We’re rushing into this very short (for us) working gap between two holidays to tell you and show you that we’re not standing still. So what’s new today? Let’s hurry up and see!
Rad Moves
Our animation department never sleeps. Let us clarify: we're not holding anyone hostage in the basement—it's all strictly voluntary and out of love! The results of this fruitful work are not only new event animations, but also renewed Spine-animations of characters. This time it was a goblin’s turn. He’s armed with a whole arsenal of a real bomber. I wonder if he’s a distant relative of the bandit we’ve already met in the Heathlands? Their styles seem to be very much similar.
Updating Our Heroes’ Closet, Picking UI
We’re preparing an update for our heroes. It won’t be a simple update, but a very interesting one—we’ll tell you more about it later. Meanwhile, our artists temporarily turned into haute couture designers, simultaneously testing the best UI options for choosing heroes’ appearances. We’re eagerly sharing the very first sketches with you.
Still Life
When walking around the swamps, keep your ear to the ground and your ears peeled. You also better not touch anything. However, there are always some who won’t mind the boots on the unfortunate person below. Although he’s not that unfortunate, if you think about it—we’ve updated the event art and animated it. Yet another event is finished!
The Winds Of Change During the game, you can encounter side effects that cause changes in the hero's characteristics. Of course, that requires visual representation, otherwise this important moment can go overlooked in the heat of battle. Our animators have prepared a couple of rough drafts; we’re still choosing the most fitting one. What do you think? Which of the effects do you like better? Share your opinion in the comments; this is extremely important to us.
How About Some Chit-Chat?
Hey everyone, this is Andrew aka Innrey, the founder of RedBoon. I‘ve stopped by just to say a few words. Holidays are holidays, but work doesn't stop, and we have a lot to accomplish.
As part of preparing a major patch, our whole team had a mass stream and tested the update on a closed developer branch. Periodically, we organize such events to collectively assess the overall results of our work, identify issues, things that we like and things that stand out, and at the same time we catch bugs. One head is good, but a whole studio is much better. I must say, the stream was productive and useful. Right now, we're making the final tweaks and finalizing what's left to prepare. I really hope that we'll be able to bring you an update soon.
In last week’s diary, I mentioned crunches, and players expressed their opinions on that in our Discord server. Honestly, it's very heartwarming, friends, that you care and worry so much about us and our game. Your care actually gave us more energy :) In turn, I'll tell you that we'll try our best to get by without much overtime work, but I can't promise to avoid it completely. Time is an extremely valuable resource, and it has a way of slipping away unnoticed. And we have less and less of it.
I think next week will bring you more varied news. We wish everybody that has a holiday ahead a good rest and for those that don’t we wish you to have a great weekend!
See you in a week!
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KOTCL Developer Diaries: gifts and news, news and gifts
Knock, knock, travelers!
It’s Friday again and we’re opening our travelogue to diligently write a new entry in it. We’ll tell you everything now.
Giveaway Continues
This weak we’ve started a new giveaway of 10 Steam keys for Knock on the Coffin Lid! To participate in the giveaway follow the link and do at least one task.
Winners will be chosen randomly. You will find all the details on the giveaway page on May 6 2024.
Clothes Do Not Make A Pet
We've decided to add some variety to the lives of Vanadis’ pets by inventing some interesting gear (although one might wonder, how much more diverse could they get?). We're still on the lookout for the right style, but let's be clear: these are exclusive, and not every item can be adapted. It's more of an exception than the rule. There are some fine craftsmen out there in the expanse of Midian! And how cool do the pets look! Even a bit threatening; you definitely shouldn't underestimate them. But enemies won't understand that; they always seem to pick fights. But with this kind of weaponry, they won't stand a chance.
A Tree Or A Crown? A Tree Crown!
As a real tree can’t be without a crown, so can’t our tree of leveling-up. We’re currently drawing some icon options for successfully completed free runs. We’ve come to the conclusion that the one with snakes fits into the general concept the best. What do you think? Do you agree with us, or do you prefer other options? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Hot Stuff
The Fire Fanatic set finally has a full suite of effects and even a little animation for a full set icon. You’re no strangers to burning heads, but the other effects have got into this diary hot off the press.
The hero has two of the set items on. It’s getting hotter! But it’s no probleme for our hero as long as he’s got Burning.
Three items will give you immunity to Burning. That’s always nice!
