Divers Log 01: Day 7

Divers logs will keep you up to date on the development of 'The Deep' until the day of launch. 7 days and counting!

• Massive overhaul to player movement/physics. Before movement felt almost space-like, now it feels like being underwater even more!
• Tweaked jellyfish movement speed/behavior.
• Tweaked angler fish movement speed.
• Started implementation of a minimal sprite-based context system (EXAMINE, TALK, etc.).
  
• Started implementation of the players harpoon gun and accompanying ammunition mechanic.*
  
• Added 'TimedObjectDestroy' script.
• Rewrote 'DebrisBehavior' script.
• Started implementation of the electric eel, which shocks an area at random intervals once spooked.
  

So some reasoning behind the design choices and tweaks here. First and foremost, player movement has received a massive overhaul, feeling much more natural and aquatic. The physics are more predictable for movement, and with the addition of a slow fall, the movement I would consider done, though I may tweak variables and speeds here and there before release.  I also started on a cool little minimal sprite-based context system, which presents too the player visually what he/she can do with the object they've come near.

Next up is implementation of the harpoon gun, you aim with the mouse, and fire with the left mouse button, per the games design, you only have 3 harpoons, which must be picked up in order for the gun to be reloaded. This forces players to think about each engagement strategically and with consequence in mind. 

Last but not least, another work in progress implementation is a new enemy; the electric eel, which once spooked, electrifies at random intervals the area around it for a short period of time. A myriad of smaller tweaks were made including the addition of two helper scripts for performance reasons ('TimedObjectDestroy', which handles deletion of instantiated objects, and 'DebrisBehavior', which applies a random rotation and force to all debris objects mainly to give them life and make them less feel less like static backdrops that only do something upon player intervention).

Tomorrow I will be uploading the progress made with gifs and screenshots, follow us on Twitter @tonynowak44 for updates, announcements, game content, and sweet pixels!!! <3