The Weekly Quack - March 28th

Hello, Ducklings!

This week was a slow week but still with some progress.

Let's Give a Big EVIL Welcome Back Quack To...

Our Evil Genius, Kevin, has decided to help us part-time in editing any podcasts we do and begin the processes to proofread S.A.M! Which is good because the story came from his EVIL brain.

This also means all of your podcasts will continue to have your favorite QUACK sensors in them in a timely organized manor...or at least it seems that way.

And The Story Continues...

We continue to add another mission to the story along with branching. I for one am very excited to have Kevin back to help make revisions. Now that most of the story is in Twine he can start playing through it to make sure all of the values that get adjusted are fair, that S.A.M remembers everything he's supposed to, and that the flow of the story doesn't become too choppy.

While continuing that I have also given more EVIL thought into S.A.M's gameplay and took to looking at some older games I played when I was younger. Particularly I Spy: Treasure Hunt which was a simple point and click game where you were trying to collect clues at each location to find where the treasure was hidden.

It was a simple game that had a simple story to tell about this treasure and the town. While I think S.A.M's focus should be first and foremost the story, the gameplay could involve more interaction than simply selecting dialogue options even if it's simply requiring the player to find an item in the scene presented and then clicking on it. For example, when S.A.M asks if the player should hack X, Y, or Z, why not have visual representations of X, Y, and Z on screen for the player to try and click on and find? It is a simple gameplay addition that mixes up the constant repetition of selecting a chat message. However, when it comes to making this change, I also have to consider the additional art assets required for it and whether or not the time it will take to produce those assets, revise them, and implement them will be worth it. Will the small change in pace given to the player provide the response I want and is it worth it considering the effort to create it?

More QUACKs to Consider

Today was also our meeting about our first podcast plans.

We all agreed that we're still on track to do our first recording on April 4th! We're not sure how long it will take to edit and when we'll have it up but it is scheduled. We'll be recording an introductory podcast about our EVIL selves and the Fine Feathered portion of our Fine Feathered & Fowled podcast plans.

Is that all the Quacks for this week?

Yes Ducklings, it was a slow week. We are still making progress on S.A.M each week even if progress slows a bit.

Look for more updates on our Twitter, Facebook, or right here on our website!