Ah, what a week of alchemy! A fun one, but an exhausting one as well! I've got to do a lot on The Alchemist, I and the team have had the change to meet up, and flesh out our ideas, I've done a lot of visible and invisible things to this site and if that wasn't enough, I am also moving my entire self, into a new house filled with opportunities! It's the house next door, and it's something we have been trying to get done the last half year, and finally, it is getting true!:D I am very much looking forward to moving in there, as that means I can set up a more proper office for myself! I am looking forward to be sitting in a chair as I work, goodbye bad back!!
But enough of that. This update is about alchemy ! First of, here's whats new in this build:
The new Alchemy
Several things are new! I've splitted it up a bit, to give a brief overview! There is more about the process and my thoughts down below, getting a bit deeper into the alchemy of the above. If you just want to dive into the game, you can find it here, along with simple instructions!
The Alchemist/Player
- The Alchemist now rolls! If you start to run while walking, he will roll and start running. If you are idle and start to run, he will also begin with a roll! Nifty!
- You can influence targeted NPC's with smaller spells, "Sigils"! This does the same as a ritual, but it is simpler, and only works on one person.
- The camera is way better now! You can zoom in and out, tilt and rotate around the alchemist. I am very happy with how it mixes a top down-view and a regular 3rd person view on the fly!
- More items to pick up! You can find a sword, book pages and other pickups, in the world. They won't do you much yet, since I haven't fully implemented a proper inventory yet, but that is for next week!
- Incense! You can drop sticks of incense to bring out NPC's of certain elements. Again, since there is no inventory, you can only place Fire-Incense. (You'll need to use it if you wanna starve the city, you evil person)
- Some fixes to the UI. I've added a couple of new UI-elements as well, but I've also hid them, so haha, you've gotta wait! But they are there.
The World
- NPC's die. Yeah, you have to make sure that there is enough food to go around in the city, or they will start dying, quickly! They can also be poor, bored and uninspired, which will all affect their behavior.
- NPC's pick sides. If an NPC is affected by enough dark spells, they will wake up and realize that something is going on. If they get to know who you are, they will even hunt you down and stop your ritual! If they are effected by light-based spells, they will be more brainwashed, and easier for you to control.
- NPC's are more fleshed out. They will go different places in the city, they have things to say(Though not much at all, yet). They won't change color when you use your rituals around them, instead you will have to analyze them, or the adverts in the city.
- NPC's look a bit different, and more in-line with the rest of the world! Gone is the cel-shading... I liked the cel-shading we had in the earlier versions, but it didn't blend well with our gameplay, and it got a bit cluttered...
- The Cameraman. The city now has a television-channel. They currently only have one cameraman, and he only wants to film you. So you are on live-tv all the time while playing the game! Go watch yourself in a shop window, or on the big screen on the obelisk! I really love this feature, and believe it will be able to make the city appear way more alive, once it is done. But for now, you are the sole star of NKR-media!
- New buildings, and some adjustments. I've updated most of the blank buildings, and determined how every piece of the city should be built up. It is almost done now, but I've most of it until it is complete!
- There is a king here! I wonder what he is doing. Blended in with all the other people.
- Apparently, there are blue men standing around in the city as well. I've not seen any, must be an illusion.
- Streetlights go on and off, according to the time of day.
Reflections
This has been a good week for work. Not only with the Alchemist, but a lot of things are truly coming together. I started the week with a retreat. Me and my new flatmates hid away in our house, and completely disconnected from the outside world. We ate healthy, and stayed positive, and in zen. When Sunday came rolling, we all felt a bit more reinvigorated, ready to take on the creative spheres and seas. During this time I got to think about what would make up the world of the Alchemist, and what would be important to that world. I got to think a lot about the word influence. As we were hidden away from any outside influences, it really showed how profound an effect it has on us. So from the outside looking in, it got pretty clear what we would have to do to really deliver a game about sublime influence.
It was clear that influence, is much like getting the flu. It is like a virus, silently spreading all around you until it traps you in the middle. We want the player to become the virus, while also being the one affected by the virus. The whole city should thrive as one organism, if one part is badly damaged, the whole of the system will help out, and try to minimize the threat, if unable, it will spread and proliferate. Every NPC of the city bears the potential to be a white blood cell, or another part of the virus. Very much like the Matrix. This is what gave birth to the idea of dark and light forces, helping the player, or attacking the player. We've built upon this duality and polarity a good deal story-wise, so look forward to that. I think it is way past the good/evil-trope, and there is some really, really dark stuff deep inside there, that was hard to write and think about...
But what would an attack on the body/city look like? How should the city react to anything happening inside of it? Not every person in the city will react to an event, some have to keep on doing their job, but they should still be notified somehow...
Aha! The nervous system, or it's outside counterpart... the media! One eye at the top of the pyramid looking down. Everywhere at once, but only right behind you. I think there is a huge potential in this feature. In the more classical GTA-style setup you do something wrong and the police arrives to chase you until you either get caught or run away. With this, you will feel, and see the resonance of your doings. We can deliver the feeling of how the media can twist things, how they can influence you back. It is not just the white blood cells fighting you, it is the entire body! What affects the material below, effects the abstract above. Alchemy! Transmutation is not a one-step process, it goes through filters and funnels, and it is spread and put together. I'm really looking forward to be able to dive deeper into alchemy, and try to pass it along. Maybe I'll light a fire in some beacons. And with that, I'll round this off. I have to perform my rituals. Create my potion for the sickness of the world. If you've read this far, I guess you see this too. Maybe you are into alchemy as well, or philosophy. If not, get ready to enter the maze! I'm heading above and below again, see you next time!
Ending words
This week, I've enjoyed the tutorials of Andrew Price, or the Blender Guru! Be sure to check him out if you wanna improve your Blender skills!:D I've also made a profile on IndieDB, so look for us there if you want. It is, as always, possible to help us out on Patreon or with a donation right here! This would help us out a lot, and who knows, maybe the game will show up on something like a console?
