Posted October 28, 2024 by introvertebrate
Another two weeks, another update!
Last week, we were able to hold our first playtest! Though this session only included one of our missions, the team still received valuable feedback that we’re currently implementing into the game and our plans. We’re also rapidly approaching a second playtest session for all of the remaining missions. In addition, our asset development and world design has continued to progress at a steady pace.
Our open world map is starting to take shape. Thanks to Adam, the town has now been grayboxed, with streets, buildings, and objective locations all marked. He’s currently making revisions to the level and adding a few details – like parking lot locations – before moving on to terrain. Also, Autumn has sketched out a few platforming sections for the town. On the mission side of things, Gavin has begun staging the French fry mission area and surrounding dock with their 3D models.
The blueprinting team has been hard at work implementing new mechanics and testing existing ones. Logan has updated the hostile NPCs with the ability to catch the player. Once apprehended by an NPC, the player will now be teleported to a checkpoint so that they can try the encounter again. He also fixed a bug with the terror eyes that interfered with the NPCs’ chase behavior. Once he adds patrol routes, these characters will be ready for playtesting in the relevant levels.
Speaking of the player character, Makiyah has updated the seagull’s flight with a rechargeable stamina bar and upgrade system. The player now loses stamina as they glide and dash, and eating food increases the maximum amount of stamina they can use. She also restructured the way in which the player grabs interactive objects after running into some problematic bugs with the first system. Finally, she’s added item collection areas that can detect and count when the player places items like coins inside.
Nick has started work on the game’s UI, beginning with prompts that appear above interactive objects when the player approaches them. He is also working on an in-game pause menu. Autumn is pitching in to prep for playtesting by making some tweaks to the moveable box system.
Continuing from last time, Ky has implemented the existing walk, run, and idle animations in-engine. They’ve also created a few new animations for the player character, including one for eating. Now, they’ve turned their attention to the flight animations. Meanwhile, Gavin has made more prop and building models, mostly for the dock/waterfront area. The remaining food props are next on their docket.
That’s all for this update; we’ll “sea” you later!