Medieval themed 2D strategy game

Dev diaries
#81

The game might not look like much, but there’s a lot going on. I’m also very careful when implementing something new; I test different situations to make sure what I wrote isn’t problematic.

I recently made some changes to how units interact with buildings. When thinking about the gameplay, I think it’s better to have the units enter the building instead of idle next to it.

This video shows an example of my plan. As you can see, once the unit enters the city, it begins to rest (restore hp). I can replace this interacting depending on the unit and building. For example, when a worker clicks a tree, they’ll “enter” it and store chopping wood.

The original plan was to create a mobile game, but in order to speed things up when testing, I added some keyboard input commands for movement.

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#82

I created a new project to test some ideas for the UI. I was thinking of having the unit options appear next to the unit when clicked. I first set this up as a GUI, but there’s a delay when doing this. I worked around this delay in my original project — you can see the healthbars move smoothly over the unit in the videos from the previous posts. But there is still problematic when zooming in/out. The bars scale strangely.

I’m thinking I may use sprites and collision objects instead. In this video, you can see how the “move” icon has a delay and scales when zooming in/out. Whereas the sprite doesn’t have a delay and stays the same shape.

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#83

Even though I’m not a big fan of low-digit sprite games, I know they’re low cost and fairly easy to implement. I’m considering them as an option.

I also updated the action interface to use sprites instead of the GUI. This is still a smaller project (branch?) from the main game. I find it better to work in these smaller projects when testing new features.

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#84

I’m continuing with testing different options for movement. In my current version, you click the player you want to control and then use the arrows/onscreen input (for mobile) to move.

The thing I want to test next is having different prompts appear depending on what the player is adjacent too. For example, chop the tree if next to a forest, fish if at the end of a pier, etc.

I tried setting up some trees using tilemap collisions. As you can see from the debugger, the collisions are working. The issue I can’t seem to figure out is they’re not blocking the player. I suppose I need some type of script that doesn’t allow the player to continue moving in the direction of the collision object.

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#85

Still here! Nothing to share other than a post.

I’m still tinkering with the combat and basic mechanics. It’s oh-so-important for the game to feel right.

I’m glad to say that I found something cool, fun, and what I think is a unique twist on what’s working and popular in other games.

Essentially, combat will be automated once a unit is within range of another. The distance determines what type of weapon is used; bows for range, swords for melee, etc.

I’ve downloaded and played over a dozen games on my phone to get the feel of this right. One example of combat I liked is from a roguelike game (shown below).

I want to do something similar with multiple units. I also want to have the units level up based on the type of combat they use. All units will start off with the same stats, but end up filling roles based on what the player wants.

Anyway, back to work.

5 Likes
#86

Well, this is… something.

Working on player movement and combat. I need to get a better understanding of rotations in order to implement the mechanics I want.

3 Likes
#87

Progress.

#88

Uploading: what next.mp4…
I haven’t had much time to work on my game this past week. I still managed to make more progress.

Here’s how I imagine the combat will work. The player will use a bow when the enemy is within range and then a sword when in close combat.

I used Inkarnate to make the map. It’s a simple test to get the sizing right.

Next step is to figure out how I want the player to advance after defeating all of the enemies. Perhaps the room opens up and the game gets harder as they progress through through different rooms.

3 Likes
#89

Still haven’t had as much time as I wanted to work on my game. I was on the fence about dropping a client, so I could have more time, but I asked for a raise instead. They agreed. I’m still on the fence, but now I’m on the fence with heavier pockets.

I’ve been implementing a room-to-room concept. It’s a simple idea and interesting exercise of my skills. I’m using a combination of factories, modules, and animations to make it work. The player will work through the rooms, fight enemies, solve puzzles, and follow the game’s story.

While this will eventually be one of many elements of the game, I want to make it as fun as possible. The overall goal is to have different mini games within the main game. The one I’m working on now will be a single-unit adventure/dungeon crawl.

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#90

Well done!

1 Like
#91

Haven’t touched Defold in about a month. Work is taking most of my brain power, leaving me with little energy to program. While I enjoy programming more than my work, the work pays very well.

I’m debating whether I should drop my client work and focusing on my game. I’m confident the game I create can become a source of income, but I estimate it’ll take 6-12 months before that happens.

I have money saved and a lower-paying client I could continue to work for. Hmm… decisions, decisions. I’m thinking about how to proceed as I type this out.

2 Likes
#92

If I may be a hypocrite for a minute (i.e. I have done what you propose and remain in that situation), I would caution against dropping your regular income source in favour of going all out on a first project. Mitigating factors would be a) you are confident you can easily get back to your current level of work and income should things go south, and b) your budget will be fine if your game makes $0.

You seem to suggest a part time hybrid solution is possible, if that’s the case then that’s my vote!

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#93

Part time isn’t ideal. I don’t have the energy to focus on multiple things at once. Perhaps if I had a team that would change.

Maybe I can put a team together to do what I do now for income. That’s a possibility and would allow more time and energy to develop my game independently. Then, down the road, I can build a team for the game.

Either way, I wouldn’t be where I am in life without taking some risks. Over a decade ago, I abandoned a well-paying job in the past to pursue something I enjoyed. It ended up being one of the best decisions in my life. I feel like I’m at that crossroads again.

3 Likes
#94

So it’s been ~2 months since I opened Defold. I miss it. I popped back in today because I’d like to continue working on my game. It’s sloooooowly coming back to me. The things I knew did automatically before now take me a few moments to figure out.

I’d like to simplify the game even more than before and make it more open instead of room to room. I’m going to take another look at tiles. I wasn’t a fan of them originally. But with some tweaking, they may be perfect.

2 Likes
#95

I took a break to work on other stuff and recently been teaching myself again. I’m actually continuing with the medieval strategy game I was working on and will instead make it web3 based.

I’ve also thinking about making some type of adventure / Zelda-like RPG game. Lots of possibilities.

I’ve also been into pixel art.

Making games is fun.

5 Likes