BitSummit Let's Go!!, one of the biggest indie game events in Japan, was held in Kyoto from July 14 to July 16. Glaciered participated in the event too with a playable demo, so in this devlog we'll share what happened at the event!
We provided two ways to play the demo – on the PC, and on the Steam Deck. Our booth was pretty small, but we put up an eye-catching banner and played gameplay videos on our monitors, and thankfully it was enough to attract visitors to stop and look at the game! We were also really happy to hear some visitors say that they came to play Glaciered, or that they were interested in the game before the event.
The demo was a part of the tutorial, from the beginning of the Sea of Tranquility stage to a mid-stage boss fight. We wanted to let players get a feeling for the gameplay and the core action elements, as well as explore the seas of the future.
On days that were open to the general public, there were a lot of visitors who wanted to try the game, so there were times we had to restrict players to only playing for around 15 minutes. Partly because of this, only around 30% of players could clear the demo. We're sorry that many players couldn't play as much of the game as they wanted, but we hope that the demo helped players understand and experience the appeal of Glaciered for themselves!
We also got visited by reporters from several Japanese game media sites, such as 4Gamer, Game*Spark, Den Faminico Gamer, and Indie Freaks. They tried out the game and even did some developer interviews, so please check out their articles at the following links! (Articles are in Japanese)
・ We tried out the Underwater Soulslike Action Glaciered. Sharks are Super Strong 65 Million Years in the Future! (4Gamer)
https://www.4gamer.net/games/646/G064644/20230715018/
・You Can't Let Your Guard Down in the Futuristic Fight for Survival in Glaciered...! Demo Play Report & Developer Interview on One Guy's Deep Love for Science Fiction (Game*Spark)
https://www.gamespark.jp/article/2023/07/16/132098.html
・"Soar" Freely in the Frozen Seas in Glaciered, a Love Letter to Science Fiction. Explore a Future Earth, Home to Highly-Evolved Creatures (DenfaminicoGamer)
https://news.denfaminicogamer.jp/kikakuthetower/230714t
・Press Report on Glaciered, the Game where you Face Futuristic Underwater Threats (Indie Freaks)
https://www.indie-freaks.com/2023/07/bitsummit2023-glaciered/
What's more, our developer Kei Shibuya was featured on Day 2 (7/16) of "Always Live Together@Bitsummit 2023", the IGN Japan livestream that went on during the entirety of the event. You can see him here, starting from 30:50!
On a scale from 1 to 5, what would you rate the overall experience of the demo?
We also did a little online survey that anyone who tried out the game could fill in if they wanted to. We're glad to share that we got quite a lot of positive responses, and we were reassured that the developer's vision for the game lined up with players' expectations for it! We also received a lot of feedback about the gameplay, including the gamefeel of the tutorial, difficulty settings, and the visibility of resting spots (save points), which provided a lot of valuable insight that we'll put to good use in future development. A huge thank you to everyone who took the time to fill out the survey!
We don't know the next time Glaciered will be playable in a public event like this just yet, but we'll make sure to prepare an even better demo for next time, so please stay tuned!
While we're here, we'll also introduce a feature of the game that players could experience in the event demo.
In the past few months, the dev team has been focusing on the character progression system. It's a system that will make Glaciered's characteristic underwater action even more in-depth. Some people might call it an RPG-esque feature. Let's see what it looks like!
Glaciered has something of a gear system, which is the customization of your "Crystal Wings". The player character has wings that consist of the primary "Blade Quills" which are hard and tough to break, and the secondary "Shard Quills" which can detatch from the body easily. Blade Quills are used for melee attacks, while Shard Quills are used for ranged attacks. Over the course of your journey and through battles against powerful foes, you'll learn new types of Quills that you can use to strengthen yourself.
Changing your wings also changes the way you move around in combat. For example, Piercing Blade Quills specialize in thrusting and piercing attacks. They can deal high damage and give you a great boost forward, but you might have trouble landing hits on more agile enemies that will avoid your attacks.
Changing your Shard Quills will change your ranged attacks. For example, Splitting Shard Quills can split into a barrage of small crystal shards that shoot towards your target. (Kind of like a shotgun!) They have a shorter range than other quills, but they hit extremely hard once you're close enough to your target. If you enjoy getting right up in your opponent's face in a fight, these quills are for you.
Furthermore, if you hold the ranged attack button, your ranged attack will turn into a special attack.
For example, Splitting Shard Quills allow you to use the special attack Suspended Crystals, which first surrounds you with small crystals, then shoots all of them into the next enemy you land an attack on. You could pair this with your ranged attack to keep an enemy away, or combo it with melee attacks for even more attacking options.
You can change the Blade Quills and Shard Quills on both the left and right wings. You can attack instantly with either wing, so you can mix and match all sorts of Quills to find the perfect combination that fits your playstyle.
Quills also differ by rarity, and some of the rarest quills have unique abilities... Defeating strong foes that lurk in the seas and collecting rare quills is one of the ways players can really sink their teeth into this game.
There's more character progression in this game than just the quills, but we'll introduce them another time. Until then, please wishlist us and keep an eye out for updates! See you soon!