Forgetting to Post [28/08/2023]

 Whoops!

I forgot to post an update yesterday. Oh well! Things are moving swiftly. By Thursday (playtesting day) I think I'll have enough to show to be proud of myself. However, we are now rapidly approaching the halfway mark of the games timeline! Ruh roh!

The design and layout of the Roadside scene is now complete! There two things left to do, one is fixing this bug that causes the lighting to go all black when you load the scene from another scene, the other is adding another cutscene at the next zone where Naomi will walk ahead of Cliff, turn around and talk to him OR a scrolling scenery cutscene of the two characters walking and talking before transitioning to the next Scene. Otherwise, I'm pretty happy with how it looks!

I've also added new dialogue for Lang in the Den where you can discuss some werewolf issues with him and make some alterations to LH/LangPM. You may also notice both here and in the previous shots that there now some nifty snow particles! I also added new dialogue to the Den Bathroom if the player so wishes to explore there. I'd like to add a Shower cutscene, but thats not necessary right now.

The inventory system is fixed! Inventory items now display in the Inventory UI and be clicked on to be used. Now I just need to customise Use components for each different item so that they can either check for a collider or bool/condition or trigger a dialogue manager.

There are also some lovely new developments for Lang. His spritesheet is complete and implemented (with alot of dress over aligning the Red Squares for eyes and mouths), and I've also made some quick progress on his 3D model, which I want to have done (without textures) before playtesting so I can perhaps even switch him out in the opening cutscene timelines.

By next Monday, playtesting will have passed and the fate of the game will be altered. Destiny awaits! That will then decide what needs focusing and changing most. I also finally want to implement the next greyboxed level, but that also brings up the question of "What's Next?" In honesty, I'm not entirely sure. I have started thinking about returning to the idea of a prologue level to further explore our Cliff and Lycanthropy as a mechanic... That's the most important thing to me now; nailing Lycanthropy. That's what the audience is waiting for, and that's what I've got to give 'em.

- Monkeydog

Like, Scoob, I Think We're Cutting It Alittle Fine! [21/08/2023]

 Folks!

Over the weekend it was my 21st birthday! Shaaaaa shaaaaa~~~!!! (cheering) And for that reason I gave myself the weekend off for party planning and subsequent party recovery. I had a wonderful time and I love all my friends very much. 

What I do not love is learning that all the semester dates in scheduling chart are wrong! So, actually, NEXT week is playtesting! Now it's atoth a-go-go time.

What we have here is the makings of a new level! Finally! It's the roadside stop where Cliff meets Naomi, and the two go for a walk to find gas at a nearby station. This is a rough, rough greybox, however from it I did learn how to sculpt with brushes in Maya, something I actually did not know was possible until now (doh!) More to come, as you can attempt to see in the sketch, is the rest of the road, set decorations and texturing, and the different camera views which will make use of forced persperctive in order to minimize on creating new geometry.

As you can also see in the above screenshots, major changes have been made to the look of the UI and to how dialogue works. That's all thanks to the marvelous James! He's been hard at work making important changes to the dialogue system so that it can now have customised dialogue choice buttons depending on choice requirements, multicoloured text, and also fixing the bug that caused mutliple dialogues to play at once when standing in multiple trigger colliders. Rounds of applause for James, please! This should, if playtesting goes well, mark the end of my constant need for his help, since I think this dialogue system is now pretty much infallible.

You may also notice another thing different about the UI design; the PM is gone! What was once PM has now, finally, been replaced by individual character relationship metres, in classic visual novel style! Now you can build relationships towards specific characters and potentially unlock content reserved only for them and their "routes". UI is going to be overhauled in a very major way soon, so enjoy some concepts!

Next week is playtesting, and there a couple important things I need by then. One is completed dialogue trees and events within the Den so players can explore and discover on their own without me needing to be over their shoulders. Two is the inventory system and item use needs to be fixed, but this will happen when I meet in-person with Masaya on Thursday. Three is that the Roadside needs to be decorated and beautified very much. And four, I would like to have a rough-out of Lang's model done by the end of the week. Perhaps modelled but so far untextured, and maybe unclothed. Also, if I have time while screwing around and being bored, I want to illustrate Langs final portrait icons, which I have already started. UI, for now, can remain in sketch phases.

I also need to devise a playtesting questionnaire. In this, I want to include questions about rating UI design sketches, asking what players want to see from the rest of the story/what they think might happen/what they are interested or invested in so far, asking if the controls and game-feel is nice, and also judging how they feel about the characters. All this will help improve the game going into the holidays.

Much love, and godspeed to me!

- Monkeydog

Like Overcooked and Octodad [14/08/2023]

Hiya,

I've been thinking about what it feels like to be a solo game dev. Not that I'm any kind of professional, but it must be somewhat universal. To me, it's like cooking what looks like a very simple dish. But the process of creating the dish requires eight things done at once and 12 hours preparation time. There's something on every element, there's something in the oven, you're still chopping stuff on the cutting board, you've got to stir this one every 5 minutes and watch the heat on this one and you can't add that to this until such is such. It's like Overcooked and Octodad. It's a lonely and confusing endeavor, especially when you haven't done alot of this before and there's no recipe. But I solider on!

