I've archived this page. All future updates will be posted on Milanote moving forward.

https://app.milanote.com/1PoxGY15klOY2x?p=e3LrVRB9VQV

The next set of polls are here!

Since these polls will determine the game's theme, setting, graphical style, and game world structure, I think it is crucial for everyone to understand the available options clearly before voting. And to facilitate this, I've created a set of boards in Milanote that explain each option and provide visual and game examples as well!

You can access the boards here and then join us on Discord to vote!

It's been decided! With 45% of you voting for the Grappling Hook!

The next step is determining what purpose the grappling hooks will have in the game and how many mechanics we can add that revolve around it.

For the time being, I'm adding three main functions to the grapple hook:

• Swinging: Hook on to a fixed node and swing.

• Grapple: Hook on to a surface, node, or enemy and pull yourself towards it at high speed.

• Pull: Hook on to an object or enemy and pull it towards you.

I'm going with physics-based movement at the moment, but we can always swap to fixed motion in the future if the physics don't feel right.

As for the swinging: I'm allowing for two modes:

• Ratcheting: Your "rope" can get shorter as you get closer to the swinging node, but it does not get longer. This means the rope's tension always affect your swinging arc.

• Loose: Your "rope" is of a fixed-length determined by your initial distance from the node when you hooked onto it. This means the tension only affects your swinging when you are at the threshold of that length (think of it like a ball attached to a rope).

I could also add a more rigid mode where the "rope" is of a fixed length like the Loose mode, but you are always at that distance and always affected by the tension (think of this like a ball attached to a steel rod rather than a rope).

And instead of deciding on which mode works best, we could have different types of hookshoots you switch between that have different modes and functionalities.

More on this as I experiment!

And if you'd like to suggest ideas, you can subscribe to &REWDAVID+ on Patreon to join our future brainstorming sessions!

There are four categories of mechanics: QUANTITY, SPATIAL, STATE, and ACTION.

During our first brainstorming session – and thanks to the contributors that participated – we identified a few broad and hyper-focused mechanics.

Here are the results:

Hyper-focused mechanics:

• Grappling Hook (ACTION)

• Sliding & Slipping (STATE) [REJECTED*]

• Constant Movement (QUANTITY)

• Sticking to Walls (SPATIAL) [REJECTED*]

• Stamina Management (QUANTITY)

• Photography & Camera (ACTION)

Broader, game-defining mechanics:

• Object/Environment Manipulation – physics-based or coding-based (SPATIAL, STATE, ACTION)

• Precision/Speed Platforming (QUANTITY, STATE, ACTION)

• Time Manipulation (QUANTITY, SPATIAL, STATE, ACTION)

• Fast-paced/Arcade Combat (STATE, ACTION)
  

*Rejected because they are too restrictive.

A few of these, I've added myself.

-–-

Essentially, the hyper-focused mechanics can exist (however un-ideal it may be) in only one mechanic category and have the potential of being refined and expanded inwards into other categories.
For example:

Grappling Hook can be expanded into QUANTITY by limiting its usage, into SPATIAL by hooking objects or the environment towards or away from you, and into STATE by differing rules when swinging, having different hook types with different effects, and activating objects with the hook.

While these new mechanics can not stand on their own, they provide the base Grappling Hook mechanic with a lot more depth.

The broader mechanics, on the other hand, can not be contained within a single category and need to bleed into others for them to make sense. Those mechanics don't mean much on their own, but with additional mechanics and refinement, they can serve as a foundation and grow outwards into completely different mechanics, therefore having a lot of potential.
For example:

Precision/Speed platforming can easily be accompanied by a stamina management system, a constant movement requirement, and even the grappling hook to provide more fluid traversal and more intense speed-running gameplay.

The new mechanics that were tacked-on make sense on their own, but they support and reinforce the base Precision/Speed Platforming mechanic.

-–-

Since we are building a game in only one year, I've decided to bring your attention towards the hyper-focused mechanics, as those are easier to rein in if they get out of hand and any additional supporting mechanics can easily be cut without making too big an impact. Basically: Hyper-focused mechanics are narrow, but deep, while broader mechanics are shallow, but wide.

As such, here is the new poll:

AROUND WHICH CORE GAMEPLAY MECHANIC SHOULD WE BUILD THE GAME?

• GRAPPLING HOOK

• CONSTANT MOVEMENT

• STAMINA MANAGEMENT

• PHOTOGRAPHY & CAMERA

However, just because we are building on one of these as the core mechanic, does not mean we can not steal some ideas from the broader mechanics suggested! For example, we can build a game around photography and still have object manipulation, or a game around stamina management and still have some arcade combat. Deciding on the core mechanic simply means that, moving forward, every new mechanic and system we build has to expand, support, or strengthen the core mechanic.

I've started building the player controller and camera systems for first-person platforming!

At the moment, we have basic physics and collisions, movement, and jumping. I'm going with a looser, bouncier, more fluid movement feel, similar to classic 3D platformers (Mario 64, etc), but from a first-person perspective using mouse look and strafe movement.

We can refine all the values and the controls a bit later, once all the foundational systems are complete.

And so, the project begins! Make sure you watch this video to understand how this all works and then join us on Discord to vote on the polls and contribute to the brainstorming sessions!