Dev Log #1

To start out this Dev Log I'll briefly go over what has been done to work on the game before getting into more design details. While there isn't much to show for in terms of art, I've been hard at work developing a framework I can build the game off of. There are only a few more core systems I need to hit with the magical programming hammer before I can start building finished art levels. Unfortunately these systems include things like saving and loading, which I have never done before, so while they may take a bit longer for me to figure out I believe it will 100% make this game and all my future games much better. 

Some of the major systems that are fully completed:

• Main Menu
• Pause Menu
• Main level controller script
• Player movement
• interactions

Some of the major systems under development:

• Saving and Loading
• Loading screens
• Settings menu (part of saving and loading but still major)
• Level intro dialogue controller
• Scoring system (just need to figure out fair algorithm)

Now onto the more design oriented part of this Dev Log.  

When creating the concept of this game I created a concept document, which was then peer reviewed. I have taken that input and revised my concept document, however none of the feedback on my concept document was immediately relevant to prototyping. Most of the feedback I received will be used later in development, more specifically towards the end, as that is when I will be working on the sanity systems. This week, I worked a lot on prototyping, which is important when you're making new systems in a game to test them out. I created a blockout level, just a bunch of gray cubes and checkerboard patterns with random assets in order to test the systems, and this level will remain in the game until I get all major systems working. I used this method because it's a really simple way to visualize the gameplay of a game without actually putting any effort in, which is awesome because it means I don't need to do as much for a similar result. The only downside of prototyping this way is that while I can try out the game systems and core gameplay loop, I can't experience the level's atmosphere which is going to be a big part of this game. Because of this, I will actually be doing two prototypes, with the latter being done before working on levels, but after all the art assets and audio are created.

One of the bigger issues I've had in the past when working on games is balancing (looking at you EnchantMech), which is why this time I want to ensure the gameplay is fair and balanced. I have several playtesters of varying levels of skill lined up and ready to be forced to play my game against their wills and provide me with the ancient secrets to reasonable scoring.  Another issue I've had in the past was making player movement that felt good, so I'm happy to say this time my player movement isn't janky and unresponsive, plus I managed to get rid of the camera stuttering issue plaguing several of my other games. I have no plans of working on loading screens just yet, as I understand how to implement them and simply feel they can probably wait for right now. The levels aren't that big and because of the art style there should be no issues loading developer levels in. In regards to the saving and loading system I mentioned earlier, I've done some dives into the unity documentation and understand the concept of saving and loading, I just need to decide which method of saving I want to utilize and ultimately take the leap and implement it into the game. That is really my ultimate blockade right now, since so many of my systems are nearly done save the saving systems. Once I get it working, there will be a great and prosperous age of progress, comparable to that of Rome or Greece or something.

To wrap up this Dev Log, I'll just put a list of my current goals before publishing Dev Log #2 in no particular order:

1. Saving / Loading system
2. Settings Menu
3. Level Intro Dialogue Controller
4. Scoring System Algorithm
5. New Model / Texture asset creation (paintable and static)