Day 6 - Tutorial Progress

Today I made the second map for the tutorial and finished 90% of the scripting for both parts of the initial tutorial. My story outline is helpful, but a lot of things are kind of free-form right now with this introductory story outside of a few key points. I am liking the way things have been coming out though. With that said, I have screenshots for you today!

Map one, early story - Edit:  Adjusted text so it is in a better position & made a cosmetic change to the nameplate.

This is how the story starts after some semi-goofy narration. It isn't exactly original but it is getting the job done. Here I establish the main character's goal, why this is a big deal for the character, and introduce a plot point that will become relevant later. This map is unique in that it is the only time this perspective and particular art style is used. Don't worry though, it still fits in with the visual style of the rest of the game and will create a neat effect when you, "zoom out" to the actual game map. The rest of the game will look more like this:

The second tutorial map where the game officially begins to have consequences...

This map is a bit unusual because I have to have a certain map size but also need to restrict the player's movements. My solution was a more minimal approach in providing just enough detail to convey the action of moving to the red squares, and then again to the forest. It is reminiscent of older world maps you'd see in something like Super Mario World (just as a random example, I know it is still fairly different). Alternatively, I could craft a fancy map with lots of detail but that's time that could be better spent elsewhere. I may expand the forest to the screen's edges based on feedback, but currently I believe this is a more balanced feel.

Tomorrow's plan is to finalize everything here and get the prologue published onto my game page for Hiro's Ascension so people can give it a go. Plus, this will allow me to get some feedback and make any needed changes/corrections. There is a chance I don't finish this up until Tuesday, but once this portion of the game is finished, the rest becomes a fair bit easier to produce because tutorial moments decrease. Dialog scenes will still occur, but they won't be in as many scenes, nor will there be need for as much narration. Most of moving forward here is map creation and coding, which still takes time, but I can do more quickly based on the parameters I established for each chapter. I can template a lot of stuff.

Any way, I hope you look forward to it!

-JS