Hi everyone,
The tutorial is mostly done, but as I was setting things up, I realised that I have been continuously making decisions recently that might be interesting to talk about: Whether to prioritise aesthetics or functionality.
Being a programmer and not an artist, I of course tend to prioritise functionality. I love adding new mechanics and systems to the game, and when I started making the game, that was my main task. Over time, things changed in terms of responsibilities and feedback, and I took over most of the art as well - which has slowed things down quite a bit. However, I have to admit that I also recognise how important the art is. Especially from a first person perspective, immersion and enjoyment of the game are very influenced not only by what you can do, but also how it looks.
Overall, this has led to me being often split between different things when developing the game. New functionality like the herb gardens and the healing mechanic necessarily needs an adequate art counterpart, and instead of simply developing the mechanic in a couple of days, I have to add development of the art to my timeline as well. In the case of the quest, creating the island for Opal Reef took time - but going through the tasks of the quest also made me realise that I would much prefer to have already upgraded the 4 starter buildings (port, warehouse, market, and house). With the old art still in place, it partially breaks immersion to be playing through the tutorial - and I have been torn between improving the art and moving on to the next mechanic for the past week.
Overall, I tend to still prioritise functionality. Both because I feel more comfortable on that side, and because I think the game still lacks functionality in a variety of ways that are more important than the art. However, I want to communicate that I am not oblivious to where the art is lacking. Once the tutorial is fully finished and uploaded this week, I will move on to the pioneer wagon, which I believe is one of the most important mechanics still lacking for 0.8 (mind you that I will need to create additional buildings and animations to make that work as well). I will keep you updated.
Until next week!