Welcome to our first real DevLog post after announcing the game title. We'd like to take this opportunity to introduce our gameplay concept and introduce our team. 

NimbleBeasts is a group of online friends who share two passions: gaming and game development. Every year, we participate in several Game Jams, from which our first commercial game emerged, among others. 

During a game night, Crimi had the idea that we could create a 2D survival shooter. After some brief brainstorming sessions and a few drinks, the gameplay mechanics became clear: building like in Rust, farming, and cooking like in Valheim, all from the perspective of Kingdoms - Two Crowns. On the same night, Mago created a mock-up. The idea was born. And shortly thereafter, we had a first prototype. It still had free placeholder graphics, but after a few weeks and several changes to the color palette, we had a version that was not only enjoyable in terms of gameplay but also looked good and had a touch of uniqueness. 

But what exactly sets the game apart? 

"Ruins to Fortress" is an open-world survival game where you fight for survival in a post-apocalyptic world. You start the game with nothing and must gather resources like wood, stone, and metal to craft tools, weapons, and shelters. Not only do you have to contend with the environment, which threatens you with hunger and thirst, but also with other players who share the same goal. 

The gameplay elements can essentially consist of the following elements:

• Resource Gathering: Scour the island for valuable resources, from wood and stone to metal ores.
• Cultivation: Cultivate crops for food and other resources. 
•  Crafting: Craft tools and weapons in order to survive. 
•  Base Building: Construct your fortress from the ground up. 
•  PvP Interactions and Fights: Engage in thrilling player-versus-player combat. 
• Persistent World: Experience a living, breathing world that evolves over the server's lifetime.

We are currently working on some final mechanics that we want to showcase in our first trailer. This will be the last missing puzzle piece for our Steam page. That's it for the first installment on the topic of game design. In the next post, we will provide some insights into the technology. Have a great weekend and feel free to follow our Twitter channel if you'd like.