- Day 6 - Saturday the 22nd
Getting closer and closer to the end of the jam. At the time of updating my devlog now, there is about 36 hours remaining in the jam. Which when you add in sleep, breaks, and the obvious internet distractions (especially CS_Summit that has been distracting me today and the past 2) it is likely I have less than 15 hours remaining of time to finish the jam entry. At the end of today's update I'll include a list of what I still hope to achieve in that time.
Today I woke up and was a bit taken back on what I wanted to implement next. There were a ton of little system that needed to be done before I could start just making filler content. I decided to start with the Options Menu. In every jam I take part in and each project I do I always implement the options menus in different ways. I've yet to find a specific method in which I'm satisfied with the code and the outcome.
This is definitely not the exception. I made it very simple. I wanted the ability to change the resolution and fullscreen/window mode from runtime as well adjust the volume of the background music. While working on these options I also setup an Audio Mixer (this was a first for me, and I'm surprisingly happy with the system Unity has made). Previously I did arrow button based menus where you could click an arrow next to an option and it would go to the next (or previous) step in the setting. This time I wanted to try using a Dropdown box and Slider.
I used a slider for the audio, which was simple and probably the most generic but elegant way to handle that setting. Then I wanted to use the Dropbox for Resolution. I wrote a script that cycle'd through all the possible resolutions of the current display and added them to the Dropbox.options list. However, I couldn't find a way to set the default value of the dropdown to be the current resolution of the monitor. I'm sure it wouldn't even be a hard thing to code, but my brain has completely blanked on such a simple thing.
After that I wanted to setup the system that would allow the player to send their companion into dungeons to train and progress through the dungeon system. I used the door in the celler as the launching area for the dungeon delving and the space above it for a World Space UI. I thought this was a unique way to use some of that empty space. There are currently 4 levels of a dungeon that I plan to include in the jam entry, each one you'll need to get the key for which can be found on the previous level's floor.
And as you could see at the end of that gif (pronounced like gift, without the t), I also have made the first dungeon floor. The first creature in the dungeon is a level 1 rat, which the players can use for some easy experience. The players really shouldn't have much of a challenge defeating it. After that is another rat, this one is level 2, but still not much of a challenge. However, the slime is a level 2 and has a high defense stat. It does however have low attack and HP. So it shouldn't be too hard of a challenge for the player, but it will teach them that sometimes the player can't defeat a whole dungeon on the first attempt.
If you fight all three of them you will either be knocked out before you get the key OR you will run out of energy before you finish the fight with the Slime. The actual optimal way to clear this floor would be defeating the first two rats and then returning to the celler to save (which progresses "time" and rests your pet back to full stat). Do this one or twice to gain a few levels. Than you would be able to defeat them all easily. If the player decides to just avoid fights and get the key, that's also an option, but floor 2 will have a hallway guarded by multiple level 3 - 4 enemies that can't be avoided and they will defeat you unless you get a bit of training in.
Ugh.. I wish I could have got a better key sprite... but I'm working with Creative Commons that I can find online unfortunately.
After getting those two systems setup I did get quite distracted by watching CS_Summit as well doing some research into writing Reddit bots... which I plan to do as my next free time project for my portfolio. So once I was finally finished being distracted I didn't have much time to implement another system today. So I spent some time doing each part of the game, trying to break it, and fixing some bugs that people would have inevitably found during the jam. (One even forced you to redo the entire tutorial!)
Now I know that tomorrow I will need to REALLY step up my focus and game if I want to finish this in time. My very first goal is going to be implementing the Sleep / Pet Maintenance systems. This will include having to go to sleep to have your pet recover it's health and energy. Currently if you're defeated in battle, nothing actually happens which is also major. So I need to add into the Battle System that if your HP hits zero you're returned to the celler automatically and that you can't re-enter until you've slept.
After that I'll be implementing the Shop system with the Barkeep. He'll sell foods that you can buy and feed to your pet. Feeding your pet will allow it to FULLY recover when it sleeps and modifies the way that it's stats will increase when it levels up. So managing your pet's diet will become crucial.
And I'll need to have enemies you defeat start dropping gold at the end of battles so you don't run out of money. Originally I wanted a quest system that would provide income, but it looks like I don't have time for that. Anyways, wish me luck on the most important day of the jam, the crunch!
- Day 7 - Sunday the 23rd
Today I got all the work I wanted to get done actually done. Although it was all done rather hacky, I'm satisfied with a simplified and cutdown implementation to fit the time frame I have.
I started with the shop system so that I could start buying food for my pet. Without the even smallest amount of Pet Care system in the game this was just an RPG style Pokemon game, which is not what I wanted. If I were to FULLY make this game design there would be a lot more elements from Tamagatchi apparent, but time constrains *sigh*. So I copypasted the MoveSet system and rewrote it to be used for the Item system. In reality didn't take that long, was just a lot of refactoring. Then I setup a very simple and straightforward UI for the barkeeper to sell you food.
Then I wrote a system were once a day you could feed your pet. Just some bool flipping. However, I integrated that into the Save system so that if you fed your pet that day when you went to bed it would restore your pet's health and energy points back to full. Then I fixed up the Sleep system so that it would have some visual feedback that a day is passing with a quick fade out and in.
Those were the last two systems to be implemented. So I was pretty happy. Next was to finish the last remaining parts of the Battle System. Firstly was being able to be defeated, previously you could just keep battling once you reached 0 hp. Now it'll end the battle and have your player exit back out of the dungeon door. You'll be unable to re-enter the dungeon until you feed your pet and sleep to recover.
And lastly I made it so when you defeated enemies they would drop between 1 and 100 gold for you. That was the final touch needed to finish the Battle System. I was pretty happy, it's not pretty, but it is functional.
Then for a bit of polish points I made a pause menu with the ability to Resume and Quit the game. Then a viewer of a fellow Twitch stream named TooOverRated offered to make a logo for the game, which I happily accepted. You can see it just below.
And with that I just started to play the game. I didn't run into bugs in a few runs, but I did notice that after getting a level or two you became completely over-powered and even to the point that the slime in the first floor couldn't even deal damage to my level 3 rat. So I'll be spending the next few hours (already the next day by the way when I write these around 12-1am) balancing the game and making the next three dungeon floors.
Then I'll write up a shop page and upload it for the jam! I'll be writing one final update after I upload the game to give a few thoughts and in about a week I'll write a post-morteum.
- Day 7.5 - Monday the 24 (call it 7.5 because submitting deadline is 12pm)
And at 3AM, I've submit the game with four levels ending with a level 10 "King Rat". I wonder if anyone will be able to beat it? Overall, I've enjoyed this jam and liked doing my very first devlog along with it. In the future I'll probably do these again, maybe a bit more in-depth about my coding process?
Anyways, thanks for following along and if you like the game please do leave feedback on it's comment section! :D