Dev Journal 7-1-2012

A lot of development has happened since the last post. I ended up taking on a lot of tasks outside the normal sprint. I decided to change the art style to look more complex than just a sequence of blocks. Overall, I think it will result in a better look for the final game. I also spent a lot of time polishing other things such as the menu system and in game ui.

The focus of this sprint has really been the items and the player inventory. I have been creating items and the art assets for each type of item that exists in the game. I figure if I get the base types working than anything that I do after this should just be an extension of those base types. Some of those objects, however, require more architecture changes to accommodate and are taking longer as a result.

Items break down into 5 broad categories.

• Armor items – Items that give you the base stats you use
• Passive stat items – things like double jump or increased damage
• Active skill items – items that require you to actively push a new button aka charge or blink
• On Use items – things like swords that you place in your hotbar, select, and then click the mouse to use
• Placeables – Items that you place on the terrain to build with

The progression system is almost entirely built on items instead of a level based system. This simplifies the advancement curve slightly and gives players more of an opportunity to define how they want to advance.

Development screen shot of the inventory and new art style