v3.1

I didn't post an update last week, but I was still hard at work adding content. The most recent version moves me closer to my goal of completing a vertical slice of the  game!

• New System: Party Select

     The current plan is that the player will control a party consisting of 1 main character (the undead, former king, Saul) and up to 3 supporting characters. This week I developed the system that allows the player to choose which characters are in the party. The system is currently accessed by pressing "C", and allows the player to drag and drop characters into and out of the party. In the future, I plan to implement a "Slot Bonus" mechanic where each of the four party slots offers a unique benefit to the character in that slot.

     In addition, I implemented a system for adding characters to the roster. Jimbo now starts as an NPC, and after a simple dialogue joins the party. It's a first pass at the system and will need more testing as I add additional PCs, but it's a start.

• Victory Screen and Rewards

     Let's face it, it's no fun killing monsters unless you can rummage through their stuff afterwords and claim their phat lewts! On successful completion of a battle, the player will now see a reward screen showing the gold and items received for their efforts. GP is now tracked in the inventory window and can be used to purchase items, which brings me to...

• Item Shops

     GP is only cool if you can spend it, so this week I completed a first pass at item shops. Currently, if you go to prototype town and are nice to Bub, then Bob and Bub both become shop keepers and you can buy and sell items. Of course the available items and prices are not balanced in any way, but that comes later. What's important is the functionality ... being able to buy and sell goods is a pretty important part of a JRPG.

     So that's what I've been up to these last couple of weeks. I may start doing these updates bi-monthly as opposed to weekly, as I liked having two weeks worth of stuff to post about. We'll see. Until next time, happy gaming!