This week sparks a large milestone for a game as the alpha play test is at the end of this week. We want to get quite a bit done this week to make our game more presentable and feature complete by the end of this week. 

One of the first things we wanted to work on and complete is the infinite stun bug as it really slows down and hinders gameplay. For this we needed to rewrite the stun script to be more flexible and easier to use. It took a lot of troubleshooting as even though we rewrote it the stun bug still remained an issue. It was then after a lot of trial and error that our team was able to fully fix the stun bug and have it working properly for the first time. We also wanted to add more signifiers to the stun to indicate to the player that they are stunned and when the stun is over. We did this by adding a simple particle effect over the player when they are stunned and when they are no longer stunned it goes away. We also added stun resistance, so once a player gets stuns they have immunity to an additional stuns until that timer runs out. This increased the enjoyment of our game as it is a lot more clear when you get stunned and gives you a safety window to escape. 

Another thing we wanted to add into the build is splitting up the score and a scoreboard at the end of the game that showcases who is winning. This was implemented into our game where different players can have different scores and at the end of the game it showcases a leaderboard of all players final scores as then you can determine who won. Finally implements our wind condition for players as they can see who won and can work towards winning.

Additionally there was a lot of balancing that was done to the build to make it feel easier to use. One of the first things we balanced was the shooting mechanic. We removed the hold factor of the mechanic and made it a standard distance when you click the button. This was done because we didn't have any signifiers in the game to showcase the holding mechanic so it felt really unintuitive and bad to use. For the time being we decided to remove it and go for something that would feel better.

 We also worked on getting simple character models in the game to move away from the pills. The models that we were working on weren't in a state where they were usable yet so we decided to do some more simple blocky characters to at least differentiate them. 

In terms of what we need to get done next week it really depends on how the alpha playtest goes. Depending on the feedback of the alpha will determine what things need to be worked on and what priority we need to assert on tasks. Some things I would like to get into the game sooner or later is getting in the simple power-up system for Mom to make her feel less monotonous to play. also sharpening up the mechanics is the main load of work at the moment making sure everything feels responsive and nice to use.

Anyway this does it for this week's devlog hopefully the alpha play test goes well and I'll see you next week!

Written by: Brady Anderson