It is Beta week! The past couple of weeks have been spent fixing up portions of level two from Alpha, along with creating a new level three which will end the game.
However, first large change, we have a main menu! This main menu contains a composed piece to play in the background, and we have two possible images we will continue with for the final version. Once the button is clicked, it leads to level two, and there are also sounds for when the buttons on the main menu are clicked.
Two Options for Main Menu Art
Although when one hits play on the main menu it loads to level two, there is also a tutorial UI that was made so the players understand which buttons to press. We are hoping to make a level one eventually, but if there is no time would have to change the idea to being only a two level game, and have the tutorial be an image showing the different mechanics one can do.
Tutorial Image
In level 2, multiple edits were made. The first large change involves the monster. We added the walking animation for the monster, as well as changed how the monster moved. We made the monster have a jittery effect when walking, which hopefully ups its creep factor. For Alpha, we had the monster disable itself and completely disappear when the daughter hid, but now we have made it so when the daughter hides, the monster goes away.
We also created a new cooperation task the father and daughter must do. At the start of the level, the daughter comes across her first collectable, a code. This code will later be used for the father to unlock a gate on his end. This will hopefully create more of a cooperative game feel, instead of two separate games that the two players are playing side by side.
An inventory was also added to the game, which is used in both levels two and three, but is a larger focus in two. Now, when the daughter and father collect items, they will be able to open an inventory to see what they have collected so far. This will let the daughter to see the code again after collecting it for example.
Inventory Open on Father’s Side
Other changes that were made include creating and adding 3D models to the game, such as a pile of logs for the father to shoot down, as well as placing other landmarks so the players understand where they are in the map. We have also fixed some dialogue bugs in which the dialogue would repeat itself, and changed the font for the dialogue. Some sounds were also changed, such as the lantern sound, the gunshot, and the wolf encounter music. The tree transparency was tweaked, and now shows the trees to be semi transparent so the daughter knows where the tree is and does not walk into an invisible tree.
3D Model of Logs
After the father and daughter meet up in level two, it switches to a cutscene consisting of three images. These images will be paired with a dialogue the two players read. This is meant to help push the narrative of the father and daughter, as well as provide more insight into what is happening in the game. Cutscene music was also made to play in the background of the cutscene.
One of the Cutscene Images
Once the cutscene finishes, it leads into level three, which can be thought to have two parts. Level three is different from level two in that there is no longer a split screen and instead they will work together on one screen. In the first part, the father and daughter must navigate through the forest as the monster appears from all directions. However, there have been some small tweaks since we last saw the monster in level two. Now, the monster freezes whenever it is in the daughter’s light. This is done because the father’s lantern has been broken at the start of this level, and therefore the daughter’s flashlight is all the light the two of them will have. The daughter must shine the light to determine where to go as well as stop the monster from shooting. The father on the other hand must shoot at the monster to make it run away before it attacks the father or daughter. A sound effect has been made for when the monster touches and attacks the player.
As the daughter and father work together to fight off the monster, they go into a clearing in which they find their family truck! However, it is behind a gate. This is the start to the second part of the level. The daughter’s flashlight is now out of battery and does not work, and therefore can only work off of the truck’s light. The truck’s light is different from the daughter’s in which it does not stop the monster from moving, which will make this second part harder than the first part of the level. The monster will still continue to appear at random times, but to leave and get on the truck, the daughter must now collect four different keys that are found in the clearing. These keys are then used to unlock the gate that leads to the truck. There is a matching type game the daughter must do, in which she drags the key to the lock to unlock it. She will have to match the right key to the right lock, and will need to do this four times. There are sounds that also show if the match was correct or not, and the lock and key disappear if it is a match. The key and locks can be figured out to match as they have a matching material and the keys have a base that resembles the shape of the key.
Once the daughter completes unlocking the gate, the game ends. Another cutscene plays of four images, and shows the monster turning back from the father and daughter. The father and daughter are safe, and the game ends.
Image from Cutscene
In the upcoming weeks, we will like to fix the way the inventory looks, some changes to the post processing for the light, along with possibly creating a short level one as a tutorial for the two players. We will also need to make small changes such as adding invisible walls so the players do not roam too far out of where they are supposed to go, along with increasing the speed of the monster as it is a little slow as of now. We will also have the inputting of code for the gate in level two, and the lock and keys in level three to open up after investigating it, since as of now it pops up after getting close to it.