Development Log

Hey everyone! I felt that I should do a post on here to give a progress update on the game I'm currently developing. I've finished the first major "chunk" of development, which includes (almost) every major mechanic.

I've recorded a short gameplay video, to give you all a gist on how the game looks and plays. However, there's no music or sound effects yet, because I haven't found anyone to compose the OST and sounds. (I'll hopefully find someone soon though) The video quality is also a... Little potato-ey, considering I don't have any proper recording/editing software at the moment.

For those of you who don't know, this is a (SFW) game I've been working on since December. It's an adventure game set in the Full Moon Isles, an uncharted "new world" sought out by Pirates and the Government alike. The islands get their name from the fact that every night, the moon is always full.

You play as a young pirate looking to rescue the man who saved your life, while exploring and plundering the islands. You and your small crew, known as the Blue Moon Pirates, sail the seas in search of adventure and undiscovered lands.

The game will be completely non-linear, aside from a couple of story segments. You can complete dungeons in any order you wish, upgrade your tools however you like, and go anywhere you want. I plan for the game to have 6 dungeons with 5 islands, and a 7th final dungeon of course.

Getting back on topic, this video doesn't cover everything I have in-game so far. Here's a quick run down of stuff that isn't fully shown off in the video:

You can swap your main Pirate Gear around, altering the order in which you toggle between them, in the collection menu.

Also in the selection menu, every item/tool/collectible has information text linked to it, that the player can read at any time.

Every item can be upgraded two times, which changes aspects of how they work. For example, upgraded bombs set things on fire with flammable oil, the grappling hook gets a longer rope for range, and the sword (once fully upgraded) pulls enemies into its attacks! (And yes, ALL of these upgrades are already in the game and fully programmed)

There's also a selection of different items not shown off. I managed to show the Fuse Bomb, which is a rather overpowered screen-wipe item, but there's plenty of other items so far.

In the video, I scripted the game to turn to night upon entering the cave, though once I add sailing (which is the next big chunk of development) I'll be making time pass naturally then. I already have a shader for handling a proper day/night cycle, but due to how fugly it looked I'll be using it sparingly in the final game. What you see in the video is an asset swap for re-colored tiles and sprites (and in some cases, altered tiles such as the windows on the house)

The dialogue system in general is also a lot more dynamic than what's shown in the video. It has the capacity to do special effect text (such as jiggling text, transparent text, slow or fast text, auto advances, etc.) using a bbcode-ish system that I wrote. (Also of course, it allows for questions and responses, like in Thirstchasm almost.)

The next chunk of development will mainly focus on sailing. This means I'll be adding the ship, naval combat, marine enemies, more islands, and of course your crew. But for now, I'll be focusing on fleshing out more plot details/side locations, and I hope to do another piece of concept art like the last one I posted here. I hope to see you then! (The next posts won't be public to non-patrons, once I write them.)

(Also, here's some extra screencaps I collected while preparing for this post.)