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[vitorlanna]

So! Ninjeten is a short tactical RPG about a team of two heroes who enter a cave to defeat a powerful Necromancer. There's a bit more to the story, but that's the basics.

They have complementary abilites. Logan, the ninja, has a shuriken attack that is stronger the farther away he is, and is able to jump over obstacles. Catherine, the knight, can take a lot of damage and has an area attack, hitting everyone around her. Both can rest to recover life.

The game is short, with 30 levels planned, and a few bosses. It's very close to done, but I think it still has enough ahead for a short devlog! I can also post some of the things done so far, I think. =]

[vitorlanna]

So this week I worked mostly on boss battles!

I wasn't sure at first what would be the best way to make boss battles in this system, but it seems just making a tough enemy that can spawn many minions already goes a long way!

Another change is that in normal levels it's always your turn first. In boss levels, the boss' turn is first. I think that combined with the tense music helps setting the right mood.

Also made the code for cutscenes, at the start and at the end of the boss level, it's working great!

[Jasmine]

All of my PS1/PS2 tactics memories have come flooding back.

This. Is. AWESOME!

Love the retro style, just....

Yes.

Question: How does the game look whenever the duo are exploring the dungeon? Care to indulge m- us?

[vitorlanna]

All of my PS1/PS2 tactics memories have come flooding back.

This. Is. AWESOME!

Love the retro style, just....

Yes.

Question: How does the game look whenever the duo are exploring the dungeon? Care to indulge m- us?

Haha thanks! =D =D

Hmm you mean outside of battles? Currently, you go from one battle to the next, with only an upgrade screen in between. I’m planning on adding a simple “dungeon map” in between levels mostly to show your progress through the game (it’s actually one of the only features that’s missing at the moment ^ ^").

[vitorlanna]

So, a few things from this week... Dust particles and cutscenes! Now the banter with the boss can be a bit more dramatic!

The game has some narration (a bit Bastion inspired) that I'm happy enough with, but in the cutscenes I wasn't able to nail the voices yet. I'm considering cutting out the voice acting, maybe replacing it with some gibberish that kind of resemble the voices... Or just cutting it out.

[brantkings]

Saw this on a local event, and it is pretty damn awesome, so of course I'm following.

[TonyManfredonia]

I love the PS1-styled models.  I'm not sure if that's what you were going for, but it's very reminiscent of that era, which is very enticing!

[vitorlanna]

Saw this on a local event, and it is pretty damn awesome, so of course I'm following.

Hey brantking, thank you very much! =D =D =D =D

I love the PS1-styled models.  I'm not sure if that's what you were going for, but it's very reminiscent of that era, which is very enticing!

It wasn’t my intention, I just aimed for simple models and simple lighting – that might be why. But if it turned out enticing, great! =D =D

[vitorlanna]

The game is not dead!

I was working on another game, but now that that is done, I'm back! Working on a "world map" of sorts to help players keep track of their progress. I'll try to post more frequently from now on!

[TonyManfredonia]

The game is not dead!

I was working on another game, but now that that is done, I'm back! Working on a "world map" of sorts to help players keep track of their progress. I'll try to post more frequently from now on!

Glad to see you back! This one had my eye for a while and I was sad to see it disappear for a bit. Just followed you on Twitter, as well

[vitorlanna]

Glad to see you back! This one had my eye for a while and I was sad to see it disappear for a bit. Just followed you on Twitter, as well

Hey, thanks! I thought there wasn't much interest around here, but it's great to know that people are reading! =]

=Update 04/05=

So today wasn't the most productive day, but here's something. I decided that making the world map 3D will work best and be easier in the long run - some assets from the levels could be reused and I think it'll turn out well.

[TonyManfredonia]

I agree that the 3D world map would look better. It would give the game a bigger feel of "scope," and would artistically represent the style/genre very effectively.

I think you're on the right track

I'll be checking you out on Twitter, as well! :D

[vitorlanna]

@amanfr01 Hey, thanks! I followed you back. =]

This is mostly functional! There is still some stuff to do, but I think it looks promising. =] I might change those explosion particles though, as I heard they are a bit overused (I bought an asset).

[vitorlanna]

Some progress in the world map! I think I'll leave it like that for now, and return to it once I have some background props.

Also, I switched the tiles of some levels, I think they look better!

Up next I think I'll work on the tutorial and level design, so I can get the game ready for more people to test unsupervised. Maybe get a demo ready! It's complicated to make a demo when your game is alread.y short, but maybe I'll try

[TonyManfredonia]

Looking great!

You mention the game is short. How long are you aiming for? I wonder if you pushed for funding you could make it expansive. I think it'll be great either way, I'm just thinking out loud.

And yeah, the explosion works for now! It matches the "ninja" art style fairly well

[vitorlanna]

Thanks! 
I'm aiming for thirty levels! As for how many hours that is, that seems to vary a LOT according to player skill.

--------------------
Some additional context to the game:

I was previously working on a game called Metal Monsters Tactics, but I realized the game would take too long to finish (after a year working on it) and wanted to launch something faster.

By making a tactical game with the same basic code framework, I could still advance MMT even while working on something different. And doing something more conventional like a typical dungeon crawler would be much faster, I assumed.

That's how I started working on Ninjeten.
-----------------
While testing Metal Monster Tactics, even when it had only 10 levels some players took many hours while other bulldoze through the game, finishing everything pretty fast. Ninjeten is harder so it will probably take the player longer, but I definately need further testing to have a better idea of play time.

I'd really like funding, actually! I was thinking more about getting funding for MMT (maybe a publisher), but I have a lot of ideas that could fit in Ninjeten as well. I'm not sure how I'd go about it though... For now, I'll be really happy if I manage to finish it as it is! It seems so close to being done but it's never done haha

[vitorlanna]

So, a few usability updates that you can see in this screenshot!
-Skill cooldown is now indicated by a little clock;
-The amount of damage an enemy will take appears over their head;
-The ninja skill does more damage the larger the distance from the enemy. Now you can see how much damage it does at what distance.

Also, the gravebugs (the initial enemies) got a design update - they all have eyes now! You can see more about that in tumblr

[vitorlanna]

Lots of testing these days, plenty of feedback but not enough progress. Still, I have a couple of things to show!

Some players didn't get that you had to move next to an enemy to hit it. I tried these swords as a hint, but they turned out to be too confusing. Too bad, I liked them! Now considering other alternatives, including force the player to move next to the enemy in the tutorial or just inducing them to make the right choice by level design.

BUG HUNT!
Bug 01: The possessed ninja
In mysterious circunstances, the ninja became possessed and dashed to a far away location, without the player clicking there or anything. Thanks to a tester, I was able to reproduce the bug, and after a thorough investigation, I can proudly say that ninja is fully exorcized.

[maruki]

I'm not a fan of tactical RPGs, but that's just me personal taste. What I'd like to praise about your game is that although the environments are dark, it's possible to distinguish the main character and the enemies really well. :D

[TonyManfredonia]

I really love watching all of the animations, Vitor! Maruki is right - the dark environments don't distract from the characters.

In fact, I think the characters' vibrancy is what makes it work so well. This truly looks like a PS1-era game as I said before, in particularly the landscape and models. Everything is spot-on!