Follow the Fun
Tags: devjournal
Published: 2023-05-26 20:25:17

There's been a longer gap than usual since my last post. Since refactoring the core game logic and implementing the first batch of unit tests, I've been hard at work on finalizing the gameplay design. This post will be a bit shorter than my others, but I wanted to give a quick update 

At a high level, my motivation for the past two weeks has been to get to a point where I can "show off" the game. Visually, the game has not changed much since the initial prototype. All work has been behind the scenes. That's primarilly because I've been hesitant to put work into the UI, character models, animations, and environment when the core gameplay design has not been finalized.

What I mean by "not finalized" is that I've had a foundational understanding of what the game is, but the _flavor_ on top of the rock-paper-scissors-esque gameplay has still been up in the air. Combo system, special moves, round win/loss conditions--all needed to be fleshed out. So that's exactly what I did. I typed up an in-depth design document where I detailed and diagramed exactly what the _flavor_ would be.

First, the combo system. The objectives behind the combo system I designed were: 1) to make the player feel like the combos were dynamic and could be shaped by their individual play style, and 2) to reward players for predicting counters to their combo. In the system I designed, any move could lead into a combo, however after following the standard combo path eventually the combo would lose its freshness. The combos paths eventually collapse and become repetetive (read: predictable by the opponent). There would be several ways to "refresh" the combo, including using a special move or selecting a mix-up option. If my next combo move was a light attack, and my opponent knew that and was going to choose a parry, and I knew that so I chose to grab--that would be a mix-up.

Satisfied with the system I designed, I proceeded to map out each character's unique combo paths and what their "focus" moves would be. I set up the data struture to store the combo paths and the algorithm to evaluate them in combat. I updated the post-turn display to indicate to both players what the next combo move was going to be. I wrote unit tests to confirm that the combos were being evaluated correctly. Built the game, sent it to some friends, and...

Eh. No wow factor. It is possible that the placeholder visuals aren't doing enough to convey the impact of the decisions the players are making--whether to continue their combo or to try to refresh it with a mix-up. But even then, the system just feels overly complicated. I thought that the complexity of the combo paths would give something for players to learn over time and raise the skill ceiling of the game. However, no one is going to want to invest the time to learn the combo paths if the system isn't engaging and fun to interact with from the get go.

So even though I'd like to move on to visual updates and UI design, and as much as I want to get the game to a place where I feel proud to show it off on my portfolio and to friends, and even though I'll be undoing much of the work from the past two weeks... I'm going back to the drawing board. 

The core gameplay is there, but the flavor should enhance the game, not detract from it. Bottom line, it needs to be fun. I did get valuable feedback from this round of playtesting, so the work from the past two weeks was not nothing. Now I have some ideas of where the fun might be--I just need to find it and follow it.