Four items restore 10 health points for each Burning card in hand as well as discarding all Burning cards. Is that fair? Absolutely. Efficient? Very. Beautiful? You bet!
The inconceivable fashion ideal of the Firebrothers — the 5-item set — is truly beautiful. It protects our hero, and on receiving fatal damage it restores 1 health point and grants immunity for 2 turns. But there’s a catch…
And here’s the new animation for the set icon. It’s all about little things, right?
KOTCL Card Workshop Is Back In Action
In our last video-diary we told you about our plans on creating new cards for weapons, and even showed some of them. This week, our card workshop manufactured several new pieces of art. But we won’t reveal all our cards yet, we’ll keep the suspense going.
How About Some Chit-Chat?
Greetings from Andrew aka Innrey, the founder of RedBoon! April went by very quickly, but during that time we managed to share a lot with you and even released a video-diary. So I won't talk too much this time. I’d like to congratulate you on the upcoming spring holiday and also rant about it.
We have just a couple of months left until the release. And I haven’t misspoken. In my understanding, the game should be ready well in advance. I can “vaguely” imagine what a project might look like at the end if it's finished a day before release. So I wish to be confident in it and have some extra time to be able to fix everything.
So, we have only two months left, and soon we’ll be having holidays which will take up half of the month. Here's the dilemma—should we have a good rest and then tackle the touch-up work with fresh energy, or should we keep grinding? What do you think?
I really wanted the build with the new Vanadis, updated reward lists, and even better—with the quests — to be ready by May 1st. So that you could already get a feel for what we've accomplished, get your impressions together, and send us a new batch of requests. But it seems we won't be able to make it. Although...
Most likely, we’ll split into two teams. Some of us will rest now, while others will be working hard to finalize everything for the patch. And then we'll switch :) Yes, the next two weeks will go “in fits and starts” due to the holidays. This is surely a great time to take a short break after winter, relax, recharge… and play Knock :)
Summer is just around the corner, and summer is a very important period for all of us. There will be a lot of work to do on Knock: Prolog, not to mention the main game. I think that with the holiday approach I mentioned above, we’ll meet the deadlines. I believe in us. And I really hope that the holidays will be beneficial.
We’ll try to publish diaries, but I’ll be honest with you—they’ll be shorter than usual. Less work means fewer newsworthy things. I hope you'll forgive us for that.
That's it for now. We wish you all wonderful spring holidays! Have a good rest and quality time doing whatever activity you enjoy.
Don't forget to follow us on our social media and join our Discord server, we love talking to you!
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The giveaway continues! Win Knock on the Coffin Lid key
Greetings, adventurous travelers!
In honor of the announcement of free-to-play game Knock on the Coffin Lid: Prolog, we launch another giveaway of 10 keys of the main game Knock on the Coffin Lid!
To participate, you need to follow the link and complete at least one task.
Winners will be chosen randomly, all details you will find on the giveaway page on May 6, 2024.
We wish you good luck!
KOTCL Developer Diaries: showing and telling
Knock, knock, travelers!
Friday means not only the end of this work week but also a new entry in the developer diaries. Let's get started right away!
Hot Off The Press
Our latest video diary is out and waiting for you to watch it. You'll get updates on development and answers to the questions we carefully collected on social media. Show your appreciation with a like and a comment, and share the video with your friends—your support is crucially important to us.
The Beginning Of Beginnings
This week we’ve announced the free-to-play game Knock on the Coffin Lid: Prolog. Dive into the world of secrets and mysteries of Midian and try to save your home from evil and wicked forces with the dashing Persival. Check your gear and go boldly towards adventures!
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Creating Motion
We can't leave you without a bit of news from the animators’ room. The work is really heating up there as we edge closer to the release. So, what's new there?
The Worm Has Turned A representative of the steppe worms has received an updated set of Spine-animations and even a couple of brand new ones. If you need to catch one for any purpose, the splendid net below will be an excellent tool.
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Are You Really A Preacher? It's no secret that the Northern Gate has been subjected to the corrupting influence of demonic forces. Here and there, you might encounter demons of various kinds, yet some of them come to the locals themselves and lure them to their side. So here we are, accidentally finding ourselves at such a gathering. Should we interrupt this speech or let things take their course? The choice, as always, is yours.
