So, as some of you very well know, I was thinking about adding a secondary inventory system to Sword 'N' Board for a little while. It was more of a simple idea that I had pop in one day that never really left. I kind of filed it under "yeah, that might be cool later on" and then went back to work getting the game ready for Casual Connect, as I knew I definitely didn't have the time (or energy for that matter) to put something like an item inventory/upgrade system into the game right before I was going to show the demo I had available.
The Inventory system definitely became a lot more clear as Casual Connect and the Kickstarter went on, as I saw it as not only another level of added depth and customization to the game, but it also allowed for what I felt would be some pretty meaningful choices the player would have to make.
It began with health, or rather with your "shield durability" since that's essentially what your health is in the game. When you were a kid, if your toy or your pretend weapon broke you had to fix it before you could get back to playing, and that's really no different in the game. Plus, it really makes no sense to have the kid die, fighting imaginary monsters right? Well, the monsters would drop duct tape, which if your shield was fine you couldn't really use. So, what do you do with it? Well, there was 2 things that I could really do without that inventory system. I could have the duct tape remain there, no matter how much you tried to pick it up, which felt bad. If there's an item there, waiting for you, you're going to want to try and take it, and when you're not able to do something you expect to be able to do, it doesn't "feel" right. The same could be said with you being able to pick up the duct tape, but not having it benefit you in some way.
Well, what if you could put it somewhere and use it later? That could be really cool, but what if people just store up duct tape, and are able to constantly repair their shield? Well, that's going to require some balancing, either by making duct tape drop less often, or giving the duct tape another use! Requiring the player to choose what they would like to do at that point, either use the duct tape now to repair their shield, or to save it later on for an upgrade they are saving for! And so, the basic idea was born.
I threw it in near the end fo the Kickstarter as a stretch goal, of which we destroyed but I had decided that I would probably throw it in regardless, given how close we had come.
I've always liked giving the player choices to make, allowing them to experiment with their own play styles, their own item combinations and things like that, and that's what really created the item combination system that's currently in the game in the first place. I wanted the player to be able to choose how to play, and I wanted them to be able to pick exactly how they played Sidd.
Within the secondary inventory system will be upgrades! You'll be able to upgrade Sidd's armor, which will essentially allow him to take more damage before finally losing shield durability. Not only that, you'll be able to upgrade certain items, including Sidd's sword, so you can pick which items to augment in case you find yourself favoring one item over another. Another stat you'll be able to upgrade is his "gathering" (thats a working term for now) which will make it so Sidd is able to find the items he needs to make such upgrades, much easier.
In the long run, you'll be able to upgrade specific weapons, their damage, range etc. As well as upgrade Sidd himself, his armor durability, speed and things of that nature, in order to customize Sidd's stats in a way you feel fits the way you would like to play, while adding yet another level of choice to the game that will hopefully make things that much more interesting.
The Inventory system definitely became a lot more clear as Casual Connect and the Kickstarter went on, as I saw it as not only another level of added depth and customization to the game, but it also allowed for what I felt would be some pretty meaningful choices the player would have to make.
It began with health, or rather with your "shield durability" since that's essentially what your health is in the game. When you were a kid, if your toy or your pretend weapon broke you had to fix it before you could get back to playing, and that's really no different in the game. Plus, it really makes no sense to have the kid die, fighting imaginary monsters right? Well, the monsters would drop duct tape, which if your shield was fine you couldn't really use. So, what do you do with it? Well, there was 2 things that I could really do without that inventory system. I could have the duct tape remain there, no matter how much you tried to pick it up, which felt bad. If there's an item there, waiting for you, you're going to want to try and take it, and when you're not able to do something you expect to be able to do, it doesn't "feel" right. The same could be said with you being able to pick up the duct tape, but not having it benefit you in some way.
Well, what if you could put it somewhere and use it later? That could be really cool, but what if people just store up duct tape, and are able to constantly repair their shield? Well, that's going to require some balancing, either by making duct tape drop less often, or giving the duct tape another use! Requiring the player to choose what they would like to do at that point, either use the duct tape now to repair their shield, or to save it later on for an upgrade they are saving for! And so, the basic idea was born.
I threw it in near the end fo the Kickstarter as a stretch goal, of which we destroyed but I had decided that I would probably throw it in regardless, given how close we had come.
I've always liked giving the player choices to make, allowing them to experiment with their own play styles, their own item combinations and things like that, and that's what really created the item combination system that's currently in the game in the first place. I wanted the player to be able to choose how to play, and I wanted them to be able to pick exactly how they played Sidd.
Within the secondary inventory system will be upgrades! You'll be able to upgrade Sidd's armor, which will essentially allow him to take more damage before finally losing shield durability. Not only that, you'll be able to upgrade certain items, including Sidd's sword, so you can pick which items to augment in case you find yourself favoring one item over another. Another stat you'll be able to upgrade is his "gathering" (thats a working term for now) which will make it so Sidd is able to find the items he needs to make such upgrades, much easier.
In the long run, you'll be able to upgrade specific weapons, their damage, range etc. As well as upgrade Sidd himself, his armor durability, speed and things of that nature, in order to customize Sidd's stats in a way you feel fits the way you would like to play, while adding yet another level of choice to the game that will hopefully make things that much more interesting.
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