Devlog #5

Overall Progress: Preparation for Alpha presentations

Art Team: 

The NPC kite was complete, but the main kit was still in progress. The current greybox was a world of three islands with little assets/models as they were all work in progress. Another discussion that took place was the style of the game. The realistic nature of the kite flying conflicted with the low poly style of the game. As we did not settle with a final concept shot of the world we had during idea development, everyone had different visions of the game which was a big concern.

Music Team:

A demo of the peaceful music looping track was made. A selection of high-priority sound effects were also uploaded. The music team also successfully used FMOD to develop the variable wind sound effects, in which not only the pitch of the wind sound shifts but also its dynamics slightly increases according to the velocity of the player’s kite. 

CS Team:

This week presented significant design challenges as we encountered issues with the overly physics-dependent nature of the kite. The unpredictability of its movement led to inconsistent gameplay, necessitating a major overhaul to improve balance and playability. To address this, we introduced adjustments to make the kite feel floatier and more forgiving, reducing the punishment for minor player errors. 

To counteract the chaotic nature of the kite’s aerodynamics, we introduced a stabilizing mechanism where the kite’s tilt automatically snaps back to its neutral position when no input is detected. This change provided much-needed consistency to movement without sacrificing the organic feel of flight. Additional refinements were made to collectables, increasing their interaction radius to improve accessibility and overall game flow. 

A major milestone during this period was controller integration, which significantly improved the overall player experience. 

Another major milestone was the creation of two iterations of the AI for the NPC kites. Revision 1 of the AI made it so that the NPC kites move on the circumference of a circle, settable via a radius parameter, with a given speed parameter. Both radius and speed are settable in the editor. Revision 2 had a different logic. It is still moving in a circle, but instead of the circumference, now the parameters of radius and speed give out a circular area the NPC kites are able to move in. This revision also includes a separate animation to simulate the kites shaking in the wind.

Meanwhile, combat saw meaningful progress, with the implementation of a time-slowing mechanic that activates during button prompts, adding an element of strategy and responsiveness.