My development process (*is indulgent and terrible, but also fun and I like it)
(cohost archive 09)
(cohost archive 09)
Originally posted on cohost: 15/06/2024
1. -resolve-
2. "Okay! Time to get back on track working on the Faeona update."
3. "But players are using a fun exploit to sequence break and getting stuck, better add some easter eggs and workarounds for them first"
4. "Also a player made a good point, the GG talent tree could use some nodes that integrate with other systems, better add a new row to deal with that, naturally that also means we're gonna need to increase the point cap so we can take the fun new stuff, and also account for the new paths through the tree this allows for."
5. "Oh and I did mean to make a Horse Dimension themed shop skin to match the new horse cosmetics, I can knock that out quick no biggie. But wouldn't it be extra cool if it also turned all our customers into horse versions of themselves..."
6. "You know, it'd be nice if all cosmetics carried over into NG+... Let's retrofit that, and make it so when you pick up duplicates in NG+ you get to pick permanent stat bonuses, and also let's add a new museum area where we can see all of our cosmetics on display together, but now the curator for that area needs story integration..."
7. -in a moment of weakness, I cave to player pressure and make the stock influencing choice window have choice memory (the pain of selecting the wrong option was intentional and thematic! but i get it, it's fine, it's fine...)-
8. "Hmm, there's a player using workarounds to store way more coin than I ever intended in weird ways, let's add a secret system where you can spend that and buy a repeatable item that costs the coin cap for no benefit other than bragging rights"
9. -realises that the single sokoban puzzle in the game never progressed like the other puzzles do-
10. "One new puzzle detour couldn't hurt..."
11. "Wow, Economic Incentive Token generation has got a bit out of hand with the higher crit values available since the update... Let's add a token compression system so we can hold more! And let's do it using washing machines, a literal coin laundry! We can treat it like laundering dirty money and finally introduce the underbelly elements that I had to cut before launch. But this is gonna need it's own progression system too... And there's no room for new buildings so the Retail Sector will need to be extended. but we're going to want to go here a lot so let's also add a bus network to get around quicker. Naturally that can be another one of Lady Plenty's city improvement quests. But the Oil Barons won't like that..."
12. -this is a lot of not Faeona stuff... so i guess look forward to 1.2.2 before 1.3!-
13. "While I'm messing with the Retail Sector, wouldn't it be nice to have cars driving around and not just sitting stationary on the side? I tried doing this before launch though it was beyond me at the time, but now I totally can! And what if they act as map hazards... And they can shout expletives at us! And their density can be impacted by who we side with when making public transport infrastructure decisions!"
Anyway, that's how I ended up adding road rage to the game. I hope it doesn't hurt the age rating.