Hey everyone! 👋

We are back with our second devlog for Crypt Creature Catcher, and we've been busy adding some cool new features and visual flair to the game. Here’s a look at what we’ve been working on this week (images/gifs at the top!):

🛠️ What’s Been Added This Week?

🧱 Major Additions:

• 🎨 New Lofi Shader: This week we chose to overhaul the look of our game with a new material shader! We previously used Unity’s in-built URP material shader, but we decided it looked too modern with its smooth shadows and lighting. Our game looks retro, pixelated, and cartoony, which we decided we should fully lean into.

There’s still a lot of tweaking to do, but we’re really happy with how it looks. We think it captures what we’re going for tremendously. Special thanks to ‘eugeen’ on the Unity Asset Store for their LOFI: Retro Shader for URP!

• 🗿 Continuous Spawner Statues: New spawner statues have been added! These will continuously spawn enemies until you find and destroy them. The aim with this is to add an extra layer of tension and encourage exploration.

• 🌀 Spinning Wall Statue Trap: Expect to be kept on your toes when traversing the world of Crypt Creature Catcher! We’re adding a range of hidden traps to catch you off-guard when you least expect it. This week we’ve added a new trap that we’ve been excited about!

This is the spinning-wall statue. A regular enough looking wall that, when the player is in proximity, spins to reveal a sword wielding statue that strikes you quickly, before turning back into hiding. The model is still very much a work-in-progress, but the idea is implemented!

• 🏺 Vase Throwing Mechanic: You can now pick up and throw vases! Whether you're smashing them for health or using them strategically, this adds some extra depth to both the combat and puzzle-solving. We also want to add a way to do this with enemies as well to add some extra variety to the combat. This will be coming very soon!

🔧 Minor Additions:

• 🔑 Prompt System For Item Requirements: We’ve added on-screen prompts that tell players what items are needed for specific objects (e.g. "Requires Ogre Key"). We want to make progression as clear as possible and reduce confusion during gameplay, and this seemed like a nice and simple way to convey this. It is exactly how the games that have inspired this project have also tackled the task.

• ✨ Particle Effects When Catching Creatures: We want the creature catching to feel as satisfying as possible. After all, it's a huge part of the game. It may seem small, but particle effects, combined with a subtle camera shake and other effects are all things that add an extra punch to the gameplay and create the most satisfaction. We are continuing to refine all of this however, and will continue to experiment with the creature collecting mechanics as we go along.

🔍 Dev Thoughts

• 👨‍💻 Cameron: I’m really happy with what we’ve accomplished this week! Setting up the spinning statue trap was super fun — playing with time scales to slow things down or speed them up can create some really satisfying moments. Vase throwing was another highlight for me. It adds a surprising amount of depth and interaction to the environment.

Even though it might not seem like a huge list, everything we added this week is part of that invisible polish that players feel, even if they don’t always notice it. Things you don’t consider like the item prompts and particle effects for example.

• 🎨 Jamie: I’m super hyped about the implementation of the wall statue. I didn’t get the entire model finished this week, but I’m glad to have a working idea in the game. I look forward to modelling & animating all sorts of interesting traps to scatter across the dungeon! 

Our decision to change the material shader was a good one too, as the old look for the game left me wanting a little. This new look feels right for its style. The sharp shadows, simple lighting and limited colour depth match the pixel art textures, the pre-rendered character sprites, & the pixelation filter beautifully. It still needs tweaking, but I think we’re along the right lines.

That’s everything for this week! We would love to hear what you think so far, and if you’re interested, make sure to give us a follow here and over on Instagram as well.

Many thanks, and stay tuned for more updates! 🙏

- Evernight Studios

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