Hey guys! Chuck again.
Just wanted to let y'all know that I'm changing how I make updates for Exosystem, and how I'll progress with making new content for the game.
TL:DR - I'll be working on a rough draft of the whole game - playable beginning to end.
If you decided to stick around - Ima go into detail because I love yapping about my video game ːPEAKactuallyː
Basically, from now on I'll be dedicated to working on the actual LEVELS of Exosystem. There will be 6 levels in Exosystem, which ik doesn't sound like a lot but each one will be around ~30 mins to an hour, non-linear, multiple endings and routes, with the later levels being open sandboxes. This means that Exosystem will be fully playable, from beginning to end, just without a tutorial.
The tutorial is on the back-burner for now by the way. I couldn't get the tutorial just how I wanted it, and I figured it would be a better idea to do the tutorial after the game is fully playable anyway. So - if you don't know how to PLAY Exosystem, try the existing tutorials and then contact me if you need help with the basics. These levels will assume you know them.
Also - your feedback is ESSENTIAL for this. You might not know this, but game developers actually have no idea how fun their game actually is. The only ways I get an inkling of how fun it is is if I add something that makes me laugh (such as a stupid hack or gun), or if I visibly see a playtester enjoy it. So... yeah. Your feedback will also help me clarify unclear mechanics, balance the difficulty, tweak the enemy AI, make parts of the game more fun, and literally help me make a better game. HELP ME!!!
Lastly, the time frame for this. My plan is to work on a level every week. These levels will not be finished. They will be "playable", and they will have choppy level design with no animations or cutscenes. My plan is to figure out what I want for the gameplay before I work on story, art, tone, music, UX. So in total - I hope to have every level finished at the end of May. (I know that doesn't line up with the once a week thing but we'll see how it goes, I probably won't be done by the end of May but it's a good idea to set this fuzzy deadline for myself).
For the FINISHED game, I'll see how much I get done with this plan. But for a summary, it'll be the levels, then multiplayer, then I'll start polishing brick by brick, focusing on gameplay and fun first, then story and tone, then the icing with art, music and SFX. Hopefully I'll be done by the end of summer! But that's wishful thinking. My absolute MUST goal is to have something PUBLIC by the end of summer. But I'll see how it goes!
Thanks for any help with Exosystem, God bless you!