So last week I thought I was close enough to begin the gameplay testing. I figured since I just had a few key things to get to, I would be done around mid week. Welp, that didn’t happen at all. I just can’t help myself when it comes to solving problems and fixing bugs. My thought process is, “Great, I’ve finally addressed that problem and it looks good now. But…….there’s still that other problem………..and things will look REALLY good if I take care of it now.” And off I go to spend the next few hours solving the next problem.
So that’s what happened. Instead of ignoring my To-Do list and play testing the game, like I planned, I went through and took care of 80% of the problems. It wasn’t 100% because some of the problem will require much more time than I want to sacrifice and ultimately, I ran out of time. I worked from 10am to 11pm yesterday trying to complete some things on the list.
As a matter of fact, I’ve been working like a mad man this entire week. My thought process has been, if I just get this part done, then I’ll be ready for game testing tomorrow! The crazy thing is, most of all the work I did was fixing things behind the scenes or completing things I haven’t shown off yet. So I truly don’t have anything very new to show today.
But that doesn’t mean I don’t have anything at all. I’ve decided to record the first quest again. But this time, it is 90% closer to the final product. Also, pay attention to all the changes I’ve made since the last time I recorded the first quest. It’s been so long, but I am happy with what I’ve accomplished.
Did you notice all the new things I’ve added? The party position menu now has labels for Front, Middle and Back row. This should make it easier to lay out your party based on class. I’ve added additional dialogue to Rose that lets you pick your choice of equipment. Also, I explained a mechanic I added to the game that puts a soft limit to the amount of time you can explore in one week.
These changes are just a small part of the overall changes I’ve been making since I’ve finished the battle and exploration portion of the game. They’ve been “low priority” for so long. It’s nice to actually be able to address them now.
Since I’ve gotten through so much of the current to-do list, I am truly close to beginning the game test. (truly!) Next I am going to address the problems I ran into the last time I gathered footage to show off some random maps. From there, I’ll begin the game testing. I expect to run into countless bugs. It will be a slow, painful, process. But I have to get through it and make it to the end of the game. I’m also worried about balance. I think I might have made the player too powerful. Or maybe not. I’m not sure.
As I said last week, I’ll show more footage as I get through the game testing. Hopefully testing this game won’t take me too long. I know it’s an rpg, and rpgs mean long hours of gameplay, but I need this project functional more than anything. Truthfully, every time I start up the game and play it to an extended period of time, I start to enjoy myself. I forget I’m suppose to be testing lol. And then, a nasty bug rear’s it’s ugly head and I remember……
I remember……….
That’s all for this week. Talk to you guys in the next update. I think I’ll have the next major update out at the end of the month. So look forward to that.
