Bone hunters Devlog 3

Welcome to the third devlog of Bone hunters. This week our main focus was on trying to improve the prototype and the overall feel of the game. Although the prototype was fun, the game was definitely missing something extra. We went back to the drawing board so that we were certain that this game was going to be fun and engaging for longer periods of time.

Art

This was the first official week of production for the artists, quite exciting.

In this first week, the blockout of the level was created after getting some useful feedback.

This way, the programmers could start coding the newly added mechanics to our prototype.

Next up, were the first finished props of the project. These included an old boot, toy car, etc,

Props that would serve as ‘trash’ items when the player can’t find a bone.

We started off modeling the most useful props for the programmers first, no need for us to create a start screen just yet.

Prototype

Quite a few changes were made this week as we introduced some new mechanics in the prototype.

Visibility Changes:

We have implemented a new map blockout in the newest version with more open areas and overall better visibility. This comes with newly made houses that have colored roofs according to the players that have joined in.

Tug of war has also been changed so that you can see the colors of the players that are battling, this will make the standing of the Tug of War more clear.

Mechanics:

There have been quite a few features added this week so that we can figure out what we like and don’t like.

• Moveable Objects: There are now moveable objects in the form of trash cans in the scene that allow for manipulation of the level, like blocking off areas or players.
• Mud: There are mud patches scattered around the map that will slow you down when stepping on them.
• Jumping Ability: We’ve added an ability for the dogs that are not in possession of the bone. These dogs can now jump over the small bushes in order to cut the dog in possession of the bone off although currently it is still implemented as teleporting to the other side.
• Pooping Ability: The dog in possession of the bone now has an ability that will help lose his chasers. That player can now lay down a piece of poop that will slow down other players when they touch it.
• Barking: Barking has undergone a change in order to make Tug of War more relevant. Barking at another dog will now only stun that dog but not drop the bone anymore.
• Tug of War: Tug of War is now the only way of stealing a bone from another dog. There is also no cooldown for initiating a Tug of War, so you can start it whenever you are in range of the other dog. The winner of the Tug of War now als receives a temporary speed boost which help him put some distance between him and the other dogs

Questions for the team: 

How do we make Tug of War more relevant?

• We need to make Tug of War the main way of stealing a bone. This has been done by disabling the bone dropping when you get stunned by the bark.

This way you bark at another dog to stun him and then run towards to engage with him in a Tug of War.

How will we add in a ‘Skill’ factor?

• We have done this by adding some more variation to the way you engage with other players. We’ve added moveable objects, jumpable objects when you are not holding a bone, mud, and a pooping ability for the dog with the bone.

All these changes alongside with learning the layout of the level should help the player evolve a bit of skill to get an edge over the other players.