Link: http://ajusa.github.io/Spell

Welcome back to another Spell Dev Log. In this log, I will be discussing what the current state of Spell is, and why I have decided to change all of the gameplay. This is a pretty short one, since all of the changes can be described succinctly.

First off, a ridiculous amount of changes have happened since I last posted one of these. We have working multiplayer, and better graphics than before. We had an actually playable, not too bad game. However, after discussing it with some of my friends, we realized that the way the gameplay worked was kind of limiting.

We had a 2d platformer type of game, where you can shoot only in two directions and move in only two. This makes it somewhat easy to “camp” in a corner and spam long range spells. If done right, you could kill everyone on the map. For games such as Mario, it works because you are trying to solve a puzzle. However, for a game like Spell, where all you need to do is shoot and move, this becomes very boring.

After thinking about it for a while, we decided a top down tile based game would be better for the feeling we were trying to achieve. A top down game is more like Pokemon, and it adds on two new directions the player can travel and fire in: up and down. If you have ever played games like Realm of the Mad God, Agar.io, or Binding of Issac, you know what I am talking about.

We decided to leave most of the controls the same, but to implement aiming with the mouse, so that the game would require more skill. Right now, you face the mouse, but the spell don’t actually fire in the right direction, rendering it useless. However, this will be fixed within a few days. Some of the math requires trig and basic calculus, so that is why we are looking for a better way to do things.

Another gameplay change is the way the controls are mapped. Since we are planning on using a mouse to aim, that means that one hand will always be on the mouse. This means that you have to move with your left hand and choose your combo with your left hand. While this could get a bit cramped, we can’t really think of a better way to do it. If you have any suggestions as to how we should go about implementing the controls, feel free to leave a comment!

One change that has happened to our Dev Team is that it has grown substantially. We now have two developers, two graphics artists, and one game designer. EpicMittMitt, Ajusa(me), AlphaBetaR, Dark_P1ant, and FunnyWabbit are part of our current team. The game master, Dark_P1ant, has already started to balance Spell and make it more fun to play. He has also been suggesting good ideas for us to implement. Other people that I bounce ideas off of are my friends at school. They have helped a bit in the brainstorming process.

What is coming in the near future? Right now, basic aiming and 4 base spells are our goal. By sometime in May we will probably have some spell combos implemented for you guys to test out. We will be designing a map so that you can move around and shoot people with spells strategically. Lastly, we will be adding a chat bar of sorts, so that you can run commands and talk with other players.

In short, Spell development has not halted. It is accelerating much faster than I had thought it would, and I hope it manages to become popular, like agar.io. See you all in the next spell update!