It's fun! | Status Report #02

Since my last status report, I got a ton of content developed—and managed to get really sick for a week. Let me tell you what I managed to get done.

Covenant of Morn:

In the last report, I told you about me deciding to do an overhaul of the story for CoM. After I communicated it, I sat down and started planning.

Writing the new plot, refining it, and breaking it down into scenes and gameplay changes—I did that for a few days until I was satisfied with the changes and the level of detail I managed. I now know how I want to approach the overhaul, but have also left enough gaps that I still need to fill in on the go. Either way, I'm now ready to start working on it, but I decided not to do that immediately.

Side Project:

After finalizing the planning, I put down Covenant of Morn, realizing that it would take a long time to get all of it done—and that I wanted something to be released a bit sooner than that. So I shifted my focus and realized the next thing I want to publish is the first release of the side project. So I sat down and worked on it.

Starting a new game is always a daunting task for me. I want to work on one thing, but the moment you sit down to get it done, you realize you need to do a hundred others first.

Something as simple as: “I want to make the graphical elements for the user interface,” becomes a huge thing when you realize you need to find a design philosophy for the entire UI to keep things consistent. You have to actually finalize the game’s core mechanics so they can be represented in the UI, and figure out new code to actually represent those mechanics.

Every step is heavy and slow, like I’m stuck in a swamp—but the scenery is beautiful, and the trip is incredibly fun, so I stick with it. I enjoy every single problem coming my way, making decision after decision, shaping the game’s future.

• THE USER INTERFACE is pretty much a done deal. Just some of the code still needs to be finalized and connected to the corresponding systems in the game.
• I finished the two main LOCATIONS and made an additional one for the game. You can see it above.
• I spent a few days scouring the web for fitting MUSIC, which is already playing in the game.
• I made a pose library with different poses and expressions, and finished posing, rendering, and coding the SPRITES for this game. I even did something I never did before in a game: the girl has DIFFERENT OUTFITS.
• I finished the CHARACTER MODELS, optimized them for the game, and added important details that I won’t reveal here—but that were a bit more tricky to figure out.
• I finalized and implemented the MINIGAME into the actual gameflow so you can play it for real—including the full skill tree.
• I started writing the actual DIALOGUE, combining it with renders and VFX and music, and started on the first actually playable minutes.
• I added SOUND EFFECTS to the game.
• Made the first ANIMATION that plays in the prologue.
• I finalized some CORE MECHANICS and started making all the connections in the code. Between interfaces and interactions and buttons and whatever—this takes some time.
• I made the NAVIGATION SYSTEM so you can switch between places, with day and night switches and characters that change their activities and where they chill accordingly.
• I coded the ingame menu, the JOURNAL, featuring a simple quest log and some other functionality.

And there’s probably even more I’m forgetting to mention. I’m pretty certain of it—not even mentioning all the bug fixing and troubleshooting and whatever else the code throws at me along the way. The game is making progress very quickly.

This early development is always a blast, and I get really absorbed in it—so much that I kinda forget everything else and pull crazy hours because I can’t stop. And then I get sick. This always happens to me. After a period of intense concentration, my body just shuts down for a while.

Last week, I spent in bed, just moaning and groaning and feeling like shit. But hey, I’m fully recovered now and will start working on the game again. I’m incredibly happy with the progress—and even more so with the result—but I’m still not saying when exactly you’ll get your hands on it. Only that I’m working on it full throttle and it is so much fun!

Have a nice week, everyone!