Another year has been and gone, so it’s time for the Q4 2023 Courier Tale Dev Blog…
This quarter’s blog is likely shorter than other ones for the simple fact that all I’ve been working on the past few months is finishing graphics. That’s ok though, because a major milestone was hit right at the end of the year. While I’m sure there will be some final tweaks before release, I think… the graphics for Courier Tale are complete!
As such I released a new screenshot. I’ve been hesitant to release new screenshots as I don’t want too many spoilers out there, and also, up until now, the graphics weren’t complete. I’ll likely release more screenshots closer to release, but it’s good to get some fresh visuals out there.
During this process I noticed the way I had been capturing both screenshots and video of Courier Tale had been showing the graphics desaturated. This is due to a colour profile issue on my main monitor with the playtest mode. I’m now using another computer with a 4K monitor for capturing, that represents the colours accurately. As such I’ve updated all of the screenshots, and future trailers will also look more vibrant colour wise and in 4K. Perhaps some people might prefer the desaturated versions, but the new versions are the accurate colour palette like in my original pixel art files.
The graphics took way longer than they should. This is due to the way I choose to approach graphics for the game early on. I could have changed course at some point, but that would have meant having to essentially re-do all of the graphics, which may have taken just as long. And the end result for the players would have been the same quality wise. So I committed to the way I originally chose to do the graphics and it was a slog, that may not show in the final product, but I’m happy it’s done and I can move onto other things now.
As to what’s next? In January I’m going to work on finishing the soundtrack. I was also going to work on finishing the sound effects, but instead I’m going do sound effects during the technical polish phase. It definitely is feeling close to release, but it really probably comes down to how long the technical polish phase goes. Will that take 1 month? Will it take 6 months? Hard to say. My latest target is for a Q2 2024 release date, but then again the game always feels 3-6 months away from finishing. At least at this time, I know it’s definitely closer than it was 3 months ago.
In the meantime though, Courier Tale has been selected for an online showcase on Steam, which I’ll announce later this month. Courier Tale could also be in more showcases in the coming months. Courier Tale is also now on Bluesky, so don’t forget to follow @couriertale on your favourite social media spamming network or join the newly transitioned Studio Kraze discord. And if ya haven’t already, make sure to wishlist Courier Tale on Steam…