Dev Update #001 Gameplay Concepts
The first week of development has been spent on conceptualization of the plot and the playable character’s abilities in relation to the world. The playable character is a young woman with many abilities in regards to traversal and combat, and the environment needs to reflect these abilities without hindering them. My goal for the character is to make them not fully dependent on the environment for traversal and combat, but to instead provide the player with many options within the environment to aid in whatever conflict they seem to find themselves in. Here’s a few concepts I have written out.
The playable character’s most important tools will be a set of sacred masks that, when worn, will temporarily grant their user with the power of their respected kami, or spirit. These abilities will be interchangeable after they are obtained in the world, and can be used on a cool down. These masks can be used in combat, but their main purpose is to help the player traverse the environment, solve puzzles and complete tasks in the world. These vital gameplay mechanics mean that the environment needs to work in tandem with the player’s tools, but neither should be dependent on the other to heavily as to not streamline the experience. This idea is the first I wish to implement when the game reaches a playable state. The next week will be spent conceptualizing the kami masks and their abilities, as well as how they will work alongside the world they will live in.