Dev Blog 3: An Ode to August
Hey everyone!
Another month has passed since our last update on Retroronto, and after some reflection, we’ve been pushing full steam ahead toward the release of our first demo. As announced in our trailer, we’re aiming for a September release.
So now that September is here, where’s the demo?
Rest assured, we’re in the final stretch! We’re focusing on wrapping up the demo, which we’ll be lauching later this month. This is just the beginning—like the trailer hinted, some features may vary or be missing as we continue developing the game, with future updates planned beyond this initial demo. Right now, it’s all about refining what we’ve built, bug-fixing, and getting everything ready for feedback as we look ahead to 2025.
In the meantime, let’s take a look at what we’ve been working on throughout August!
Main Menu
Throughout June and July, I balanced both development and marketing, building assets and sharing videos online. But after reassessing what was needed for the demo, I decided to shift focus entirely back to development. No point in marketing a demo that couldn’t fully deliver on what the trailer promised, right?
So, I dove into building the demo’s Main Menu, stretching my UI skills and really enjoying the process of animating and scripting the different elements. While this menu will likely evolve as we add more features like Options, Credits, and a Help screen, we’re excited to hear your thoughts. Does it capture that ‘retro’ vibe? We’re also considering adding a way for you to send feedback directly from the menu!
Overworld - Interiors
Once the main menu was squared away, I shifted focus to loading interior scenes when entering different locations from the overworld. It’s a key feature for the demo, and I’m really happy with how it’s shaping up! We’ve added a few new locations, like parks, gyms, and libraries, and we’re aiming to populate these spots with NPCs to interact with and activities to explore in the future.
On the audio front, our composer Chris has been hard at work. After remixing the song from our trailer, Chris put together a fresh track for the overworld called “Ease Out.” As we continue refining the game’s musical identity, we’re thinking about how and when songs play, whether they loop, and how they set the mood. More music is in the pipeline, and we can’t wait to see what you all think!
Minigame
Our lead developer Dor has been focused on getting our main minigame up and running for the demo. We’ve dubbed these “Queue” minigames, where players work producing and fulfilling orders for customers waiting in queue lines. The fast food service minigame is our first variation, with core mechanics like station functionality, NPC behavior, item orders, and the overall gameplay loop already implemented. Now we’re building UI functionality, adding an NPC to trigger the game, tweaking the scoring and money systems, and polishing whatever we can by the end of this month.
We’re prioritizing this minigame for the demo, aiming to get one working variation in place by release. Down the road, we plan to expand with additional job-based minigames, with three variations as a target by the end of the year. The GIF above shows a mockup of where we’re headed, and we’re excited to see how this part of the game evolves!
Ontario Creates
Retroronto started as a hobby project in 2022, based on a paid gig I did in 2019. Thanks to Toronto’s Hand Eye Society, and Ontario Creates Futures Forward program, which supports creatives with workshops on pitching, financing, and more, I secured a small grant back in April to help bring this idea to life. Since then, We’ve been focused on delivering a demo this year to meet a set production schedule and fulfill our obligations with this current grant, and then seek out and hopefully secure additional funding for full development of the game.
Going from a hobby project to something commercially viable has been a huge learning curve for my team and I. We’ve already faced plenty of challenges, but with the support of Ontario Creates, Hand Eye Society, and even YOU, we’re pushing through. I just wanted to take a moment to appreciate the support and to let you all know how grateful we are to have you on this journey with us!
September
This past month was a turning point for Retroronto, as we made big strides that bring us closer to the demo release. From adding a main menu and explorable interior locations, to almost finishing the core minigame and getting music produced, August’s progress laid the groundwork for what’s coming next. We’ll be working hard throughout September to wrap everything up and aim to release our first demo by the end of the month. We’ll be sure to reach out again in the coming weeks!
Thanks for reading our third devblog! We’re excited to share more soon, including a roadmap of Retroronto’s development at some point. If you want to stay in the loop, feel free to follow us on our socials or join our Discord. Maybe we’ll even get a newsletter up and running in the future—stay tuned!
Cheers,
- Sean Browning