Hello and welcome to our Recap video for 2013!

In an attempt to prove that we totally did not waste all of last year's time,

we will list down 8 features that we implemented since the TechDemo++.

Be prepared for a lot of ingame footage!

Oh, and of course be aware that everything shown in this video might change in the final version.

Hopefully for the better!

Our first feature is an integral part of any RPG:

cut scenes and dialogues.

As you might remember, the TechDemo++ skipped right to the gameplay.

There were no characters and no scenario.

The only information that you got, was relevant for gameplay and shown in text boxes.

That's not a very common start for an RPG, now is it?

Our current version starts off with a cutscene,

introducing our protagonist Lea

as well as other characters.

As you might notice, Lea is not a very talk-active character.

However, she HAS a personality that we want to express.

Since text is not an option, we use "Facial Expressions" instead.

And not only for Lea but also for many other characters in the game.

Of course, for all players who don't feel like taking in walls of text,

we have the option to skip cut scenes.

Also, lots of dialogues are shown as side messages, that run in parallel to the gameplay.

Our second feature is also something that shouldn't be missing from any RPG:

NPCs.

Now, we didn't have any NPCs in the TechDemo++

but we still wanted to give the player some hints.

So how did we do it? Again: text boxes.

Whether you need it, or not.

In the current version you can talk to an NPC to get a hint

or if you're fine by yourself,

well, there is no reason to ask then.

Since the movements of our NPCs are based on a path finding algorithm,

they do pretty well at navigating the surroundings.

Plus, if the player or another NPC is in their way they will politely move around them.

We tested NPC movement in pretty crowded scenarios

aaand... it works pretty well.

It's quite like Assassin's Creed but it works well enough for us.

Third Feature! Well not sure of you can call it a feature, but we extended our plot and scenario.

So once we leave the underground by elevator, we see new places and meet new people.

For instance, Captain Jet, who is in charge of the whole place.

So it turns out that the whole beginning of the game is on board of a huge cargo ship with the name "M.S. Solar".

Also on board are a number of talkative NPCs.

Otherwise, this new area is still work in progress.

Our next feature is a rather big one: the menu system.

Our menu comes pretty close to what you would expect from an RPG.

You can look at your status, manage your equipment, learn new skills, and so on.

Currently already implemented is the equipment menu where you can put on items to prepare yourself for battle.

Changes in your parameters are displayed for each selected item immediately.

Now we have a number of combat related features, the first on being: Close Combat.

Close Combat adds some variation to all that ball throwing we had up to this point.

It is especially useful for combat in narrow space and can be combined with dashing.

Next up, we have a more defensive option for combat with guarding.

Guarding helps to reduce the damage and avoid the stun of many attacks.

However, it only works for the front so we have to make sure we look in the right direction when guarding.

This makes it pretty hard to guard when surrounded by enemies like here.

Another feature relevant for combat and also for puzzles are element modes.

Feature elements are "Cold", "Shock", "Heat" and "Wave".

You'll be able to change your element at any point in the game and your parameters and battle skills will adapt accordingly.

Changing the element during combat is essential to make use of your enemies weakness.

In addition they will be used to solve certain puzzles later on.

Up to this point we only have some nice combat effects for you to enjoy.

And the last feature for this video is: battle techs.

To do a battle tech during combat you first need to charge up.

You can do this, by holding the space bar or the right trigger on your gamepad.

What kind of battle tech you perform depends on what you do during charging and how long you charge.

For example: if you happen to aim during charging you will perform a very strong ball throwing move.

And if you charge without aiming you will perform a strong close combat attack.

For the future also plan to add more battle techs for guarding and dashing.

And these are all the features we have for you!

... or are they?

Now, actually, we do have two more pieces of news for you!

Firstly, you remember how CrossCode is played in the browser, being an HTML5 game and all?

Well, we recently found a way to publish CrossCode as a desktop app, running smoothly with almost no loading times!

Thanks to node-webkit we can easily port CrossCode for Windows, Mac and Linux!

And secondly: Since about a couple of month, Radical Fish Games has become an officially registered Wii U Developer.

And you propably guess where this is going:

It's CrossCode on the Wii U

* Cheap iPhone recorded video of Wii U footage played in awkward silence.

And this now finally concludes our Recap Video for 2013!

As you can see our focus in 2013 was clearly on new features.

For this year, we hope to finally get more content in the game.

You can look forward to new places, characters, enemies, and boss battles!

And if everything goes well, expect a new demo release as well as a crowdfunding event towards the end of 2014!

Until then, you can always follow only progress on our blog, facebook, twitter, yadda yadda.

Links are in the description.

And finally, thanks a lot for watching our video to the very end!