Hello!

It has been a few months since our last update, and I thought I would share what we've been working on. Chapter 2 we decided takes place in a new area... The Beach!!!

We struggled for a while deciding what we will encounter on the beach. We started with a list of things someone might run into in real life, then applied some child-like exaggerations to each. Once we had our base designs locked in Houndfall began work on the assets, and I started on the gameplay. We were both worried about the quality of Chapter 2; unsure if we should stick to the foundation Chapter 1 set up gameplay-wise, or if we should completely shake it up. Eventually we settled on a balance of the two, while also addressing issues in Chapter 1. So what should you expect?

• Longer Battles - In Chapter 1, Battles have the chance to resolve within 20 seconds. Not that these swift victories weren't earned, however we had hopes that more interactions between the player and Monster could provide an experience with more depth.
• Careful Planning - In Chapter 1, some encounters could be approached passively, where the player doesn't attack but rather accumulates a singular large card, then strikes with that. With Chapter 2, we're making this play-style a little bit more challenging to execute. Monsters will have more methods of sabotaging the players cards, and one of them will even steal cards to attack the player with.
• Veiled Weaknesses - This partially ties in with the Longer Battles point. Before in Chapter 1, the player would be instantly provided the details of the Monsters weaknesses and resistances. This is no longer the case. Now they will be grayed out, and players have to guess and study the effects of each elemental attack. Upon using an element the first time in combat, the status will be illuminated and marked with a symbol representing it's effectiveness. This provides more time (which as stated earlier provides more opportunities for interaction) to each encounter. The way weaknesses and resistances are decided still abide by some level of sense. The plant monster probably is weak to fire... etc.

Decent amount of stuff going on yeah? So when will this update be out? I can't confidently say! I could tell you what we have made so far, and what has left to be done though.

• Overworld
  • Art ✅
  • Music
  • GUI
• Combat
  • Background 1 ✅
  • Background 2
  • Music A ✅
  • Music B ✅
  • Music C ✅
• Monster 1
  • Art ✅
  • Sound
  • Gameplay ✅
  • Bonus Mode
• Monster 2
  • Art ✅
  • Sound
  • Gameplay ✅
  • Bonus Mode
• Monster 3
  • Art ✅
  • Sound
  • Gameplay ✅
  • Bonus Mode
• Monster 4
  • Art ✅
  • Sound
  • Gameplay ✅
  • Bonus Mode
• Monster 5
  • Art ✅
  • Sound
  • Gameplay ✅
  • Bonus Mode
• Monster 6
  • Art
  • Sound
  • Gameplay
  • Bonus Mode

So lets see that puts us at 15/32 tasks, or 47%. Yeessh, honestly hoped we were doing better than that... Ah well, I guess this means current estimate is however long it's been, again! See ya then! Have a great holiday!