As we move into the final stretch before the Festival, the team made significant progress across design, art, programming, and polish. Much of the work this week focused on finalizing assets, improving visual and audio clarity, and preparing the overall experience for public presentation.
Design & Narrative
This week, the design team continued preparing Festival-facing content and narrative elements. Ticket designs were finalized as part of the merch package, and the initial drafts for the commentator scripts were completed. Rank board visuals also received an extra round of polish to ensure better readability and player feedback. Additional audio cues were added for phone interactions and award moments to enrich the overall feedback loop.
Next week, the team plans to implement the commentator system, develop the tutorial storyboard, and prepare a public server setup. With the Festival approaching, assembling all presentation-ready features will be the main focus. Potential challenges may arise from integrating the commentator system smoothly and ensuring the tutorial flow is intuitive.
Art & UI
On the art side, multiple visual components moved closer to finalization. The track texture was readjusted based on the CAVERN playtest, improving the overall feel of the environment. The project website was updated as well. The cutscene team completed coloring the entire cutscene, rewrote the voice-over script, and produced a new video cut with updated audio. The wing shader and the third character’s VFX were finalized too, marking major milestones in visual development.
Looking ahead, next week’s goals include finalizing the website, preparing printed materials for the Festival (such as ticket layouts), and polishing the last details of the cutscene. The VFX team will begin documenting all effects and start preparing slide decks for the presentation. Overall, the art team is feeling energized as Festival week approaches.
Programming & Technical
The programming team tackled multiple gameplay and optimization tasks. New gameplay footage was recorded using the updated environment, and work began on rendering the cheering-energy trail effect. However, technical hurdles arose: the Trail Renderer failed to display the effect properly, and the VFX Graph version resulted in excessive GPU draw calls.
Next week, the team will focus on finalizing the flame jet effect for the game ending and correcting audience seat positioning. While no major blockers are anticipated, performance optimization will remain something to monitor.
Team Member Progress
Across the entire team, individual contributions helped push the project toward its final form. From shaders and audio feedback to environment updates and Festival prep, Week 13 represented one of our most productive weeks yet. With the Festival just around the corner, the team is excited, motivated, and ready for final polish.