I’ve been busy on the path towards a vertical slice because Null Band Games will be exhibiting the game at the Lake George Games Expo on Sunday, July 26, 2026, at the Fort William Henry Conference Center! I hope to have everything playable on both of my Steam Decks in time. This will be the first time I have ever exhibited as my own vendor, not on behalf of someone else or showing off a non-commercial project. I’m thinking about making buttons (I already have the materials) and ordering some stickers so folks can have something tangible.

I’ve implemented multiple mechanics, such as a repair device that requires support for multiple currencies (energy and scrap). Sounds trivial (can’t you just subtract one number from another), but in reality it required:

  • Updating the core class
  • Updating unit tests
  • Creating new signals
  • Listening to and reacting to said signals
  • Creating a new resource
  • Adding new visualizations

It all works now, so all that remains is the Yarn Spinner command to add a device from an encounter. I’ve got some additional feedback and mechanics that I’m working through:

  • Deck counters are confusing; I need to improve the visualization of what cards are where when they’re not in the hand.
  • Animations feel slow; they all work, but I don’t yet have control over the overall action. That will be helpful during testing.
  • Energy should be a finite resource; this was in my Game Design Document, but never implemented because, well, kind of laziness, and also because I focused more on the individual conflicts than the greater game. Now that the pieces are together, I need to add the meta layers and the secondary economy, which will, in turn, affect strategy.
  • Differentiate between named characters and internal dialogues; should there be a Disco Elysium / Inside Out named personality, or should there just be “Panic washes over you, but your response remains calm.”
  • Destroying multiple combatants at the same time misplaces the explosion; an edge case driven by race conditions.
  • Refactor out Controller Icons and use Steam controller icons instead; this locks me into Steam more than I had originally intended, but I want to maximize compatibility with the fewest moving parts.
  • If you quit in a Conflict, continuing should take you to the same Conflict; currently, the node you’re on is marked as complete just by starting it.

Non-feedback stuff I still need to do:

  • Game over loop (currently, it just restarts the conflict)
  • Stage boss battle (more enemies and different visualization)
  • State/demo complete (mostly just writing the script)
  • Memories (no visualization of what you know yet, encounters should be able to trigger them)
  • Blueprint persistence (if you obtain it, it carries over runs)

Null Band Games, LLC now exists, and I have the physical spam to prove it. No, I don’t want some laminated employee notice signs. I’ve done some other back office formalization tasks as well, the unglamorous grind of the business side of making games.

I’ve wrapped up a couple of outside commitments and will have more time for working on the game, and this summer is going to be incredibly exciting!