Hello, Explorer! 👋🏼

April is almost over, and I’m back with a new post about RAR Islands!

I’ll share what I’ve been working on over the past few months, and what my current focus is. Let’s dive in! 💪

Unpaid Leave⌗

YES, I finally got a break from my main job! I’ve been saving money for over a year to take a few months off and focus fully on developing my own games (just like I did a few years ago, between jobs, as some of you may remember!).

The unpaid leave started earlier this month, and since then, I’ve been working a lot on RAR Islands (more about that in the next sections).

Last week, I took a break and went on a sailing trip around Greece with some friends — a much-needed time to recharge my batteries.

And today, I’m back at the laptop, full speed! 🚀

RAR Islands⌗

I’ve now reached a solid pre-alpha version that I’ve shared with a few close friends to start gathering early feedback on the core gameplay loop.

I can’t wait to hear their thoughts while I continue working on it! 🙏

The game is still far from complete, but for the first time, it’s starting to feel like the kind of game I would love to play.

So far, my goal has been to create a playable “sandbox” — no main story yet, just free exploration.

Here’s what’s already possible:

  • Explore islands
  • Gather resources
  • Accept and complete Settlers’ Requests
  • Craft items, materials, tools, boots, backpacks, and more…
  • Upgrade certain Crafting Recipes with Gold to improve item durability
  • Accept and complete Chief Settler Requests to build a Village
  • Build buildings in the Village, such as:
    • Inn: Rest and instantly respawn all island content
    • Bar: Buy food to recover Energy
    • Cartographer: Buy Nautical Charts
    • Harbor: Repair and upgrade your Ship
    • Workshop: Buy new Crafting Recipes
    • (And more coming soon…)
  • Upgrade the Village to unlock more buildings
  • Sail to Islands up to Tier 5 (the highest tier)
  • Access The Atlas: a new feature to track what types of Gatherables are found on each island (think of it like an encyclopedia or a “pokedex” for the world and its resources!)
  • And much more…!

Let’s see some screenshots of the game:

RAR: Islands - Journey Screen
Journey Screen
RAR: Islands - Inventory Screen
Inventory Screen
RAR: Islands - Equipment
Equipment Screen
RAR: Islands - Skills Screen
Skills Screen
RAR: Islands - Craft Screen
Craft Screen
RAR: Islands - Island List
Island List Screen
RAR: Islands - Island List Info
Island List Info
RAR: Islands - Atlas Screen
Atlas Screen

There’s even more I would like to share share… but to avoid too many spoilers (and to save some exciting details for future posts), I’ll leave it here for now. 😄

While I wait for feedback on this first pre-alpha, I’ll keep pushing forward with the next features I have planned — can’t wait to show you more! 😬

Next Steps⌗

I’ve been reflecting a lot about RAR Islands, RAR III, and other ideas I have brewing, and thinking about how to make the most of these months of focused development.

Here’s the big picture:

Once RAR Islands is finished, I’m seriously considering building another spin-off game.

This spin-off would reuse much of the RAR Islands codebase, but focus primarily on combat — something RAR Islands doesn’t have (at least not on the conventional RAR I / RAR II way).

RAR Islands focuses on exploration, gathering, and crafting, while the older RAR games were heavier on combat.

With this plan, I would not only develop new mechanisms for combat but I would also deliver yet another new game before eventually building: RAR III, which would combine the best of both worlds! 🙂

BUT, I won’t reveal much more about that other game just yet — first, I want to see RAR Islands through! 🤓

Afterword⌗

If you made it all the way here — THANK YOU for reading!

I hope you enjoyed this little devlog, and stay tuned for more updates about RAR Islands “soon"™.

Until next time, Luis