We are proud to announce that Bunny Maze, our little prototype first playtested amongst our friends, is now officially in development! This game will be our first commercial release as a studio.
Our studio’s biggest goal this year is to publish our first commercial game, so we are beyond excited about this announcement. As a junior developer working alone at this time, I feel pressured to publish a game sooner rather than later. While most indie development studios spend at least two years (usually much more) developing a single game, I feel it's pertinent as someone new to the industry to experience the full production process first, before committing years of time to a single project. That being said, creating an experience that is engaging still takes top priority.
Initially, Bunny Maze was a game where the player had to find the exit within a maze-like structure. However, during testing, I began to experiment with an open-world format, and the result was remarkable. The game now features a large map that allows for exploration and discovery, with metroidvania-style mechanics to make the experience more engaging. This change has expanded the game's scope and given us new opportunities for gameplay mechanics.
As we continue to develop the game, our focus is on polishing the core mechanics. We want to make sure that the game is fun and satisfying for players. To achieve this, we're working on adding NPCs and encounters throughout the open world.
Our goal is to hold the second round of testing at the end of April, with about twenty people, double the number from the first round. With the feedback from this round of testing, we can polish the game further and create an excellent demo for the Steam page launch at the end of May. We also plan to submit the game to festivals this summer.
If you want to take part in the testing process, sign up for our newsletter to receive notifications. We will be organizing rounds of playtesting at the end of each month of development to get critical feedback.
If you'd like to keep up with our journey, follow Wild Lantern on our social media channels (linked below). Alternatively, you can sign up for our newsletter and stay informed, right in your inbox! 💛 (also linked below!)
The development process for Bunny Maze has been an exciting journey, and we have learned so much in just one month. We can't wait to see where this game takes us and to share it with the world. 🕊