Devlog #3 - Beta

For the beta build, I focused on  getting enough art and events done so that the game is playable from start to finish. The game is still bare bones when it comes to non-quest NPCs and additional dialogue, but that's what I'm going to add for the next iteration.

Based on the prototype feedback, I did my best to add a variety of NPCs so that it didn't feel as short and lackluster as the prototype. There are currently four new NPCs that give quests with a character portrait for each of them, which I prioritized because the portraits make the interactions feel more meaningful than if the characters were only seen as sprites. The NPCs are also scattered around the map instead of all being on one screen, which forces the player to do more exploration. Due to lack of time, I couldn't implement non-quest related dialogue for the NPCs yet, but that is next on my list. I want each NPC to have their own backstory to add to the realism.

Since the art build, I also obviously added more map screens, and I added custom lighting and shadows to each of them. I changed the time of day from midday to closer to sunset, which in my opinion, has a cozier and warmer atmosphere. All NPCs now give quests that allow Loopy to get enough money for a ferry ticket, and once they buy the ticket, a cutscene plays and the game ends.

The main goal in the game shifts from Loopy just trying to get information, to trying to earn money for the ferry so they can go somewhere with a better chance of answers. There are also mini goals, however, in the form of the quests you do for the NPCs. The duality between the goal of leaving the town and the goals of helping the residents relates to the core experience of Loopy's self-exploration, but also their desire for companionship and attachment to the people in town. The UI elements are just the basic RPG maker style because I'm not sure how to change it, but I honestly like the very simple UI because it leaves the attention on the character portraits.

There weren't any major issues I ran into other than the time crunch. Some things were a bit challenging to "code" (for example, Aspen only displays their quest completion dialogue if the player has a water in their inventory, but I had to also make sure that the dialogue wouldn't display again if the player bought another water and then talked to them again) but I figured it out without too much trouble. I wanted to start implementing audio for this build, but I unfortunately ran out of time, so that was disappointing. I'll definitely add audio for the next iteration.