RZ2 August / September 2021 Update
Incoming Transmission…
Welcome to the official Robozarro 2 dev blog— an inside look at the development of Robozarro 2, a PC and console game being developed in the Unity Game Engine!
Today I’d like to update you on the progress that’s been made on Robozarro 2 during the past month or so.
August was a BIG month for RZ2, as work began on the PC demo! As of right now the demo is going to consist of the game’s first two areas: The Gut and Prospect Park. The Gut is the player’s underground base, where they can get acquainted with the game’s controls and various gameplay systems, before heading into Prospect Park, which offers players their first real taste of combat and exploration in RZ2.
Exploring Prospect Park
In order to get the game playable outside of the Unity game engine, I needed to start building the RZ2 experience from beginning to end. This meant building one final gameplay system that I had been saving for last: the story-progression/questing system. This system controls plot progression, NPC dialogue selection, and the player’s mission objectives. I saved it for last because without most of the game’s other systems in place, I’d have no idea what the progression system should/could control.
The Gut’s Tutorial/Obstacle Course
With the progression system complete, I’m happy to report that progressing through the RZ2 demo from beginning to end is now… possible! This means that the player can seamlessly go through all of the demo’s story beats, from 0-R4’s activation at the beginning, to the completion of the first mission objective. (There’s even some demo-specific surprises, which won’t be found in the full game!) I’m still not sure how long it’ll take players to go through these areas, but my guess is, about an hour.
With the core of the demo’s programming complete, development then shifted to polishing and refining the overall experience. This included fixes and adjustments such as:
Enemy AI improvements.
Enemy attack effects.
Changed loot physics.
Updated “Hack Chips” resource.
Doubled the size of the player’s inventory.
Inventory GUI updates.
Battle GUI updates.
Enemy “level” update. (New “Skull”/color system)
Got rid of player XP. (Might be a separate blog post)
Level-design tweaks.
Added more puzzles and exploration opportunities.
Pictured below: updates on RZ2’s combat and inventory user-interfaces.
With the aforementioned updates and tweaks now complete, I’m currently moving on to:
Exploration GUI implementation.
Battle attack effects for Aliens.
Additional enemies/enemy variations.
Additional environmental details/animations.
Game Over screen.
Title screen (debug version currently exists).
Options screen.
Sound effects and music.
Final inventory… stuff.
Balancing the gameplay (enemy HP, attack damage, loot, etc).
Saving/Loading (which probably won’t be in the demo).
Other misc. issues/fixes that will inevitably pop up.
Despite most development tasks being completed in a reasonable amount of time, I’m still not exactly sure when the playable demo will be ready for the public. I’d like it to be up on Steam by the end of the year, but unfortunately that’s not something I can guarantee. RZ2 is coming together nicely, and the core gameplay loop is more polished and satisfying than it’s ever been. However, I need to ensure that the demo makes a GREAT first impression, which means it has to be polished, fun, and an overall representation of my vision for the final game.
RZ2 Box Blasting Combat
Final thoughts:
There’s still SOOO much work to be done! (Who knew creating a W/JRPG-hybrid video game would be so much work?!) Therefore, based on how late I got this post finished, I’d say you can expect the next RZ2-related blog post sometime in October or November (a “Fall Update” of sorts). Until then, be sure to follow me on Twitter (@FrozenFlameInt) for weekly updates on RZ2 and other video game-related musings.
As always, thanks for stopping by!
Transmission Complete.
-Matt
