Whim Independent Studios - Development Log #69

Here is our 69th update with what's going on at whimindie! Please note that a lot of this information will be cross-posted to our Spellbearers project page on Kickstarter for project backers.

We're finally here! The release of Spellbearers for Steam. The trailer above was edited by Jessica M. Jacuinde who also worked on a lot of the user interface in Spellbearers, and the narration was done by the talented Aimee Smith! If you backed us on Kickstarter, you should have been emailed your code. If you haven't received it for any reason, please message us on Kickstarter or Discord and we can get it sorted out. Aside from the Selatria tier which will be completely fulfilled when the game is completed, we have fulfilled the rest of the rewards possible for the campaign.

Spellbearers is available on Steam! We have a launch discount of 30% off until October 21st. If you play it, let us know what you think!

Now that we've released, we'll now be working on future patches and content for the game, and I also wanted to use this time to answer some FAQ from the conventions and community about some of our future plans for Spellbearers.

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Frequently Asked Questions from the Community:

Will you ever change levels to counter a meta or tactic, or at least tactics that are considered to cheese through the game or level?

There are some safe spaces in each fight/level where you can learn or practice a tactic, but we don't have any plans to change any tactics that cheese the game. It's already difficult as it is. If there's something broken though, like walls people can run through, we may make changes to that.

Will you ever add extra color Spellbearers? (Even if it means they will be DLC) 

Yellow is a color I would personally like to see added - I don't want to put one in the game in a way that makes the character feel like an afterthought  or DLC for the sake of being DLC, so we're going to watch sales, and see if this is worth adding in later with additions to other changes.

Would you consider adding a difficulty above Hard version? Like Nightmare difficulty or something for elite hardcore players.

We have the chance to see the percentage statistics for players who cleared hard mode. If a lot of people clear hard mode, we would like to do this, but if the percentages on clearing hard mode are still really low, then it might be best to hold off on the feature. The Hard mode is really difficult as it is.

Would you ever consider adding a boss rush mode?

I'm not sure we have enough bosses to warrant adding this. If we expand the game and add more bosses, this could be something to look into.

Would you ever consider a stat tracker for players, or at least the Highest score ever achieved for each level/etc? What about Cloud Saves?

We have plans for a future patch to add this! We want to add Leaderboards and cloud saves so your saved progress will transfer from PC to Steam Deck and vice-versa seamlessly. We want to show the players how they compare. I need to discuss with the team how best to organize it. I don't want an easy or normal player to be ranked higher than a hard mode player just because they made it further and have a bigger score/life count.

Would you ever release a Spellbearers official soundtrack?

The official soundtrack is on all major digital platforms already, and we're working on a physical release. Check us out on Amazon music or stream on Spotify!

What's the status on the console versions of Spellbearers? We are currently actively working on the Xbox One and Series X|S version of Spellbearers and in talks to port the games to other platforms. Without getting into specifics, it's been an uphill battle to talk to other consoles, and if you enjoy playing the game we would really appreciate the positive word of mouth or positive steam reviews on the game to make it easier for us to work with them on porting the game!

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Finally, I asked some of the development team to share their thoughts on the release and I gave my own personal message as well. Please take a look!

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Messages from the Development Team Members on Release:

It has been a real pleasure to work on this game with such a talented team and to see an idea I had four years ago develop and finally come to life. It couldn't of happened without you all! My deepest appreciation to the Kickstarter backers and everyone at whimindie who made this happen. As I was inspired by other games to create this one, I hope this game may inspire some of you to create your own. Thank you, and I hope you enjoy playing the full release of Spellbearers.

Spellbearers Director
Gerren Willis

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Wow, it's been four years since this game has been in development, just as long since I first joined whimindie as the Director of Marketing and Advertising! I can't thank everyone enough who supported this game from just when it was a small Kickstarter that very few knew existed and throughout the various expos and digital events the game has been presented at! As a marketer, this is one of my first projects, and I hope to continue introducing new games to gamers, whether old or new! As a gamer myself (a very terrible one, but I have fun), I know this will be enjoyable and fun for all. Spellbearers takes inspiration from great SNES games back in the 90s, like Super Smash TV, The Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past, and even Castlevania. It pays homage to those games and adds a new modern flair that just kicks ass and is incredibly entertaining for your friends and family in co-op mode! So I hope you have your couch all warmed up and the pizza and Mountain Dew ready to go because you're going back to the 90's with this game, and you're going to love it! 

Director of Marketing and Advertising
Jabari Mizore Lewis-Smith

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Heeeeeellllllooooooo!!! It's been a long road but here we are, release! I want to thank every single one of you for believing in Spellbearers and helping us bring it to life. I'm so proud of the team; they put in so many hours of hard work and I hope it shows in every pixel, in every sfx, in every musical note. We have many plans in the works and I hope you stay tuned for what we have cooking for Spellbearers and for our other projects. Until next time... keep it nerdy!

Spellbearers Executive Producer
whimindie Administrative Director
Paul Vela

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Thank you for all of your support! We have been working on this game for four years and I'm really happy to bring this game out to the world. Thank you to everyone in the team, and a massive thank you to our Kickstarter backers who supported us and were patient with us over the delays while we worked to get the game done. We have plans over the next year to now get this to additional platforms and work on additional features to Spellbearers, and to show the game off to many more shows and conventions! PS: Share with us on social media (@whimindie) if you stream the game! We would love to share it.

Spellbearers Producer
Grover Wimberly IV

Thank you!!!

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