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Bloodbath What’s better than collecting a set and starting to terrorize your enemies? A set with choice visual effects! For example, having 3 and 4 items from the Crimson Set will definitely impress you with new visual features. As for the enemies, they'll be in for a tough time. Well, such is their fate… But remember, a good weapon is only half the victory.
Full Power Enemies will beg you for mercy—that is, if they have time before you unleash your full strength and fury on them. This powerful attack will certainly not leave anyone unaffected. Side effects: instant death of the target.
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The Last Chapter
We move on to the most enjoyable part—the finale. We're talking not just about the decisive battle, but also about the credits. In previous diaries we’ve mentioned that we want to create a group portrait of the RedBoon team. We hope and believe that we’ll succeed! Everything will be showcased in this wonderful book.
Pet Friday!
The fluffy moral support is always with us. We’ll never miss the chance to share a bit of cuteness with you!
How About Some Chit-Chat? Hey everyone, Andrew aka Innrey is here again.
This week we announced a free version of our game— Knock on the Coffin Lid: Prolog. Let me tell you a bit more about it. In Prolog, we offer you the opportunity to have a look at the game without having to purchase it. We really wanted to do this so that players could actually try it out and see whether they like our game or not. I really like this decision because we received numerous questions about a demo version of our game. So now this will be possible at some point in the summer – in July, if all goes well.
In Prolog, you’ll play only as Persival right from the start. Of course, the story unfolds more with Bjorn and even more so with Vanadis, but we'll save that for the full version of KOTCL; we believe that our knight will suffice for an introduction.
Why are we going to release it in the summer instead of right now? It's simple. We need to carefully "cut out" and clean up everything to ensure that we leave no extra content that could break the game. Also, although I don't want to make any promises, if we keep up the pace, we might also add an updated free-run mode for Persival. I'd like players to be able to experience everything at once.
Vanadis was talked about in the video diary, which I recommend you to watch, by the way. Yes, we are in the final testing stages. I'd like to show you the new, finished, and beautiful version of her as soon as possible, but time is short. We’ll be having holidays soon, so it all might take a bit longer.
We've previously mentioned in our diaries that we’re working on simplifying the game. Specifically, simplifying it for multiple play-throughs. Of course, this is mostly required for DLC, but we still want to introduce the ability to skip battles. Let me share some plans: in the free-run mode we want to add some nice bonuses that will also affect the story mode. This all goes back to our discussion about difficulty levels. If a player can't tame the nightmare mode, then free runs might help them overcome some difficulties. Let's just say, we want to make the nightmare level less nightmarish if the player is an experienced free-runner :)
Speaking of difficulty levels—most likely the nightmare level won’t be available after completing the game for the first time. Of course, all of this will be implemented at the release when the entire story will be available. After all, the nightmare level is not for beginners, but for seasoned genre-enthusiasts.
Now I'd like to announce the voting results on the logo choice for the DLC “Nightmares of Millenis”. Your active participation made my day, everyone who participated did a great job and helped move us in the right direction, for which I give my many thanks. Option 3 won by a large margin, but its format is close to that of option 4.
Now we'll think further about how to finalize the logo. Thanks again to everyone for participating! Your help is greatly appreciated in our internal debates :)
That's all the news for this week. We wish everyone a great weekend; see you next Friday!
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Announcement of free-to-play game Knock on the Coffin Lid: Prolog
Now, before you become a real avid traveler, you can try your hand and uncover the mysteries of Midian and its inhabitants.
The very beginning of the story of Persival, a brave warrior, one of the three main characters of the main game Knock on the Coffin Lid, awaits you. After losing his lord and friend and losing his own life, he finds himself in a crypt in the company of a mysterious stranger. What has happened? Why is Persival alive? Who controls the North Gates? And who is the man who brought him back to life? Embark on a journey in search of answers, and perhaps you can save the lands of Midian from collapse and take the throne. But remember - every decision has consequences.
Knock on the Coffin Lid: Prolog will be released in July 2024.
Add Knock on the Coffin Lid and Knock on the Coffin Lid: Prolog to your Wishlist so you don't miss the release and many gifts!
KOTCL Developer Diaries: Flying Steady
Knock, knock, travelers!
We're glad to welcome you aboard our interstellar developers' spacecraft. We’ll go on a brief journey around the Friday news, so make yourselves comfortable, buckle up, and in 3, 2, 1...liftoff!
