One of the design principles guiding Goblin Camp is that as you play the game, your settlement grows and evolves. A big part of that is that your goblins gain experience and develop their skills, possibly becoming specialized at a craft. What’s more, they also get cute little outfits!
Everyone who’s tried our game knows our goblins: the little blue fellows with the white shorts. That’s how they emerge from the underworld, fresh-faced and ready for a new life. But they won’t stay that way! After surviving their first winter in the middle realms, goblins acquire the Hardy trait, and a set of clothes to go with it. They’ve even let their hair grow out!
As you can see from the tooltip, the Hardy trait gives a bonus to Constitution and Willpower. Each goblin has a total of nine individual stats, which affect their working and combat ability, overall health and morale, and so on. The stats you’ll notice most at this stage of the game are Speed and Working Speed, which can be enhanced or impaired by various conditions. Goblins who are hungry or had to sleep in the cold, for example, will work slower and be unhappier.
In addition to traits like Hardy, goblins will now also gather experience as they do various tasks around the camp. We currently track 28 different kinds of experience, from cutting down trees and hauling items to crafting products in workshops. As goblins earn experience, they will gain levels in whatever it is they’re doing: if they cut down enough trees, for example, they’ll become a lumber-goblin, and gain an outfit that goes with that skill. Experience levels will improve a goblin’s working speed at that task, and also grant additional bonuses. For example, a fisher-goblin is going to get in a lot of practice with a fishing spear, so they’ll also get a bonus to their Fighting skill.
What’s more, when goblins gain experience in a craft that’s done at a workshop, they’ll claim a workshop as their own. Once they’ve claimed a workshop, any tasks that need to be done there will be assigned to that goblin if they’re available. The goblin will also tend to idle around their workshop. This way, you’ll be most likely to get the best goblin for the job.
So when our next update rolls in - and it won’t be long! - your goblin population will be a lot more diverse and a lot more skilled.