This post is about the "Adaptive Conversations" in the game. The player could already examine certain objects, but now they can be joined by the characters in the game!

​Click 'Read more' to read more about this mechanic.

This week I worked on adding story content to Viola. I've added three methods of storytelling in the game, all of which deserve their own post!

In this post you can get a look at the introductory cutscene. The level I'm creating is the "vertical slice": a piece of finished game to showcase. The level itself is a little later into the game, so the player needs context before playing the game.

Click 'Read more' to read more about creating this cutscene.

This week for Viola: changes to the battle system! Potions can be used in battle, guarding attracts enemies and halves damage and enemies drop gold and equipment when defeated. We've also got  a few animations and such.

Click 'Read more' to find out more about the new changes!

This week, I worked on some gameplay improvements for the platforming sections. Check the gif!  Viola is now capable of performing a high jump, and an even higher jump. Walljumping also goes higher, and Viola has animations now!

If you want to know more, click 'Read more'!

Spells are now functional in-game during battle. Global warming made things a little more difficult (how do people think in all this heat?), but wow if it doesn't work. Visual and audio polish are still necessary to give the player proper feedback, but it's important to put functionality first.

Click 'Read more' to read more about spells!

This week, I worked on creating the "Wishfire" mechanic and section. After (almost) every level, the player gets the opportunity to rest at a Wishfire: a camping ground where you can heal your party and have an extended chat with them.

Click 'Read more' to read more about the origin of this mechanic, and my implementation.

This week I worked on two mechanics: getting healing items and switching party members. I figured this would fit in one week since I wanted this to be done with a single menu screen. However, the amount of programming and design work ended up being far more than I thought. In hindsight, I should've split this up into two separate weeks. The mechanics ended up working great, though.

Click 'Read more' to read more.

This time, the video showcases more than just what I worked towards this week. The past two weeks, I've also been spending time creating a full level: first in graybox, then creating a tileset to give it visuals. Obviously, the level's still incomplete, so this blogpost will just be about the action commands.

Click 'Read more' to go a little more in-depth with the action commands.

This week was dedicated to doing "setup" for the RPG-style battles in Viola. Spawning party members, spawning monsters to fight, creating a UI to keep track of the characters' health and other values, and creating the start of a menu for the player to use. I also did some graphics research to get pixel perfect assets, as well as optional scanlines!

​Click 'Read more' to read more!

This week I worked on an overworld, allowing the player to access and unlock different levels across the map. The system was pretty simple, which gave me time to work on a first draft of what the map would look like using tilemaps and animations for the player.

Click 'Read more' to, as always, read more!