I recently shared an update on Scratch discussing my plans for 2025. It's not entirely about this game, so if you don't want to read the whole thing, I've copied the relevant stuff below.

Here are some questions I expect people might have about the prototype:

What took so long?

(For context, I previously estimated that I'd finish the prototype in 2022. I didn't start it until September 2023. I then estimated I'd finish it in 2023. That didn't happen.)

1. Programming is hard! The Godot engine is so much more complicated than what I'm used to using, and the game is more complicated than what I'm used to making. It's hard not to procrastinate when faced with a bug I don't know how to fix, or a feature I don't know how to implement.

2. Perfectionism. I'm not usually much of a perfectionist when it comes to my projects, but this one is different. It's the manifestation of my lifelong desire to make something really cool. Progress was rarely linear, because I kept going back and reworking things I had already made... And I often didn't know how to proceed, because none of my ideas felt good enough.

Finally, the main reason...

3. The beginning of a project is always the hardest. When I first set out to make a 10-minute prototype, I didn't quite realize I was signing up for the deceptively gargantuan task of laying the foundation for the entire game. I had to implement the core systems while I was still in the process of figuring everything out, all before I've had the chance to settle into a comfortable workflow or define a clear scope... As development went on, it became more of a full demo than a prototype. Also like, tutorials man, they take forever to get right.

The good news is, most of that foundation is now laid. Most of what's left is building content on top of it, which should be easier, especially as I acquaint myself with the way everything is programmed. The Cycloneclops enemy at the end only took a couple days to make! And just look at my last game, Draw: The Sequel... The demo was such a huge endeavor that it ended up delayed by a month, but as I got more comfortable with development, I was able to release the full game a month early. Basically, I feel like things will go a lot smoother from now on.

What's with the title?

If you've been following this project since the Scratch days, you may remember it as "Bob and the Quest of the Multiverse". I always felt like that title was okay, maybe even good, but not great. It's a bit of a mouthful to have "and the" and "of the" in the same title, and I came up with it in 2020 when "multiverse" was a little less of a tired trope. I asked my mom about it and she didn't like the name Bob either (no offense to people named Bob).

The multiverse was never really a huge part of the game... Each chapter was set in its own universe, but why did it have to be universes? Couldn't they just as easily be planets? And the more I thought about it, the more I realized that space could cleverly tie into some narrative elements that I won't spoil here. This title was officially decided in December, but I decided to wait until the prototype to reveal it.

Speaking of things that changed... I previously mentioned that the game would have 8 chapters, but I've since settled on more of a "quality over quantity" approach. Fewer chapters, but longer and more varied and elaborate ones, so about the same amount of content overall.

How much is done?

I've planned out the story pretty extensively, I've done a bunch of concept art and song drafts... But in terms of finalized content, the prototype didn't give me time to do anything else beyond 5 character sprites, 3 songs, and 3 playable rooms with dialogue and unfinished art.

Here's a couple of the characters you'll be encountering in Chapter 1. That's pretty much all I have to show right now.

If you want a progress percentage... Again, by setting up the character movement, battle system, dialogue system, UI, and various other systems and mechanics, I pretty much laid the foundation for the entire game. That counts for quite a lot. Maybe 10%? But as far as actual content goes... 3%, being generous. This game will take a while. I feel like I'll probably get it done within the 2020s, but even if it somehow takes longer, you should know that I'm foolishly persistent. I don't give up on things easily, especially a project I'm this excited about. (If you thought the prototype was cool... just you wait.)

What's going on now?

When I realized that the original Scratch trailer's 5-year anniversary was approaching, I rushed to finish the prototype by then, and now I feel like I need a little break. There are games I've been meaning to play, comics I've been meaning to write... I got a lot of feedback from the prototype, which I really appreciate, so I'll also be taking some time to go through that and think of ways to fix bugs and address criticisms.

What's next?

I don't expect to be on break for much longer than a month, so once I'm satisfied with how I addressed the feedback, the next order of business is to implement a save system and debug tools to make testing faster. There was also some story content I left out of the prototype section (I wanted to focus on the gameplay first), so I'll be finishing that up and adding it in. The pause menu isn't final either — I'll be giving it a complete overhaul at some point, including settings for volume, keybinding, and other accessibility stuff. I'm not sure when I'll do that.

Hopefully by around May, I'll be diving off the plank headfirst into the creation of Chapter 1! Barring any sudden miracles, I won't get it done this year... but, barring any equally sudden catastrophes, I'll definitely finish it in 2026. I'll keep sharing demos and devlogs over that time so you can see how things are progressing. I'm hoping to make this devlog a monthly thing, so stay tuned!