KOTCL Developer Diaries: Game Porting, Skins, and Battle Log

**Knock, knock, travelers! ** The week is almost over, which means Midian newscast is on again. This week we have been decorating the crypt with lights, putting ornaments on an ancient fir tree in the Frontier forests, and preparing gifts for you! Also, we ditched our mice and keyboards for… joysticks! We’ve made huge progress in porting our game to Xbox, PS, Steam Deck, and other platforms.

The game is growing and growing! The Star Spirits inspired us to wrap up the arcs of your favorite characters so that all guns are fired, all seeds sprout, and all stories weave into a single narrative.

We’ve also decided to learn a new craft and have taken up book printing! Can you already smell the ink, feel the rough pages, and feel the leather binding? That’s us working on a new in-game book. We’ll show it to you next week!

And we’re preparing a little Christmas surprise for you! You’ll find out more about it in the next dev diary :)

Bjorn Recommends — A Moonlit Dinner From The Chef Of The Rotten Bog

Have you started preparing for the Christmas feast? Our forester is also setting up a festive table! Soon, you’ll be able to visit his cabin and enjoy the finest delicacies of Midian.

But be extremely careful... Many who shared bread with the forester later found themselves on his platter. Will you dare to have dinner in his cabin?

Debuff Bingo?

While traveling through the Rotten Bog, you feel the chilling fog seeping into your very bones—the White Seal debuff is slowing your movements. Approaching the Northern Gate, you notice strange enchantments—it seems the mad court mage has cast Excess on you, doubling all negative effects.

These new debuffs will shake up the usual gameplay, adding challenges and mini-games. But the main issue is which debuff suits you today?

Our developers picked The Red Lying Man for themselves. What matches your particular vibe at the end of the week?

Alright Then, Keep Your Secrets… With The Battle log, Secrets Won’t Stay Hidden For Long!

A mirror of your power, the battle log, is almost finished. Remember how you survived Millenis’ deathly blow at the battle of the Northern Gate? Or that time when worms in the Crimson Steppes almost devoured you alive? Now, all those **memorable combat moments can be replayed **and relived with your fellow travelers over a tankard of ale in the tavern.

And perhaps most importantly—you’ll always know what killed you, so there’ll be fewer deaths!

Remember Dickens’ Ghosts?

Well, now you too can become a ghost and hear Bjorn’s swan song!

Thank you for your ideas on ghostly skins in the last diary! We’ve tried to take your feedback into account and prepared the almost final “ghost” designs.

Now, if Bjorn eats one too many ghostly mushrooms, his body will shudder and his spirit will literally separate from his flesh. So you’ll soon get to feel yourself like a ghost from A Christmas Carol, or perhaps from Macbeth!

Eerie glimmers of light, the whispers of departed souls, and a chilling atmosphere. What is it like to fight alongside the dead? Try it, if you dare!

How About Some Chit-Chat?

Hello, friends! This is Andrew aka Innrey, the founder of RedBoon. I’m happy to chat with you again and share some fresh news. It’s suddenly the end of the year—only a few days left, just two weeks! How’s your December going? Are you wrapping things up or still waiting for one final push?

First off, a huge thank you for your warm feedback on our roadmap. We were nervous preparing to share it and never expected it would be received so positively. You discussed and critiqued it, and shared ideas—and all of that deeply inspires us to keep moving forward.

We were especially glad to see the attention given to UI improvements, including font scaling. The work is in full swing: every little piece of the interface, every hand-drawn illustration is being scrutinized. It’s not just about slapping on “a bigger font” but ensuring everything looks stylish, cohesive, and intuitive across the many devices the game is being ported to. We’ve already stocked up on joysticks and are testing. Soon it will be time for Xbox and other platforms! For now, it’s all internal, but we hope you’re preparing your gamepads—the future is near.

Speaking of the future: recently, a negative review about the Steam Deck popped up. A quick reminder: there’s no official version yet. While the game does run, controller support hasn’t been adapted, so it’s all at your own risk. We’re taking that review into account, of course, but our main focus remains on a full-fledged console adaptation.

At the same time, we’re fine-tuning the characters’ health balance—their fates hang by a thread! We want the math to be precise and the experience to feel fair. Everything will be clear and precise.

You’ve also asked what comes after the roadmap. We’re planning to dive headfirst into developing a new game (while not abandoning Knock!). We’ll definitely be looking to you for ideas and advice.

With each update, you help us get better. And now, as the year draws to a close, we’re reflecting, making conclusions, and planning for the next one. What stood out to you this year? In any case, thank you for staying with us and sharing your thoughts. See you in the next diary, friends!

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