The RETRORONTO Report #11
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Tuesday, September 2, 2025
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⛅
Partly Cloudy 21C
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📅 Tuesday, September 2, 2025 | ⛅ Partly Cloudy 21C |
Wishlists:
📈 +15
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Itch.io Views:
👁️ +125
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Followers:
🙌 +12
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Wishlists: 📈 +15 | Itch.io Views: 👁️ +125 | Followers: 🙌 +12 |
This is The RETRORONTO Report, your go-to source for all the latest happenings and updates in the evolving city of Retroronto!
Retroronto and the CNE
Retroronto was recently shown at the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) on August 16–17, where it was showcased during the fair’s opening weekend. Featured alongside five other indie titles, the game drew the attention of families, gamers, and curious passersby alike in the Enercare Centre’s bustling Gaming Garage.
The ‘Gaming Garage’ occupied a considerable section of the massive Enercare Centre, a venue filled wall-to-wall with vendors offering everything from food, clothing to hot tubs and other bigger goods. While the marketplace itself stretched endlessly, the gaming area carved out its own strong presence with arcade cabinets, large screens for competitive titles like Tekken and Street Fighter, and rows of PCs running fan-favorites such as Counter-Strike, Roblox, and Minecraft. Within this vibrant setting, Retroronto found an eager audience.
Retroronto’s booth at CNE, within the Gaming Garage
Feedback flowed in throughout the weekend, offering a range of insights from both local Torontonians and visitors from out of province. The demographic mix was broad: families with children, teenagers seeking new experiences, and older players drawn in by the game’s familiar city-inspired aesthetic. The showcase generated valuable discussion, bug reports, and even new additions to Retroronto’s growing online community.
This year’s Gaming Garage marked a notable evolution from its earlier days, with its central placement ensuring thousands of fairgoers passed through. Retroronto stood out to many for its recognizable Toronto landmarks and authentic city feel, with attendees stopping to ask questions and collect promotional postcards, so many in fact, that supplies ran low by the end of the weekend.
With more events on the horizon, the CNE stands as a highlight of the summer for Retroronto. The development team now turns its focus toward addressing the notes gathered during the showcase, continuing to refine the game into a lively and unmistakably Torontonian experience.
-Ian Ruthers, Head Editor
City Gets Fresh Cut
It’s been nine months since Retroronto’s last trailer hit the screens, and the city’s film studio has been busy at work on a brand-new production. The original reel captured the spirit of the project but included a few rough cuts, unfinished features and on-set mishaps that have since been polished away.
This latest trailer showcases some of the city’s newest neighborhoods, updated signage, and even a refined user interface that better fits the game’s retro aesthetic. While the editing room stuck closely to the format and soundtrack of the original, owing to the strong reception from prior festival audiences, the footage itself tells a more current story of a city steadily evolving.
Studio insiders admitted that “reshoots” were a big part of production, as plenty of takes had to be redone thanks to sudden bugs or technical hiccups. But after a few long nights on set, the result is a sharper, cleaner look at what Retroronto has become. As development continues to reshape the city, fans can expect the occasional new reel to roll out, ensuring the silver screen always keeps pace with the streets themselves.
-Erik Ghanes, Reporter
Where citizens say what’s on their mind, and we print it anyway.
Dirty Dundas Square
By Maya L., 27
Dundas Square seems to get messier every week. With all the events, street performers, and tourists, it feels like someone should come through more often with a broom.
Cars vs Bike Lanes
By Hassan R., 35
I’ve noticed the bike lanes downtown are getting better, but there are still too many spots where cars block them. It makes commuting stressful, and I’m constantly worried about weaving through traffic.
Loving local markets
By Jocelyn K., 53
The farmers’ markets in the city have been a real highlight this summer. Fresh produce, local crafts, and the energy from people gathering is unmatched. It’s a small oasis amid all the construction and traffic.
Classifieds
WANTED: VINYL RECORDS
Old vinyl records in any condition. Looking to expand a collection of classic rock and jazz.
FOR SALE: TYPEWRITER
Vintage typewriter, fully functional, comes with carrying case and extra ribbons. Perfect for collectors or writers.
GARAGE SALE
Selling furniture, kitchenware, and miscellaneous items this Saturday on Queen Street West. Everything must go, great deals for early birds.
Obituaries
CAROLINE “CARO” MEI
(1968–2025)
Caroline Mei, 57, passed away peacefully last Thursday in her apartment near Queen Street, surrounded by the artwork she loved so dearly. A muralist and community arts organizer, Caroline was known for turning blank walls into vibrant stories that brought neighborhoods together.
