Hello! This is the Late May Devlog I've been discussing for a while. There is a LOT to discuss the development, the changes, and the characters modeled for the game! (ignore buggy transitions from the video, it tends to do that while recording idk why)

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Short synopsis:

I recently started putting together the game's fight sequences and trying to model and code them! I made the attack buttons more helpful and understandable to players with their simple design. Afterward, I modeled, textured, and rigged Sun/Moon, Endo-01, and Endo-02.

Full synopsis:

First, we'll start with the code I've implemented into the fight sequences. Everything is controlled by either mouse, keyboard, or gamepad and has a cursor focusing on which button is highlighted for the attack. I've worked really hard on the buttons to show different colors on each team member. Yes, the sequence will still have a switch teams option; I just need to implement that into the game.

As for the secret I've wanted to do for the fights, you'll have to wait to see it. I want to work hard to make it feel special and unique as a cool mechanic in the game, and I hope a lot of you will be shocked at the ideas I want to cook up for this to work.

Oh! You will notice the change in the design of the buttons compared to the subtle buttons from the OG. The OG's buttons, in my opinion, did not make sense for the player to understand what the colors meant on the side of the button. Solution? Have the buttons make sense to the player with a simple color rather than make it subtle and continue to let the player learn what the colored attacks mean. Here's a list explaining them:

- Hits only one

- Hits all or a group of enemies

Pink - Heals the team

- Poisons the enemy

- Enemies debuffs

- Buffs the whole team

- Useful to a singular member (whether be a buff or a random attack they use)

Gray - Random chance of killing an enemy or more

That way, these colors can combine and mix, letting the player know that an attack does two things. For example, Chica's "Celebration" can take a chunk of health from the enemies and transfer it to her teammates as a heal.

And yes, I did change the health bars as well. Now they show the names of the characters active on screen rather than just showing the number. I don't have much code on that since I don't have the team switch feature added, so (guess it's just a placeholder till I write more code for it)

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Secondly, let's discuss the models I have made currently in the game. There are a lot of current modeling sessions I've made that aren't ready to be seen by the public yet and are mainly just concepts I've made for Chip and me to look at.

Here’s Sun/Moon completed. What they'll do in the game is essentially be the staff of their gym. Why a gym? It's a Pokemon reference AND it mainly involves an idea I have. The gym will house extra challenges or battles in the game to earn money, XP, or new characters? It's still an active idea that I would like to develop into something more for the player to do in the final game (maybe I'll add it to a demo of the game). It also holds to be the tutorial for the player or to test out characters the player has on the team.

Here, we have Endo-01 and Endo-02. You can probably guess what I'm referencing from the colors on their endoskeletons. I wanted to give them more about their character and how they looked. Plus, Endo-02 felt very different from Endo-01, and I tried to make it feel like they are somewhat similar (since they were made by the same factory).

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For next month's devlog, I'd like to get a lot of code done for the fight sequence, but some will need the animations done. I can make placeholder images to be coded and later add the animations. Here's a list of things I'm hoping to do to share with everyone in the next devlog:

• Overworld code, like talking to NPCs and going into buildings

• Buttons actually do stuff in the fight sequence (Cupcakes, Pizzas, etc.)

With the hopeful options of...

• Getting the GameJolt thumbnail animated this time lol

• Menu screens having renders

• Cool af save select screen

• Loading screens

• Gamepad fixes for the fight sequence and customization menu (I want to implement saved load-outs for your teams, bytes, etc., without using too many buttons on the screen for the player)

During the downtime so that I don't burnout, I will either do some of my personal creative work or play some games that feel like they'll somehow influence the game. I've been getting into Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga to gain inspiration for the player in the overworld and fights.

That's all for now. See you guys next month!