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The Merit Academy
Aerial view of the campus covered in snow on a clear winter day.

Roadmap

What is being built, and in what order

Ten milestones between here and a finished game. This page says where each one stands today, and is updated as that changes.

There are no dates and no percentages here on purpose. “In the current build” means a feature exists in the private development build. It does not mean it is finished or publicly playable.

  1. Status: Under review

    Academy Foundations

    The core of the game: a school calendar, a day you move through, saving and loading, and the basic loop of lessons and free time.

    In the current build

    • School calendar across multiple years and terms
    • A daily structure of lessons and free time
    • Automatic saving with backups and manual save slots

    Still to come

    • Validation on real devices
    • Pacing review from outside playtesters
  2. Status: In progress

    World and Campus Exploration

    The campus as a place: a map to move around and buildings that open into their own scenes, each with hours and activities.

    In the current build

    • Campus map with pan and zoom
    • Classroom, library, dormitory room, shop and café interiors
    • Opening hours for venues

    Still to come

    • More campus destinations
    • More shops and places to eat
    • Additional leisure activities
  3. Status: In progress

    Character Simulation

    Students and teachers with schedules, destinations and routines of their own, so the academy carries on whether or not the player is involved.

    In the current build

    • Characters shown travelling the campus between real commitments
    • Characters inside buildings are kept off the outdoor map
    • Weather, seasons and time-of-day moods

    Still to come

    • Individual routines driven by interests and obligations
    • Teacher schedules
    • Scaling to the full student body
  4. Status: In progress

    Academic Systems

    Lessons you take part in, exams that count, and the studying and tutoring that happen between them.

    In the current build

    • Interactive lessons with notes, examples and questions
    • Practice papers and graded examinations
    • A study notebook that keeps past mistakes
    • Tutoring other students

    Still to come

    • More subjects and material
    • Academic consequences that carry across terms
  5. Status: In progress

    Social Systems

    Characters with personalities and goals, conversations that move relationships a little at a time, and a reputation that follows you.

    In the current build

    • Branching conversations
    • Contacts, messages and appointments through an in-game phone

    Still to come

    • Deeper trust, friendship and rivalry
    • Reputation across the academy
    • Cooperation and agreements between students
  6. Status: Planned

    Missions and Narrative

    The story of the academy years: authored scenes, missions with more than one solution, and events that react to what the player has done.

    Still to come

    • The academy's original cast, names and lore
    • Story missions and social conflicts
    • Events that unfold independently of the player
    • Branching outcomes
  7. Status: Planned

    Gameplay Integration

    Making the systems depend on each other, so that academics, relationships, time and the living world add up to one game rather than several.

    Still to come

    • Cross-system consequences
    • Balance across a full academy year
    • Onboarding for new players
  8. Status: Planned

    World Polish and Performance

    Art, interface, audio and frame rate brought up to the standard the concept deserves.

    Still to come

    • Final art and interface pass
    • Audio
    • Performance and memory on target hardware
    • Accessibility review
  9. Status: Planned

    Playtesting

    Putting the game in front of people who did not build it, and changing it based on what they do.

    Still to come

    • Closed test builds
    • Pacing and difficulty feedback
    • Fixes from tester reports
  10. Status: Planned

    Public Release Preparation

    Everything between a finished game and a released one. No date has been set.

    Still to come

    • Platform decisions
    • Store pages
    • Release announcement

Support development

Help build The Merit Academy

The game is being made independently, without a studio or a publisher. Community support is what lets development continue at the pace an idea this size needs.