To be honest, we didn’t do much “long-term” planning, because our playtest cycle was actually a bit stressful for me. Given the workload, my technical designer and I probably need to start coding. I’m not familiar with Unity, and many problems will still occur when I actually get my hands on them, even though I know how to solve them. So I can’t guarantee that I will be able to perform tasks according to a certain time table at the moment. Therefore, my specific plan is to only do the first playtest. After that, there are only vague “what should I do” and “what to do next”.

According to Erik’s definition of the game pillars, most of this game’s distinctive features rely heavily on long-term progression. Because of that, it is difficult for us to fully demonstrate these elements within a minimum viable playtest, especially those that require extended development over time.

However, we can still identify and implement several essential mechanics to showcase the core gameplay experience, such as the dialogue system.

Before the first playtest, we expect to complete character movement, the construction of at least one map, part of the narrative content, and a basic dialogue system. If our development progresses more efficiently than expected, I will also attempt to implement branching dialogue.

Based on my understanding of the GDD, dialogue choices and branching paths will influence the player’s reputation among other NPCs. The reputation system will, in turn, directly affect subsequent narrative developments and ultimately shape the game’s ending.

Since my work has strong dependencies on Alex’s work (who is responsible for narrative design), I am currently limited in developing further branching content beyond the implementation of core gameplay mechanics.

Over the past two weeks, I have broken down the essential systems the game currently requires and established a learning priority based on their importance and impact on development progress. I have now completed the character movement code and am currently studying and testing the implementation of the dialogue system.

In addition to programming, I have also been learning more about synthesizer fundamentals in preparation for future sound design and music production. However, this is not our primary focus at this stage.

Kevin is currently working on designing the game’s website, while Yansong is studying the target 3D modeling style for our project.

Since none of us are particularly skilled at pixel art, and our lead artist Yansong is more experienced in 3D, we have decided to experiment with an art style similar to Octopath Traveler: 2D characters, movement inspired by 2.5D perspective games, and fully 3D-modeled environments.

At the same time, we are considering redrawing certain CGs and character illustrations based on the updated GDD, aiming to refine the original drafts. However, this is not a current priority, so we will likely use the existing character artwork for the first playtest.