I suggest making the opponent move slightly after the player. Still on the same turn but the animation plays with a delay. That would make it look more natural, like the enemy responds to the player's action instead of both being instantaneous.
Another great dev log, probably your best so far. I like the current system of having every 10 rooms change the environment, however I feel like more can be done to flesh it out. Having every fifth room or so be a "break room" containing a way to upgrade relics, could be a great way to pace out runs and give players a way to catch their breath. Break rooms don't even have to be guaranteed every 5 rooms, rather they could have an increase chance of spawning the longer the player goes without entering one. This could also be tied into the frog theme by having the break rooms be kinda swampy or aquatic.
When you said Frog God it made me think it would be so cool to have a bunch of frog eyes spawn randomly outside the game area. (In the area you can't go). It would be like all seeing frog eyes watching the player, guiding it in a way.
Massive fan of the changes so far. Some feedback on what you have: 1. Floor doors look a little off putting when spawning in lava / water. Consider making their spawns mutually exclusive from those tile types. 2. I love the variety offered by rats, possums, etc. I would NOT find an overwhelming representation of frog themed enemies more interesting than a varied group. I think you can explore a variety of enemies without necessarily undermining a frog theme in other game aspects (frog deity, frog items, frog NPCs etc.) -- more over, I really enjoy seeing a variety of enemy abilities based on the enemy type (i.e. your spider spawning spiderlings). You'd lose the cool thematic execution of enemies if they were all just toads and frogs. 3. For hazard tiles, consider maybe some sort of biome specific lily pads: a one time use platform that lets you not take damage on a lava tile and then sinks. 4. The quicksand teleporting is cool, but there are definitely too many. Consider them disappearing after a character (not item such as a bomb) passes through them. Or reduce the amount by 30-40%. 5. Massive fan of the combat changes. 6. With these new room dimension changes, a % chance of a hidden room spawning in your floor would be cool. Think illusionary walls from Dark Souls. Maybe even an item to reveal these rooms or increase the chance of them spawning. 7. The water looks too cool/icy. I would consider a deeper or more saturated blue, and use the current color for ice tiles in an ice biome. 8. The "Relic Lv." text should just say Relic Level. The abbreviation is a little weird since the text will often be shorter than the descriptor below it. 9. The next floor is currently locked until all enemies have been defeated. It would be cooler if there was a specific enemy who was given the next floor key at random, so that you could luck out and unlock the next room before all enemies are defeated. Maybe you get lucky and can avoid a tough enemy should the key spawn on the first few guys you take down. Perhaps a future item could make it easier to obtain the key. 10. Suggestion for a future swamp biome hazard: a plant that will snare enemies for 1 turn when someone is adjacent to the plant. Maybe a Venus fly trap that bites your leg like a bear trap haha.
This is probably redundant/obvious to you already but a good way to make enemy designs could be to research the predators/prey of real-world frogs and use those specific animals as sources of inspiration for enemies. Perhaps basic enemies could be based on common prey of frogs, elite enemies could be predators/competitors of frogs and bosses could be animals that are significantly higher on the food chain than frogs are (Like an eagle or large snake or something). This approach could limit the variety of your enemies but the thematic consistency of the frog game would get stronger and the power/abilities of the enemies could become clearer right when a player looks at them as opposed to only after the player fights them (Eg. tarantula is an elite enemy that makes webs and does poison dmg).
I agree, I was trying to do that with enemies from the previous devlogs but it's starting to feel like its not a frog game anymore because everything isn't a frog. I'll probably end up doing a mix of both or something 🤷♂️
You can make an enemy which does area damage and hurt other enemies resulting in a strategic game play where you try keep it alive so it helps you clear the level but not dying while doing it.
I really like how the game is looking and the general idea of it. However I feel having the door unlock only after killing every enemy makes the point of the door redundant and robs you of the chance to add an extra layer of strategy. I'd like to suggest having a random mob be chosen as a "keyholder" with the chance of them being it tide to their spawn weight, you could also hide this from the player to reestablish the encouragement of combat and it might balance out strong enemies. Thanks for reading, just an idea.
I know this is not a priority now, but I've always loved character customization, possibly adding different colors or costumes to your frog could spice up the visual aspects of the game! You could unlock these from playing a certain number of runs, reaching a certain number of rooms, or beating bosses. I think this would be a great addition!
The changes definitely improve the game a dang big amount, good job. One change id recommend is adding light details outside the play area as the single solid colour looks quite jarring, also perhaps some sort of vignette effect as the brightness of the walls is pretty distracting especially in the forest area.
The only complaint I have is if the game is called Penumbra Tower, why does the stairs to next level go down and not up? Also, in the future, maybe you could add a resting floor inbetween levels, like a hub area with NPCs, where you could buy or upgrade items or get quests Great devlog! 🎉👍
These all seem like great changes. I was only mildly interested in playing before, but now I'm more than ready to try your next demo! Keep up the good work
A little late to the party, but I love the new hazard tiles! The enemy changed are fantastic! I loved the devlog and the game is coming along excellently! I got some ideas: - Maybe a giant rattlesnake that acts as the boss for the desert. It either could act like a significantly more dangerous and advanced version of the skirmisher or move around, extending its body like one does in _snake_. Damaging segments could cause it to split into more snakes, sorta like the water of worlds. - Maybe random room modifiers that can make some things more difficult. - for the desert, maybe a Gila monster that acts as a tangy enemy that can push you away or a Sidewinder that mimics enemy movement patterns and can maybe reposition other enemies. - in terms of items, well, a philosopher’s stone that allows you to transmute hazard tiles (like water tiles to ice tiles) when you walk on them. Or a diamondback that causes you to deal addition damage based on percentage of health lost (granted, it’s a tad generic) - Having a pool of boss exclusive items is would be pretty neat. As always, great devlog- I can’t wait to see what you create next!
