The game is coming along nicely! I got a lot done tonight. It's kind of annoying not being able to use graphics at this stage, because I really would like to know what things looked like, so I wouldn't have to completely rework something later if the graphics don't "work" for how I designed it (if that makes sense). I'm just using primitives and solid-colored boxes and stuff like that...
Anyway, here's what is fully functional in the game!
* The time system works perfectly... everything takes time as it should, and the calendar moves along like it should. Monsters go to sleep after it gets so late. I will have to make shops have closing times soon...
* The shops, other than opening/closing times, are fully functional, too! You can now go to town and buy items! There are 10 meals/foods and 10 teas in the game right now. Shops restock every day with 3 items (and the ones from the previous day are lost!) so please check shops regularly, and be on the lookout for rare items, too!
* Training in facilities works perfectly! There is only one kind of facility right now (empty lot) but it is easily expandable, I just have to decide on the base increases and stuff for each facility. The facility will function no matter which one it recognizes you as being inside, so all I have to do is add to the facility database.
* Inventory is working and you can feed items to your monster. The monster gets full when eating meals, and can only have one a day. The items also affect your training like they should!
* Sleeping 'updates' the game as it should... your monster will recover a little from fatigue overnight, more if you didn't make it train that day, and will also update things like hunger and stuff.
* Some sounds and minor polish are integrated into the game. Partly this is because state transitions needed to be smoother/take a bit to make certain parts work, so now the screen fades when you go between areas, and there's a walking sound effect, too! There are also keyboard sound effects and stuff... a level up sound, and some music.
Here's what I'll be working on soon:
* The farm upgrading system and all the facilities. I need to add the shop where you can upgrade your farm and facilities and get new ones. This will be easily completed and will probably be done tomorrow.
* The "house" menu where you can go to save your game and sleep. I will not add a savegame feature until the game is near complete, however, because I am still not 100% decided on which method I will use to implement it.
* The "sick" and "injured" states for the monsters when you work them too hard or when they get hurt during training or competition. These are special conditions that will change how many things work, so I will need to go back and make sure other systems properly check for these states.
* Possibly more artwork, since right now everything is just text and rectagular placeholders :)
The music is also coming along really well. Seriously, the soundtrack is going to be EPIC! It sounds really professional, even better than some commercial games. I am really happy with the way it is coming along! I will ask permission from the composer to post a piece of music publicly before release. I wish I had the money to hire an artist to do all of the drawing and spriting for me, because it's really way too much for me, and I'm not the best artist in the first place.
If you know of anyone who would work for free for now, let me know :3 Just kidding. Kinda.
Showing posts with label skitter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label skitter. Show all posts
Friday, January 11, 2013
Monday, January 7, 2013
Items
The inventory system is coming along really well! I finally finished the base for it today, so I can search through and sort items and display the current user's inventory. It's ready to be integrated into the shopping system, as well.
I have also programmed 12 items into the game, minus their image files which I have not drawn the art for yet (right now, they are all grey boxes). I can't guarantee those twelve or any I discuss here will be in the final release, of course, but I project there will be around 35-50 different consumable items you can give to your monster.
Items are, at the most basic level, categorized into two types: meals and non-meals.
Monsters need to eat meals every day in order to thrive. If you forget to feed your monster a meal, it will become hungry, which can stress it out, tire it out, and make it refuse to work. Your monster's lifespan may decrease if you often forget to feed it, and if you starve it completely, it may get sick or die. So meals are very important to monsters.
Not only do monsters need to eat to live, but how they grow also is influenced by food. Monsters eat human food in the game, and I used real-life nutritional properties of food as inspiration for the different meals you can serve your monster. I researched health benefits of many types of foods, and tried to create a world buffet of foods for your monster. For example, Japanese fermented soybeans with rice can help your monster beef up and become strong. On the other hand, if you regularly feed your monster caldo verde (a Portuguese green soup loaded with kale), your monster's brain will stay healthy and you will notice it will succeed more in intelligence training. Other foods you may see in the game include the Italian pasta dish pesto cavatappi and a spinach and feta Greek favorite of mine, spanakopita.
There will also be "larger" meals available that may greatly help with training, but make your monster more sluggish and tire out easily from overeating. These "supermeals" can be helpful if you don't have a lot of time for training and want to get the biggest boost you can, or if you forgot to feed your monster until later in the day.
In addition to the meals you can feed your pets, there will be the non-meal items. Most of these will still be foods of some sort, but more like snacks. I am considering other consumables like soaps and balms, but right now there are no plans for such items.
One primary type of non-meal you can give your monster is tea. While meals are best for the beginning of the day, to prepare your monster for training, teas are better for afternoon or evening when your monster has been growing tired and stressed from its training, but you still have work to do. Teas can help relax and soothe your monster while offering some training bonuses. Unlike meals, they will be somewhat expensive (especially the rare teas!) so they are best used as a way to unwind on days of rigorous training rather than as training boosters.
There will also be some more risky items, like supplements to use in place of meals that can greatly help with training but may decrease your monster's overall health (since they are not getting a truly balanced diet) or junk food that makes your monster very happy but makes it do worse in its training.
And no items will train your monster for you; they will only supplement the training. No matter how many servings of natto you give your monster, they can't grow that muscle without working out! So the key to a healthy and strong monster is to eat right and exercise regularly! (And don't forget to rest when needed, too. Rest is a very important factor in Skitter!)
I have also programmed 12 items into the game, minus their image files which I have not drawn the art for yet (right now, they are all grey boxes). I can't guarantee those twelve or any I discuss here will be in the final release, of course, but I project there will be around 35-50 different consumable items you can give to your monster.
Items are, at the most basic level, categorized into two types: meals and non-meals.
 |
| This traditional Japanese dish can help your monster's Power. |
Not only do monsters need to eat to live, but how they grow also is influenced by food. Monsters eat human food in the game, and I used real-life nutritional properties of food as inspiration for the different meals you can serve your monster. I researched health benefits of many types of foods, and tried to create a world buffet of foods for your monster. For example, Japanese fermented soybeans with rice can help your monster beef up and become strong. On the other hand, if you regularly feed your monster caldo verde (a Portuguese green soup loaded with kale), your monster's brain will stay healthy and you will notice it will succeed more in intelligence training. Other foods you may see in the game include the Italian pasta dish pesto cavatappi and a spinach and feta Greek favorite of mine, spanakopita.
 |
| Can you guess which training this carb-loaded meal benefits? |
In addition to the meals you can feed your pets, there will be the non-meal items. Most of these will still be foods of some sort, but more like snacks. I am considering other consumables like soaps and balms, but right now there are no plans for such items.
One primary type of non-meal you can give your monster is tea. While meals are best for the beginning of the day, to prepare your monster for training, teas are better for afternoon or evening when your monster has been growing tired and stressed from its training, but you still have work to do. Teas can help relax and soothe your monster while offering some training bonuses. Unlike meals, they will be somewhat expensive (especially the rare teas!) so they are best used as a way to unwind on days of rigorous training rather than as training boosters.
There will also be some more risky items, like supplements to use in place of meals that can greatly help with training but may decrease your monster's overall health (since they are not getting a truly balanced diet) or junk food that makes your monster very happy but makes it do worse in its training.
And no items will train your monster for you; they will only supplement the training. No matter how many servings of natto you give your monster, they can't grow that muscle without working out! So the key to a healthy and strong monster is to eat right and exercise regularly! (And don't forget to rest when needed, too. Rest is a very important factor in Skitter!)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)