Hey guys, back again with another devlog quickfire! The team has been hard at work getting the showcase build ready for the CohhCarnage stream on August 6th! If you didn't know now you know. This week we've got 000 highlights to show you guys so lets jump right in!

First up is our Unity programmer Diego and his implementation of building repair! In particular I'm highlighting the artstyle he chose. It's so looney tunes. I LOVE IT! Lets take a look at how its evolved so far.

He kinda nailed it....get it? AND in only two iterations. I expect this to evolve further and I'll be sure to highlight it when it's truly finalized.&nbsp;Below is an example of how it would look on an actual building.&nbsp;

Next up is our sound designer Renato yet again. Last week we talked about his clever implementation of an emitter on a long object. BUT today we're gonna appreciate his actual sound design and a glimpse into how he's using those sounds to make the town feel alive and immersive. So far he's created sounds for the Chef, Jeweler, Carpenter, and Archeologist. Let's take a listen on how they'll sound in game.&nbsp;Note: This is not final sound. There is still tweaks to be made in terms of attenuation, reverb, and volume&nbsp;

Last up today is work from one of our Pixel Artists, Camilo! He's usually in charge of combining the concept art and concept animation from the team and turning it into..well pixels. Today however he was tasked with creating one of the many building you'll be able to place around your creative area! He created this handy gif showing the order the parts were completed in. There will be animation added to it later, such as the lanterns and vines blowing in the wind.

First up, We've got Diego one of our programmers flexing his creativity with the help of Camilo in the form of smoke and wood assets. The actual animation of the smoke coming in and out and implementation into the game was all done by Diego! Lets take a look at some of the versions he's come up with!

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Devlog Quickfire 2!

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Devlog

I got to spend some time with Laura Medina this week — she’s the Technical Artist at CygnusCross and one of those people who quietly make things work without asking for a lot of attention. I asked her how she builds the towns in the game, and it turns out it’s one of those tasks that sounds simple but is actually 47 little steps held together by checklists, pivot points, and patience.

The process starts with Camilo (the team’s main artist) sending over a reference image of a town he’s designed in Aseprite. This isn’t a file full of organized layers. It’s more like a digital postcard of a place that doesn’t exist yet.

Every tree, tile, fence, house gets its own little piece on an atlas. Atlases are just big sheets made up of smaller image parts — like sticker sheets but for games. She exports them in grayscale (which is apparently part of a color-swapping workflow they’re using in Unity — so they can apply palettes later without needing a million versions of the same tile).

From there it’s into Unity. This is where I started to realize tech art is just system design hiding inside an art pipeline. She slices up the atlas, assigns each piece to a prefab, and then wires it up with all the logic it needs — collision, lighting, sorting layers, interaction triggers, destruction systems (if it explodes, she’s the one who made it explode properly). Every object needs a pivot point so the character can walk behind or in front of it correctly — otherwise it all breaks.

Then she starts building the town. She lays it out by hand, side-by-side with Camilo’s mockup, kind of like doing a pixel-perfect jigsaw puzzle but with collision boxes and layer orders. She’s also built a custom layout in Unity to track what’s been used and what hasn’t — which sounds incredibly useful and also like something she probably made out of survival instinct.

She tests it all in play mode — walking the player around to make sure you can pass behind a tree but not walk through a fence. And then something breaks. Maybe Camilo forgot a roof. Or the art got adjusted. Or the prefab’s destruction behavior changed. Which means she has to go back to Aseprite, fix it, re-export, re-import, reconfigure.

“It’s not that it’s hard,” she said. “It just takes forever.”

There’s something weirdly satisfying about watching the process. It's slow and exact and requires this perfect blend of visual thinking and logic. And it’s the kind of work you don’t notice unless it’s done wrong.

At the end of it all, the result is a finished 2D town you can walk through, with all the little pieces behaving like they should. That feeling you get while exploring — where everything feels intuitive and whole — is because someone like Laura spent hours making sure the pivot point on a fence post was set correctly.

Anyway, that’s how a tech artist builds a town from scratch. I left the call thinking, “Wow, that’s a lot of work for a tree.” And then I realized: that’s the point. Every tree is doing a little more than it looks like.<br>Thanks for reading.

Turning A PNG into a Living World

Explore the Emberville development log for exclusive updates, design insights, and technical progress. Stay connected with our journey—from concept art to gameplay features and release milestones.

Development Log | Emberville Game Updates & Behind-the-Scenes Progress

In&nbsp;Vitrumotus, a world where death is just a delay and pain stretches on like a second skin, one name echoes through the dark: Khaldor. He isn’t just a boss—he’s the echo of a broken soul, forged into steel, and wrapped in mystery.

Originally, he was meant to be the final boss of the first biome—big, heavy, and wielding a two-handed weapon. He even had pets at one point. Not summons—actual pets. But that version didn’t last. Like most things in development, it shifted. The pets were cut. The design tightened. Khaldor emerged from the concept fog as a massive, armored figure. Brutal. Still. And entirely alone.

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If you want to see Khaldor in all his fully animated, soul-possessed, steel-crushing glory—you’ll have to face him yourself. We’ve shown you the process, the pieces, the pain that built him. Now it’s your turn to step into Vitrumotus and meet the monster the team forged. Ready to play?

Everyone touched Khaldor. Animation, lore, gameplay, design—each team member brought something different. That’s probably why he feels more than just intimidating. He feels&nbsp;alive. He’s Emberville’s Frankenstein, stitched together from creative fragments, disagreements, and breakthroughs.

In the end, what started as a loose set of ideas became something real. Not just because of code or art—but because of trust. Because of collaboration. Pixel by pixel, frame by frame, conversation by conversation. Khaldor isn’t just a boss you fight. He’s a symbol of what the team built together.

And that, maybe more than anything, is the real story.

While the visual side was coming to life, Ivan was thinking in terms of game feel and combat rhythm. He worked closely with Gabriel and Kevin to make sure Khaldor’s movements matched his menace. They didn’t just think about attacks—they thought about emotion: fear, tension, surprise.

And sometimes, inspiration came from life. The dash? Borrowed from ducks chasing a pigeon in the park. The ground slam? That was a dog leaping and landing hard. Turns out, boss mechanics are everywhere if you’re paying attention.

Camilo (Our Pixel Artist) &nbsp;started from almost nothing—just vague ideas and early visual stabs. At one point, they were trying to figure out how to give a legless design... well, legs. He mocked up various boots, moved bits around until something clicked, and built from there. Slowly, the static form became something that looked like it could walk, maybe even fight.

Then came Alex. With Steven’s early animation sketches and Camilo’s pixel concepts in hand, he pushed forward—layer by layer. Shoulder, head, axe. Idle animations came together quickly, but the more complex sequences, like attack combos, took days. Every piece moved independently, but once combined with effects and polish, Khaldor didn’t just move—he&nbsp;loomed. You could feel the weight.

First Look at the First Boss

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Tired and confused, you awake engulfed in darkness, in a prison that seems to have no end. Your memories are clouded, but your desire for freedom allows you to endure.

But you are not alone. Accompanied by a strange, luminous entity that calls itself your Memento, you carve your way out through might and magic, eager to meet the light of the sun.

Yet, as despair slowly consumes your spirit, a ray of hope shines forward. Imprisoned like countless others, the denizens of a once thriving town, now ravaged by vicious forces, await your aid.

As you rescue them from various, terrible fates, they will lend their skills and help you rebuild their homes. You will learn their trades, secrets, and dreams, assisting them in their many quests, and perhaps, in time, become a legend in the annals of their land: Emberville.