Devlog #41: Pre-Mother Direct

The direct is finally here, and I’m mostly nervous but excited too. I’m feeling super burnt out, so honestly I’m mostly looking forward to not having any immediate deadlines left. I’m keeping my expectations low, but I have some hope that this might get me some momentum on wishlists.

I’ve just released the newest version of the demo in time for the trailer, you can check it out here

My original plan was to release the demo on Steam too, but I ended up deciding against it. I mostly want a public demo to prove that my game isn’t just vaporware and to get some feedback, but it’s not quite at the level I feel confident putting in the hands of a random steam user who might not be passionate about the genre. If somebody is willing to seek out the demo on my itch page, then I think they will see the value in it, but for Steam users I think my trailer and steam page alone do a better job at marketing towards window-shoppers. Check out the new fancy steam page here and wishlisting while you’re there would help me out!

I’ll continue to work on the demo, and release it on steam for the upcoming steam nextfest. My main problem with the demo is that it’s bloated (inevitable RPG problem), and I’m still trying to work out a way to cut it down while still showing off everything the game has to offer. Maybe taking a break and coming back to it in a couple months will help, because frankly I’m sick of working on the demo stuff and I’m really excited to getting back to working on the rest of the game.

----------------------------------------------------------

Progress over the last two weeks has been a lot of fixes, and reworking areas and skill trees, but there’s been a few new things to show off.

Character Menu Expanded

First up a follow up on a decision I made last devlog, which I’ve now reworked. Rina’s SPIN now protects a teammate with a bubble that takes the blow of a single hit.

This is a skill unique to Rina and isn’t treated as a status effect, just visually represented by a bubble around the character she’s protecting. It should add some strategy without breaking the game like a heal or DEF bonus might.

----------------------------------------------------

Character Menu

The starpaths/skilltrees are fully functional and planned out, but while adding them in I found I was a bit strapped for space in the UI for text so I’ve added a “show hidden” button that gives me a bit more room for the HIT/SPIN/POW descriptions, each with their own name:

These will appear in the top right corner of each section as they’re unlocked:

HIT becomes MORE: MORE is basically an extension of the HIT description, but usually explaining a unique side-effect or optional bonus during HIT.

SPIN becomes SECRET: Secret Spin is an idea I’ve been planning for a while but I’m yet to implement it. These will be a separate spin sequence that isn’t displayed on the UI in battle, but can be entered to pull of a more dangerous tactic than your regular spin. Like an old school cheat code.

A good example is Rina’s Secret Spin. Her regular SPIN protects a team mate, whereas her secret spin will give ALL contestants, friend or foe, a protection bubble. Highly beneficial in certain battles, with heightened risk and reward.

POW becomes BONUS: Each power move has a bonus for completing the minigame (or passing a certain threshold), and each player will unlock ways to earn resources during power moves which will be written in the BONUS section.

-------------------------------------------------

Ghost Ambushes

I’ve gone back and reworked some of the ghost ambushes, now giving them proper animations to match the snowman ambush in the trailer.

I plan to continue doing full hand-drawn ambush animations for each ghost going forward. I think it adds a lot to the game, and it’s worth the time I put into it (it’s quite monotonous, but I can watch tv at same time and make progress so it’s not so bad)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Voids

I tried something new with the void patches that block off some areas in the game. It’s a bit of a rush job because I was a bit strapped for time getting the demo out in time, but it’s definitely a cool improvement.

Stabilising the void will now play an animation of it closing up and then it’s gone forever, which is a bit cleaner and more satisfying for the player. I’m going to try some different animation styles and maybe find a fitting sound effect. I’ll need to perfect it early, so that when I manually create each animation they are all uniform and won’t need reworking.

--------------------------------------

Final thoughts before the direct

I’ve decided to use the direct as a milestone and make sure I stop and properly reflect on the outcome- good or disappointing. If I don’t see a signifcant increase in interest, I will consider looking into other career options and stretching out the development time for the game. I’m absolutely going to finish making this game, I’ve got my heart set on it, but if there’s nothing to show that a career is plausible then I should pivot into it being a hobby. I haven’t made a cutoff point or anything, but I think I’ll know when I either feel excited or disappointed after it all. I’ll report back next week, so wish me luck.

No to-do list for this devlog because I’m thoroughly exhausted and I’m looking forward to adding fun stuff with no plans for the first time in a while (or just sleeping the whole week)

Thanks for reading!