Version 0.040 Released

This is the big one. v0.040 not only introduced many new features, I also overhauled a lot of the current code in many places.

The first thing I'm going to do is go over the changes and additions I made. Next, I'm going to outline my plans for the rest of the episode. Finally, I'm going to give a retrospective of my time with Ren'py and building Gatekeeper so far. This is going to be a long post.

As mentioned in my previous updates. I've added the match 3 minigame to begin the process of building relationships in Gatekeeper. There's a lot more to relationships than just playing a game of match 3 of course, so I also added tutorial explanation windows to explain it. When key concepts need to be explained (such as relationships), you will get some help in-game. Speaking of tutorials, I'll add more as development of Episode 1 continues. Things like the exploration minigame need some explanation (such as how card border color effects quantity and negative effects).

I can see the match 3 minigame being overhauled and improved throughout the course of Gatekeeper's development. Think of this current version as the first pass. Ren'py does have its limitations for high-paced games like this, but as I've learned more about the engine I've learned how to work around those limits. We'll make the minigame better in time. As for v0.040, I've made sure you'll have at least 2 pieces of leather by the time the gift giving option becomes available. That means you can craft at least 2 gifts to give to Cateline before the "end" of the current version, so you'll have at least 2 chances to try out the match 3. Gatekeeper does allow you to continue to play after the game ends, but I haven't tested beyond the end so no promises. However I see no reason why you couldn't just make more leather if you grind after the end.

I initially added a free roam to the new camp in this version. I liked it so much that I went back and edited the original starting camp to a free roam as well. Free roams are a little more work compared to a standard menu, but it's worth it in my opinion. I edited the code to remove all menus from all destinations. We'll be using free roams everywhere going forward with the only exception being explored terrain subcells.

With these location changes, I also had to overhaul the map and the cart system. You won't be able to fully take advantage of these changes until v0.070, but the code is built and working.

Other changes include modifications to the inventory screen. Every info panel has worked its way into the inventory screen to centralize as much information as possible. That's why the relationship screen became a button in there. The inventory screen will be the central hub going forward. When the battle engine is integrated, I'll move the ability tile screen into it as well (if you've noticed it on the main map).

I'll try to sum this up. I changed a lot of code, wrote a lot of dialogue, and playtested heavily. If you tried my earlier versions, you'll see the changes.

As I worked through this colossal update, it gave me a clear vision of the rest of Episode 1 and how it will unfold. Here's my plan going forward.

- v0.050: Another journey, but smaller. Music will be added. A pixelated camp similar to the farming subcells will be added at the end of this version.

- v0.060: Battle engine (already built) and a training area.

- v0.070: Labyrinth crawling for battle (already built). I don't have monsters yet, so I foresee heavy balancing work in the future. Full travel of the map with camp relocation will be possible (already built).

- v0.080+: GUI polish, script polish, and then on to the cliffhanger for the episode. Episode 1 might seem short, but it was always planned to be an introduction to the mechanics of the game and to the game world itself. However, it has become desperately obvious that I need to get more characters into Gatekeeper ASAP. Episode 2 will have 3 new girls and 1 guy, alongside Cateline and the MC.

So, that's the plan for the rest of the Episode. Now on to my retrospective of my dev experience for those that are curious (and a way for me to let off some steam).

I can see why people who write visual novels keep the minigames simple, if they even have them at all. My goal was always to have a 50/50 split of dialogue vs gameplay, but right now the gameplay is closer to 75%. The exploration system is the time consumer as the farming mechanics don't require much time at all. When I built the exploration card system, I wanted something that would be quick, but not so quick that it was mindless. I tried to draw upon loot box mechanics to hold interest, and it does that for awhile, but the system can start to be a drag (especially during that week where you have to make 10 leather). There's a few tricks to make it faster, such as harvesting from fully explored subcells with no remaining harvestable resources (You will get 3x the loot cards in that case). I'm hoping that when the battle system, forging, and monetary system are introduced, there will be enough variety to keep the gameplay side of Gatekeeper interesting.

So on to the dialogue. Building the gameplay in the open is fine, but with the dialogue it is not. If the episode was not available to the public, I would lay out every scene for the entire episode and fill it with notes. That way I could jump around and add content and make modifications as needed, in a more uniform way. The current way I have to write is working on a few scenes at a time and then finish them up completely. It's a difficult way to write as I find I'm covering the same topics or using the same punchlines in each block of scenes. It requires a lot of back and forth, and the end of Episode 1 proofing is going to be a lot harder because of it. I'm looking forward to Episode 2 which will be closed to the public.

Speaking of Episode 2. The way I've designed the core game is that I'll be running two versions of Gatekeeper at the same time. All code improvements and minigame additions will affect both versions, but the Episode 2 content and story will be in its own module. I might even have each episode as its own exe, to save on download size. I'll have to write a save transfer system, but that's easy enough.

When I designed the core concept design of Gatekeeper, I was planning that it was to be a slow burn of a VN. I wanted a long term project. My only concern now in doing so is that both the gameplay and dialogue aspects are becoming too much of a slog. I need to speed things up a bit, but given the background of the story and the MC's location, it's difficult. The good news is that the world building dialogue scenes with Cateline are over. Everything to set up the world has been set up. I'll also take the edge off her going forward, as she's warming up to the MC. I can see Episode 1 being a work in progress even when I'm into Episode 2. Episode 2+ will be more visual novel, less gameplay. I also want there to be more choice of dialogue options and some branching (within reason). I'm already concerned this project is moving beyond what a simple part-time dev can handle. I always have to keep scope in mind.

On to v0.050. I'm really looking forward to getting back into the free licensed game music scene. I used to listen to those songs for hours. Let's hope there still is a scene to get back into. It's been 5 to 10 years since I last looked at free licensed music.