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Journal

Notes from a growing world.

Chapters posted while Manga Craft is being made — every one links to the original post on X (@mangacraftgame).

27 chapters shown

  1. 31
    Development

    The camera prints pages

    Every Photo Mode shot comes back inked and halftoned, with the Volume and day strip — no HUD, unedited.

    Read on X (opens in a new tab)

  2. 30
    World design

    Nobody planted these

    The land’s weather picks the arc and the arc grows its own trees. Pine trunks run 11 to 17 blocks tall.

    Read on X (opens in a new tab)

  3. 29
    World design

    Four forests, one seed

    Pine, sakura, ink and oak — four forests from one Story Code, not one block placed, the farthest two 40,797 blocks apart.

    Read on X (opens in a new tab)

  4. 27
    Behind the scenes

    47 things to buy and not one of them is progress

    The shelf, counted: 47 products, three stores that must agree, and three refusals — money buys time not things, Zenii is earned never sold, story pages are found never purchased.

    Read on X (opens in a new tab)

  5. 26
    Behind the scenes

    We wait a week before planting your tree

    Blocks, seed and world change arrive at once. The real-world part of the pack waits seven days, is checked again, and only then goes ahead.

    Read on X (opens in a new tab)

  6. 25
    Development

    The purchases worked — that was the bug

    An empty store key on Android sent every purchase to the test store, and every one came back successful. Found and fixed the same day.

    Read on X (opens in a new tab)

  7. 21
    Development

    Where the boost stops

    A placed Sealed Suit’s reach used to be invisible. Now eight dashed ink spokes and a ring on the ground follow the terrain and stop at walls.

    Read on X (opens in a new tab)

  8. 20
    Development

    The boss that bought the shop

    One boss paid 5,772 Zenii against a 1,075 stall — a single fight bought the whole shop five times over. Bosses now pay in a straight line.

    Read on X (opens in a new tab)

  9. 19
    World design

    The Sealed Suit sites

    Nineteen places from one table — five forms, five edges, five ornaments, no two alike. A first pass, and they need to be far bigger.

    Read on X (opens in a new tab)

  10. 18
    World design

    The dungeons

    One line of three to eight rooms became a loop: fifty rooms, 250 blocks across, three floors, the boss behind the long way round.

    Read on X (opens in a new tab)

  11. 17
    World design

    The spawn city

    188 buildings, 38 streets, three gates and 738 blocks across — the top tier of the village generator.

    Read on X (opens in a new tab)

  12. 16
    World design

    The arcs are settled

    Nineteen arcs, four sub-biomes each, a weather layer on top, and around 4,000 blocks apiece.

    Read on X (opens in a new tab)

  13. 15
    World design

    The falling leaves

    Every fleck in the air had been a weather petal. Now seven species shed their own leaves, and 56 became 149.

    Read on X (opens in a new tab)

  14. 14
    Creatures

    The creatures

    42 species, counted part by part. None of them has a face, and half of them still need work.

    Read on X (opens in a new tab)

  15. 13
    World design

    The dungeon

    76 blocks underground, and the first interior shown.

    Read on X (opens in a new tab)

  16. NOTE
    Development

    The camera bug

    Before and after: the renders that showed what the camera had been doing wrong.

    Read on X (opens in a new tab)

  17. NOTE
    Behind the scenes

    “Volume” or “World”?

    The first open question to everyone following along: what should a saved place be called?

    Read on X (opens in a new tab)

  18. 10
    World design

    The ninth biome

    Underwater, 41 blocks down.

    Read on X (opens in a new tab)

  19. 9
    World design

    Biomes 7–8: Gag and Mecha

    The last two of the eight, and a ninth teased.

    Read on X (opens in a new tab)

  20. 8
    World design

    Biomes 5–6: Horror and Battle

    Two more of the eight biomes.

    Read on X (opens in a new tab)

  21. 7
    World design

    Biomes 3–4: Adventure and Samurai

    Two more of the eight biomes.

    Read on X (opens in a new tab)

  22. 6
    World design

    Biomes 1–2: Slice of Life and Romance

    The first two of the eight biomes.

    Read on X (opens in a new tab)

  23. 5
    Creatures

    The yard on a wet morning

    Cows and chickens in the yard, in the rain.

    Read on X (opens in a new tab)

  24. 4
    Development

    I rebuilt the water three times

    Two Photo Mode renders and the story of getting the water right.

    Read on X (opens in a new tab)

  25. NOTE
    Development

    By the numbers

    143 files, 42,567 lines, and a single image file.

    Read on X (opens in a new tab)

  26. 2
    Development

    Every texture was upside down

    Four block sheets, every one of them flipped.

    Read on X (opens in a new tab)

  27. 1
    Behind the scenes

    First light over the yard

    Where it started: the first look at Manga Craft.

    Read on X (opens in a new tab)