Devlog No.021

I have less to say this time around, but that would be because I just released a build and a lot of the information about it is in there. Though that doesn't mean there isn't stuff to say, just that most of the good stuff is in the build post.

One thing I do want to mention is that I didn't get to add in any new trinkets which I very much wanted to do. I was working on the grappler enemy a lot longer than I thought I would have to. Several hours of just troubleshooting on her and the interaction with Aria. Mostly having to do with how she would grab Aria and hold her. It was going on so long I was considering just abandoning allowing the grappler to grab Aria while she was turned into a blueberry due to a lot of cross state scripts and whatnot. I THINK I got it all worked out to the point where I'll even be able to add new enemies who can grab Aria too.

Another problem with this programming was with how the grappler interacts with Aria and solid obstacles. If you get grabbed right into a wall shortly after turning into a blueberry then it can act really buggy and jerk around for example. It's quite sensitive. Though I did work with it until the grappler could push and shove up and down hills just fine. (Though it can be janky if she pushes Aria off a steep ledge on their way to the nest area)

But only more troubleshooting will tell and if there's one thing I have learned about this kind of code it's that later down the line I will suddenly discover some kind of game breaking bug that has to do with it and have to patch it. There was even a bug in the game right up until shortly before I released the demo that would cause Aria's orb flame to trigger her invincibility code and make the next damage source she took do no damage. So you could potentially spam fire and run into it to prevent damage. Fortunately I knew there was something odd about the hit indicator popping up randomly when no enemies were around and fixed it before the demo released.

I have a feeling I'll have something weird like that with the grappler AI in some form.

Ah, but in regards to the progress of the game, it's now in version 0.5 and it will be until the next boss is finished. That will be when it goes into 0.6. I feel comfortable talking a bit about what I want to add between those two points so why not, I'll do it here. (Though I did talk about this somewhat in the last devlog)

I want to add a new candy island tileset, but I also want to add an autumn fields recolor area. That will likely come after the candy island zones and be more of a 'remix' area that isn't too long. Without spoiling my plans for the boss, I will say that I have a partially done recolor of the forest and that will be where the next boss is located. So I will likely have the candy island zone, an autumn field zone, and then a dark forest zone. I'm not promising the autumn field one as I may change my mind on where to put that one, but I do want to put it in the game. It's really more of a question of whether or not it's a good idea to have the tone shift so dramatically or not. (I mean the game literally has dissonance in the title so it would fit)

In terms of other new content, I have the 'negative' candy that I will be experimenting with and figuring out how best to add it. I will also add in at least a couple more power shrines and I am going to add, bare minimum, one more puzzle shrine.

And I've shown off a couple of forms for Aria that haven't made it in the game yet. I am going to have one of those added.

It feels like quite a bit since I've added any story elements, but that will change here as well. I have one story point that I am going to be working on even before candy island levels come about. Then I will also have a couple more main story points.

In terms of new enemies, I'm going to take it a bit easy for candy island. Not to say I am not adding new enemies, but you can look forward to a few enemies that are a bit more abstract and simple. I won't have a more complex enemy type until the dark forest area and even that will have a few new enemies that are more simple in design. This version will have more of a larger volume of enemies, but they will mostly be simplistic in both sprite design and AI. Not to say that I am trying to avoid the same complexity as the filimuri, but more that I want to have a good variety.

I'll also say that the filimuri will get at least one recolor down the line too, but that won't be in the next version.

I would like to avoid having so many zones without any new weapons or spells so I will likely add at least one of them in there.

Back to story, I will say that I think some of you know that the shop keeper has at least one other form considering the art collection here. Well, I'll be adding that little plot as well in this version.

So that's most of the plan for the next build. I do still have a big commission that I need to finish and since I just completed this build, I am going to try and focus on that as I need to finish it and then get back to making some money to stay afloat.

Which actually reminds me of an idea I had. Similar to my idea of offering to add OC NPCs to the game for a premium price, I was also considering offering a shrine slot for a premium too. So you'd get to have an OC of yours added as one of the boob shrines that you unlock for more power. If there is interest of course. Though the prices on this kind of stuff would be like 300 for one. I think I talked about this before too, though not the shrines. Anything to keep afloat and developing the game!

Anyway, that's it for this devlog! I am going to go ahead and take my rest now.