Hello everyone, developers of Migration again.
This summer has been very busy for our game. Not long ago we launched our Kickstarter page (thank you to everyone who followed!) and the very first round of internal playtest just concluded in August with plenty of new features added. So let’s take a look at everything we’ve done over the past few months.
We think our previous map has reached its limit, and on top of that we are introducing a lot of new features (like the new tree designs from the last dev blog) while overhauling existing ones. That’s why instead of simply adding everything to the old map, we decided to build one from the ground up.
This is the Forest Valley, a bigger, more complex map featuring a wider range of terrain and more notable locations.
As you can see from the screenshots, new 3D models (both static props and moving creatures) have been added to the new map to give it a much fresher look, though the map is still a work-in-progress and we'll need a bit more time to complete.
We’ve added new flying creatures to boost the new map’s biodiversity. The eagle and the owl now roam the skies, their sharp eyes searching for easy targets.
These birds of prey have distinct day and night behaviors. While the Eagle prefers to hunt during the day, the owl is a nocturnal hunter that stalks the night. The crow will need to always be wary of its surroundings – predators might swoop in anytime!
We've added several systems to help the crow thrive in this new environment. The crow will pick up new perks based on its habits (i.e. how you play) for a better chance of survival. This perk system will monitor the player’s activity to unlock corresponding passive properties as the crow ages. In addition, the new Point of Interest System marks important locations for the crow to discover them all! (Also great for navigation on the bigger map.)
But survival also comes with hardships. A new Mimicry system is in place to drive certain hostile events, as nowhere is safe under the rules of nature. The crow’s hard-earned resources might get stolen, and aggressive wildlife can make the crow’s survival rather unpleasant, keeping the crow on its toes claws at all times.
We’ve also reworked the Sleep and Clean-Up systems. Originally it was a simple time-skip with the clock jumping to the wake-up time, though why would we take the easy way out when we can suffer through more coding?
So instead, the world enters a dynamic fast-forward state and continues to operate when the crow is busy picking out dirt from its feathers or drifting away in its sweet, sweet dreams. This also means that your sleep/cleaning can be interrupted by specific events, like hungry predators. Make sure to find a safe spot before dozing off!
Other than building up a new map, we’ve been teaching the crow all kinds of new tricks. Let’s start with a funny one:
How can you have a bird game without a way to drop some mischievous “bombs”? Pooping in Migration will be more than just a nasty surprise – it’s actually great for marking important locations.
Of course, you can still use it to annoy other creatures. Though beware, every bit of poop consumes “ammo” in your tummy, and doing it too often might drain the crow like diarrhea (because that’s exactly what it is).
We finally found time to add drowning animations to the game. Previously the crow didn’t really interact with the water other than drinking, but now the crow definitely want to stay away from the deep end of a pool.
Getting drowned won’t outright kill the crow, but it does get wet and will gain certain status effects. Be careful where you land because your crow definitely doesn’t enjoy being soaked!
The crow continues to improve its flight as it grows, so we added Agility as a corresponding new stat. By investing skill points on this stat either at the start of a run or when the crow matures, the crow can improve its flight speed and stamina recovery.
Crows come in all shapes and sizes in real life, and we think Migration should reflect that. So here’s a customization panel before starting a game. Players will be able to bring their favourite crows to life: carrion crow, hooded crow, albino crow… You name it.
That's all we have for this dev blog. We are now finishing up the new map and addressing all the issues identified during the playtest. And after that we'll continue to work on new features, including a friendship system so players can make friends with other crows!
Once we have more content ready, we want to open up a playtest starting from this October and then periodically. Follow our Kickstarter page to get notified when it goes live, join our Discord (which is becoming a massive murder at this point), and stay tuned on our socials (Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Bluesky) for updates and sneak peeks behind the curtain of Migration's making.