I have hit the part of developing the update where a large amount of work has been done but there's not a whole lot to talk about. The number of new maps is up to about 50 (which is more or less in line with the other more dense regions), with the vast majority of that being dedicated to Folk villages. I haven't added all the usual interactions to all the new maps yet in favor of starting to design the new shrine dungeon maps. Which, while they aren't done yet, there's plenty to talk about there.
I don't want to give too much about those away, but I want to design something besides a sokoban puzzle for these shrines to center around. Not to say there won't still be one - there is, and it's so far the only dungeon that's mechanically complete - but I've used that style of puzzle a lot, and I'd really like to flex some other puzzle-making muscles without going backwards to making a simple maze (though, full disclosure, one of the shrines is just a maze, too).
The puzzle I'm currently working on is another top-down RPG classic that I've never really had the opportunity to mess with, but is still kinda in the game - an ice slide puzzle. Rather than push a box or boulder around to open a path or trigger something, you do the sliding. This currently only exists on the Freeze version of the home Estate's pool, and only as a source for jokes rather than a puzzle, so it'll be fun to get to include a new puzzle type now that there's some ice involved.
Another one that I'm looking forward to making but may be a little difficult to implement properly from a visual standpoint is a light-bending puzzle. I don't want to make it overly complex, but the general idea is that you'll have to push these orbs into place in order to get them to cast light in the direction you've pushed them in until they're casting light into the receiver that solves the puzzle. This one is likely to end up being something that leads to a trophy rather than being required for the critical path, so the lacking visuals will likely end up being an added layer of difficulty that I leave be rather than trying to make it more accessible.
The part that I need to put some effort into to make sure it isn't overly frustrating for people are the boss fights in these shrine dungeons. I want these to be puzzles unto themselves, putting some kind of limitation on you that - at a glance - might make the fight seem impossible, such as the boss giving you the Flame Force buff (which raises your Attack, halves the fire damage you take, and changes your attack element to fire instead of doing physical damage) when the boss is immune to fire damage.
Of course, almost none of this is playable yet, much less tested for balance, but I've only got two more of these dungeons to make maps for, so that's going to change fairly quickly. Not "there will be a test build on Friday" quickly, but v0.22 will definitely be going into early access in May. If you're interested, both Patreon and Subscribestar see test builds for VIPs, patch notes for supporters, and the thing that will actually be getting posted this Friday - bonus renders. Not to mention that once Maids & Masters is complete, a poll will be going up for which project that currently exists as a demo will be getting made into a full game.
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