This week, I proliferated enemy types on the RPG side of things so that more than one type of encounter is possible. In addition, I reintroduced both boss events, and also added some dialogue before, during and after the fight. Specifically regarding the shooter version of the boss fight, I also adjusted the boss’s attack patterns to appear more intimidating and reduce “safe zones” where the player can’t be hit at all. I did this because the original ones were too predictable for my liking and I wanted to experiment with the bullet production code some more. I am currently satisfied with the results, but I reserve the right to double back and make more on-a-whim changes later.

Returning briefly to the topic of text boxes in combat, I also made it so that said text boxes can appear in RPG combat, and streamlined it into a specific check that I can use in later builds when there are more bosses. I should, in theory, also be able to run this code at the beginning of the turn (currently it only runs at the end), but I have no need for that right now. Said text boxes do not currently appear in the shooter game mode––my primary concern therein is the sudden appearance of text and relinquishment of control from the player would be jarring and throw the player off their rhythm. In addition to that, the issue of enemy shooting timers and bullet collision are also subjects of note.

Furthermore, I added code that prevents the player from fleeing while a boss is active, and also made it so that when the boss dies, it sends the game into a win state. 

In addition, the player can now use magic properly; to incentivize this, type effectiveness has been introduced. Certain enemies have certain weaknesses, resistances and immunities, and targeting them with the correct element will inflict additional damage. 

From here, all that is left to do for this build is to expand the overworld, and perhaps also introduce some tutorial elements so that players can learn the controls organically. After that, I can focus on aesthetics. I have begun doing this, and will continue to iterate upon it throughout the next week or so. Once that is finished, all that will be left is to update the game’s visual elements.

Notably: As it stands, the shooter side of the game is much more popular, which leads me to believe that I ought to introduce some more appealing elements to the RPG mode so that it can have its own draws as well.