Disclaimer - These devlogs are one part of a University assignment that Styx is being developed for, so any stilted wording or weird inclusions can be traced back to that fact.

STYX Devlog #7

For a quick recap of what the game is about, see Devlog #1 here.

What's new for STYX?

Happy new year! There's lots to show off & talk about, so let's not waste time with preamble!

Progress

• Added a trapdoor that protects passengers until broken
  
• Added Sculptor enemy AI that targets the trapdoor first
• Added a 'swivel gun' (AKA Good Ole Gun) that automatically aims at the nearest enemy
• Added a 'split shot' cannon upgrade - fires two angled cannonballs per shot, but removes the ability to rotate
• Added unique body and weapon sprites to all enemies
• Added wave-based enemy spawns
• Added a wheel that moves the boat up & down - good for avoiding rocks!
• Began work on level designs that implement these waves
• Updated the team's Trello to be more useable and clear

Thoughts

I couldn't be happier with our progress - the project backlog is shrinking by the day, and we're all working together well to give thoughts on the artwork and prototypes that are being made and implemented at a rapid pace. Pointing-and-shooting at urgent tasks has proven effective, and updating the Trello with atomised tasks is something I should've done weeks ago, as it's made a big difference.

In this final stretch, I want to make sure the team is focused; we have a minimum-viable-product, and while most of it's been completed, I don't want us to get distracted on anything that can be saved for our next assignment that's more focused on properly finishing the game. I'm guilty of getting distracted (note to self: stop writing extra Dionysus gossip!), so will commit myself to just designing levels for the time being.

Going Forward

There's just five days to go before the deadline, and I hope to get one more devlog in before then - we're making good progress, though, so I'm hoping to use the next few days to design some fun levels.

Before the next devlog, I'd like to have the MVP completed.

• 2 distinct, completable levels
  • A 'level select' screen would be great, too!
    
• 2 more functional upgrades (who doesn't want bigger cannonballs!?)
• Final art assets for the Grapevine's backgrounds and secret collectibles implemented

Thanks for checking out devlog #7!