Iterating on my Prototype: What I Learned and What I’m Working on!
I’ve had some ideas floating around in my head for a while of a game I’ve wanted to work on, and a few weeks ago I finally put them together in a small prototype (play it here!). The process of making the prototype, and actually getting to play through my game, was very enlightening and showed me a lot as I’ve worked towards making a more fully-fledged game. I wanted to outline some of the things that I’ve learned, and some of the things I’m changing in the new version.
- First off, I scrapped my entire code base. This was honestly a difficult decision for me, and I’m still not sure if it was the right one. I had made a few questionable organization decisions to save time, and I was worried about scaling them to a larger system, particularly when adding in new systems like saving, inventory storage, or even smaller things like respawning and talking to NPCs.
- One big thing I changed was scaling back to only 1 weapon. In the prototype, you have 3 ways to attack enemies, and in my new version I’ve kept it at just a sword. I’m not ruling out throwable items or alternate melee weapons in the future, but I found I had much more fun using the sword than the bow or bombs.
- I alluded to it earlier, but I also updated my NPC script to make them more interesting and give new options. I had added a couple simple NPCs in my prototype, and I noticed that people always wanted to talk to them, even if they didn’t say much. Now, NPCs can tell stories, ask questions, and more.
- The sprites I used were from a creator on Itch and featured a very cute art style. They were great, but they don’t match the tone I was going for, so, for better or worse, I’ve decided to draw the art myself. It’s been a time-consuming process, but I’m happy with the results so far.
- UI has been a much bigger focus for me. I noticed some people had difficulty navigating my menus and interfaces, even with how simple I made them, so I’ve devoted a lot of time to making them more clear and user-friendly.
- Finally, I really liked the way feedback felt in attacks in the prototype, so I’ve maintained a lot of similar aspects (and some things, like the screen shake system, are copy-pasted).
Overall, I took a lot away from the process, and it’s given me a lot of things to work on. If you’re interested and willing, I’d still love to hear your feedback and what you like (or dislike) about the systems I implemented in the prototype. I’ll continue to share updates on my progress as I make it, so check back here if you’re interested in following along.
Thanks for reading!
Dark Magic: An RPG Prototype
A prototype for an old school Zelda-style game
Status | In development |
Author | unbreaded |
Genre | Action, Adventure |
Tags | Pixel Art, Puzzle-Platformer, Short, Top-Down |
More posts
- Log 3: Combat, Graphics, and a Sense of DirectionMar 10, 2023
- Log 2: Building Game Systems and InteractionsFeb 23, 2023
- Take my ARPG Prototype for a Spin (for free)!Jan 25, 2023
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