Big changes have been made to the Den because I'm Sick of It. I'm done looking at this glorified tutorial level. Most drastically, the upstairs floor is gone. Why? Well, one I could never crack the issue of the stair colliders teleporting the player wrong. Two, I found my design of the upper floor ugly and bare, and had nothing much left to fill in that space at the front of the room. And three, I would rather just let the player move on as fast as possible to exploration and the meat of the game. Therefore, the player will now meet Naomi outside rather than upstairs. Lang will let you explore the Den and there will be little things to do, but otherwise it's straight to the next level, maybe once you've picked up an object or cleaned yourself up in the shower. The drivers area door will now change to the next scene. Currently it's empty, but I way prefer being able to think about this now rather than thinking of it as far in the future. I also textured the bathroom, but thats not as cool.

I also tried to experiemnt with some Unity Store shaders and effects, but turns out URP is absolutely not compatible with anything. So I thought I'd try converting the project to SRP to see what difference it would make.

SRP is above, URP is below. Honestly, I don't like SRP at all as much as the URP look. But I did, however get to work with those shaders. What I wanted most was a retro/PSX post-processing look and an outline shader for either overall black outlines or for outines that only turn on on trigger. But... I don't know. I definitely like the look of the black outlines, so I think I'll try and make my own black lineart shader to URP sometime, and another custom shader for OnTriggerEnter smell outlines to replace the smell particle effect.

I've also been sketching alot of concepts for both the opening cutscene and the general UI. I took alot of reference from https://www.gameuidatabase.com/ to further explore the UI design, because previously I've just sucked at it and struggled to do anything interesting or easy to read. I'm getting closer, but I still need more feedback.

Next week is playtesting, and I'm scared. By then, I wanted to have the first level finished, and it is. But it still feels like I don't have enough. This week, I want to implement a new UI design, even if its just in sketch form. I want to greybox the next level and write out what is going to happen, or atleast how it's going to start. I want to finalise the inventory system so that the player cna pick up an object in the Den, and thats about it! 

Just keep on moving, Jake.

- Monkeydog

Scram! [07/08/2023]

Hi!

A couple things have advanced in the past week, and others have advanced less so. It's a drag to look at all the time you have free in the week only to have to allot that tme to living; going out, seeing friends or family, waiting, wasting. But that's just the kind of thing you and I have to be prepared for; we can't expect to much of our poor little selves all the time.

Alas! What have we here?

Improved, decided and revisited Lang designs! Finally, Lang is coming along since the opening cutscene of the game proper is implemented, and I can't take looking at the stand-in Cliff-clone any longer. I want Lang's model done sooner than I planned so he's out of the way, so I'm finally figuring out his look. I think he looks pretty dapper, if not maybe a litte too similar to Cliff in the silhouette of his outfit and accessories. But cest la vie, I think he looks cute. If anything I may crop that top of his, or lengthen his sleeves to create some variety. I also havent decided on colour palettes. Therell definitely be blue, black and perhaps pink? I want him goth and bleak, a little shadowey and unapproachable.

Smell has gone through a great change from simple text! I honestly didn't realise how much the flavour text sucked until I tried to reimplement it. But this particle effect actually kills two birds with one stone; it shows the "smell" of interactable objects and characters, but it also indicates that those interactables are within range so that they're highlighted. There's one problem; the current particles are UGLY BUGLY. So I need to retool and study up on particles, and maybe even shaders, to create a more interesting and passable effect.

UI, too, is undergoing an overhaul. Now that I have to illustrate a final UI layout and ditch that sketchy prototype, I've been thinking about I way more critically. I still havent decided on much, but one thing's for certain; PC-98 bars are not working. Just look below at the difference between bars turned on and bars turned off. The space is so much more breathable and alive! I may keep strictly vertical side bars for some framing, but only thin ones. The bars have been a big part of the games concept since the beginning, but I just cant make them work practically and it's obvious why they faded out of popularity. I'm also liking the idea of using moon cycles for LH... but I need an equivalent for PM.

I've also been modelling out new areas of the Den, trying to properly finish it off. The upper floor is finally coming together and is basically reading to be finished with filler textures, however I can't decide what to do with that big space at the front of the caravan at the top of the stairs. Any suggestions greatly appreciated. Otherwise, this level will be done visually by next week!

The rest of my time has been split between fixing bugs and quirks and completing the opening cutscene with its script and timelines. Now that the player can actually transition from cutscene to gameplay, that is my new priority: populating the Den with interactables and interest, and leading up to the player meeting Naomi and transitioning into the next scene. I also want to add some new dialogue for Lang so the player can chat to him for more information if they so please.

Thats all folks! Now... I've gotta get outta here!

- Monkeydog