I can't believe it's been a month already and I'm still in the catacombs. That's okay. I'm disappointed in myself, but some things can't be helped! I am juggling way too many projects at once and sometimes I get behind. Yet still, I consider it a win as long as I am doing something that furthers the game. And I am!

This month was dedicated to finishing the dungeon's quirks (the puzzles, the battle frequency, flavor text), balancing the random battles, and then getting the boss set up. The boss was a huge thorn in my side and took the longest. RPG Maker just is not as good with making mechanics in battles without me wanting to tear out my hair. I DID IT, though, and he's about ready to go off to my beta testers to see if he's actually working as intended.

Astra! Hiante! Get up! The fight's not over!

As you can tell, I had some fun testing him (if by fun you mean I wanted to throw RPG Maker out with the kitchen sink b/c making mechanics you respond to was way more difficult than it should have been). 

As you can also tell, the main boss is done by Low who also did a wonderful job on the party members. When I first began SSP, I did intend to do all the battlers myself, but when I set out to pixel the battlers, I just couldn't do anything I was happy with and given I am a perfectionist, chances are I would never be happy and I wanted them to look nice and they certainly do! I just have to be okay that I can't do everything in a project (heck, I already knew that because I don't have an ear for composing music at all). There's nothing wrong with that! I have a lot on my plate and seeking help is not a bad thing.

While my phantoms look different than Low's battlers, I think it's good enough. This is the only boss fight with flunkies anyway, so if needed, I can always adjust mine a bit more to fit the main boss. The good enough is also something I had to learn how to do. Nothing is ever going to be perfect. I am a single person who is trying to make a game. If I stop because something doesn't look exactly perfect, then it'll never get done. I think what I have done so far is good enough in so much as I am proud of what I've done, no matter if it's perfect or not, if that makes sense.

Anyway, before I blather on anymore, what's next on my plate is  the cutscenes after the boss, more NPC dialogue (oh fun!), and then it's off to the next dungeon! I'm excited for this one because that means I can redo Relenia's portrait finally and I can see if the mechanics I have for her actually work or if they simply break the game and make it too easy. We'll find out!