Update 8/15/21: Game Design stuff

For the past, idk, like two months, my priority was assets.  First, it was making new characters based off of previous sprites (Priya and Charity are based off Nanette, [REDACTED] is based off of Rachel, Sheila is based off of Kui/Rumia) before shifting towards giving all the existing characters equivalent sprite sizes. Unfortunately, somewhere along the way, I lost track of sizes, ultimately making Nanette's 3rd or 4th sprite essentially fatter than Kui's fifth or sixth sprite--like, her butt was as massive as Kui's entire body, at the time. Given the crudeness of my art, it's just like, circles, but the issue shook me, leading to the immobile and blob sprites posted earlier--I decided to lock down Kui (and Rumia, and Rachel's) sizes first, given their 'vanilla' shape.

Then, I turned to making face sets for those three, because I'd already mapped out their sizes.

But all the while, I've been thinking "game design game design game design".

So recently, I turned to that--to actually making the game again, with the assets I had made thus far.

Which leads me to the actual namesake of the post, I suppose.

FEF is, in my heart/head, a party-based rpg in the vein of like Suikoden or the Saga games, in that you've got a variable, recruitable party. Now, the game is beatable solo (intended, anyway) but that's how I see it.  But a game where your party could be anyone is, unsurprisingly, a pain in the butt to design, with a whole mess of conditionals peppering just about any dialogue event, and many interactive ones.  Add to that the fact that you've got to account for (well, I've got to account for, anyway) the various sizes characters can be, and you see the gordian knot that is making the game.

Making it is basically a long-form puzzle. It's super fun, but also a headache.

If you've played it, the game currently ends upon completion of 'Part/Act/Phase One.' While I would hesitate to call that part finished, exactly, it's in a good spot. So on to part 2.

Part Two, which is brought on by the player reaching a certain level, starts with the player losing all of their money and food items, be they regular food or people. This is partly because I intend to add conditionals to food items, to make them less effective in subsequent parts--A burger that gives 30 fullness in part one will only give 10 in part 2, because the player (and their party) is fatter, etc. The money aspect is so the game's economy isn't destroyed by the player mass-purchasing food items part-change.

And, to stop the player from anticipating this, and perhaps just giving all of their food to their party members, I'm thinking of putting a system in place where Kui must be within 5 levels, maybe less, of the fattest member of the party, 'lest the fatter member eat her and cause a game over.

...

Man, I haven't even gotten to the STRUCTURE of part 2 yet. Ugh.

I'll elaborate on this once I have more done, but as a consequence of losing all of your money, the player will be strongly encouraged to farm money by doing odd jobs around the map. The primary source of these jobs/sidequests will be your party members!

I'm currently in the process of making Rachel's sidequest; she's an office lady (kinda), so you can send her off to the office to make some money for you. But you need to give her a lunch, because you've made her fat... Depending on what you gave her, and what she's in the mood for, she'll be sated, and make slightly more.

It's a simple thing, really, but I've actually wanted to do this since part one, so I'm kinda happy about it.

That's all for now!