Comrades, this week I can report that Chapter 1’s scenario work has passed the 50% mark. A town and a dungeon need to be mapped, and then the map work is complete. 2/3rds of the major cutscenes and dialogues have been completed, with four major dialogue trees needing to be written and two major cutscenes needing to be written.
I do intend to revisit the basement where the game starts once I finish the mapping. I have a cutscene I want to add there and I want to rework the layout a great deal with all the tricks I’ve learned over the course of the other maps. I also want to expand the optional parts of the intro dungeon and probably rework the main floor of the mansion to make it more spacious.
I have been considering a major overhaul to the leveling system. As it stands, the level system is quite complex but is grind-heavy in a game that’s about exploring and discovering and talking to NPCs. In fact I might remove the conventional EXP system and go with something else altogether, but I haven’t decided. Rune proposed some interesting ideas so I’ll see what shakes out once I finish the scenario work.
The artists haven’t done much in the last week, with Chicken being busy and Rune entering into finals season (American education, ladies and gentlemen). I am going to have Hund make the world map once I have finalized the layout. The world map will be stylized, not a 1:1 representation. You’ll be able to tell that something is generally south of your location but you’ll have to figure out the specifics yourself.
I’m not sure if the artists will be able to make the May Prototype 2 deadline at the current rate. I would rather not have to release the next prototype without the art caught up, but I also want to make sure the public has something to digest. We’ll see how it goes.
Pandemonium Development 