The Empire Strikes Back (Mostly at Itself)

There are two kinds of game developers. Those who carefully finish one project before starting another. And those who look at a perfectly respectable workload and think, What if we made everything three times more complicated? Welcome back to Risen Ancients. Since our last trip into the crypt, we've been battling Android devices, teaching dragons to fall apart, rebuilding our website and preparing to offer our first game to the mighty Google Play gods. The gods, naturally, require paperwork. Lots of paperwork.

The Serpent Approaches the Gates

Our beloved gothic troublemaker, Serpent's Path, has moved another step towards Android release. The game has survived thousands of automated checks, hundreds of interface observations and enough puzzle testing to make an actual snake consider a different career. Now we've reached the exciting part: Google Play. We've registered our developer account and started working through the requirements for getting the game into testing. There's still account verification and release preparation to finish, and the Android bundle needs its final production-ready treatment. The game itself continues to receive scrutiny normally reserved for suspicious medieval prisoners. Are the snakes too fat? Do cursed walls explain themselves? Does pressing Continue actually continue? You'd think that last one was self-explanatory. Apparently not. But we're closer to the point where other people can start breaking our game for us. Which game development calls progress.

Unthreaded: Dragons, Screws and Poor Life Choices

Meanwhile, Unthreaded has developed at an alarming pace. Our innocent little screw puzzle has grown into a 3D fantasy experience featuring colourful dragons, eagles and phoenixes. Because when someone says make a puzzle game about removing screws, the obvious next question is can we make a dragon fall apart? The campaign now contains 60 frozen levels, with automated validation and native Android testing behind it. Performance has been encouraging, with device tests generally hovering around 60 frames per second. But the most important recent development has been correcting the puzzle mechanics. Coloured screw boxes must have fixed, predetermined colours. They accept matching screws, fill three slots, then disappear to reveal the next box. They don't magically decide what colour they want to be after the first screw arrives. Apparently even imaginary dragons need rules. We're correcting that system before pushing further into production. There's still human testing and balancing ahead.

We Rebuilt the Library. Again.

Over on the website, we've been doing something entirely reasonable: redesigning the guide system while preparing more guides. Nothing could possibly go wrong. Our original approach worked with a handful of games. It became increasingly awkward as the collection expanded. So we've been moving towards dedicated CMS collections for individual games, a cleaner directory and more distinctive page designs. The idea is to make Risen Ancients feel like a proper gaming destination rather than an accountant's spreadsheet wearing a fantasy-themed hat. We've made substantial progress with the migration, including moving existing published guides into the redesigned structure. World of Warcraft: Forever has received particular attention, with new Compendium-style pages prepared for its launch period. Factorio, Raft, Alchemy Factory and Outworld Station have kept us busy with content checks, artwork, navigation and release preparation. And because the library wasn't already large enough, we've started building a collection for StarRupture. At this rate, the undead librarian is going to demand overtime.

The Website Continues Its Rebellion

Our website is slowly becoming the place we've wanted it to be. More professional. Easier to navigate. Better organised. Less likely to resemble an Excel document that escaped into the wild. We've also been working through search performance, indexing, analytics and privacy requirements. Some improvements are visible. Others involve staring at tracking tags and wondering why a piece of code believes consent is merely a polite suggestion. There are still things to correct, particularly around analytics consent and final visual consistency. But the overall direction is stronger. We're building a site intended to support a large collection of games and guides, rather than something that needs rebuilding every time we discover another survival game. Which, given our gaming habits, happens frequently.

The Media Crypt Has Plans

Risen Ancients Media is also due some attention. We've been exploring a better structure for creator and streamer pages, including clearer channel links and the possibility of embedded videos. The goal is to give our members and creators proper homes within the website rather than scattering their content around like loot after a particularly violent boss fight. We're also preparing promotional material for our games, including Unthreaded gameplay. The ambition is to connect our games, guides, streams and videos into one recognisable Risen Ancients identity. A gaming empire, if you will. Just with fewer employees and considerably more caffeine.

What's Next?

Serpent's Path needs to complete its Google Play testing and release requirements. Unthreaded needs its fixed-colour puzzle mechanics finalised, followed by further physical-device testing and balancing. Our guide library needs remaining visual and editorial corrections, while StarRupture and other planned collections continue through development. And the website needs to stop finding inventive new ways to annoy us. That last one may be optimistic. Still, we have a developer account, two increasingly mature mobile games, a growing guide library and a website that's finally starting to resemble the gaming platform we've been imagining. It's messy. It's ambitious. Occasionally it feels like building a castle while skeletons steal the bricks. But the empire is rising. Until next time, keep your swords sharp, your screws sorted, and never trust a website that claims everything is working perfectly.

The Risen Ancients Team

Support the Madness

Enjoy watching our little empire rise from the crypt? You can support our independent games, guides and media projects by buying us a coffee. Every contribution helps keep the candles burning and the developers sufficiently caffeinated.