And here's Fred's renditions of both James and his two fans! We've decided to add yet another fan to his bunch of followers, but that one will probably appear a bit later:
And second, that of the fanboy:
Two new characters we're gonna introduce in story mode are part of the fanclub surrounding James Fawkes! Starting off with the fangirl:
So one of the main topics on our minds lately has been the Pin Collector. Who is he, how will the pins be unlocked and at what part of the game? We've decided that he will appear randomly in a room after the player has played a certain amount: not too long, but at least a few runs so that they're familiar with the way the game works without pins added.
He will appear through a dimension rift which will happen in the midst of a room. Here's our first prototype of the scene:
Obvious use of placeholders including Marino, of course... haha!
Next, we've been playing around with adding some effects to give the impression of the pins scattering away:
This is also still a work in progress! We're not completely happy with the way the pins literally seem to "scatter like a wind" if you want. We might look into having them scatter from him more like coins from a defeated enemy; or we might keep the effect separate from his appearance altogether. In any case, the testing continues! :)
He will appear through a dimension rift which will happen in the midst of a room. Here's our first prototype of the scene:
Obvious use of placeholders including Marino, of course... haha!
Next, we've been playing around with adding some effects to give the impression of the pins scattering away:
This is also still a work in progress! We're not completely happy with the way the pins literally seem to "scatter like a wind" if you want. We might look into having them scatter from him more like coins from a defeated enemy; or we might keep the effect separate from his appearance altogether. In any case, the testing continues! :)
With the world around us slowly calming down a bit and more and more restrictions being lifted, we have been talking about whether or not to get back into some sort of office. The office hotel we previously used have closed down, but we do have a spare room where we live where we've previously housed guests so we're thinking about turning it into a proper office for the time being.
Today we decided that we'll start making that move within the upcoming week, so we've been making plans to move our desks and computers there as soon as it becomes available this weekend (Teddy's mom has been staying over for the last couple months due to the corona virus, but she's been intent on moving back to her apartment for quite some time, and has already started moving out most of her things).
It's possible we'll look into a more permanent office in the future, but before we make any such move we want to see a more permanent decrease in the corona virus havoc that's been going on. For now, it won't make much of a difference for the three of us to meet in the office seeing as we don't really see anyone else anyway, and I think after a couple months working from home it would be good for our motivation to get back to some proper routines and get a proper change of scenery.
So that's our upcoming plans that we discussed today while also having our yearly meeting and signing some papers for the company that we need to review yearly. Phew! Now, back to work :)
Today we decided that we'll start making that move within the upcoming week, so we've been making plans to move our desks and computers there as soon as it becomes available this weekend (Teddy's mom has been staying over for the last couple months due to the corona virus, but she's been intent on moving back to her apartment for quite some time, and has already started moving out most of her things).
It's possible we'll look into a more permanent office in the future, but before we make any such move we want to see a more permanent decrease in the corona virus havoc that's been going on. For now, it won't make much of a difference for the three of us to meet in the office seeing as we don't really see anyone else anyway, and I think after a couple months working from home it would be good for our motivation to get back to some proper routines and get a proper change of scenery.
So that's our upcoming plans that we discussed today while also having our yearly meeting and signing some papers for the company that we need to review yearly. Phew! Now, back to work :)
In Fred's department we're working on some cubes and other types of indicators for all of those pins that allows you to trigger an effect after x hits!
The cubes will grow in size the closer you are to unleashing the effect:
But he hasn't forgotten about Story Mode! Here's the shield to match the weapons seen last week:
Next up, another portrait for the mansion! This is the goblet, Marino's dads trusted artefact! Finally some more sentient artefact for you guys to hang out with ;)
Next step on the same topic is that we want there to be a place where you can see all of the pins that are available, as well as those you haven't seen yet. This will be viewed through the Pin Collector who will hang out in town after you've unlocked him!
Here's the progress:
Obviously each of the icons will be replaced with the corresponding Pin. The questionmark icons will signify a pin you haven't seen yet but that you could find any run, while the lock means it's a Pin you've yet to unlock. We haven't yet decided if we will have pins you will unlock, but we've talked about having a new batch of pins unlock as a reward for certain quests or certain progression milestones; how do you guys feel about that?
