Progress update
It's been a while since I posted my last blog. But all the work and progress is still ongoing and very much alive! You've been wondering whether I've been slacking off or what I'm actually doing, so hopefully this blog sheds some light about the current state of the project!
Story
Like mentioned in a previous blog, my primary focus is designing the storyline. I've been listening to podcasts from Savannah Gilbo to get good at the art of storywriting, and I am tremendously enjoying the process!
Designing a story is an art on itself. While I'm currently still outlining all the aspects of the storyline, it's starting to get shape! Using Obsidian, I'm organizing the story like a champ.
Character designing tool
As a developer, you need to be creative in making your work easier and faster. I noticed that the game will feature a LOT of different characters such as NPC's, bosses, major- and minor characters, etc. If I were to draw each of them by hand with all their animations, frames and layers, it would take years to get them done.
So I came up with a self-made tool in Unity where I can much easier design those characters. Initially it's a lot of work, but once done I can simply create new characters by moving a couple of sliders, changing colors and hairstyles, etc.
Bossfights
I'm also starting to prepare the framework for the first bossfight in the game. I already laid it out completely in Obsidian, but soon it will be time to get it ready ingame aswell!
Bossfights are meant to be exciting and challenging. But since not all players are looking for a challenge, I've decided to implement a "Hard mode" setting, allowing the player to optionally enable hard mode when creating a new savegame. Normally, the difficulty of the game gradually scales up starting from easy, but with this mode enabled, the game difficulty ramps up and instead of a curve, the bosses get hard right from the start. Are you a challenge seeker, or merely and adventurer?
Special spells
While casting spells is one of the main elements of the game, I've decided to push this even further. The player will eventually gain access to "Finisher spells", which are spells meant as a spectacular finish before you end a fight.
A finisher spell differs from regular spells in the sense that they are overwhelmingly overpowered. Depending on the spell, they can heavily damage all enemies on the screen for an extended period of time, eat large chunks out of the HP bar of a boss, or have other heavily impactful bonuses.
Of course, such power comes with a price: Casting a finisher spell exhausts all your remaining mana and forces you to transform back to your regular self. For this reason, it is advised to time the spell at the correct moment so you don't have to fight the remainder of the boss with your bare hands.
But yeah, it will feel extremely satisfying to finish your fights in style!