Sunday, October 30, 2011

And then there were two

So, a bit of an update for the folks following this project.  In a previous post, I mentioned that there were three gameplay elements still to be implemented that were unique to My Little Investigations.  The second of those three has been in progress, but we now see why I wanted to managed expectations: after wrangling both with the logistics and with the core motivation for this gameplay feature, and after having discussed the matter with ZeusAssassin, I've decided that the best course of action is just to can it.  The reason for this is just that it was difficult to see how it could be structured in an organized yet efficient manner, and that I fundamentally felt that it wasn't going to materially improve the gameplay experience for the player.

I'm a bit disappointed, since at its initial inception this feature seemed like an improvement, but the more I implemented it, the more I got the sense for why Ace Attorney never bothered with it.  Don't worry, though - I can assure you that the project definitely is better off and more streamlined without it, and that the remaining element still to be implemented is most certainly rock-solid in my mind and will definitely make the final cut.  So we'll still have both that and the partner system to give this game its own personal flair.

More details after the break for those interested.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

My Little Investigations - Engine Demo - Partners

As the Joker might say, "And here... we... go."

The next engine demo is up, this time demonstrating - drumroll please - partners!  This is something that people have been asking about for quite some time, so I'm happy to finally be able to talk about it.  Hopefully people like it.  It would suck if people didn't. :P

Anyway, without further ado, I'll let the video do the rest of the talking: