GameDev Weekly: 14 September 2020

Changes

• Added combo system.
  • Cards now have to be played in certain orders. Longer combos reduce energy costs and increase energy gain within the combo.
• Added wait system.
  • The wait period between turns is longer based on how many cards were played.
• Added energy system.
  • Higher effect cards cost energy to use. Energy increases for every damage card used.
• Added discard system.
  • Unwanted cards can now be discarded in a turn with a lower wait penalty.
• Cards can now have their own effects.
  • Right now that's mainly a damage difference.
• Cards that cannot be selected, either due to combos or energy cost, are greyed out.

Reducing Scope... Again.

I was planning to get basic AI out this week but it didn't work out, same with the placeholders. I have made progress though. The need to switch out placeholders gave me a big reality check in terms of what the game will look like and in turn its scope.

My art is terrible so I should focus on a game that doesn't rely heavily on art, nor music. So strip out the RPG elements, it's just going to be a card game. It kind of sucks having to shelve all of these ideas but that's just how it goes. I've essentially reduced the game from Shin Megami Tensei to Pokémon and now to Yu-Gi-Oh.

I want to share a video or screenshot but it just looks too funny right now. Making the game minimally presentable will at least take an entire week on its own so it's not a priority right now.

Core Systems

I've added most of the core combat systems. The entire flow is there so I no longer feel like something's missing when I'm testing it (well, other than passive effect cards). Even with basic cards and no opponent A.I. I can already feel the need to use my brain. All it needs is some challenge and variety.

Next Up

Next week, I'll finish off implementing a basic Opponent A.I. and add some card variety.

Adding more types of cards will likely push me to start introducing sound effects and animation just to know what's going on. Even now with cards that deal different damage I can get confused and lose track.

Thanks for reading.