We've reached the end of our launch campaign! (Though we do have a bonus post coming on Monday... 👀). You can also look forward to a small patch & some other news in the near future, so don't forget to follow the game! We end with some final words from our creative director, Rachel Geng. To see the rest of our devlogs, check out our Steam page below:
Wow. I’m writing these final words before we press the big scary Release button on STARWEAVE and finally see our efforts presented to the world. I can only hope, as I usually do, that my work, our work, finds purchase in the hearts of our players the same way its earnest bid for the world gripped the team as we developed it.
We want STARWEAVE to be a story that touches hearts, that acts as a light in what is resigned to always feel like dark, cruel times. May our game convince you to create little revolutions of your own, to get out there and put action to compassion, to change the brutal systems that ordain our lives.
I hope our game changes something, however small, about the way you think about the world around you: the capacity you have to see our complicated and contradictory world from the eyes of another, to wholeheartedly understand the circumstances behind why we lob hatred and scorn towards those we find other, to hold a burning and impelled compassion for all that is broken and unfair about the cycles that control us, and to do something to end them.
Donate, protest, speak up, act, and strive for revolution. Workers’ rights, human rights, peace for the war-torn, equity for the disadvantaged, unapologetic social justice. In a world where shortsighted complacency is easy and safe, do the hard thing and truly consider what binds us to a life that could be better in as short as tomorrow. Refuse the status quo and strive for what broken Beacons could beget us, how much kinder the world might be if we forged a revolution with our compassion.
Rachel Geng (@koloquials) is a UI/UX and Game Systems Designer currently based in Seattle, WA working at Wizards of the Coast on Magic the Gathering: Arena. Previously, she worked on Teamfight Tactics and Marvel Snap, and studied at the NYU Game Center for her BFA and the USC Interactive Media & Games Division for her MFA, where STARWEAVE was developed as her thesis project. Beyond crafting mechanics and interfaces that compel life into the games she has the honor to work on, Rachel thrives in collaborative settings where she and her teammates can come together to create something greater than the sum of their individual skills.
More than anything, she believes in the power of stories and lived experiences—be they grand inspirations that alter the course of one’s life or humble lights in times of great darkness—and hopes her personal work can serve as those kinds of stories for her players. When not engaging in game development, Rachel enjoys all things related to sampling and collecting tea, exploring the world of ceramics and building up her own drinkware throwing skills, and taking afternoon walks to find all the most interesting nooks and crannies around the city.