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[Skxm]

Hey all! This is a 2D puzzle/platforming game that is being developed by a student team for a capstone course. The premise of the game is: Kai awakens in a mysterious cavern and has no memories of their past except one thing: they have the ability to bend water at their will. Scattered throughout the land are remnants of an ancient civilization that harnessed the power of water. These remnants give Kai hope that they will discover more of who they are the more they learn about this civilization. The player must help Kai master their power over water!

Here is a link to the build: https://www.indiedb.com/games/kai-lost-waters/downloads/beta-build3

For this week, the things that have changed this week in the game include:

• UI change for rising platform
• Change in first rising platform puzzle in second/temple area
• Change in chandelier puzzle area
• Fixing black fading of the pit that player falls into to get to second area
• Menu UI adjustments
• Added character animations
• Added water visual interpolation
• Added sound effect volume adjustment

The changes in the UI for the rising platform were made to clear up any confusion about how the platforms worked. From playtesting, some people were confused about whether the platform rising was based on time or volume of water. The change in the first rising platform puzzle in the second area was to make it more challenging by incorporating and mixing ideas that were introduced previously. The change in the chandelier puzzle area to make the platform fully cross the gap was because it made more sense and to make it easier for the player to cross the gap and get to the other side. Fixing the black fading for the transition between the first and second area gives it more polish and prevents it from breaking the player’s immersion from the game. The menu UI adjustments were also to address some buttons looking inconsistent with the aesthetic we chose for the rest of the menu. We also added some basic character animations to the player character for polish as well. The water visual interpolation was added so that it would appear less jittery while playing the game. The volume for the sound effects being adjustable allows the player to control their auditory experience better through the options menu.

Some changes that we want to make include making the animations of the player character more detailed, adding some sort of drawing/cutscene to the beginning and end of the game to allude more to the story, adding a skippable credits cutscene at the end of the game before the player goes back to the main menu, adding more visual effects to the game, and adding music from a student that is taking a video game music course here at The University of Michigan.

[Skxm]

Here is the link to the gold build of the game: https://www.indiedb.com/games/kai-lost-waters/downloads/gold-build1

For this week, the things that have changed this week in the game include:

• Added opening and ending cutscenes (opening cutscene art from a freelancer)
• Added studio name before the start of the game
• Added credits to end of game
• Changed idle animation
• Added hurt animation
• Updated UI of raising platforms
• Updated UI for water blast skill
• Added sprite for Kai’s capsule
• Added background sound for when player reaches end of cave
• Added music made by freelancer to credits

The opening and ending cutscenes were added to enhance the story presence in the game and to give more context to the player. The studio name and credits being added to the game were to give the game a more professional feel. The idle animation was changed due to the previous one being too fast and distracting. The cape changing so often in the previous animation made it more attention-grabbing than it should have been. We also added a hurt animation to give the player more visual feedback for when they take damage from touching dangerous objects like the thorns and geckos. The UI for the raising platforms was updated to make it clearer to the player that the hover height was proportional to how much water is being held by the platform. The UI for the water blast skill was also updated to make it clearer that the water goes in one direction and the player also goes in the opposite direction as a consequence of blasting the water. A sprite for the capsule that Kai wakes up from was added to the beginning of the game to connect the game with the opening cutscene art. The background sound for the end of the cave was to give the player a clear indication of reaching a destination. Music from a student that is taking a video game music course here at The University of Michigan was also added to the credits at the end of the game to give it a more conclusive feel.

Since this is the last milestone for the game, it is up in the air if this would get any more updates, but if the team is determined or the game is popular enough, we would go ahead and continue developing the game! More changes that we would want to make for the game include refining the player animations, adding more enemies to the game, adding a new outdoor area after the player exits the cave, and adding more story elements throughout the game.