- 43. Bringing the town to life - 3 October 2026
Hello everybody, It's time for another progress update, so let's get started. The overworld town and NPCs This has been the month's main focus and I'd call it almost finished. And by that I mean that the entire outside is now tiled and masked and walkable, the NPCs and various objects are added and you can enter all of the 20 (!) different buildings. And speaking of the NPCs: the game now contains over 30 (!) of them throughout. (More if you count the sparse sprite reuse for maids and triplets). I did manage to hold myself back at some point though, so there they are all stationary. But we did sneak in little animations here and there for added atmosphere. "Yes, yes. I'll be with you shortly"Normally you would already call this town in a rough alpha state, but I like to go a little further and intend to finish the following first, before I'm happy sharing backer builds. 1. Completing th…
- 42. Tough choices and more progress! - 9 September 2026
Hello everybody, Time for another update. There is a lot of good news to report with regard to the overworld town, the shops, ancient beings and a ton of new NPCs. But first I have to comment on the project's overall timeline and scope. The timeline and scope I'm sorry to say that development has been going slower than expected for a little while now, and there is a limit to how much further I can push myself to compensate for it. So I've made a few tough choices: - The release is delayed from Q1 2027 to 2027 in general. My apologies! - The French translations are dropped (at least for now - depending on the game's success) - No dungeons or other content is being cut (!) I apologise to my French-only-speaking backers in particular. Finding a good enough translator last year proved dreadful (and failed). Having looked again, it has only become harder with all the AI scammers out there. A…
- 41. Entering the Jungle dungeon! - 2 August 2026
Hello everybody, It's the start of a new month, so let's go over the latest progress. Starting with: the latest dungeon is now build and playable for alpha backers! The jungle dungeon A playable build has just now been shared with alpha backers and I eagerly await their feedback. This marks the 6th dungeon that is ready for alpha backers, so we are past half the planned areas.Expect a non-linear dungeon that will leave you stumped, if you just try to blaze through on autopilot. This place is also fully optional in-game, so I held back less in terms of navigational challenge and puzzle design. In fact, playtesters even got stuck a few times (so I might need to tone it down slightly for the mid-game), but also described it as their favourite dungeon so far because of that. I'm extra curious to get feedback, so I can take some lessons into the next dungeon designs. Three late-game dungeons…
- 40. Story intro progress - 5 July 2026
Hello everybody, I mentioned last time that these updates would shift more towards the start of the month, so here we are. Let's dive in. Intro sequence progress Kohari is going strong with 3 out 5 special intro scenes now fully drawn. Work on the 4th image will start a few weeks from now (after a small detour to create the last Jungle dungeon assets). I have been debating with myself whether or not to include all the results in these public updates, but they look SO good. Surely just one more couldn't hurt. And they make for such a nice teaser into the world lore.Latest result: The intro story is just 5 frames long, but it goes some places Jungle dungeon progress The next dungeon is nearly ready for private testing! There are just a few more loose ends left to wrap up. I had actually hoped I could get it done by today, but some extra last minute surprises ended up cropping up. Such is…
- 39. A small bonus update - 15 June 2026
Hello everybody, This is a short bonus update. The timing of the regular updates will shift more towards the start of the month and I did not want to leave anybody hanging for too long in the meantime. So here we are with a sneak peak of the upcoming dungeon: As you can see it is occupied by strange enemies called the Maskari. Do not be fooled by their looks or behaviour though. While at first you might think that these creatures are just shy, hiding their faces as they do, it is actually a sign of bravery. On the one hand they wear their masks to protect from frontal attacks, but more importantly is that it denotes their social standing. Each type is believed to channel the power of a different animal. And by mastering that animal's behaviour one can prove their warrior skill and move up on to the next class. Needless to say you do not want to take them lightly. I'll leave it there for…
- 38. Intro page reveal - 25 May 2026
Hello everybody,It's time for the latest monthly devblog:https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hornofbalance/horn-of-balance/posts/4698237The highlights:Work on dungeon #7 is underway and going wellThe first of the game's intro screenshots is finished. (As teased below)The bestiary is about 70% completed Greetings, Martijn
- 37. Entering the Mines of Azarion! - 27 April 2026
Hello everybody,It's time for the latest monthly devblog: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hornofbalance/horn-of-balance/posts/4664542The highlights:Yet another dungeon is completed for alpha backersWe are next working on the game's intro sequence Greetings, Martijn
- [April fools update] 36. PRAISE ME!! (And also news, I guess) - 1 April 2026
Happy April Fools!Time for the latest project progress blog:https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hornofbalance/horn-of-balance/posts/4582565 As written by Overlord Murray.Who is so very cool and awesome.And supremely powerful.And humble.And also very very mature!
