Happy June everyone! Time to check in and let you know what’s happening with the latest in development of my video game: Earl the Tomb Robber!
(Don't like reading? Watch the video here!)
If you’re tuning in for the first time, Earl the Tomb Robber is a story driven, single-player, 3rd person adventure game! It started with the premise, “What if Pixar made an Uncharted game without all the shooty-shooty bits?!”
First Major Milestone reached!
Firstly, I’m so excited to announce that the First Major Milestone has been reached! I have completed the initial pass on the Desert Plains level of the game. The level is fully playable from start to finish, but it still needs more polish, and plenty of bug fixing. Eventually I’ll be replacing much of the music and fully replacing the temporary AI voice acting with professional voice actors.
The Desert Plains level is one of 5 planned environmental stages in the game including jungle ruins, mountain pass, tropical coastline and a haunted forest. Each environment has several tombs to explore, challenging puzzles to solve and unique enemies to defeat!
I’m not sure if anyone else does this when designing their game levels, but the Desert Plains are NOT the first level of the game, it’s actually right in the middle! Because this genre is fairly new to me, I have a LOT to learn. I don’t expect the first levels I learn to build to be the very best. So my personal philosophy is to build from the middle out. This way by the time I’m designing the first and the final levels, I’m far more experienced and am able to make something much more exciting! Those first and last impressions a player has of the game are the most important after all!
General Updates
Additionally, I'm still looking for ways to make the combat more satisfying WITHOUT making it become a major component of the game. At the moment, it’s just a bit clunky and simple. The “Simple” part is intentional, but I still want it to be satisfying.
Currently there are two types of attacks, a basic and a heavy, but the Heavy attack doesn't feel responsive or different enough from the basic attack. It's a slower attack that hits for twice as much damage if you connect, but I find it’s just not fun to use so I almost always stick with the basic attack. I may end up cutting the heavy attack in the end. The player still has the ability to dodge roll, and to use bombs to attack enemies if you equip them, so there are some basic choices to make during combat.
This leads me to my second challenge… how to upgrade the shovel?
The player’s only weapon is Earl’s trusty shovel (And of course you get to name the shovel!!) He uses this shovel both in combat and for digging up treasures & even puzzle solving along the way.
The player has the option of upgrading their gear and outfits by spending some of the money earned by collecting treasures! Bombs can be upgraded so that you can carry more at a time and do more damage. Heath packs can be similarly upgraded. You can even spend money to buy entirely new outfits for Earl!
It makes sense to me that the player would also be able to upgrade the shovel, but I’m not sure what to do with it. I could make it do more damage in battle, but anything else? I thought of maybe including elemental effects, but that seems a bit cliche. If you have any ideas, I’d love to hear them!
Story Updates
While the main plot of the story is fully outlined (No Spoilers), there are still a lot of details I have yet to fill in… including the ending! Much of this story is based on my own personal journey battling with chronic illness and pain, as well as mental issues like depression and isolation. Part of my personal journey and learning about myself is making this game, so naturally I don't have an ending yet. It’s an ongoing journey that I mirror through gameplay. The more I write the more I think the game might have different endings depending on the choices you make and discovering the type of person that YOU are.
I tend to switch modes several times during production, focusing on writing the story for a while, then switching to actually making the game. They are very different thought processes so I don’t try to do both at the same time. This also has the advantage of keeping me from burning out doing any one thing for too long.
Personal Updates
As for me personally, I guess I’m trucking along. Medicine is helping to keep me stable both mentally and physically. Doctors are satisfied with heart recovery. My diabetes is being managed well enough… kidney disease is holding steady and not getting worse. And my gout flare ups, while still regular, are more mild in nature than in the past. There are still days where I cant really get around or use my hands at all, and days where finding the motivation to get out of bed is challenging. (Thankfully my pets have no lack of motivation and ensure I get up whether I want to or not!)
So that’s it! Let me know if you enjoyed this longer format Dev Log and tell me what you want to know more about! See ya next time!