After releasing Zeran's Folly (SFML forum thread
here) last year and finishing the last updates, I am now working on a sequel called
Leowald! Like all my previous games, this one is another iteration on the formula and bigger and better than the last one.
General game stuff: It's 20 years later after the events of Zeran's Folly and you play as Lone and Abby's firstborn on their first big solo adventure. From the Big Chest Adventurers' Guild in Leowald Kingdom, you'll set out and deal with things from mole sky pirates to hard-drinking dorfen kings to strawberry-obsessed necromancers. There are eight weapons in total, each with their own unique moveset.
SFML and technical stuff: I use all pieces of SFML except for the Networking module. RenderTextures and shaders are used extensively to generate the level art, using input from a custom level editor I made. The other major libraries and tools I use are Spine for animations, Box2D for collision tests (not simulation), GLM for some math functions, and SDL but just for the controller rumble functionality. (I like controllers... a lot)
I like SFML because it's simple and fast. It's even right there in the name! It's simple enough in that it gives you the building blocks to do whatever you need. Can't recommend it enough and the team behind it is great.
Some random musings on the sequel: A recurring thing in my games has been multiple playable characters. The problem is, it's tough to reconcile it with the story since you control only one at a time. Where is everyone else at the time? You're exploring alone and when it's cutscene time suddenly everyone is there? Kinda weird.
Instead of playing as one of multiple characters that coexist like in Zeran's Folly, you choose the sex of your character in Leowald at the start and that's it. It has all the benefits of multiple characters with none of the oddities. Still get to choose a character, still get to have different interactions. Win-win. I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner. It's better than choosing one of two distinct people because then what happens to the person you didn't pick? In Leowald, the character is still the same entity, you just get to choose what they were born as. Here's the New Game sequence:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dILah9NkZmEThe mechanic of multiple characters in Zeran's Folly has been replaced by weapons in Leowald. There are eight total weapons with their own movesets. A lot of them are based on the movesets of characters in Zeran's Folly but some are new, like the Golem Meteor which is a ball and chain:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1vTfmBjBVACharacter talents are now Weapon Runes which work the same way. However, a few of the runes have been reworked to make them weapon-specific instead of a general effect exclusive to that weapon. For example, Penelope in Zeran's Folly had the talent "Revenge" which made enemies take damage when they hit her. In Leowald, this effect has been rolled into a new equippable ring and the associated weapon has a new replacement rune.
Speaking of weapons, they can level up. Each weapon starts at Lv. 1 and you level them up by, what else, killing enemies. Focus Attacks unlock at level 3 and Rune Slots (for equipping weapon runes) unlock every five levels. Max level is 30 (for six rune slots).
Most enemies take 1-2 normal hits to defeat and I want to preserve that as long as your weapons are comparable level. So, damage works in 5-level tiers. If your weapon is within five levels of the enemy, it will do normal damage. Five levels above and it does 2x damage, five levels below it does 1/2 damage, and so on for each five levels after. It's a nice way to keep a feeling of progression without messing with the 1-2 hits feel of combat.
Another thing I'd like to do with Leowald compared to Zeran's Folly is have more interconnected character arcs. A guy you help out with one quest will reappear later to help you with yours, stuff like that. A lot of the characters in Zeran's Folly were one-and-done; once you saw them, that was it. There's still a little bit of that in Leowald but I want to keep the members of the adventurers' guild involved in your adventure from start to finish.
Here are some music pieces I already made for the game:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emUcnHAIs2whttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKkQ0GCl8WESelf-promotion stuff:
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