so...Its been a while...

OK! So it’s been a loooong time since I last updated my blog, and I mean it’s been a long time…as the last time was before Christmas… So this is going to be one of a few updates, and will explain what I’ve been up to for the past few months. 

To start with, as explained in previous posts I had been working on a game with a team, it was a sci-fi fantasy type game, and I wanted to delve into difficult mechanics such as those on dark souls. So over the first few months of the New Year I focused on creating these mechanics, within this setting, as well as creating the first area the player will encounter. 

This is The Enszuar Jungle; within the jungle the player will encounter all sorts of wildlife as well as the main enemies of the game, The Satyr. At the start of the level the player/players will crash land at start and will then be free to explore the jungle. 

Satyr camp on the Ridge

The way I wanted this start area to work was, when the player wanders to the lake, there will be smoke coming from the camp opposite them. I wanted this to act as a landmark or eyesore for them to then make that their own objective to get there. Once they get there they will then be given an objective to help out the Centaurs (as the camp is a centaur camp, and centaurs are the allies of the game.) by eliminating the Satyrs that are surrounding the jungle. This camp will be under constant barrage from the satyr camp on a ridge close by (the one near 'Cave 2'), this is because I wanted the player to then think to go there first to help the camp out straight away. When they get there this is when they will come up against a multitude of satyr enemies, each with their own set of unique mechanics that players will have to learn to counter and avoid, but also have to eliminate two portals in that areas which constantly spawn enemies. Should the player succeed in taking out the camp and killing its commander, the commander of the camp will give them something called ‘Portal scriptures’ which will allow them to take out portals quicker…however this is if the player figures out how to use them. 

 

The cave where the Underwater plant seed is used

For a lot of the level I wanted to add mechanics that would be difficult to figure out at first but once mastered would be very rewarding. The main example being, some of the plant life around the jungle will instantly kill the player if they get too close. However the player needs to use themselves as bait to actually kill the plant, meaning they will have to get close and wait for the plat to snap, and in that instant shoot to kill. A simple mechanic, but there will be many different plants that do different things, and they all drop things from Sap to leaves. The player can pick these up, but they will have no relevance in this first area; however later in the game can be combined to access a door in the final area, that will then reward the player with possibly a special weapon. Also in the centre of the main lake area there would be a bigger plant uder the water. Should the player take this out, they will then be given a seed, but this wont merge with the other seeds they may have already collected. This seed would be used to open a chest within a cave somewhere in the jungle and it would be up to the player to find it. Though if the player had found it previously to finding the seed and tried to open it without it, there would have been defenses in place to stop them from gaining the treasure inside (most likely an insta-kill).

I found creating some of the enemy mechanics really fun, though some of them were difficult coming up with mechanics that would be interesting, but at the same time difficult to overcome. Though some of my favourites were the Jungle cats, and the ‘Kazalite Shields’ (kazalites are a playable race in the game. 

The Jungle cats I wanted to create a sense of stealth but also incorporate their animalistic nature. They would act as though they are alone, though when the player approaches to take them out, they will then jump into the nearby bush and call for other jungle cats. More will then jump out and start surrounding the player in a sort of hunting pattern and will pounce in on the player every now and then, meaning the player will have to concentrate on all angles at once to be able to dodge incoming attacks. 

The ‘Kazalite Shield’ has a HUGE shield on their back which protects them from any gunfire from behind. Though this shield is on a shoulder rail which when shot at from the front will then move along the rail to protect from any gunfire from the front. So basically they are walking tanks that can’t be hit from anywhere other than their sides, but this will hardly deal any damage. The shields also have a round saw blade on it which the Kazalite will use when charging towards the player. However the shield and armour they wear are mainly made of metal, therefore will conduct electricity, so should the player use lightning magic on them when the shield is on the front or back, the kazalite will be stunned, and can be attacked from where ever the shield is not.

Most enemies will deal severe damage or instantly kill the player, meaning the player will always be on the move to try and find the weakness or opening chance to destroy them. This is what I feel will make the game truly difficult, along with some of the puzzles I tested at the start of the year.

Mechanics Playground

I then moved onto creating a ‘Mechanics playground’ where a few of these mechanics would be tested. These mechanics were really simplistic and done to a really rough standard. I did this to show my idea behind the mechanics but also so we could get a feel for them, even though they were super rough. Some of the mechanics that were included were three spells, water, fire and lightning; I also included rough mock-up of the Jungle cat mechanic. 

The Playground

Fire Spell

Lightning Spell

Jungle cat Mock-up (The models were placeholders so yes I am aware they arent actually cats ;P)

However, unfortunately due to certain circumstances I ended up leaving the team that I was creating this game with! And moved onto another project with a few other people…

Find out more, in the next update!