# Meeting Notes: Emberlight Games Weekly Production Sync

Date: July 14, 2026
Time: 10:00 AM - 11:05 AM ET
Location: Discord Studio Room

## Attendees

- Maya Chen, Creative Director
- Luis Romero, Lead Programmer
- Priya Nair, Producer
- Theo Walsh, Game Designer
- Hannah Brooks, Environment Artist
- Samir Patel, Sound Designer
- Elise Morgan, Community Manager

## Agenda

1. Review milestone progress for the vertical slice
2. Discuss combat tuning feedback from internal playtest
3. Confirm art priorities for the forest shrine area
4. Plan Steam Next Fest demo scope
5. Review community and marketing schedule

## Notes

The team reviewed the current vertical slice build for *Lantern Vale*. Core traversal and basic combat are stable, but enemy readability remains inconsistent during night scenes. Several testers missed attack windups due to low contrast on enemy silhouettes.

The forest shrine area is behind schedule by roughly three days. Hannah noted that the layout is locked, but prop dressing and lighting passes still need focused time. Maya asked that the team prioritize atmosphere and navigation clarity over adding new set dressing.

Combat feedback centered on the dodge cooldown and stamina recovery. Theo recommended shortening the dodge cooldown slightly but keeping stamina recovery unchanged until the next playtest.

Elise shared that wishlist growth improved after last week's short-form gameplay clip. The team agreed that future clips should show mechanics earlier and avoid long logo intros.

## Decisions

- The Steam Next Fest demo will include the opening village, forest path, shrine encounter, and first boss.
- The fishing minigame will be cut from the demo scope and revisited after the vertical slice.
- Enemy attack windups will receive brighter animation highlights for night scenes.
- The next public-facing gameplay clip will focus on lantern puzzle mechanics.
- Internal playtests will move from Friday afternoons to Thursday mornings.

## Action Items

- Luis: Implement updated dodge cooldown values by July 16.
- Theo: Prepare a short combat tuning brief before the next playtest.
- Hannah: Complete the forest shrine lighting pass by July 17.
- Samir: Add temporary audio cues for enemy windups by July 16.
- Elise: Draft the next Steam community post by July 18.
- Priya: Update the vertical slice schedule and flag demo scope changes in Notion.
- Maya: Review shrine encounter pacing once the lighting pass is complete.