May 19th, 9:00 AM. Chris's bedroom, now permanently transformed into "NebulaNauts HQ," was a whirlwind of activity. Whiteboards overflowed with ideas, sketches adorned every surface, and the air crackled with a mixture of excitement and…a touch of melancholy?
"Alright, team," Chris announced, his voice a blend of enthusiasm and a hint of something else. "Update 1.3. The Mega Update. We're going to make this the biggest, best, most explosive update yet. And then…" He paused, taking a deep breath. "…then we're going to take a break from The Nebula Gauntlet."
Max and Tyrone looked up, surprised.
"A break?" Max asked, a flicker of concern in his eyes. "But…the game is doing so well. The community is growing…"
"I know, I know," Chris said, reassuringly. "It's not that we're abandoning it. We'll still support it, fix bugs, maybe even add small updates here and there. But…we need to try something new. We need to stretch our creative muscles. We need to…scare ourselves."
Tyrone, who had been sketching a particularly menacing-looking alien boss, suddenly looked intrigued. "Scare ourselves? What do you mean?"
Chris grinned, a mischievous glint in his eye. "I mean…we're going to make a horror game."
Silence. Then, a slow, dawning smile spread across Max's face. "A horror game? Seriously? From shoot 'em ups to…jump scares?"
Tyrone, ever the artist, was already sketching…something. Something dark, and twisted, and definitely not a spaceship. "I like it. I can already see the…atmosphere. The shadows. The…creepy things lurking in the darkness."
They spent the morning brainstorming. They discussed their favorite horror games, the elements that made them scary, and the types of stories they wanted to tell. They decided on a first-person perspective, a focus on atmosphere and suspense, and a limited-resource mechanic to increase the tension.
But first…The Nebula Gauntlet's Mega Update. They wanted to leave their first game in a truly spectacular state, a gift to their loyal community.
They outlined a plan, a massive undertaking that would push their skills to the limit:
Project Nebula - Update 1.3: The Omega Expansion (May 19th - June 9th, 2025)
May 19th - May 21st: Planning & Design.
Finalize all new content and features.
Create a detail design for the new contents.
May 22nd - May 28th: Core Development.
New level ("The Void") – a vast, dark, and disorienting environment.
New enemy type ("The Lurker") – a stealthy, fast enemy that attacks from the shadows.
New boss ("The Void Guardian") – a multi-stage, terrifying encounter.
New power-up ("EMP Blast") – disables enemies temporarily.
May 29th - June 2th: Polish & Refinement.
Visual effects, sound design, balance tweaks.
Extensive bug fixing
June 3rd : Announce to every platform about upcoming Mega update.
Create a trailer and screenshot for the update.
Announce it to Discord,Patreon and Youtube.
June 4th - June 8th: Testing & Balancing.
Extensive playtesting on all platforms and difficulty settings.
June 9th: Release Update 1.3 (Itch.io, PC, & Mobile!).
"It's…ambitious," Max said, surveying the plan. "But we can do it. We've come this far."
Tyrone, already immersed in sketches of shadowy creatures and terrifying landscapes, nodded. "It's going to be epic."
Chris grinned, his eyes filled with a mixture of excitement and determination. "This is our swan song for The Nebula Gauntlet…for now. Let's make it unforgettable."
And then? Then, they would step into the darkness, and face a whole new world of creative challenges. They were ready to trade lasers for flashlights, explosions for whispers, and spaceships for…something much, much scarier. The future of NebulaNauts was about to take a very interesting turn.