After a very refreshing weekend, Monday has rolled around again. The goal for this week: put crafting in the game. Crafting wasn’t something that was in the initial design for the game. But after getting feedback from players, it was pretty obvious that crafting will be a great addition to the game.

With all that being said, here is a list of the three benefits that crafting will bring to the game:

1. Crafting will add some much needed depth to combat
I’m not going to lie, the combat system is pretty simple. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but I’m not sure it will be able to keep you interested and challenged throughout the entirety of the game. So as I inch my way closer to completing the game I’m always keeping my eyes open for ways to incrementally improve combat.

Crafted items will add various buffs for attacking and defending. You’ll be able to mix and match items with their individual effects to create a unique combat style. These customizable enhancements will make combat a little bit more than just: “push button to attack and try to not get hit”

2. Crafting will add a better sense of progression throughout the game
One of the biggest problems that I’m trying to solve is how to make you feel like your progressing through the game when you’re constantly starting the day over. Games need to make you feel like you’re actually accomplishing something when you play them. While the player character will always go back to restart the day with a blank slate, I want you, the player, to never feel like that is happening to you. I want each recurrence of the day to make you better at the game in some way.

Crafted items will not disappear when the day restarts. Other items and resources such as medicines, furs, skins and tools will be taken out of your inventory when the day restarts. Crafted gear will be a constant reminder that you have accomplished something, and that you’re better off than you were at the beginning of the game.

3. Crafting will provide some natural longevity and replayability
I’m not sure how many of you know this, but this game is being made by one 22 year old guy on a small desk in the corner of his bedroom (but I don’t do the music, and I have commissioned an artist for some of the important art). So there’s no way I can possibly create a 100 hour story and have it finished this century. I don’t have any idea of how long the game will take to play and beat, but I know it’ll be pretty short compared to a lot of other games. So if there’s anything I can do to stretch the game’s playtime out (without adding any boring and useless fluff) I’ll do it.

Crafting good gear won’t be something you can just do on the side. You’ll need to actively seek out the required materials to make a great crafted item. And so I’m hoping that you’ll want better gear enough to take some time out of accomplishing the main story and hunt for crafting resources. I don’t want to force you to do something just for the sake of making the game longer though; so I’ll need to watch and make sure I don’t get too pushy with the design of the game. I definitely don’t want to push you away from finishing the game - but I want to reward people who take time out from the main story.

There they are, three benefits that crafting will add to the game.

I think I went a little bit too long with this post, but I really wanted to go in depth and explain some things.

While it will be a great addition and I’m incredibly excited about it. I don’t want to overhype the crafting system as something that will completely change the way the game is played. I don’t want to be a downer, but I really don’t want someone to expect to get Minecraft levels of crafting from this game. This crafting system will always play a backseat role to many of the other elements of the the game.

Quick question: Do you like these longer, more in-depth posts? Or should I be doing short bite-sized posts that just let you know what’s going on? If you would, please let me know what you prefer in the comments.

Thanks for reading,
God bless