Rainshade: Smooth Moves

Immediately after my previous post, I held discussions with a couple members of the team about what steps to take next, now that I was in the right place to focus more on Rainshade again, and we all came to the same conclusions:

• Rainshade was in dire need of updated documentation. The game had evolved and expanded enough that everything was out of date, and it made it difficult to work on without direct assignments from me, especially since I'm also busy with a certain other game.
• The game had accrued a lot of technical debt that needed to be addressed, most notably collision and the player code, and needed to be rewritten in order to add new functionality. If you don't know what technical debt is, it's like when your cables get so tangled that you need to unplug all of it in order to untangle it again

As I alternated between documenting and prototyping, it hit me like a wet sack of bricks just how unfocused the game felt, and not in a good way, due to how much of the early work was done before the game had a proper direction. And, either as a victim to the sunk cost fallacy, or out of fear that I'd disappointed people who got attached, I just sort of left it there, or tried to make it work without drastically changing it.

But there is direction now. At its core, Rainshade is about the experiences you share with others, from friends, to enemies, to everyone in between. If I wanted this game to be what it was meant to be, I had to uproot everything and see what was working, and replace what wasn't.

HOW IT PLAYS

This was a big one. The core gameplay and moveset had elements that I really liked, but it always felt crooked, like the wrong jigsaw pieces were mashed together. To solve this, I wrote in clearest terms what my personal goals were, which were as follows:

• The controls should be intuitive and easy to pick up, but moves can be chained or canceled into each other for advanced tech
• Your moveset should be well rounded and flexible, being useful both in and out of combat
• No dedicated attack button

I experimented with a lot of things, and violated each of those goals at least once (yes, even the third one!) and after a lot of prototyping and some hesitation, I settled on the final new button in your arsenal: Jump!

It's a small lil hop, but it solved nearly every problem instantly -- it had use in and out of combat, offered a means of evading unblockable attacks (eg jumping over shockwaves), the ability to both cancel it into other actions, as well as being able to move in one and aim in another, allowed for exactly the advanced tech I enjoyed, and most importantly, it was very easy to understand. The only thing I had to cut was the ability to roll while running forwards, but don't worry. You can still tumble down the stairs.

With the exclusion of gesture/taunt, which is not necessary to complete the game, JUMP brings the total number of buttons to 4, along with Interact, Umbrella, and Sprint. 4 main buttons has always been my hard limit, and I don't intend to change that.

HOW IT LOOKS

While the art and sprite style isn't changing much, if at all, the same can't be said for a good number of the earlier character designs. I didn't know who they were. But now I do, and they needed updated appearance to match. Of the revealed characters, Merlot and Cerise's changes are by far the most drastic, but, like, look at him! He's just a lil guy!! A little ghostly but precious all the same, just as he should be!!

In addition to this, I am currently experimenting with some UI changes! Nothing major, just things that'll reflect the game's tone better.

B

Bec isn't in the game. Sorry. I'm sure he didn't mean that either. Sorry

HOW ABOUT YOU

Also on the agenda was backer rewards. You have all been unbelievably supportive of me and this game for longer than I can believe, and while I will still be implementing the NPC rewards, I felt the mid tier rewards have been lacking.

I experimented with a lot of ideas. Keepsakes you could find, decorations for your "room" on the trolley, even letting you fish in any body of water to find backer-designed fish. While I do not guarantee this is what I'll go with, what I am heavily leaning towards is phone charms! Ideally, you can collect them from gacha machines, or find them hidden throughout the game, and even equip up to two or three of them, which are visible on the UI whenever you check your phone. Since they're technically merchandise in-universe, I don't have to worry about conflicts with lore or art style, which I think opens up a lot of possibilities. Draw it yourself if you want! Hell, you could just submit a photo of your cat, unedited.

That's really funny actually. Maybe I'll put that in myself

HOW IT READS

Actually, thought some smaller details have changed, I'm still really happy with the overall story and setting so that's pretty much intact! Unless your engagement is based entirely on how early you meet Piper in person, you've got nothing to worry about.

HOW IT SOUNDS

What? The music is good too. That's like the one thing I don't need to change at all. What did you think I was gonna say?

HOW IT GOES

I am still incredibly nervous that part of Rainshade's appeal will be lost with this slightly altered direction, but here's the thing — if you can't get really excited for your own game, you're never gonna finish it.

Until next time!