4.2 KiB
'The Girl Who Kicked a Rabbit' really is a mouthful. On the other hand, it's like 'The Girl Who Leapt Through Time', which in Japanese was 'Toki wo kakeru shoujo'. I guess people might have called that Kakeru Shoujo or KaKeJo for short? This game would be 'Usagi wo keru shoujo', so KeruShoujo (or Usagi Shoujo?)?
I've been trying to make the KeruShoujo "completable". It's been a lot of systems and levels that all work together, but aren't really stringed together for a single experience.
Well last night I finally got it, so that you can enter levels, get the prerequisite materials to go to the next boss, fight the boss, go to the next world stage, repeat, until all is completed. Having a template end-screen and some sort of "well done" isn't there yet though.
I was speaking of systems, and over the years that I've been working on the game, that's really become where my heart truly lies. Eventually I want to talk about the iterative process I've gone through, but for now, maybe I should just describe the various systems as they are:
Systems or Gameplay Ideals
You target enemies and the using various moves on them. The most basic move is your kick called 'Somatic Fold'. In this sense, it's a normal, old-school JRPG battle. To make the game interesting, there are several ideas working together:
Enemies are also tools
Dealing damage isn't the end goal
Mid-battle mini-crafting
Others
Enemies are Also Tools
They aren't complex AIs, but I've tried to design a small selection of enemies that each have 1 or 2 interesting mechanics behind them, that work together. The 'Shield Ear' for example, will use 'Overprotect' to steal some stuff from your inventory and immediately convert it into Shield points for you. It's nice to be protected, but you probably needed that 'Aether Bark' for something else.
Dealing Damage is not the End Goal
Two games inspired me here: I love the items you acquire in old zelda games. How they work for both combat, and exploration. I do have some criticisms, but what's important is that they generally are really cool. There's also a mobile/steam game called Auro by Dinofarm Games, and the abilities you acquire there are few, but very well thought-out.
KeruShoujo isn't an adventure game like Zelda, but thoughtfulness of Zelda tools still should be considered. Plus, I want this game to be relatively relaxing, so some moves are gonna be fairly fun but overpowered, like 'Collapse Arcana', which is cheap, can only be used once per player round, and will immediately obliterate any single enemy, including whatever stuff it might have been holding. That last part is the downside :D
Mid-battle Mini-crafting
Here's the thing: Some levels you get moves. And in some levels, they aren't yet there, so you will have to 'Fold' them using your magical powers, and ingredients you collect from enemies you've annihilated. Some moves you only need to Fold once per battle, and some are consumable, like the 'Cynnes Lime' which will up your attack power for one round.
Funny thing, last year I played 'The Last of Us' (Part I), and it does the same thing. I loved it! It was a very nice feeling to see another game had that system of mid-battle crafting, and knowing then that it was actually fun.
Other
You get three action points per round, called 'Oridama'. Some moves cost 1 Oridama, some more. Some levels have repeatedly spawning enemies (maybe more than one per round). Enemies can drop a single item, or two, where the latter is secret. Fortunately you can preview which items are on their way, though you cannot tell which enemies will carry them (although, maybe some carefully observing players can spot some sub-systems here as well). Enemies can stand on 5 different spots, and if a spot is already occupied when a new enemy is about to appear... Boom. Maybe you can use that to your advantage as well.
So all in all, it's not exactly emergent gameplay, but with all the different combinations, I still think just these few enemies and moves with these systems, can provide a varied and interesting experience.