Here's the progress:
First though, some more Pin stuff for Arcade Mode! There will be a part of the menu where you can see what Pins you currently have equipped, and so I made a little modified version of the Pin equip UI where you can see such things:
One suggestion on where to put this menu was to replace the crafting tab with it, seeing as crafting doesn't serve a purpose in Arcade Mode, the other was to keep it under equipment. The latter suggestion was mainly because we wanted it to be in the same spot in both modes in a world where we were to include them in Story Mode in some form. For now though, that seems unlikely - so the Crafting tab will be replaced for now :)
Going back to story mode for a bit, we've talked about the second quest for the Mansion and come up with a rather simple quest for the player to deal with the first time they're allowed into the Mansion (which will be by the time you defeat Marino after Flying Fortress). Basically one of the maids want some help solving a small infestation of slime in the basement. Oh but what an infestation it is - not quite what you'd expect I think... :)
We're also finally starting to fiddle around with the things you'll access when you get the plant fertilizers and will access the areas currently unavailable (remember the small squiggly plants?). So far we know of three places these plants will be: the one in pillar mountains which will lead to a small reward, a little cave system leading back to the cave where you find the sandals (I believe) further down in pillar mountains, and upwards to an old an abandoned Grindea shrine which may or may not play a part in the later stages of the game...
Here are some sketches I made as we were talking about this place during the meeting, more to come later:
The one in Flying Fortress will simply lead you to a treasure, while the third will lead you to the mysterious tree stump house in Seasonne, where it seems you will get a reward and find a housing shop! We haven't made any sketches for this yet, but I'll likely start working on that once we finish up the mansion :)
Meanwhile, Fred has been working on those fashionable items that look good but are of low quality and don't do too much damage! Here's the preview of two of them:
Who else wants to go find that pin right now?!
I will be working on making the rest of the set, adding some headgear and face gear as well :)
Fred has also been working on the possibly cutest thing in the game yet, a baby cloud that will be an effect of one of the Pins you can find in Arcade Mode:
Next up it's time to make the portrait for the famous James Fawke, the popular collector guy that so far hasn't existed but whom will appear here and there throughout the game (though not as part of the main story)!
Now, time to dive back into that Mansion hallway!
Here's part two, featuring a Solem statue and a little area to sit and have tea in the lobby, while waiting to meet whoever you're here to see. Also, new and upgraded fountains (although we've talked about changing these around again and saving these particular ones for a different place - we'll see):
So, the thing me and Fred will focus in next is the Mansion. I've already shown some sketches of the interior as well as some characters that will live inside its walls, but what's the actual point of the building? Why, to house quests of course! Over the last couple days our daily meetings have mainly revolved around the quest(s) that will happen around the building, and have gone through a ton of suggestions. In the end though, we've settled for a specific questline, featuring Marino's dad's business idea.
As some of you may know, while you're off in Mount Bloom and Tai Ming, Marino and his dad has been in the Merchant Isles for some kind of business trip. Now that they're back, we're deciding to bring in that business trip as part of a quest, where you're tasked with doing marketing for a new set of gear they've imported and want to start selling.
The gear looks real fancy, but unfortunately its stats are horrible - it's basically fashion items only. But to market the set, Marino's dad wants you to do a publicity stunt in the arena - fighting a bunch of enemies using only the fashionable set from the Merchant Isle! Why you? Well, because the one who was actually going to do the fashion stunt, a famous and popular Collector, has unfortunately taken ill...
The idea here is that around the time you finish Tai Ming, there will be posters and such in Evergrind City featuring the famous collector (whom we'll add as a side character that you can interact with and who will have been mentioned previously in the game), announcing the event in the arena. Shortly after the quest will become available in the mansion, where Marino's dad will explain that the famed collector can't do it but that you have enough popularity to do it instead. After this additional posters will be added to Evergrind, taped over the original ones, this time featuring your face!
