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 #8

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

What's new for STYX?

Happy deadline day! It seems safe to say that I perform well under pressure, because the last five days have been a whirlwind of GETTING! STUFF! DONE!

I've not been alone in that, either - the artists have been making some fantastic final assets, and I've had help from our other programmer with some of the more niche mechanics that, if I was left to my own devices, would have sent me over the edge.

Progress

• Added a Level Select screen with two selectable levels
• Merged scenes with no bugs! Wahey!
• Made the player's upgrades and unlocks persist between scenes and play sessions
• Added a 'Big Cannonballs' upgrade to make cannons deadlier
  • For balance, the player can only get the split shot upgrade or big balls upgrade.
• Added health bar that changes colour as it's damaged
• Added health & speed upgrades
• Implemented the 'final' assets for the grapevine, as seen in the screenshot at the top
• Designed two completable levels and the ship's general layout
• With that done, completed everything that the MVP needed!

Thoughts

While it's been stressful getting so much done before the deadline, I'm really happy with how the team has come together - our communication has been great, we've been prioritising tasks appropriately, and the mechanics we've gotten into the prototype have made it clear that the game as a concept is shaping up to be quite fun.

As we move past the prototype phase, I want to make sure we're well rested; we've completed the minimum viable product, but there's lots to get done beyond that, and I want everyone to take a good break from the project before we get back to work.

When we are back at work, the first thing I'd like to revisit is the perspective and distance the camera will occupy  during gameplay; this will have a big impact on the artwork, so is a top priority. Mechanics-wise, I'd like to implement more 'river' mechanics - boulders that must be dodged, and crates / barrels that will give health pickups if the boat touches them.

Going Forward

As mentioned above, this is deadline day - we have a completed MVP, and should take a well-earned break before continuing.

Before the next devlog, I'd like to take a break, but the big priorities are:

• Giving enemies the ability to 'jump' onto the boat
• Adding the 'Harpy' enemy type
• Deciding the perspective & space that the camera will occupy
• Making the boat fully moveable, and giving it its own health bar

Thanks for checking out devlog #8! This marks the end of our games pre-production assignment, but we're continuing to work on the game for the next assignment, 'games production'. Rest assured, the devlogs will (probably) continue!