It’s officially 2026, a year we have incredibly high hopes for.
It feels a bit surreal to say that this is now the final year of development for Steps. But after adjusting our timeline last fall, it’s clear to us that this was the right call
A Short, but Productive Month
Due to the holiday, December has been a smaller month than usual, production-wise. But for the first time in a while, we’ve been able to focus almost exclusively on things that will be seen and felt in the demo, not just the underlying systems. And honestly, that has been incredibly motivating.
Throughout December, we finished many of the smaller, but crucial, pieces of player feedback. Animations, effects, and responsiveness for both player movement and abilities have been a major focus. Our little cube has finally started to feel alive. It no longer feels like a placeholder gliding around test levels, but like a character with intention and personality.
We’ve also made some important asset changes. The old “pusher”-block has evolved into the “Root”-block (now exclusive for the Rivergreen region), which shoots roots across nearby blocks in the direction the player is facing when moving onto it. This change alone feels like a massive improvement over what we showed at SpillExpo.
On top of that, each region now has its own unique Glueplant, complete with distinct animations. This helps tie the visual identity of each region more closely to its theme, and makes the end goal of each area feel more meaningful.
Questlines & a New Design Philosophy
In December, we have also started shaping the questline for Floríel, the NPC of the Rivergreen biome, the region which will be the primary focus of our demo. There’s still work to be done here, but we want the players to be able to interact with Floríel during the demo.
After SpillExpo, we have carefully reviewed all the feedback we received and built a new level-design philosophy. We’ve created a clear template that every level should follow going forward. Examples with checkpoints:
- Each checkpoint should lead to at least two new paths
- Checkpoints should be reusable in at least one new way once the player has progressed further in the level
- Abilities and footprints must always be placed on blocks with checkpoints
These might sound like small constraints, but together they’ve drastically changed how we design the levels. We’ve already started revisiting the levels we built for SpillExpo and changing them using this new philosophy. The results give more continuity and look very promising going forward.
A Visual Overhaul of the Menus
Up until now, all menus in Steps have been purely temporary. That’s been fine for development, but not for a demo. And since we don’t have a dedicated 2D artist on the team, this task has been quietly looming over us for a while.
In December, Mathias finally took on the challenge of creating a cohesive visual profile for all menus in the game. We’re genuinely happy with the direction it’s taken and Adrian has already begun implementing these designs in-engine, adding subtle animations to buttons and transitions to give the menus a more tactile, alive feel.
It’s one of those changes that doesn’t scream for attention, but makes everything feel more polished and intentional.
Big News from Østnorsk Filmsenter
As we’re nearing the end of Phase 2 at Østnorsk Filmsenter, we’ve naturally been thinking a lot about the transition to national funding through NFI.
To be honest, our hopes there had started to dip. Competing as a two-person team against large studios receiving millions of kroner is intimidating. And when you see which projects are prioritized nationally, it’s hard not to wish that one large grant could be split into opportunities for several smaller studios instead.
So you can imagine our surprise when we received what felt like a pre-Christmas miracle from Østnorsk Filmsenter.
Starting in 2026, Østnorsk Filmsenter is changing its funding structure. Previously, projects could apply for two rounds of 200 000 NOK. Going forward, projects can apply for up to 800 000 NOK total, with studios themselves deciding which phase they’re in.
This is a GAME CHANGER!
For us, it means we now have the opportunity to apply for two additional regional funding rounds (2 × 200,000 NOK), instead of being forced into national applications earlier than we’re ready for. Of course, expectations rise the further a project progresses and we are aware of the risk of not receiving more funding. But we now have more experience and structure of the application process, and a solid track record of delivering what we apply for.
This shift has given us renewed hope for the year ahead, and we are excited to enter it.
Until next time
January is going to be intense!
If everything goes according to plan, we’ll hit our demo deadline at Østnorsk Filmsenter by the end of the month. That said, our schedule is tight, with very little room for unexpected delays. We may have underestimated how long it would take to fully implement and polish player feedback, but we’re determined to deliver a demo we can be proud of.
If you’d like to test the demo, you can reach out to us at contact@glueplantgames.com.
We’ll also be making it available through our Discord server, where you’ll be able to give feedback and receive updated builds as development continues.
Thanks for reading, and thank you for stepping into 2026 with us.
This is the year where Steps will truly start to bloom!