Griasz eich Gott!
I am here to update you about medium level change & progress we made regarding our wonderful garage band game Golembert.
W-w-w-w-whAT’s going on:
1. We removed all translations!
After we added the machine translations of 7 languages we planned to release on Steam we got the feedback that machine translations are bad and that we should feel bad. We definetly felt that and decided to remove all languages that the game wasn’t originally written in officially (it was written in German and English only). Unofficially we will keep the options to: a) edit the game’s translations .csv file (via Excel or even Notepad), and b) still select the 7 excommunicated languages ingame. That way speakers of these languages can easily add their own translation to the game and trade them with other players unofficially. We will (sadly) henceforth ONLY support the English and German version of Golembert because we do not have the budget to hire professional translators for other languages.
2. We (finally) finished writing & implementing ALL QUEST DIALOGUES!
Last month I wrote about all sidequest being added but now we also added the last couple of bottlepost quests (that you’ll receive via… bottlepost) and are now officially done with all the quest dialogues – hurray! Golembert will feature 76 quests (including 24 main quests). Depending on the way you calculate their playtime (we haven’t played through them all ourselves yet lol) they could lead to a minimum of 19h (15min/quest) of playtime!!! Unbelievable. Mom, get the camera!!!
3. We balanced our ingame economy!
Now that all the quests were ready to test we had to start giving them all reasonable quest goals. And what’s reasonable in times like these? Well, good question. To find that out we made a big spreadsheet that listed all the items (and the time they consume to be made and their water and soil cost), potions (and the items they need), and quests (and the potions/items they need) and divided them by the maximum amount one could (approximately) do within an ingame day – and that is how we came up with an economy. That’s probably how they did it back in the GDR too I guess lol
But enough about the past! What holds the future for us??
1. We are working on a new YouTube video!
Oh, we still are? We still are! So bear with us!!! Seriously the whole MA of Alicia really took a toll on our YouTube game. But we will be back for you in the near future! Until then you can still indulge in our old, well ripened devlogs from the past. They still are – I might say – a blast.
2. We are adding Compost & Potion Crafting help!
Guidance is really the most important thing in a game (write that down!!). Therefore we already added some casual ingame hints that guide you through the first steps of the game. But we don’t want the player to force read through a wall of text for some advanced concepts/mechanics – like our Compost or our Potion Crafting. That’s why we added/reused little helper NPCs for both mechanics/screens that will give you general or specific hints about compost input or crafting recipes. Sometimes they’ll even start a chat with you. Cozy!
3. We will add a Herbit Settlement!
As you may recall from a video we made there is a small creature roaming your garden called Herbit. You can interact with, talk with, and even receive quests from it. At some point it may invite some of its cousins to your island – and they’ll start a small village! Through it you will be able to send out Herbit Expeditions to other islands of your archipelago to get seeds and items you need. You will therefore also be able to upgrade the village to attract more Herbits, increase Expedition speed, and reach islands that are further away from you. And to make it look cuter of course!
Don’t let the worst get your best!
We recently had some bad Social Media experiences (for example when asking around in Reddit about whether using machine translations as an indie dev is okay) with some downvotes and aggressive comments. Experiences like that make the already tough experience of being a 2-person studio not really easier. But sometimes you have to remind yourself that people that want to make you feel bad probably feel worse – so don’t think too much about it!
Love y'all, appreciate y'all,
xoxo Jolly Bert