The event itself will basically be an arena challenge where it's your job to defeat a bunch of enemies using only the fashionable set (which will be force equipped and you won't be able to change during the challenge). Succeed and you'll get the reward, mess up and well... die... Oops :)
There will also be an additional quest earlier on in the game, which will be available around the time you first gain access to the mansion. We're not entirely sure what that quest will be yet though, but probably something a bit more simple. Our idea with this bigger quest is to involve not only the mansion, but to give Evergrind City some additional sense of life, kind of like what we did surrounding the festival. We don't want Evergrind to feel too static, but like a place where things happen and change :)
As some of you may know, while you're off in Mount Bloom and Tai Ming, Marino and his dad has been in the Merchant Isles for some kind of business trip. Now that they're back, we're deciding to bring in that business trip as part of a quest, where you're tasked with doing marketing for a new set of gear they've imported and want to start selling.
The gear looks real fancy, but unfortunately its stats are horrible - it's basically fashion items only. But to market the set, Marino's dad wants you to do a publicity stunt in the arena - fighting a bunch of enemies using only the fashionable set from the Merchant Isle! Why you? Well, because the one who was actually going to do the fashion stunt, a famous and popular Collector, has unfortunately taken ill...
The idea here is that around the time you finish Tai Ming, there will be posters and such in Evergrind City featuring the famous collector (whom we'll add as a side character that you can interact with and who will have been mentioned previously in the game), announcing the event in the arena. Shortly after the quest will become available in the mansion, where Marino's dad will explain that the famed collector can't do it but that you have enough popularity to do it instead. After this additional posters will be added to Evergrind, taped over the original ones, this time featuring your face!
The event itself will basically be an arena challenge where it's your job to defeat a bunch of enemies using only the fashionable set (which will be force equipped and you won't be able to change during the challenge). Succeed and you'll get the reward, mess up and well... die... Oops :)
There will also be an additional quest earlier on in the game, which will be available around the time you first gain access to the mansion. We're not entirely sure what that quest will be yet though, but probably something a bit more simple. Our idea with this bigger quest is to involve not only the mansion, but to give Evergrind City some additional sense of life, kind of like what we did surrounding the festival. We don't want Evergrind to feel too static, but like a place where things happen and change :)
So, we've been focusing quite a bit on Pins and Arcade these couple weeks, and you might wonder what our next step is from here. Our idea is that Teddy will finish up and add a ton of pins and get them polished and ready for a Frontline Patch along with the floor shortening and all of that sometime in the beginning of June - that's about how long it'll take for us to iron out all potential bugs and make it all work in multiplayer as well.
The remaining work is pretty heavily focused on the programming bits, so me and Fred will star working on something else, or rather, get back to where we left off before these Pins caught our attention: the Mansion! Once the mansion has been completed we'll also add one or two quests involving its characters, and possibly some other bits and pieces for Story Mode before that turns into a Frontline Patch as well. In the near future, we'll likely do an Arcade update here and a Story Mode update there as we work our way through these things we have left on our long list of things we want to add before the game is completed.
First up though, an expected Frontline Update around the first week on June, featuring the shortening of Arcade and around 100 pins for you to explore throughout your journeys in Arcade Mode! Hopefully you'll like the variation they give as much as we have trying them out so far :)
The remaining work is pretty heavily focused on the programming bits, so me and Fred will star working on something else, or rather, get back to where we left off before these Pins caught our attention: the Mansion! Once the mansion has been completed we'll also add one or two quests involving its characters, and possibly some other bits and pieces for Story Mode before that turns into a Frontline Patch as well. In the near future, we'll likely do an Arcade update here and a Story Mode update there as we work our way through these things we have left on our long list of things we want to add before the game is completed.
First up though, an expected Frontline Update around the first week on June, featuring the shortening of Arcade and around 100 pins for you to explore throughout your journeys in Arcade Mode! Hopefully you'll like the variation they give as much as we have trying them out so far :)
Meanwhile in Freds department he's been working on some effects that will spawn around the player for some specific pins where you collect charges as you battle, as well as doing some work on the Pin collector himself:
After a few discussions as well as checking in with the community about the subject, we've decided that rather than have pins appear from the get-go, it will be another thing that will be introduced after you've played arcade mode for a little bit, complete with its own NPC who will tell you how it all works. As such, I was tasked with making his portrait:
Do you recognize from where we have gotten the inspiration for this guy? :)
Now, some more stuff for the pins! Starting with a trash can icon for when you're about to throw away one of your pins:
And two more pin types, using a special colour scheme:
These pins are what we call "sticky" pins, meaning they'll permanently take up a slot and there's no way to get rid of them. Better think twice before you equip these!
