I thought this style of game is a nice fit for the 2024 Mystery Game Jam.
Added a pixel texture for the character, a modulated background image and some text. It's starting to look much better. It looks more like a game now rather than just some UI element.
Added some character sprite images. I think they suit the style. They look quite a bit like Nerial's Reign's characters, yet distinctly different. Not having eyes adds to the surreal and mysterious atmosphere of the game.
Lots more cards added to the game. They're quite straight forward to write. I'm using a gd script for them instead of a spreadsheet, as I'm trying to get it all done by the game jam deadline. I might switch to spreadsheets post-jam and thereby let people mod the game.
I also added loss conditions and managed to die 1 minute, 13 seconds into the game! Looks like I'm going to have to balance it more carefully.
Lastly, added a week (turn) counter.
Added a whole bunch of visual effects. Some using Godot's WorldEnvironment node and others are shaders. Went for a CRT effect to give the game some texture and a slight retro vibe, which is very popular and well appreciated by gamers. I felt it needed a little more texture, so I added some noise created using Gimp's filters. On top of that, I turned on Godot's glow feature to give the game an ethereal, surreal, dreamy look.
This all helps create the right kind of atmosphere. It's not dark and gloomy like blatant horror games, so people don't get the wrong impression as I'm going for a more lighter vibe. It's more of a thriller than a scary game.
All in all, I'm happy with this as the final look of the game.
