Game Gen - Week 62

 

Game Development Progress Update

This week's development on my horror game has been focused on polishing, replication fixes, and preparation for upcoming features. While there's still plenty to do, I'm excited to share the progress I've made so far!

Here's my Progress Update in Video Form! 

Adding "Juice" to the Game

I've been working on making the game feel more alive and immersive by adding various elements and adding some "juice." This includes implementing new sound effects for player actions and environmental interactions, improving UI and visual feedback with subtle animations, and adding VFX elements like particle effects and lighting adjustments. These small touches make a huge difference in creating that eerie liminal mall atmosphere I'm aiming for.

Multiplayer Replication Progress

Replication has definitely been one of the more challenging aspects of development, but I'm making steady progress. I've continued working on ensuring all game elements replicate properly for multiplayer sessions. This includes ensuring items can be picked up by all players, enemies behave consistently across clients, and player actions are visible to everyone in the session.

Inventory System Fixes

The inventory system continues to be a work in progress, with several issues being addressed:

• Fixed items occasionally disappearing when moving between inventory slots
• Working on replication of item pickups so all players can see when items are collected
• Improving the visual feedback when interacting with inventory items

These fixes are crucial for the core gameplay loop, as item collection and management are key elements of the horror experience I'm creating.

Steam Multiplayer Integration

Thanks to the Advanced Sessions System plugin, the Steam multiplayer integration is about 95% complete! Just a few minor bugs left to fix:

• Ensuring player names display correctly on the party screen
• Fixing an issue where quitting the game as a non-host player causes everyone to disconnect
• Fine-tuning the session joining process for a smoother experience

I'm looking forward to getting this fully operational so we can properly playtest the multiplayer aspects of the game.

Designing New Functionalities

I've continued designing several new mechanics that will add to the dream-like, non-Euclidean feel of the game:

• Further development of the portal system that will allow players to travel between seemingly impossible spaces
• A metal detector mechanic that will help players locate hidden items or secret areas
• More work on non-Euclidean spaces that defy normal physics and spatial relationships

These elements will help create that unsettling feeling where physics doesn't quite work the way you expect it to in the real world.

Bug Fixing and Adjustments

A significant portion of my time has been spent on various bug fixes and adjustments:

• Fixed player model size inconsistencies so all players appear at the proper scale
• Addressed several replication errors that were causing desync issues in multiplayer
• Improved collision detection in certain areas of the map

Next Steps

Moving forward, my focus will be on continuing to add "juiciness" to the game experience through:

• Additional sound effects and ambient audio to enhance the atmosphere
• Better materials and textures for existing assets
• Modeling or sourcing the actual assets for level completion instead of using placeholder blocks
• Further refinement of the enemy AI behavior

Despite my hectic work schedule, I'm making steady progress on turning this liminal, 90s-inspired horror game into a reality. I can't wait to show more of these features in action in future updates!