Hey there, Reapers!
We're kicking off a devlog series where we'll share behind-the-scenes updates on Grim Trials! We hope you'll enjoy following along as we work on finishing the full game. To start, we'll be introducing the team behind Grim Trials, Glory Jam!
About Glory Jam
We're a small indie developer based in beautiful Indonesia. Though there are plenty of people in the team who have helped in bringing Avelin to (after)life, today we'll introduce the core team members who are currently working hard to deliver the Underworld to your doorstep:
- Dominikus (Damas) - Game Director/Designer
- Nadhif - Project Manager
- Isaac and Ivy - Writers
- Barli and Widhi - Tech Leads
- Azby, Erri, and Giri - Programmers
- Riva - Art Directors
- Inya, WB, Azka, and Vina - Art, Animation, and VFX Artists
- Rio - System Designer
- Danang - QA
- Raka - Marketing and Community
Before we were breaking our backs reaping souls, we released a couple of games on Steam called Hello Goodboy, What Comes After, and Rage in Peace! Do check them out; you might see someone familiar back there...👀
But beyond making games, we also love playing them too (I mean, duh!) For example, Glory Jam has a HUGE Monster Hunter fanatic who has sunk thousands of hours across the series, while others enjoy beating the snot out of gods instead in God of War. RPGs get a lot of love from us as well, with the likes of Persona, Path of Exile, and Baldur's Gate being mainstays at the office. In general, we love action and RPG games with engaging storylines, where one can make questionable meaningful choices!
Inspiration, Challenges, and What Changed
If you have played the demo (if you haven't, what are you doing reading this? Get in there!), you might've deduced some of our inspirations during your playthrough, specifically Cult of the Lamb, and its combination of dungeon crawling action and cult management. When it comes to roguelite action, we also loved Ember Knights and Curse of the Dead Gods for their satisfying combat and how varied each run would feel, and as you might have guessed by now, yes we do love Hades too!
For Grim Trials' build system and skill tree, ARPGs like Diablo and Path of Exile inspired us to make Avelin's customization a core aspect of our game, with a lot of focus on crafting specific equipment in order to take advantage of powerful synergies with the blessings you would get in a run. After all, where's the fun in a roguelite if you can't get a little overpowered?
And yes, of course the chuuni reaper girl embarking on a coming-of-age journey after her death has that shounen DNA in it. We love our hype moments and aura anime too!
Admittedly, making Grim Trials the game we envisioned hasn't been without its challenges. With so many elements we want to put in the final game, the biggest obstacle for the team was how to balance roguelite experimentation, RPG customization, and narrative elements so they form a coherent package instead of drowning each other out. We had to think about how deep we wanted customization to be and how varied each run would feel, alongside the persistent progression systems, narrative, and the complex balance of Avelin's standard power level within a luck-based system so as to give our players the best possible experience. We want Grim Trials to be something hardcore gamers would love, but at the same time still be accessible to mid-core and casual players as well.
We also needed to consider how to adapt all of those concerns into the main theme of the game, which is reaching purification at the end of the titular Grim Trials. The enemies and bosses we put in the game aren't random, after all, but are associated with Avelin's past! (not a spoiler, it's in the demo!)
Things changed over development as a result of this balancing act. Our first attempt at combat was a bit more strategic: Avelin could hide in bushes before ambushing enemies, and attacking enemies would deal bonus backstab damage. Enemies also had no visual cues for when they would attack, meaning players had to pay closer attention to them during battles. However, we soon realized the game would quickly grow beyond the scope of what our little team could achieve, and therefore pivoted instead towards traditional hack-and-slash action.
Another thing that changed drastically was crafting! In the beginning, all of the items you see in the game, including the materials, had to be crafted. There were different crafting tools and each of them had different minigames. This quickly proved to be more tedious and frustrating than it was fun, leading to a more streamlined experience for gearing up Avelin!
We also initially planned Grim Trials to be an equal blend of brutal action and RPG academy life, but after enough playtesting, it became obvious that we needed to focus more on improving the feel of its core combat or risk half the game becoming a chore. This resulted in a game with a bit more focus on arming Avelin to the teeth with new weapons, gear, and even special combos to spice up each run, but the academy is still filled with new people spirits to meet and stories that hopefully tug on your heartstrings!
What We're Proud of
We're especially proud of and thankful for our community, as Grim Trials wouldn't be here without you. Meeting our players and connecting with you during events are what boosted the game and Glory Jam to be where we are now, so thank you so much!
Grim Trials at various game events!
Secondly, Grim Trials is a VERY different experience from our past two titles, being a massive jump in both scope and complexity. We're so proud of the team for striving to surpass everything we've ever done, and we're still riding that high as we put the finishing touches on the game!
Last but not least, we want to express our gratitude to Neon Doctrine and Soft Source for believing in Grim Trials. Although Neon Doctrine has since merged into Raw Fury, their impact on our development journey was significant. They both took a chance on us, and their support remained invaluable in helping us create Avelin's journey.
We're so excited to eventually show you the release version of Grim Trials. We've seen your excitement during our community playtest, and we're especially looking forward to how you guys will experiment with your builds! We did our best to craft a rich, fun, and exciting adventure for our Reaper-to-be, and we can't wait to see what your reactions are to every step of your journey within the treacherous Trial Grounds.❤️
Play the updated demo NOW and don't forget to wishlist:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3622980/Grim_Trials_Demo/
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