This week was another big week for us as it was both when our alpha demo was due and it was when we were showing off our game at CURSCA. Originally, we had no plans to show off our game outside the classroom. However, as the weeks got closer, we decided it would be a great opportunity to present our game to the general public and receive some much needed feedback on how to better improve our game. This may have bumped up our due date for the build by a few days (It was originally due on 4/20, but since CURSCA was taking place on 4/19, we decided to have a final build ready by 4/17-18, so that the designers could playtest it beforehand and give us necessary feedback in case there was anything we needed to fix or add), but we knew it wasn't anything we couldn't handle. 

Most of the last minute additions we needed to add to the alpha build (that being some of the minigame connectors, a few of the upgrades, and some minor bug fixes) were all feasible to complete within the time frame. However, I ran into some complications when some unforeseen events came up and I had to go home for the weekend, putting me out of commission to be there to guide the programmers on helping to get the build done in time. Luckily, they were able to step up to the task and completed the majority of their assignments without me, making it easier to bring everything altogether when I returned. 

When CURSCA (Celebration of Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity) finally arrived on Wednesday, all of the leads were ready to present our game to the public and receive some feedback as people stopped by to playtest our game. Overall, it proved to be a huge success. Nearly everyone seemed to love our game and the vibes it gave off. They had a lot of fun trying out each of the minigames and seeing if they can boost their overall score. We got some comments on areas where we could polish things up or adjust the difficulty of some games, but the majority of the feedback received was very positive. 

With this constructive criticism in our minds, we now know what our final steps are going to be in order to have a final build ready for the beta launch of our game in a couple of weeks. Most of it comprises of polishing up certain areas of our games, readjusting certain scripts to prevent future bugs/glitches, and adding the rest of the minigame connectors/upgrades that seem feasible to incorporate. Oh, and voice acting for some of the cutscenes and dialogue of course! Additions like this will certainly elevate Space Mail into a truly magnificent portfolio piece and hopefully, be able to be published on a platform like Steam or here on Itch.io. I am truly excited for you all to see our game once it is finally finished! We're in the homestretch now!