Dev Log 1.0  - Game Development Progress

11/14/2024

Under (Construction) Tale

**Overview:**

We're excited to share the latest updates on our game development With the foundational features now in place, we are transitioning from the basic features and adding the story, characters, map design, and battle mechanics.

---

Current Features Implemented:

1. Core Gameplay Mechanics:

     - Movement System: The player can now move Charles across the screen using the arrow keys. The camera will also follow him across the screen unless you walk into a wall. 

    - Sprinting System: We are having difficulties with the sprinting mechanic because of camera movement conflict, but we are finding a fix and it will be finished by the end of the month.

    - Collision: We have added collision to all the objects in the rooms Charles can enter. He can collide with the walls, save points, and NPC’s. We have added a hitbox fix that makes sure he cannot clip through, or get stuck on objects with collision.

2. Game Environment:

    - Traversable rooms: We currently have three rooms in which Charles can enter, move around in, and interact with objects within the room.

3. User Interface:

     - NPC text boxes: Whenever you walk up to an NPC and press either Z or ENTER the text box will appear and the text will display. You can skip to the end of the text by pressing either X or SHIFT and continue to the next thing they have to say by pressing Z or ENTER after they finish saying it.

    - In-Game Menu: The in-menu is currently being developed. You can press C or CTRL and a black box with some text will appear on the screen. It is not yet interactive or able to track your GOLD, LOVE, or EXP.

    - Save UI: We have currently created the image of the Save UI and it will appear when you walk next to a Save point and press Z or ENTER. This will create a save file for the game and you can continue from that save, but the UI does not yet display that.

3. Save Data:

    - Savable Game: The save and load feature has been completed when you walk into a save point and press Z or ENTER, it will create a save file that you can load from the title screen.

    - Resetable Game: On the title screen, two options deal with saving and loading, Continue (or start if there is no save file), Reset, and Controls. If you select to start, it will create a save file for you at the beginning of the game, allowing you to play. If you select continue, it will resume the game from the last time you saved the game. If you select resent, the screen will slowly fade into white, the Undertale reset sound effect will play, and the game will erase your save file, starting you from the beginning.

5. Sound Design:

    - Sound effects: Currently, there are minimal sound effects. Ones that play when you choose between, or select, the menu options. There are sound effects that play when you reset the game. And there are sound effects that play when the NPCs talk.

    - Music: We are still looking for more music developers, we already have three, all of which feel confident in making the music, but could use some help. One of which, is me. We are still writing the intro theme of the game, and the first sections ambient music.

---

**Next Steps:**

    - Sprinting: We plan to fix the visual issues that are caused by sprinting, which will help polish the mechanic.

    - Map Design: We are going to finish drawing the maps for the very first section so that it is visually appealing to players, instead of just a grey boxed area.

   - Combat Mechanics: The next big step in the game’s development is creating the battle mechanics. We have the base code that makes the battle mechanics possible, and we just need to import it into our project. I did make an error in the code that prevents it from running under certain conditions, luckily, we have found the issue and I am working to fix it.

---

Community Engagement:

We’d love to hear from you! Feel free to share your thoughts if you have any questions or suggestions. Your feedback is instrumental in shaping the development of Under (Construction) Tale.

Thank you for following our journey, and stay tuned for more updates as we continue to construct our game.

GeoffTheTurtle / The Under (Construction) Tale Team 

@GarlicBredArt @GeoffTheTurtle on pixilart / @GeoffTheTurtle on GameJolt / geofftheturtle_5678 on Discord