Returns, Reveals and Rebirth: My plans for Fading Light

Alright, folks, it's been a hot minute.

First off, let's just get it out there - nope, this isn't some elaborate April Fools' joke. Originally, I had grand plans to drop this bombshell on RT's birthday and have a good laugh about it, you know, keeping up with the tradition of a bit of birthday silliness. But as we all know, things are a tad different now.

So, let's dive right in, shall we?

What the heck is Infinity, you ask? Well, in a nutshell, Infinity is Fadings light swan song, my pièce de résistance, and it's packing three major changes that I'm itching to spill the beans on.

• 1: Infinity Mode: This here is the crown jewel of the update. Picture this - it's a level creator, think RWBY meets Mario Maker. Yep, you heard that right. You'll have the power to craft your very own tales in the RWBY universe, test 'em out, and share 'em with the world. The system's designed to be as straightforward and user-friendly as humanly possible. All you need is your favorite art program to whip up backgrounds and collisions for your dream level. Slap those images into the editor, toss in some enemies, spawn triggers, a sprinkle of extra decorations, pick out some tunes, set up a bit of level logic, and voila! You've got yourself a level. You can string these babies together to create your own epic campaign. But hold onto your hats, 'cause that's not all. You now have the power to create a whole new breed of level - a nifty little visual novel engine. As the song goes, "A story will be told." Simply whip up a text document with some easy-to-follow formatting rules, make characters appear, change backgrounds, cue up some music and sound effects, tell your little cutscene story, and hop onto the next level. Easy peasy, right?

• 2: The Weiss Level: Alright, buckle up, folks. Let's have a heart-to-heart. Why'd Fading Light vanish into the ether for so long, you ask? Well, it's a tale as old as time, really... I burned out. Fading Light was my passion project, a labor of love, but after a while, I hit a wall. It wasn't that I hated it or that it was broken. I just got sidetracked, as one does. I'm your classic hobbyist game designer, easily distracted by shiny new projects. I mean, I remade half of the original Resident Evil for Gameboy as a flex, dabbled in 3D animation, cooked up a comic, moved house, changed jobs... you get the picture. But let's talk about the Weiss level, shall we? It's done... sorta? Her entire level is polished to a shine, it's the longest one in the game, and truth be told, it might be a tad unbalanced. I'd recommend getting cozy with Fading Light before diving in - it's not Dark Souls hard, but it's no walk in the park either. It comes complete with new mechanics, cinematic flair, a mini-boss fight, the works. But here's the kicker - the Armored Gigas fight at the end? Yeah, I dont think it's happening. Long story short, things went south. The sprite commissioner I hired vanished into thin air halfway through, and nailing down the combat and boss fight itself? Let's just say it's been a bit of a rollercoaster. So here's the deal - while the Weiss level feels pretty darn complete as it is, I won't be conjuring up that final fight. If I made a promise to do so, I'd probably end up breaking it, and we'd be back to square one. But hey, here's a silver lining for you - I'm going open source.

• 3: Open Source: Now, this one's a doozy. As a creator, putting your baby out there for the world to tinker with is equal parts exhilarating and terrifying. I'll be tossing the Clickteam Fusion 2.5 project file into the ring alongside the next release. Anyone brave enough to peek behind the curtain, sift through my janky code, and wrap their head around how it all works can go wild. Just know that it ain't gonna be a walk in the park. Some things'll be a breeze - you could swap out character sprites, maybe toss in some Volume 4 outfits. Others? Well, let's just say you'll need to roll up your sleeves and dive deep into the code. And then there are those things that might just be better off as a project of their own - like adding a whole new player character. This will be a double edged sword, I wont be supporting this, you aren't going to find me writing complex instructions on how stuff works and you will be working on the Rosetta stone trying to decode some ancient forgotten language... errr... are you bad enough to save the presidents daughter?

Final thoughts, huh? Alright, here goes. So, when's this bad boy dropping, you ask? Well, funny you should mention that... as of right now, there's still a boatload of tidying up to do. Gotta make sure everything's squeaky clean, ya know? I'm aiming to have it all ship-shape and ready to roll by the start of SMMR of Ruby - the online fan convention. So, June it is. 

Oh god, its June, that's like a blink away.