Another week, another update, and today's is pretty major.
Once again I've simplified my graphics. I did this mostly because, as I started adding new visual elements, I was losing control of my color scheme. Solution: a monochromatic environment that the player character will always stand out in. I think it was the right move, at least for this iteration of the project.
Perhaps even bigger is that the basic combat system is finished. The enemy AI is 100% built (save for its "death" state, which is when you beat the game), and I'm super happy with its responsiveness. I'm sure I'll tweak all of the parameters before the game jam is over, but for all intents and purposes it works great. I've included a few different clips of fight scenarios below, showing basically all of the enemy's capabilities and some simple FX. Bear in mind that the player character in this video is at what will probably be the lowest level. I wanted to show just how slow and weak you are at the game's beginning, even though you're not exactly helpless.
As for my other goals, I didn't start building the leveling system yet, but I did plan out how it will look and affect the player. I'm going to avoid the usual stats (Strength, Skill, Endurance, etc) and try to make something unique, if I have enough time to implement it properly. The sound is also slowly coming along, including original music that my friend is helping out with. That should all be in the next update!
As always, I'd love any and all feedback on this. @majugi had suggested I include something so you can tell when the characters are in range to attack, which is a good idea. I tried using shadows underneath each character, but couldn't get it to work/look quite right. I'd love it if anyone has a solution to suggest for that. Also, I'd specifically like to hear your thoughts on the health bars being attached to the characters in the game world. Do you think it works? Is there a better way I could implement it? I personally like it more than slapping a simple HUD canvas over everything, but maybe that would be simpler overall.
Until next time!
