SPIRIT Devlog 7: Leisure Time and Time Slots

First of all, I finally have my laptop repaired and it's great to be back in the saddle and be able to work on this project again. Hopefully I'll get some work done during Easter even though we've started working in earnest on our bachelor's theses. Either way, without further ado, here's the seventh devlog.

Today I'm going to talk about an idea I'm wondering if I should add to the gameplay loop. SPIRIT will be a scene-by-scene point-and-click game, but I'm also wondering if I could add some points where you choose what to do with your day and you get quick narration and some stat changes or something, like in games like I Was  a Teenage Exocolonist.

For SPIRIT, I'm considering having each day, outside of the narrated story which will still make up most of the game, have a certain number of time slots, which you can fill however you want. For example, you could catch up on curriculum at the study lab, borrow a friend's dog, or have a movie night with your girlfriends, each with some narration and semi-random outcomes, and changes to various stats, as well as possibly  future conversations and changes in the actual narrated plot. The game would also 'roll dice' to determine one of several possible outcomes, each with a few sentences of narration. So for example, catching up on assigned reading could have you roll dice and receive XP or a bonus to future Hippocampus checks, but also cost you a Sanity point if the study session goes badly. A café trip with a friend could cost a handful of money but restore some Sanity. 

Oh, and this also gives the player more of a reason to put points into Butterfly, which I've kinda been wondering what to do with, because right now she's mostly just a clown who distracts you from studying. In addition to that she'll also add to the number of activities you can pick at a time —so the more points you put into Butterfly, the more initiative you'll have to get out the door and do things. Of course, you'll have to balance the benefits of a rich social life with the need to do well during lectures, group projects, and so on, and Butterfly will be sure to get in the way there.

Either way, here is an example event:

Cafe Visit
You order coffee lattes and buns and take your seats by the window. The atmosphere in the café is extra cosy today and before long you're completely lost in conversation. You relax at your table and talk about everything and nothing as it gets steadily darker outside.

-83 Crowns
+2 Sanity
Activity unexpectedly takes up two time slots.

As a game dev, it lets me put in  all sorts of little moments that will hopefully add to players' immersion while also getting some characterization and worldbuilding in. I also hope it'll add to replayability. Oh, and I'll probably have a slew of other examples to give you in a future diary.

Either way, again, it's fantastic to be back at this. Looking forward to getting some more work in and hopefully making some progress on Unity integration.

Have a nice Easter!