Dev log #6.2

> UI overhaul

So I made new custom windows for the Inventory and trade windows in the menu. It’s crazy to see how far the UI has come.

I also fixed the crazy lag there was. Turns out, even when you are in the school, clouds, and buildings were generated in the back with the parallax effect. It was really process-intensive. I got rid of that and made it so the foreground stops generating when you are inside the school.

Also, I just want to say I created the custom windows myself using Kirta. The image above was like a quick mock-up.

Updates

• New Trade window UI
• New Inventory window UI
• Lag was reduced

What’s next

• Rework Code architecture
• Redo the story progression
• Fix the battle menu UI
• Instead of displaying answers to the trivia in the notes, make it actually unlock information that you learn from the story.

I want to do a bit of code architecture rework because I made the base game with a lot of AI, and the code is really hard to manually edit, which I need to do a bit of. So I’m going to rework the code and turn a lot of the UI into classes, so it’s easier to implement things that are a bit more specific than the AI could manage. AI is ofc a good learning tool, and good at creating something that “works”, but all that inefficiency is catching up to me.

Dev log #6.1

> UI overhaul

So I didn’t like the basic buttons and UI I had. The game didn’t feel personalized, so I did some hand drawing and using a digital art program, I made some new UI to be placed into the game. This is only log #6.1 because there are a lot of assets in this game that I also wanted to rework. I spent a lot of time planning, drawing, and digitizing the Icons and UI, but the time logged is only the time it took to vibecode it into the game.

Updates

• New menu button UI
• New pulls window UI
• Currency ICON gumballs(finally)
• Custom X button icon
• Rework of card design

What’s next

• New NPC sprites
• Battle UI update
• UI interaction upgrades

Dev log #5

The focus of this log was to make the game more fun. New battle mechanics and features, and well as minor tweaks to either the sound system, or other sub systems.

Updates

• (Sound) Now there is a 10 second background music loop, a battle music when you que into battle, a achievement ding sound when you finish a special battle, and a jump sound for the player.
• (Settings) The setting menu actually has settings now. You can change the volume of the music and toggle on a new game mode that adds keyboard shortcuts for easier game play.
• (Trading) Additional tabs called knowledge cards and cheat sheets when you press trade. For the cheat sheets, it’s a rotation where every real life 20 mins it changes what sheets you can buy.
• (Combine System) I realized, when have enough gumballs, and start pulling for the rarer cards you get a lot of dupes. So now there’s a new special NPC that lets you unlock the merge system. You can combine 4 knowledge cards of a rarity, to get a random card of the rarity above it.
• (Battle System) Enemy health has been increased for more difficulty, and certain bosses have special attacks that can enhance their damage or reduce yours. These attacks incorporate simple questions; answering correctly results in critical damage. Additionally, players can boost damage through synergies, as having duplicates of a subject increases overall “Mastery” and subsequently damage across all relevant cards.
• (UI) Text misalignments causing longer phrases to clip have been fixed. Additionally, the amount of gumballs will now be permanently displayed on the screen, not just in the menu.

Issues

• No major issues
• UI is messy and not uniform

What’s next

• Do a UI rework, and make everything look more uniform.
• Minor tweaks for the final version if needed.
• Find a way to create a web or shareable version

So close to finishing!!!

Dev Log #4

The focus of this dev log is the introduction of the story progression system, and bring back the battle system. Now in addition to fighting randomly generated enemies, you can find special NPCs that progresses the story when you interact with them.

Update

• (Story Progression) Now starting from the school, special NPCs with arrows on top of them will show a dialogue screen when you interact with them. Sometimes they’ll give you an item, sometimes they’ll battle you, and other times nothing. With this comes with a objective box on the top right side of your screen so you know who you should look for next. And the trading menu will be locked until you take to a certain NPC.
• (Map tweaks) Minor changes to the map, and a new layer of buildings in the back to make a parallax effect. There are also clouds now.
• (Cheat sheets) When you open the battle menu, there is a new option that’s the cheat sheets. Cheat sheets are support cards in battle that could restore your energy, give you extra damage, ect.

Issues

• There’s no music, it’s very boring.
• The UI could use a bit more tweaking, there are windows overlapping each other.
• The battle system needs to be reworked. It’s too easy to beat right now. You just spam attack, not too much thinking.
• There’s no other way to get cheat sheets. I have to figure out a system to obtain them even after you beat the story.

What’s next

• Tweak the battle system. Make the enemy do more damage, and give them more health. Also I should do research on what makes games like Pokemon fun to fight.
• Update the UI, make it look more clean and uniformed.
• Add music and sound effect when you interact with a NPC, jump, ect.
• Rework the trading menu/ system.

The image attached below shows some of the character NPCs, and some other menus you might see in the game right now.

Dev log #3

This time I mostly worked on map generation, and player interaction with the environment. I ran into a lot of issues especially with the platform collisions. I had to go back and forth with the AI a lot to get what I have right now.

Update

• (City Section) The game now starts with the buildings we see before, and the jumping on to platforms layering problem is somewhat gone.
• (School section) Later on the map, you encounter the school. When you enter, the screen zooms into the player, and everything is scaled up. Inside the school there are currently idle PCS(just stands), and a moving NPC(moves back and forth randomly.)
• (Battle system) Battle system starts you with 100 energy, and every card is assigned an energy usage. This means, in addition to picking the right attack to do most damage, also consider how much energy you’re using. New rest button that allows you to wait out your turn and gain back energy. The difficulty is a bit low right now, but it’s just for testing.

Issues

• The platform collision settings are still off. You can jump onto the platform if you’re in front of the building and you clip through. Sometimes when you jump on a platform and behind a building you show through? But these are minor in terms of game play so I might just move on and see if I can fix it a different time. I might have to plan, and derive the logic myself, then prompt it to the AI.
• The current sprites are bit inconsistent in style.

What’s next

• Map is basically done, just need to do some retexturing. I’m gonna continue the hand drawn feel, and draw and transfer my paper sprites into the code
• Bring the battle system back, and add NPCs you can fight with in the school and give them a sprite
• (Introduce storyline) Add special NPCs that progress the story and gives you new dialog

A picture with my planning is shown below along with what the game looks like right now on the right. I planned this out in Figma, it’s pretty useful for planning like this!

Dev log #2

update:

• New jumping sprite/animation
• Introduction of subjects to battle system(3 different type of enemies, and each weak to a certain subject)
• New map generation, added buildings, trees, and fences
• Elevated platforms that you can jump on are introduced.

Changes that need to be made:

The map generation definitely needs more work. I need to fix the clipping problem, and readjust the size variation limits of the assets. Sometimes the trees or buildings also generate WAY too close. There also need to add a way to get onto the platforms or increase the jumping height.

Working on my silly computer science class inspired short RPG, how will one survive class? This is just a rough system test.