The team is in a massive final sprint, and although we have pushed the beta release back by three days to ensure maximum stability, the pace of development remains unbroken. From now on, all workflows will be merged directly into the develop branch to accelerate integration and ensure continuous testing. Our goal is a stably playable build that already includes all necessary NPCs, the Mysterious Man screen, and a functioning Ascension meter to track progression. We are limiting the beta phase to the fifth Ascension level, after which a dedicated “To be continued” screen will conclude the current content.
Mr. Zero has finished the intro screens and the screen exit handler, ensuring navigation continuity between the different modules. Mr. Three implemented a general character sprite table generator function for registration and successfully completed the RLE encoding of the Mysterious Man background for memory-efficient storage. The programming and placement of co-worker sprites have been completed for the walking_to_office, office, and walking_to_home locations, although the correction of color and pixel errors is still in progress. Characters such as Norman, Sumphore, the HR girl, the developer boy and girl, the guru developer, the Oraculum, as well as Trinity, Neo, the Architect, and the PM have been placed, complemented by the office operator, the developers, the pizza vendor, and the guard.
In addition to fine-tuning the game logic, visual feedback for the Ascension meter has been added to the system thanks to Mr. Two's work. Mr. One is currently working on the Markov generator required for the DDR minigame to provide a procedural-based rhythm game. The graphical elements of the Mysterious Man and the associated window management have also been integrated into the build, supporting narrative depth. Project visibility has also leveled up, as our official YouTube channel has launched, where we are already planning to create a joint introductory video. To facilitate more efficient collaboration, discussions have also begun regarding the possibility of renting a shared Hackercave.
In the coming days, Mr. One will insert the first music track and finalize the DDR generator integration. Mr. Zero is developing a dedicated debug mode to keep developer menus hidden from testers, as well as improving the rendering of the success message frame. Mr. Three's task will be to finalize the color palette according to PICO-8 specifications, draw the black silhouettes for the characters, and implement various day-change screens, such as the Golden Gate Bridge. Meanwhile, Mr. Two is putting the finishing touches on the remaining Ascension levels to ensure the build fully meets the acceptance criteria.