Devlog#8 - Pieces falling into place

Welcome back, everyone! This week our team went all-in to fuse every element into a seamless whole. The core gameplay loop now feels silky-smooth, our artists have poured in fresh visuals and VFX, and we’ve layered in a rich soundscape that really brings each moment to life. Let’s jump in and explore everything that’s come together!

Art

Devlog – Art Update! 🎨✨

We’ve been busy on the art side and things are looking extra snazzy! First up, we gave our cel shader and outline shader a big ol’ revamp—crisper lines, smoother shading, and way more personality. 💫 After some back and forth, we decided to go no textures—just pure shapes, colors, and style. It’s all about that clean, illustrated look.

We also dropped in a bunch more models to help the outline shader pop with even more line art details. It’s all starting to feel like a playable sketchbook and we’re kinda obsessed. 😍 Spruced up the scene overall too—little touches here and there to make it feel more alive.

That’s all for now! Back to art-ing! 🎨🛠️🖌️

Full look at the  Juice Explosion  VFX + bonus sneakpeak for other VFX  created to be integrated next week  :)

FX_A_Juice_Explosion

FX_Smoke_Rings

FX_Bubbles

FX_Smoke_Clouds_Upwards

FX_Cover_Up_Clouds

FX_Smoke_Cloud_Damage_to_Props 

FX_Smoke_Cloud_Damage_to_Props_Wider

FX_Smoke_Ground_Circle

FX_Smoke_Ground_Circle_Slower_Dissipate

programming

◎ Dynamic bomb color & Timer position

We’ve introduced dynamic bomb coloring so that the bomb now changes hue based on which team’s zone it’s in. This makes it immediately obvious whether you need to clear the bomb or if you’re safely outside its radius. We’ve also moved the countdown timer to hover directly above the bomb. Since your eyes naturally track the bomb, this placement makes it crystal clear exactly when it’s about to detonate.

◎ Refining scaling & Textures

All in-game objects have been meticulously rescaled and tuned. Everything now fits together proportionally, so the world feels balanced and cohesive. (small little tweaks based on last week)
We also added new textures for the shell of the character and the banners in the game

◎ Sounds 

we have implmented sounds in the game:

- Lobby Theme: A new (and soon-to-evolve) theme song welcomes you as you wait.

- Weapon FX: Shooting and impact sounds add punch to each encounter (with more weapons being fully sfx’d soon).

- Bomb Countdown: A ticking timer builds tension as it nears zero.

- Pick-Up Cue: Snappy audio feedback when you grab a weapon.

- Dash Swoosh: A smooth, windy sound effect underscores every dash.

- Bombfruit Hits: “Juicy” impact sounds make smashing the bombfruit especially satisfying.

◎ Cartoony Weapon Animation Events

We've added some cartoony animations to our melee weapons having them scale up before impact to get an exaggerated and expressive look and a more satisfying feel.

◎ Victory Screen Art

With many new assets being finished this week it was also time to get some of it into the victory screen. We've got new podiums, nice backdrop of the arena, banners. There is much to be seen.

◎ New ground and a refined arena

We scrapped the colored ground pieces and went for a ground that fits our style much much better as well as having a much more detailed arena model now with way more surface protrusions and such to give it some nice detail in combination with the shader. To indicate the player zones we now use some simple white sports lines, they do the trick without being visually unappealing.

◎ Player RFX

We now have player footstep smoke clouds spawning using animation events when a foot hits the ground. We have a dash smoke particle effect. And we have a stunned particle effect with bubbles which follows the ragdoll when it flies away.

◎ Bomb Visual FX & Behavior Enhancements
We’ve amped up the bomb’s visuals and feedback: the explosion now feels more impactful with a fresh explosion effect, and we added an emission glow that intensifies as the timer ticks down. Plus, the bomb’s face now animates correctly, adding personality and tension as it approaches detonation.

◎ Camera & Environment Updates
We revamped the camera to give a smoother, more dynamic view of the action, improving both clarity and excitement. On top of that, we introduced randomly spawning bumpers (cactus obstacles) that appear in each player’s own area—adding variety and new strategic layers to every match.

◎ Lobby Art & Functional Restart
The lobby has gotten some love too! We’ve added new lobby art to make the waiting area feel more alive and connected to the game’s vibe. And we implemented a functional restart system—now, you can jump straight into another round without needing to reload or reset manually. Play again, and again, and again!