- 35. Progress across the board - 10 February 2026
Hello everybody,It's time for the latest monthly devblog: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hornofbalance/horn-of-balance/posts/4605861The highlights:The next two dungeons are nearly completedEVEN more enemies were added, bringing the total up to 119 (!) different threats Greetings, Martijn
- 34. Soundtrack and The Mansion - 9 January 2026
Hello everybody,It's time for the latest monthly devblog: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hornofbalance/horn-of-balance/posts/4554988The highlights:Another dungeon has been made playable for the alpha backers.The enemy roster has expanded to well over 100 enemies, with more underway.There is more progress on the Mansion and Mines dungeons Greetings, Martijn
- 33. Soundtrack and The Mansion - 1 December 2025
Hello gamers, It's been another month, so time for another blog. Which you can read over here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hornofbalance/horn-of-balance/posts/4524679 I'm happy to report that we recently completed the game's core soundtrack and are coming very close to a fully playable 4th major dungeon (= the Heimgartner Mansion). And as a little teaser: yes, this mansion is also filled with lots of secrets, like a proper dungeon. Till next time, Martijn
- 32. Progress across the board - 30 October 2025
Hello gamers, There is more development news to share. Which you can read all about over here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hornofbalance/horn-of-balance/posts/4491121 As you can see, more solid progress is being made while working on the game's 4th major dungeon: the Heimgartner Mansion Till next time, Martijn
- 31. EVEN bigger enemy roster! - 23 September 2025
Hello gamers, There is more development news to share. Which you can read all about over here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hornofbalance/horn-of-balance/posts/4460690 Also, the desert palace dungeon is now in the alpha state! Development will be moving on to the next area shortly. Till next time, Martijn
- 30. Desert palace progress! - 17 August 2025
Hello gamers, This month the enemy roster has expanded even further. And another dungeon is nearing completion. Read all about these latest development over here in the monthly project news:https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hornofbalance/horn-of-balance/posts/4377768 Till next time, Martijn
- 29. Bigger enemy roster! - 16 July 2025
Hello gamers, Another month deserves another progress update. And this last month has seen some great progress on the enemy front. You can read the latest Kickstarter news update here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hornofbalance/horn-of-balance/posts/4377768Till next time, Martijn
- 28. Another dungeon completed - 17 June 2025
Hello gamers, Development of the full game has been going well, with the next dungeon now fully build. You can learn more about this dungeon and the project progress here, in the latest Kickstarter news update: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hornofbalance/horn-of-balance/posts/4377768Additionally, I am considering doing another small demo update in the near future, based on keen player comments after the last build. I love making this game the best that it can be. So feel free to add your own suggestions in the comments, if you want me to take them into consideration as well. Till next time, Martijn
- Small demo update (including map markers) - 8 June 2025
Hello gamers, Time for another small demo update! The game now contains the ability to add map markers! ------ Changes in demo 2.11 (compared to v2.10):Added the ability to add map markers!Expanded the screen optionsAdded option to throw objects down from the upper floorAdded a second set of preset PC controls (for lefties)Players start with more health (in the demo)The boomerang flies over small railings againDropped the shovel (from the demo)Decreased the demo file size significantlyFixed the options menu title alignmentFixed the jittering of some dialogue text while in full screen modeSwitched HUD leafs from green to blueStreamlined the dialogue for a few NPC'sExpanded the creditsMade a ton more progress on the underlying engine for the full game Happy gaming and till next time. Greetings, Martijn
- More progress, including map markers! - 5 May 2025
Hello gamers, The latest development update for MAY just got posted. And as the title implies, there is a demo update with map markers incoming. You can read the update here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hornofbalance/horn-of-balance/posts/4308641 Hope you like it! Greetings, Martijn
- 24. Greetings mortals! - 7 April 2025
Hello gamers, So I had a little bit of fun with the backers on April 1st. Making this latest project progress update a bit... different. (I actually intended to skip posting about it on here entirely, but it does contains some snippets of news and world building, so here we are). You can read the update here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hornofbalance/horn-of-balance/posts/4308639 Hope you like it! :) Greetings, Martijn
- 23. Lots of new pixel-art implemented - 2 March 2025
Hello gamers, That's right! It's once again time for a progress update! How time flies. The latest development update can be read here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hornofbalance/horn-of-balance/posts/4308639 Greetings, Martijn