There's also another shape for pins, as well as a specific icon for potion related pins:
And finally, one more palette to mix things up a bit:
Speaking of variation in Arcade Mode, another thing we've been discussing a lot lately is the addition of more types of rooms, to make each run feel even more unique. Some of these ideas include:
Cursed Item Shop
A shop that sells items that are really good but you can't unequip them or swap them out (this room type would mainly appear on the early floors, so in later floors the equipment might fall off and not be as good anymore). Possibly other curses as well.
Zombie J
A ghastly version of the bow salesman who sells a cursed quiver that is smaller (so you'll have fewer arrows in total), but you can fire extra arrows at the expense of your own health. Could appear alongside the Cursed Item Shop, to mirror the regular shop.
Archie
The guy who appears here and there around the world to open up shortcuts or sell you items you've missed and can't reach again, only in arcade he'll offer you access to a bonus room he's found. Pay up the money and he'll let you through to a path he's cut up leading to either a random guaranteed 'good' room (a shop, healing, etc), OR...
...A Lood Fountain
A room with a bunch of Loods floating around a fountain! We haven't decided if this is only gonna be the reward for paying Archie or if it'll be a room of its own. In the end we might end up having this be Archies only reward instead of random rooms as well. We'll see!
A Mischievous Spite
Think we might have mentioned this before ages ago, but it was brought up again. A sprite that appears in multiplayer only, secretly offering one of the players an advantage of some sort at the expense of his friends (like them getting less atk, def, aspd or something like that). Just something a bit silly to mess with your friends!
It's not a certainty we'll add all of these, but they are some suggestions at the very least. Which one is your favourite? And what sort of additional rooms would you like to see?
Cursed Item Shop
A shop that sells items that are really good but you can't unequip them or swap them out (this room type would mainly appear on the early floors, so in later floors the equipment might fall off and not be as good anymore). Possibly other curses as well.
Zombie J
A ghastly version of the bow salesman who sells a cursed quiver that is smaller (so you'll have fewer arrows in total), but you can fire extra arrows at the expense of your own health. Could appear alongside the Cursed Item Shop, to mirror the regular shop.
Archie
The guy who appears here and there around the world to open up shortcuts or sell you items you've missed and can't reach again, only in arcade he'll offer you access to a bonus room he's found. Pay up the money and he'll let you through to a path he's cut up leading to either a random guaranteed 'good' room (a shop, healing, etc), OR...
...A Lood Fountain
A room with a bunch of Loods floating around a fountain! We haven't decided if this is only gonna be the reward for paying Archie or if it'll be a room of its own. In the end we might end up having this be Archies only reward instead of random rooms as well. We'll see!
A Mischievous Spite
Think we might have mentioned this before ages ago, but it was brought up again. A sprite that appears in multiplayer only, secretly offering one of the players an advantage of some sort at the expense of his friends (like them getting less atk, def, aspd or something like that). Just something a bit silly to mess with your friends!
It's not a certainty we'll add all of these, but they are some suggestions at the very least. Which one is your favourite? And what sort of additional rooms would you like to see?
And here we have the progress of two more pins, as well as two more icons and a bunch of colour variations:
For some of you these aren't exactly new; the last couple of days we've uploaded what we have done with the pins right now as a hidden command for our most devoted testers to try out. So far, we're pretty happy with the feedback, and the feeling we have right now is that pins is definitely a positive thing for Arcade Mode! So far so good; though obviously we have a lot more to come up with and add before we are satisfied - we want some epic variation, after all :)
In Fred's department, he's been working on giving the pins proper representation as sprites! Like most other things, this involves a lot of iterating and trying out different ideas and designs:
With the final result looking something like this:
