[p]I owe you this, especially those of you who have shown interest in [b]Blood & Chaos[/b] for a long time now. I've been quite bad at keeping you posted on how development is going. So here is one of my resolutions for 2026: write the very first Steam post![/p][p][/p][h2]The Genesis[/h2][p]Blood & Chaos is the game I've been dreaming of making for decades, ever since I was a teenager and finished playing Ultima IV. You'll probably notice that inspiration throughout Blood & Chaos.[/p][p align="start"]After many false starts over the years, I finally took the plunge a couple of years ago and fully committed to developing it. And oh man… I had no idea what I was stepping into! 😂[/p][p][/p][h2]The Concept[/h2][p align="start"][b]Blood & Chaos[/b] is a dark, 2D pixel-art RPG roguelike inspired by classic RPGs and roguelikes from the 80s.[/p][p]It combines fast dungeon runs with a longer, story-driven campaign, built with the goal of recreating the feeling of classic heroic fantasy and old-school D&D-style adventures.[/p][p][/p][h2]What Has Been Achieved So Far[/h2][p align="start"][b]Year one[/b] was entirely focused on the dungeon-crawling core: prototyping, lots of sweat (and some blood… and chaos 😉), and trying to find the right approach for a party-based, turn-based RPG roguelike.[/p][p align="start"][b]Year two[/b] was about wrapping up the first solid version of dungeon crawling. This included playtests, which led to redesigning several concepts and mechanics. It was also the moment when development started moving out of the dungeon and into the light of day: overworld and cities, amongst other things.[/p][p][/p][h2]What to Expect in 2026[/h2][p align="start"]2026 should (hopefully) be the year.[/p][p]The year of the [b]first playable demo on Steam[/b] (first half of 2026).[/p][p]The year of the [b]full release[/b] (towards the end of 2026).[/p][p][/p][p]I know I've half-announced milestones like these before, and you’d be right not to fully trust them. Game development is hard (harder than one imagines) and [b]Blood & Chaos will only be released when it’s good and fun[/b]. Not before.[/p][p][/p][h2]One Last Thing...[/h2][p align="start"]Some of you asked for it, so I've now set up a [b]Discord server[/b] for [b]Blood & Chaos[/b]:[/p][p align="start"][url="https://discord.gg/deNpHv6y"]👉 Blood & Chaos Discord Server[/url][/p][p align="start"][/p][p align="start"]That said, don't expect me to be too active there, for now at least. Discord isn't something I’m very used to manage, and I prefer to spend most of my time actually developing the game.[/p][p align="start"]Of course, I'll read what's posted, answer questions, and jump into discussions whenever there are things to talk about![/p][p][/p][p]Happy New Year 2026 to all of you, and thank you for your patience and support![/p]