It turns out I was totally right about how motivating it is to finally implement all these assets I've been making into the game! I did a lot this week, so let's get into it!
The first major thing I did is finish coding TWO chapters! As a reminder, "coding" is what I'm calling the process of actually programming in the various characters appearing on screen, the expression changes, the music changes, sound effects, panning and zooming, and making sure the entire thing flows well.
It's not that hard, but it does involve a lot of "tweaking", as I playtest the game, realize there's a small mistake or something that ruins the pace, go back and adjust the code, and playtest again, until it's satisfactory. Often when I'm doing this, I'll realize I need an asset I didn't make yet, or a character's expression doesn't fit their dialogue, and many other small things like that.
For example, when coding in Anadyne's expressions, I realized that she wasn't moving her head enough, so I had to go back and tweak it. It's times like this that being a solo game developer becomes a huge advantage. I don't have to wait for another team member to get back to me, I can just do it and implement it in like five minutes.
I didn't just code though — I've now finished the designs for all of the characters I need. I also added UI sound effects. The chapters menu is particularly fun in this game, and I enjoyed making a bunch of unique sound effects for it.
These two chapters are still not what I'd call "finished" — I didn't get around to creating the CGs yet, and I realized that I need to make some changes to one of the backgrounds. However, finally being able to play through them and see the characters moving around with the music and everything is very encouraging, and it's giving me a lot of energy, which I'll definitely need to finish the most difficult chapters in this file.
Until next time!
— LockedOn.
I've moved previews and exclusive content to Patreon so that I'll have more to post there. However, I'll still keep posting here on this blog for major news and give summaries on progress, like this one!
