This past week has been very productive, but also very draining. Maps are functionally complete (there are still a few that need making, but they're very specific extra maps that I'm not going to worry about including until after the puzzles are done), and the way all these new dungeons are supposed to function is all set in place. That means all that's left before moving on to story and enemy implementation is designing and implementing all the puzzles, which is also partially done. It's also why I feel so drained.
Puzzle design, at least for me, isn't just thinking up a solution and a method and connecting the dots. I also have to consider every possible incorrect answer and accommodate for it to make sure I don't break the game. If you make a move within the puzzle, that move needs to either be easily reset or undone, or be a step toward the solution. In an ideal situation, both should be true. The more complex the puzzle, the greater the opportunity for incorrect answers, the more things my brain needs to keep track of at the same time.
I've gotten pretty decent at thinking in these terms for sokoban puzzles (those things where you push around a crate or a boulder to open a path), but given that I have the opportunity to bring in new puzzle designs, I've got to teach myself to think in new ways to make sure these puzzles work in a logical sense, not just a mechanical sense. I know some of the trophies can be pretty esoteric in the way you obtain them (cue Mind Maze trauma), but I do my best to avoid moon logic when it comes to progressing through the main story. I usually have a lot of fun with it regardless, but it can be mentally taxing.
It's a good thing most of it is close to done. There's just one puzzle left to finish implementing (more accurately, one step out of a three-step puzzle, but each step is its own puzzle; it's hard to explain without spoiling anything) and one more to finish designing (the basics are done, but the specific mechanics aren't, so the puzzle can't be solved yet), so I'm pretty confident in committing to a test build going out this Friday. It won't include any of the bosses at the end of these dungeons (and likely no NPCs, and no other story bits), but if you're a VIP on Patreon or Subscribestar, you'll still be able to solve the puzzles and explore all the new maps. If you're a regular Patron/Subscriber, you'll get the patch notes where I'll go into more detail on how these puzzles work.
I'm trying to avoid pushing myself into crunch time to implement more so the build is closer to complete since this is a chunkier update, but I'm also eager to put it into early access. I'm at this weird intersection between the new content nearly being done, but also missing a ton of detail work. It makes it feel like I could have v0.22 ready at the end of next week if I push hard enough, but I've been doing this for long enough that I know there's not just the last few steps of puzzles and the bosses to implement. Not to mention leaving room for final testing. I want each of these dungeons to come with its own trophy, too, which means six meta-puzzles in addition to the necessary dungeon puzzles.
I still think I can manage to get v0.22 into early access this month, but only time will tell.
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