RAMSHACKIN'S PROFILE

author=Pizza
I don't know, right now it looks like a more generic coastline with a tint applied to it, so it seems like the tint is doing more than the actual map.

Hopefully I can get away from the tint being the most impactful piece of the map, as the only reason it's there is because the dynamic weather system chose thunderstorm when I was taking the screenshot.

I'll try putting together some rocky ground tiles.

I think you touched on something important with your SMT3 example: knowing exactly what the reward for grinding is and having that reward be optional.

Willfully picking a goal, working towards it, and accomplishing it can be a fun and rewarding experience. Being forced to grind a few levels in order to beat a story boss and continue the game? Not so much.

XCOM comes to mind. It's not uncommon to have 25% or 50% chance to hit an enemy, but the game remains more strategy than chance.

Two reasons it works:
1) The player sees the exact percentage chance of their attack hitting. You know exactly what you're getting into when making decisions.
2) The player has full control over the percents. The game is about out maneuvering your enemy so you're in a position with 90% chance to hit and they're left with 5%.

The gameplay idea hits me first, before setting, plot, characters. So I hack together a quick prototype that's still a) playable, b) contains the core gameplay. Then I play it. And either fall in love or scrap it. Bonus points if I pull over some friends to try it, and despite the rough edges, they're wanting more.

Then comes the biggest project killer: graphics. I plan in advance the full scope of the game's graphic needs and determine if everything required is freely available online or if I'm passionate enough about the project idea to pay the huge time investment and make the art myself.

Then it's dive into development and let the pieces and ideas flood in. It's easy to get in the habit of planning each intricate detail in advance, but sometimes it's better for productivity to throw something out there that's a general representation of what you want. Then once it's actually in the game and you've played with that character's skillset, watched that cutscene, and explored that map, you have a much better idea of what it was you were trying to plan in the first place. So refine and move on.

Trying to nail down the aesthetic of a chronomancer's tower.



The gears turn and the blue pillar in the center moves up and down acting as an elevator to the next floor. The faded character is the player climbing the tower in the past, which has to cooperate with the player in the future to make it through the dungeon.