2026 Development Roadmap — Seventh Day Studios

Q1 2026

Foundation & Pre-Production

January — March

Laying the groundwork. Finalizing design documentation, building the brand presence, and preparing for development.

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Complete Game Design Document (GDD)

Vision, narrative, combat systems, and character roster finalized for binder

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Combat System Decision & Documentation

Lock in hybrid combat approach with difficulty tiers (Story / Pilgrim / Martyr)

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Website Relaunch

seventhdaystudios.com updated with The Pilgrim's Progress as flagship project

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Community Discord Launch

Public server with dev-logs, announcements, and community channels

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Concept Art Development

Key character designs, environment mood boards, and visual style guide

Q2 2026

Prototyping & Recruitment

April — June

Hands on the engine. Building the first playable systems in Unity while actively seeking collaborators.

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Unity Prototype — Core Movement & Camera

Third-person controller, camera system, and basic traversal in a blockout environment

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Combat Prototype — Basic Melee

Sword attacks, shield blocking, dodge roll, and stamina system functional

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Team Recruitment Campaign

Outreach to universities, CGDC, and Christian game dev communities

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First Dev Log Published

Behind-the-scenes look at the prototype — shared across website, Discord, and social media

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Blog & Social Media Cadence

Bi-weekly updates on development progress and project philosophy

Q3 2026

Vertical Slice

July — September

One complete section of the game, polished to represent the full vision. This is the proving ground.

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Vertical Slice — Valley of Humiliation

Playable section: exploration, dialogue, and the Apollyon boss encounter

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Art Style Implementation

RDR2-inspired exploration transitioning to God of War-style combat sequences

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Armor of God System

Equipment mechanics with passive bonuses tied to each piece of biblical armor

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Onboard First Collaborators

3D artists, sound designers, or additional programmers integrated into workflow

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Community Playtest (Closed)

Select Discord members test the vertical slice and provide feedback

Q4 2026

Expansion & Momentum

October — December

Building on the vertical slice. Expanding content, refining systems, and preparing for the road ahead.

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Second Environment — City of Destruction to Wicket Gate

Opening sequence of the game built out with full narrative and exploration

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Dialogue & Narrative Systems

Character interaction system, branching conversations, and cinematic cutscenes

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Announcement Trailer

Short cinematic trailer using in-engine footage from the vertical slice

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Steam Page (Coming Soon)

Store presence established to begin building wishlists

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2027 Production Roadmap

Full production plan published based on learnings from 2026