There are two version of the game. The Alpha build was called 'Pentad', nicknamed after one of our professors. The Beta build was renamed as 'Turnstyle' to focus on the main combat mechanic of the game and a nod to the chic outfits of the characters.

For Pentad, we came together to figure out what kind of game we wanted. Ideas were being passed around between sandwhich bites and sushi. I didn't have a good way of explaining an idea I had for the game.

Luckily I had some Yu-gi-oh cards on hand, laid five of them on the table, and showed them the circluar motion to make it fast. The programmers immediately got excited and off the idea went to be tweaked and edited until a mechanical protoype was made.

Unfortuntately in our excitement my Slipher Dragon card got torned up, but it revealed more of the foil underneath and became shiner. I held onto it as a keepsake and have it nearby as I'm typing this.

Although someone playing the prototype would need to have the inspection log open to see the output, it was a fairly successful version. I even got to put in some programming practice before we finished it.

The next quarter was coming around so people had to decide whether to stay with this team or join another one. I ended up leaving for a majority of the Beta Turnstyle build.

The following summer, I briefly returned to offer any extra assissance they might need with the Beta build. At this time some bonus chapters were being added to the game so I spent my time looking over the narrative scripts and attending the meetings. The chapters were finished and we went our seperate ways to enjoy the rest of summer.

There was an in-person reunion not too long ago. I wasn't able to attend because of final exams but I hope they had fun catching up.

- Mirs (written June, 2023)