Leave Your Mark
We'll start with news from Vanadis. After teaching the archer and her pets some new tricks, we made sure to create explanatory icons which players will see among other Vanadis’ talents. With their help, you can learn more about summoning a certain pet and the effect it will produce when it appears on the battlefield.
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By the way, the UI ranks have gotten reinforcements! We report: some “new recruits”, we mean new icons, will now appear in the enemies' intentions. A raised flag over an enemy's head clearly indicates their readiness to surrender, while the second intention clearly doesn't bode well. Be careful, and don't say we didn't warn you!
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Animation Turbulence
Right on course, there's a small cluster of animations. Hold on tight!
The game events continue to gradually come to life. Now, the stern thresher-orc will pose for you until you've seen enough of him, or you come to some sensible agreement with him. And once again, we’re warning you—be careful, you know what the inhabitants of the Crimson Steppes are capable of.
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It's best not to venture into the Rotten Bog without necessity; the place is named that for a reason. If you're lucky enough to avoid the cultists, zombies, and other evil things, the bog itself might intervene in your journey. This elven druid got swamped in search of a particularly important sacred site. Should you help him? The choice is yours.
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Bjorn got a few more effects from the legendary cards. The Scarring buff finally got a visual representation. We think it really suits Bjorn and his alter ego. What do you think?
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"If an enemy proves too tough, I can always retreat," - that's what some of our heroes' adversaries think at a critical moment in battle. For instance, the potion seller decided to demonstrate a master class on how to quickly and effectively escape what seemed like certain demise. Everything went well, except he lost his hat in his haste. He'll probably come back for it... someday.
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Speaking and Showing
This week we were shooting a new episode of our video diary. In it we shared some news, answered your questions and talked about our plans for the future and, of course, about KOTCL. Oh, and we talked about balance, too—it’s unavoidable, especially when there's someone to talk about it with. Overall, it was great! The video will be out soon, but for now, here's a sneak peek backstage :)
How About Some Chit-Chat?
Hi, this is Andrew aka Innrey, the founder of Redboon. This week was very intense, although it didn’t bring much news.
After unsuccessful pitches to various publications about the release announcement, we're not giving up and are actively promoting our game. We're thinking and coming up with ideas and ways of realizing them. In this context, I find myself reminiscing more and more about the very beginning of our studio and our game: what it was like back then, who was on my tiny team, where we started from, how everything was created. Also, working on the studio logo’s animation reminded me of its creation. I'll share some variations of the logo with you.
Look how great it is! The Cthulhu one is especially good :) I won't give myself over to nostalgia right now, but I promise to tell you more soon. Those who are interested in learning about us—stay tuned for news.
As for other work fronts, there's much to be done, with four months to the release. There are various problems and difficulties, but I’m confident that we will overcome them. We've invested so many years and effort, and other resources into this project that simply must overcome everything.
I hope that you will see our new activities quite soon, as soon as we finish working on the new content that we've been hinting at in our diaries and beyond, that is. So follow us on our social media and go to our Discord; we interact with the players a lot, and we often organise nice key giveaways.
See you next Friday!
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Choosing a logo for the DLC 'Nightmares of Millenis'
Greetings, Seekers!
We are continuing to design the personal page for the DLC ‘Nightmares of Millenis’. Recently, with your help, we chose the best vertical banner, and we loved it. Now it's time for the logo.
Help us to choose the best logo that conveys the atmosphere and doesn't deviate from the overall game style. We have prepared several options and would love to hear your opinion.
Share with us which logo you like best. Waiting for you in the comments!
KOTCL developer diaries: on animations, game runs, and balance
Knock, knock, travelers!
This week passed seemingly without notice, and the Friday coming up has brought with itself another diary entry. So what have we been working on all this time?
More Keys!
We'd like to remind you about our giveaway of 10 keys in celebration of the release of our new trailer (for those who haven't seen it yet, be sure to check it out here). Participation is very easy – just follow the link to our X, press the like and repost buttons, and don't forget to subscribe! In two weeks, on April 16, we'll announce the results. Good luck!
Committed to Work
We continue adding visual cues for various cases. For example, take a look at these guys—their heads are so ablaze! To achieve such a look and avoid fire damage, all you need is to find 2 items from the Fire Fanatic Set and presto, you're truly combustible!
Hocus Pocus!
