confident in saying that Anathema should be ready for release sometime in 2021, barring any unforeseen circumstances.

We hope everyone has a safe and Happy Halloween!!!

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Happy October!

We don't have as much this time around to share with you as we did last month, but this time around we will show you some audio/visual goodies!


In last month's update we shared images of the work-in-progress for the newest level we've been developing - The Ossuary. In this video, we share a brief look of this level in motion, including one of three mini bosses you will encounter. The player can progress through this level's three routes in any order they choose, but must defeat all guardians before they are allowed passage into the next area - the Vampyr Den. Feast your eyes and let us know your thoughts!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]


To change things up this month a little bit, our resident composer has whipped up a special remix just for you. For those that have played the demo, you will be familiar with the tune this remix is an arrangement of - Gravekeeper's Hollow. When thinking of games' stage 1 music, it's important to hook the player with a catchy, hummable melody that (hopefully) can get stuck in your head. When Anathema releases, we definitely want to have a bundle that includes the OST for the game. Whether or not it includes remixed versions of tunes from the game is up in the air as of now, but companion pieces are always great to have. Let us know what you think.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]


Quite a lot of progress has been made since the last update. We've begun adding a new area that precedes the graveyard area of the first stage which will serve as the "tutorial area." The video tutorials in the demo area merely placeholder just so the player has a basic understanding of the core fundamentals of gameplay. Don't worry, we won't hold your hand, but it's important to know the basics so players can get the most out of the game. Here is a very early look at how it is shaping up aesthetically.

There will be more to show in future updates. We will post them here but you can also follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/esperware to be notified as we post.

We hope everyone has a fun and spooky rest of your October, and Happy Halloween!

Happy September!

It has been an excruciatingly long time since our last update, but I assure you we have been hard at work! In this update we will go over the latest information about the status of development, showcase a brand new player sprite, new HUD and latest level!

There is a LOT to share below so let's get started!



We would like to start by unveiling the re-design of the sprite for Aurora Delacroix. When development of Anathema began in October 2014 we began using pre-made, royalty free assets available on the web to make pre-rendered sprites. As development has progressed we became disenchanted with the design currently in the demo. We knew that it was important to give Aurora some original flair of our own design.

Around May 2018 we reached out to our friend, Craig Daversa with Pyroklastic Games who has a great game that can be found here, that has worked with us on prior artistic portions of Anathema and gave him a rough design sketch of what we wanted to do with Aurora's design. Craig began modeling the new design for us and we were off to the races. After many collective man-hours modeling, rigging, weight mapping, texturing and animating, we give you the new design of Aurora Delacroix. Many thanks to Craig for this as we could not have pulled this off without him.

For good measure, here is a comparison of how Aurora's design has evolved throughout the years. As you can see, the design has changed almost entirely since the original concept in 2014, but some design elements were developed into the 2015 revision and maintained into the final design.



We have also redesigned the boss that challenged quite a few players we saw on YouTube Let's Play videos - Aeron, the First Vampyr. The original design was something that just no longer fit the vision for the game, so it needed to be updated as well! Gone is the silly purple/red hair color and odd body-wrap she once wore. This look is much more streamlined and in-line with the character's story.






A proper development would be incomplete without a look at a brand new level you've not seen. There were a few glimpses of upcoming levels at the end of the demo, but this is the first time we've publicly showcased this new level we've been hard at work making.

This is the Ossuary - the level you will find yourself in immediately after the confrontation with Aeron as seen in the demo. When developing ideas for levels, we would always try to come up with elements that would help set it apart from prior levels. The graveyard is basically the training ground that lets players become accustomed to the game's mechanics. The forest begins to test those skills with some tight platforming in the treetops. The swamp slows the player down with jumping between vines and the log ride. What sets the Ossuary apart is it is a non-linear level, unlike the prior three stages.



Anathema is quite often mislabeled as a metroidvania because it is assumed since it has visual elements similar to Castlevania, it must be a metroidvania. In order to be such a game, it would have to be designed for the player to obtain new abilities to access areas they previously could not. Anathema is nothing like this - it is a classic style platformer that plays more like the NES and SNES Castlevania, Ghosts 'n Goblins, MegaMan and Ninja Gaiden games. There are no mechanics that require you to backtrack to access previously inaccessible areas. Players can return to previously completed levels to obtain powerups they previously missed if they wish, similar to Mega Man X, but it is not required for the progression of the game. However, in the Ossuary, players are free to take any of the multiple routes they wish in any order, but they must all be completed before the player can progress to the next area. Each route has a switch that will unlock the exit, guarded by a powerful Vampyr Elder. Throughout the Ossuary are new enemies the player has not previously encountered that we hope will challenge and keep the player's heart rate up. The Weeping Angel can be especially surprising...






As you can see in the above screenshots, the player HUD has been completely redesigned as well. We gained some great feedback from the demo release and used that to make the HUD more intuitive and simplified. The HUD now maps the corresponding buttons the player designates in the controller setup to the corresponding mechanic.

The bottom box with the deathbringer will only be visible once the player obtains their first deathbringer powerup. As the player amasses more in their inventory they will be able to switch between them on the fly in-game. Deathbringers will still operate on a cool-down mechanic like in the current demo which was changed from the original release that consumed souls that were shared with subweapons.




As we move into the five year anniversary when development began, it goes without saying that this game is taking quite a while to make. There are three main people working on this game consistently in our spare time outside of our day jobs and family lives. Game development is difficult and elongated, but it's fun and rewarding as well. We ask that you please be patient with us as we continue to hammer away at the game. We're making great progress and have even set an internal goal for a release date; but since that is an internal goal and not concrete we can't share that now. We don't want to make promises we can't keep (sometimes consistent development updates are hard enough to keep up with), but rest assured once we know a solid release window we're going to share it!

Currently we're dividing into different tasks to cover more ground. The voice-over for the script has been recorded and cutscenes are in their pre-visualization stage. There will be a Story Mode as well as an Arcade Mode that skips the story and focuses solely on the gameplay, but the story is quite hefty and was a monumental task in of itself to write, edit and direct the voice over. Just look at the size of the script with standard script formatting...



We appreciate all the feedback and anticipation Anathema is receiving. It's truly humbling and rewarding that people are interested in playing this game that we have devoted the last five years of our spare time making. Sometimes life gets in the way and makes it hard to make the progress we want to make, but in the end we think it will be worth the wait and hope you will too.

We have plans to release an updated demo in the future, but aren't quite certain exactly when that will be. Most of the update work has been completed, but there will be a new area added before where the demo currently starts which will be developed in the coming weeks along with updated cutscenes.

Thanks everyone for your support and engagement. We really do appreciate it and hope you stick with us the rest of the ride!