Devlog #15 - Start of the end ?

Hey guys,

It's been a month since my last devlog. Holydays might have been the reason why it took me so long :D

I had a lot to do before leaving Paris : Icon Art, Debug, Music & SFX integration, Animation, Level Art, ... And test the build for Steam !

One note about that, I think this is the most counterintuitive thing with Steam. First the UI website is not ergonomic at all but that's okay. Then you have to "package" your build with a bunch of code and scripts they give you , and then it's starts to go crazy. You have to edit specific parts of the scripts, delete specific ones, add your game and pray you haven't miss something (spoiler alert : you did and you will have to redo everything step by step to understand what you did wrong). And don't count on  a clear step by step guide, you will find many differents guide (because the process has changed every year), some with good advices, other with obsolete ones.

Gosh I was so happy I manage to get through this.

I worked on icons for my fruits and my Bulburst. I wanted to keep it simple and I found that the DA used for Pokemon berries could match. I used this style with my own twist and here we are :

They are so cute !  I added hints of their effects in the color palette, and their texture like droplets drawn on the HydroPlum, dream clouds with the MnemoNut or hearts on the ErgoPome. This fruit mechanic is working well, in game. They bounce or slide, you always get what you need, and you don't wait too much to find an other ... There is still some weaknesses (like the bird sending a fruit in the void), but I am glad this features fits well.

For the Music, I first designed a portal mecanic with the Doors : I needed to unlock  a secure way for them depending which side you enter. Then I used this system to select which music you'll hear when you move to a another room. simple as that.

I choose to put the main theme always in the central tower room. Other themes and ambient will be in the adjacent rooms, so the music can help focus on the room theme (lab or forest). For the SFX, I bought some on the marketplace of UE4 (as the footsteps). It took some time because there is too many choices, and I hope I didn't make huge mistakes sound design wise ... 

The SFX integration was the right time to check on my LD elements one by one : as I gave them sounds, I could double check if they were working well since my last update and the character controle (I simplified its interact mecanics).

Without transition I did a lot of work on the Hero : rework its jump, designed a fake shadow, add new animations, debug some core features... But the biggest job was with the UI, because I wanted to give a good choices of customization  for the player. So now you can switch your keybindings, controls the sound, change the display, and you're not ready for this news ...

...

suspense 

...

You will be able to switch the language game in 9 languages !!!

I check on the text I had and it seemed reasonable to translate it in french, german, spanish, italian, russian, japanese, korean and chinese. I contacted different friend that could translate one languages, and it seems I will get everything in time. Damn I am lucky (even I don't get secret alternative pokemon card xD)

I think I am gonna end this devlog on this great news.

Next time, I should have some translations to integrate, and I will work on the credits, game records, Level Art update and that should do.

See ya !