What card game is complete without tricks? No cheating, just sleight of hand! But unlike professional tricksters, we use the magic of animation. Sometimes card costs may change during the game, so we had to deal with the task of creating a clear and noticeable effect so that players would definitely pay attention to it. After trying out several options, we finally found a successful one. What do you think? We're waiting for your comments.
In addition to the visual updates, we’ve added new effects for attack cards. For example, the "Full Force" attack will be truly merciless now, while the "Guard Lunge" will not only deal damage but also cause bleeding. Poor dwarf, he has to bear it all!
Our animators’ efficient and effective hands are now working on the heroes’ effects. Here’s Persival trying out animations for the "Agile Guard" and "Reinforcement".
The Taste of Freedom
What's new in the free runs? We've made some adjustments to this system and revamped it a bit. Now, the hero can start a free run with any class, and then later they'll encounter intricate and complex adventures with different classes, rewards, and other goodies. We've also worked on the visual aspect and created some beauty. But these things are all for the days to come; and soon you'll be able to see new interesting notes.
How About Some Chit-Chat?
Hi everyone, this is Andrew aka Innrey, the founder of Redboon. The day of release is approaching and the challenges are increasing in number. This is not news to me; no one expected this to be easy, simple, or carefree. A multitude of tasks and problems fill all our time and sometimes push life outside of work to the back burner. Of course, all this variety makes life rich and quite vivid, but there's a nuance. We talk a lot—and will continue to talk—about balance in games. But there's another type of balance that can disrupt a lot, if not everything. I'm talking about the balance between work and personal life. When I first started the studio, I was passionate about creating the game (and I still am), and we worked hard on it with great enthusiasm. As the game developed and new content was added, along with changes in the team, it became clear that it would be tough without moderating work processes. It's important to remember that game development isn't just a profession; it's associated with hobbies and passions. Also, it's essential not to forget that life outside the studio also matters. Therefore, it's important to learn to separate work from personal life, find time for relaxation, for yourself, for family and friends. Of course, establishing clear boundaries will help; moreover, we try to do exactly that, and I don't approve of overworking. But unfortunately, remote work outside the office makes this task more difficult and blurs the line that lets you say, "Well, it's already 6 PM, time to go home." And sometimes it's not easy to adhere to this distinction; life in the gaming community doesn't operate on a strict schedule. I won't talk here about obvious truths like the importance of rest, lifestyle, and so on; everyone knows that well. It's also well known that people are not robots, and accumulated fatigue can smoothly transition into burnout. Do you remember how I wrote a warning to aspiring developers? In it, I also mentioned burnout in the context of taking on large projects. In general, burnout is an insidious enemy and can creep upon anyone, even the most energetic and productive person. I also believe that it's very important to interact with your team, communicate with them, understand them, and know what's going on inside. Periodically, we gather as a team for non-work meetings and just talk, discuss new games and movies, share plans, impressions, and spend time together. I think this helps us feel like a cohesive team and boosts motivation. And motivation is what we’re going to need in copious amounts because there's still a lot of work ahead, and no one has canceled pre-release crunches. So we’re getting ready both mentally and physically. Some other things that boost our motivation are good reviews, support, and positive communication with players. Therefore, my friends, don't forget about our social networks, and to subscribe to them, write comments, or join our Discord—we are always waiting for you and happy to see you. I guess that's all I wanted to say today. Don’t forget about balance, as our team tries not to, pay attention to your physical and emotional well-being. And remember that taking self-care isn't selfishness; it's care about your future and the future of your projects.
Enjoy yourselves out there! See you next Friday!
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New pre-release trailer for Knock on the Coffin Lid!
Knock, knock, friends,
We've got a spring present for you - a new Knock on the Coffin Lid trailer.
What do you think about it? Share your impressions in comments and don't forget to support us with your ‘Like’. We are waiting for harsh and merciless critics on our Discord server. Drop by to discuss the new trailer and more with the team.
And in honor of the trailer release we decided to hold one more drawing of KOTCL keys on X (formerly Twitter). To participate follow the link, like, repost and in 2 weeks we'll pick the winners at random.
Last week's winners are announced on the Gleam page, congratulations!
The emails with the keys have already been sent to the email you provided when you entered the giveaway.
Add Knock on the Coffin Lid to your Wishlist so you don't miss out on the release and more giveaways!
HAPPY EASTER!
Happy Easter! May the spirit of love and joy fill your heart on this special day. We hope that your Easter celebrations are filled with happiness, warmth, and happiness with your loved ones.
