It's raining.
Day 3 update: Overworld and underworld https://7drlchallenge.wordpress.com/2021/03/11/rainy-day-day-3/
Day 4 update: https://7drlchallenge.wordpress.com/2021/03/12/rainy-day-day-4/
I spent some good time thinking on “Innovation”: What was going to set this entry apart from others and bring something new (even if tiny) to the genre? so far it was heading to just being a traditional roguelike with a fancy monochrome display (which is probably hardly an innovation as that’s how these games were played in the early ’80s).
Reading a bit on it, I remembered one way to see it is by creating something by mixing different ideas. Just what I did (with half-baked implementations) for my first 7DRLs I guess.
At first, I thought I could create a roguelike with strong western RPG elements, like, taking ADOM and stretching it to an Ultima VI level of (hand-made) character and quests design, with its own lore and towns with a unique flavor. I played a bit of Jeff Lait’s Malachite Dreams, which I always had on my mind was like an Ultima RPG at least for the exploration aspects, and found it a bit empty so plenty of possibilities to extend on the idea. Luckily, that threw a preemptive OverAmbitiousScope Exception, especially with just 3 days of dev left, so I discarded the idea.
Then I wondered, what games have I been playing lately that I could use as a source of inspiration? luckily, my list is short with just two games I played seriously in 2020: Horizon Chase and the Final Fantasy VII Remake. Then I remembered I actually had the idea for 2020’s challenge to create a game based on the upcoming remake, thinking about riding the wave of increased attention. (Actually, in 2020 there was an entry based on FF7).
Seeing how it was compatible with what I had so far, I decided to go with it.
But enough talk, here’s a list of things I did on Day 4. Have at you!
Day 5 update https://7drlchallenge.wordpress.com/2021/03/13/rainy-day-day-5/
One first concern was how to make combat more interesting. While I still got to add ranged combat, I thought I could spice up melee combat a bit by adding some of the skills from Rodney (inherited from DrashRL and also permeated the design of some of the classes of Ananias). I added the Slash and Backslash skills (pass thru the enemies to damage them), and am still debating which others to include, and tie them to the player’s progression.
Also, a small detail that may greatly improve the player’s experience, I made it so the walls and stairs of the level will be remembered. This is especially helpful when you are on your way back to the surface.
In order to have a winnable game and a more complete structure, I placed the four Willemite reactors and the flow to destroy them by placing an explosive at their core and returning to the surface. I also changed how the maps are populated, to spread some enemies and include a boss party at the end of each one.
Finally, worked in level metadata and enemies definitions, lots of spreadsheet work.
