For our beta release, we focused on refining Flickernaut’s core mechanics, adding quality of life improvements, and fixing a myriad of bugs throughout the game. With the scope of our game being completed in our previous build, we felt it was important to limit expansion and address the player feedback we received from our alpha release. This included lack of direction in our larger levels, specifically the final two. Colored torches can now be easily seen from any distance due their beacons scaling with distance from the player. The orb powerup that was previously used as an optional escape mechanism now also emits a bright light, allowing players to use it to temporarily map levels.

Many players also found our game, even in easy mode, to be too difficult. We have made additional changes to this mode, increasing both the number of orb uses available and reducing the speed of chasing enemies from those on our normal difficulty setting. Other quality of life changes include a more detailed shifting animation, click feedback on torches, improved light world movement, differing models for each enemy type, UI improvements, and a large rework of our final stage. A short final sequence was also added that we feel brings Flickernaut to a satisfying conclusion. Player statistics can then be viewed from the following victory screen.

For our upcoming gold release, we look forward to receiving additional feedback and tweaking our game accordingly. We are also hoping to include more lore and world-building through Flickernaut’s adventure, improve the aesthetic of the light dimension, and add additional abilities to the final enemy encountered in the game. Thank you for your continued support as we prepare for our final release.