Dev Log #3: The Spellcaster’s Arsenal Expands!

Dev Log #3: The Spellcaster’s Arsenal Expands!

Hello, fellow travelers of the arcane and mystical! Welcome to the third installment of my development journey. Since Dev Log #2, I’ve been crafting new spells, fine-tuning player feedback, and fleshing out a whole cast of enemies with diverse personalities and fighting styles. But let’s not mince words – I also hit a few bumps along the way (who doesn’t?) that led to deeper insights and cleaner, more powerful gameplay mechanics. I have also received a bunch of great feedback on this project. One thing I have received and have taken away from a few conversations is the renaming of the main character to be a little more androgynous [still thinking of a name, if you have any good ones drop them in the comments section].

Let’s take a look at everything I've conjured up so far:

Spell System Overhaul

The spell system has blossomed from a few simple projectiles into a full-blown arsenal of fantastical powers:

• New Spells Added:
  • Fireball: A basic, trusty projectile spell with a satisfying knockback effect. [Mechanics are SOLID]
  • Chain Lightning: Electrifying multiple enemies in a series of strikes, each hit slightly weaker but just as visually thrilling. [Mechanics are SOLID]
  • Frost Spikes: These chilly spikes slow down enemies with each hit, giving players a tactical advantage. [Mechanics are SOLID]
  • Gravity Pull: A vortex of doom that pulls enemies toward the center and decimates those who reach it. This one came with a unique challenge: making sure it looked just right without clipping awkwardly through the ground – a task I  proudly mastered! [Mechanics are SOLID and truly this is a masterpiece ]

Enhanced HUD and Player Feedback

The player HUD has had an upgrade, with real-time feedback and detailed visual cues to keep players informed:

• Mana and Health Bars: These essential bars now dynamically update to reflect current mana and health values.
• Damage Flash Effect: A brief red flash overlays the screen when taking damage, adding to the intensity of battle.
• Damage Feed Back Effect: Camera shake when damaged.
• Ember Counter and Item Pickup Messages: With each ember collected or item picked up, players get a notification that quickly fades out, keeping them aware of resources without cluttering the screen.
• Spell Cooldown Visuals: HUD icons show each spell’s cooldown, giving players a heads-up on when each spell is ready for action

Loot System and Power-Ups

Our journey led us to develop an intuitive loot drop system:

• Enemy Loot Drops: Now, enemies have a chance to drop valuable loot. We even played with drop rates and rarity for added excitement.
• Item Effects: Potions and items restore health, mana, or embers, giving players a range of benefits for different playstyles.

Enemy AI Variations and Behaviors

To keep players on their toes, we’ve diversified our enemies with distinct AI behaviors:

• Basic Enemy AI: Standard enemies pursue the player, dealing damage on contact.
• Specialized Enemies:
  • Patroller Ambusher: Patrols an area, then tries to ambush the player when in range, adding an element of suspense.
  • Charger: A relentless foe that charges at high speeds to deliver devastating melee attacks.
  • Range Caster: This tactical caster maintains a safe distance, hurling projectiles at the player. Getting the caster’s movement and targeting to feel fluid presented a challenge, but the results were well worth it.

Challenges and Triumphs Along the Way

Not everything was smooth sailing – we had our fair share of debugging marathons and design revisions:

• Facing Direction for AI: Early on, some enemies had a knack for shooting projectiles backward. With some adjustments, made sure all AI enemies stayed focused on the player.
• The Quest for HUD Precision: From mana regeneration to cooldown visuals, getting HUD elements just right took some finesse, but seeing it all come together was worth the effort.
• Making the VFX Pop: Gravity Pull required finesse to align it perfectly on the ground, and Frost Spikes needed just the right visual kick to make them feel impactful. These tweaks were as much a lesson in patience as they were a victory! {Frost Spikes still need a little bit of work}

Coming Soon: Dev Log #4 and Beyond!

In our next steps, we’ll be diving into:

• Player HUD Polish: Looking forward to getting rid of all the placeholder art, and I am thinking about implementing a min map!
• Spell Altar Improvements: Message / Dialog popup providing you the option of unlocking your next spell by cashing in your collected Embers (instead of automatically doing so upon collision) OR if you do not have enough Embers, a message will be displayed.
• Spell effects: Fireball, Frost spikes and Chain lightning could use a little bit more work before showing them off.
• Spell impact effects: I am currently just using some placeholder stuff for visualizations and debugging purposes. These need addressed soon so not to cause any confusion (and to differentiate between them).  
• Enemy hit effect: Blood.. simple and sweet.
• Refining Enemy AI: Tweaking the behaviors a bit.
• New Loot Types and Power-Ups: Expanding the loot system with player buffs!
• Blocking out LEVEL 1: I have been putting pencil to grid paper crafting the first playable level for the early access demo. I will need to do the initial block out and test the mechanics before going deep into level design work. 
• Tightening up the Melee System: I feel it could be a bit tighter, a bit more refined [this might sit in the black-log until I update the character] 

Thanks for being part of this journey! I'm thrilled with the progress and can’t wait to share more in Dev Log #4. 

Remember, a magical world is only as exciting as the adventurers who explore it – and we’re building this one with you in mind!