Terramental #1
- Oliver
- Nov 5, 2022
- 3 min read
Updated: Oct 30, 2023
05/11/2022
This blog discusses the current state of Terramental, a game set for Steam early access release in March 2023. The project has been in development for several months. With development in Unity commencing in June this year, the game is almost ready for release. The recent main focus was polishing the mechanics and features, and adding new content to create a more encompassing game. The features/mechanics discussed below are still a work in progress, but I thought it would be nice to share what I am currently working on.
Projectile Ability
The player's projectile ability was always a core part of the game since the early prototype stage. However, the mechanic has evolved throughout the course of development. The projectile ability is a lot more responsive now, and the timing and position of the player is a large factor of getting the most out of the ability. The visual and sound effects is a large part of what makes this ability fun to use, and it can be satisfying combining the element switch mechanic to defeat an enemy in quick succession. Charging the ability is another feature that has been added later on, and a fully powered projectile can be highly effective against enemies.
Ultimate Ability
The ultimate ability can be incredibly powerful when the player is in a tight spot. Collecting gems will charge the ability, allowing the player to activate it once their ultimate status reaches maximum charge. Gems can be found throughout levels, and also drop from defeated enemies. After activation, the player can spawn elemental explosions at a chosen location, dealing damage to all enemies caught within the blast. The ultimate ability rewards the player for defeating enemies and exploring the game, and is highly effective for difficult encounters.
Main Menu
The main menu is another part of the game I have been working on recently. My main aim with implementation of this menu, was to ensure that the player was given feedback with each interaction. I used the animation transition, part of the Unity button component, to achieve this effect. A custom script also ensures that the button's visual returns to a normal state once the cursor has exited the bounds. One way to improve this menu could be by adding more interactive responses in the settings and achievements menu, or adding several sound effects to make the menu experience more varied. However, I was satisfied with how the menu works and the responses to the player's input. The next goal for this menu, and others in general, is to ensure controller compatibility using the new Unity input system.
The Shattered Realm Game Mode
Due to the early access aspect of release, development will continue. Therefore, it was important to introduce sections of the game that were replay able to address the small team size and limited resources. The Shattered Realm game mode aims to give the player a way to continue, while still rewarding them in a meaningful way. Multiple difficulty levels are planned to ensure there is a skill climb, and more challenging runs will allow the player to obtain better rewards. We are currently establishing the reward system, and will have more details regarding rewards in a few weeks.
The Shattered Realm is a dimension that includes a combination of levels. Doing so has proved useful, as the game will cover diverse environments, but in a more restrictive setting. Levels are linearly connected, and the player traverses through the realm using portals. On completion of the run, the player is given a score that they can aim to improve upon in the future. The implementation for this mode included instantiating levels randomly as prefabs, and creating a transition using an IEnumarator method. To achieve the transition, I simply used an animation that would fade the loading screen in and out following a boolean.
Upcoming Plans
The next steps for Terramental include implementing the game loop that will give new purpose to the player experience. Introducing a replay able mode will be a large part of this, continuing the game after the main experience, and the implementation for this section is ongoing. Our current goal is to create an alpha version by the end of November, and this will be used to gather feedback for future release. The team will have more details to share soon as we approach launch. Thanks for reading, and I hope you found this development update interesting.