root vegetable boy
CHORUS MACHINE DEV LOG #4 - FEBRUARY 2024
Happy March! I can’t believe this is already my 4th dev log... That means I’ve been working on this game for one third of a year...
I know in the January log I said I wanted to tackle gameplay, and I guess I did a little of that, but it ended up being mostly an art/asset creation month. Towards the 3rd week of February my wrist started to hurt, so I’ve slowed down a little bit since then. Thankfully, I still have some cool art to show off!
The thing about art/asset creation, I’ve noticed, is that it’s generally a bit more of a convoluted process than coding... When I want to code something into the game, it’s more a matter of figuring out how to code it → and then coding it. (And then fixing it if i need...)
Art is different, though, because a lot of the things I draw end up going through several different iterations before I settle on what I want them to look like. I’m still not entirely sold on some of the basic structures I have in place for myself, but it’s still been really satisfying to slowly start to build up these areas. Even just the bookshelves and tables have added a lot of depth & feeling I think!
Aside from art, I also made a few minor coding tweaks. I added a little bit to the enemy AI: now enemies will only chase you if you come within a set distance, and if you leave this distance, they will walk slowly back to their spawn point. (Basically “running away from and/or avoiding everything you encounter” is now a viable strategy.) The sounds that accompany a character speaking are now a little more fluid re: keeping pace with the text, and I adjusted the depth & drawing code for the player character so her weapons are drawn over other objects (such as tables and bookshelves) as opposed to underneath.
I’ve been having a bit of trouble classifying February as a ”productive month” in my mind, but I know how important it is to keep slowly chipping away at long-term projects like this, so I’m happy at least I have stuff to share with you all! In March I want to really hone in on building some more tools for myself: my close friend Stevie suggested whipping up something with Twine when I expressed having difficulty keeping track of characters/plot threads, which is such a genius idea. It’s not something that is easily “shown off” but is definitely sorely needed for me at this point in development, if for no other reason than just keeping me sane...
As always, I really appreciate everyone who has been keeping up with the process! It’s always super encouraging to receive feedback and hear people ask about how it’s all going. I will see you all in April… Springtime approaches :)
Originally posted March 1st, 2024.