Her legacy lives on in the public murals scattered across the city, many of which remain meeting spots for local residents and art enthusiasts alike. Caroline is survived by her partner, Anika, and her beloved cat, Pixel. In lieu of flowers, friends are encouraged to visit a mural she painted in their neighborhood or contribute to local arts programs.
Events
CITY BEACH CLEANUP
Join volunteers this Saturday at Sunnyside Beach to help tidy up the shoreline. Families are welcome, and gloves and bags will be provided. A small celebration with snacks and drinks follows for all participants. Organizers encourage everyone to bring a reusable water bottle to stay hydrated throughout the event.
DOG ADOPTION FAIR
Local shelters are bringing their adoptable pups to Grange Park this Sunday. Visitors can meet the dogs, learn about care tips, and possibly find a new furry friend to take home. Free treats and activities available for both humans and dogs. Volunteers will also be on hand to answer any questions about adoption and pet care.
Changelog
Changes/Fixes:
- Player can no longer open the phone menu while in a bank menu
- Fixed reoccurring bug where bank menu would skip main screen when interacting with teller
- Fixed a bug where the objective UI would pop in after a minigame ends when there was no task active
- Fixed a bug where the player could access their phone while buying food, breaking the dialogue
- Fixed icon animations over NPCs and stations, not matching the icon animations in the overworld
- Arrows over vehicles (bikes, buses, streetcars) now disable when riding a vehicle already
- Fixed an animation bug where the player character would run in place when minigame is finished
- Fixed a bug where the Roommate NPC wouldn't speak
- Fixed a bug where quitting the game would produce several main menu instances, creating multiple ‘bloop’ sounds
- Fixed a bug where quitting the game would still allow the player to toggle the selection
- Fixed a bug where the ATM UI wouldn't show on screen, changed UI and made text bigger
- Fixed a visual bug where the player could move ontop the bank building near College Park
- Removed excess black fills in Home Interior BGs
- Fixed a bug where players can enter closed places
- Fixed a bug where dogs would walk in place and never move
- Adjusted it so all exit doors have their exit UI above them at all times instead of just on collision
- Minigame queue lines no longer have collisions
- Fixed a bug where the up/down arrow keys would swap options in the phone menu instead of the left/right keys
- Fixed a bug where selecting different places in the phone map and exiting map wouldnt reset all places, making most places inactive otherwise
- Adjusted the hitbox of overworld NPCs to be a bit bigger
- Changed icon over beggar NPCs from general coin to a penny
- Fixed bug where task givers would be named whatever the last interacted NPC is named, instead of using their own assigned names
Additions:
- Adjusted fonts to include accented letters for future localization
- Changed base resolution of game to 1280x720 for UI so fonts can be pixel perfect
- Refactored NPC's considerably into subclass types of NPCs
- Reworked dialogue UI types to fit new base resolution, adjusted speech tails and changed selling dialogue
- Added a white fade to quitting the game and main menu to best transition between game and main menu scenes
- Added ATMs to Hotels, changed ATM UI
Got feedback, questions, or concerns about the development of Retroronto? Join our discord server below!
EDITOR’S NOTES
Howdy!
Sheesh, August already wrapped up. Honestly, it feels like I was just writing July’s editorial yesterday, and somehow summer just flew by. How’s your summer been treating you so far, reader?
This past month was admittedly lighter on development. The last update was a big one, and sure enough, showing the game at the CNE brought plenty of new bugs to light. That’s game development for you though, you add one feature and introduce ten more problems. Still, I wanted to make sure this month’s update keeps you in the loop, because one of the biggest pitfalls indie devs fall into is radio silence. I want to remind you that both I and the game’s progress are still very much alive and moving forward.
Looking ahead, September will probably be even lighter on visible updates, since my focus will shift to preparing the Ontario Creates IP Fund grant application. That grant has been the backbone of this project since the start, and it will likely decide whether the game can fully reach the finish line. A lot of folks have been asking when Retroronto will be released, and the honest answer is: it depends on securing the funding to get there. Please wish me luck, because this next step could shape the future of the whole project.
That said, there’s no shortage of things on the to-do list. I’ve got bugs to squash, features to explore, and a batch of fresh promotional material in the works: this new trailer, updated screenshots, and refreshed Steam/itch pages should all be ready by mid-September. And even if the grant doesn’t work out this time, there are still a few more chances to try again in 2026. Either way, you can keep counting on me to keep the updates coming month by month.
Cheers,
- Sean Browning
Disclaimer:
The names, classifieds, obituaries, and events featured in this publication are entirely fictional and not associated with any real people or entities. While the content is loosely inspired by the development of Retroronto, it is largely embellished for the sake of engagement and fun. The goal is to present the city and its progress as closely to a newspaper as possible. Please don’t take it all too seriously!