Okay ideas for item visuals: -parry item: just the hilt of a rapier or an arm guard armor piece -evasion item: maybe coffee/energy drink because you would vibrate from all the caffeine or a feather keychain type thing -shock item: a broken tazer -spark item: a broken electrical wire -hemmorage item: barbed wire or a chipped blade -chain item: a literal chain because it would be funny -low hp crit damage: fake angry eyebrows - red tearstone ring: a bug incased in amber Also i dont know what item but some item HAS to be moss because moss is epic. Maybe it would be funny if moss was one of those legendary items like the one that makes you immune to bleeding
Having the bomb explode one turn sooner, but giving the player sometimes of dash(two spaces of movement) on a cooldown. This would give an interesting risk/reward mechanic that the game in its current flows state does not have. And while it would result in more unavoidable damage, it could also be truly game changing if used correctly.
it would be interestin if you made status effects work with the environment. For example, maybe when a shocked enemy walks in water, everything else in that water (player or enemy) will also become shocked
Amazing work! The tile generation and visual upgrades inspired me to work on my side project again haha. Amazing as always, can't wait for the next episode.
I got 2 enemy ideas: a dead fish that like bones who is elite and can turn into a pile of bones every few turns and you can’t hurt him. Could have like a big version of him that’s a boss 2: a basic enemy that’s like a heron or something
i love how your game is looking! im going to be seeing the progress you make and hopefully play it when it comes out, i would recommend making a frog/ogresque like boss, since you added an enemy similar to that, also lowering the generation of skulls in each level because it feels a little too repetitive, or maybe adding another tipe of obstacle so it doesnt feel like that, keep the good work!!
Resting exits on the floor is a lovely change but with the stairs going down, it sorta contradicts the “Tower” aspect of the name. So as a suggestion, i have two ideas. 1st idea, we could invert the staircase to be going up. Simple, sweet, and straight to the point. My 2nd idea would be instead of it being a staircase, it could be something like a Launchpad or a Water stream that activates after the dungeon is cleared. This way you could send the player flying up and u could add a falldown animation when the player loads the next level, kinda like hopping between levels. Thats just a lil idea but i think jumping floors sounds more fitting : D Game is looking good and so much has improved! Cant wait for the next log!
Another awesome dev log! I really enjoy seeing these dynamic changes, where you are altering established mechanics deeply to enhance the game. It shows you are eager to create the best game you can and I love watching it!
This might be something you implement later I just didn't see it in the video. I think it would be a good idea to combine room layout's (if you haven't already), it would save time on level design and you would be able to make a larger rooms and have a abundant amount of new room combinations because of those bigger rooms you already made, it has a longevity factor that on could potentially save you time during development. Great video man!
the visual changes look amazing! about the camera, is there any way to lock so it doesnt go too far past the edge of the room? in some of the shots where your standing by the egde of the wall there's alot of empty space in frame
I recently joined your dev log journey and as an aspiring game dev, I love it all! I love how bold you were to change the main combat mechanic for a different system, and I think it does work better in the long run. In fact, I think your new system is similar to that of Crypt of the Necrodancer and Cadence of Hyrule, made by the same developers. I would look into those games for some inspirations, such as an interesting feature would be the different weapons they use in those games to attack more than just one tile in whatever direction. Keep up the great work!
Oh hell yeah! I'm really digging the new environment designs, lava + water effects, and _especially_ the UI. It all looks really sleek and professional. I was a bit worried about the turn system changing, but the more you went through explaining it, the more I'm on board with the design shift. For a second, I was worried I would lose my delicious drought of juice! Thankful to see that's not the case- even if it isn't nearly as busted as before. Excited to inevitably see how the new mechanics feel. For some icon concepts for the new items, I think a _'lightning'_ bug would be a fun way to tie the shock mechanic in with the frog theme. Whether the frog eats it and gains the ability, or if they wield it like some sort of weapon. Maybe a raven wing cloak could be the icon for evasion, depending on whether or not they've been one of the enemies to be scrapped from the enemy roster. I noticed you didn't cover skills that the player could use. Not sure if it was because you were scrapping them from the current battle system, or if the script was just jam packed enough as it was, but if you're keeping them in the game, might I suggest some sort of offensive skill that pushes enemies a few tiles away from you? Whether it's a wind mechanic (to keep with the elemental theme of the rest of the 'magic' effects), or maybe its diegetically a predator skull the frog wears to 'scare' other creatures away from it. One of the biggest sticking points for me during the beta was finding myself trapped in a corner on all sides, and while the moveset change could combat this, it might be nice to have other avenues of defense. As well as having a method of shoving creatures into hazards, now that their AI chooses to avoid them more often. Super excited for the next devlog, and especially excited to see what sorts of new, regional specific creatures get implemented among the hoard of the classic critters
Nice work, the rooms definitely needed that update. As for some ideas, maybe you could consider adding a ledge of sorts, like the ones in Pokémon, that can be jumped down from, but u need to find stairs to get back up. It could work so that half of the room is elevated
It was my favorite devlog of the chanel ! I feel like thoose change are really smart. Its hard to reallize what dosent work and it even harder to scrap former features to rebuild them differently. And the way you'v done it is actually impressive. Keep up the great work. This inspiring !!
I think It will be cool some kind of relic that buffs the player when he triggers Hazard tiles, like you take damage from lava, but you gain extra attack. Anyway really good devlog!
Small tip to make the legendary and rare relics pop more: add the rarity color to the card (either the whole card or only the outline of the card) and possibly some visual effects like some background glow.
I BEG you call the parry item, "Parry the platypus", fits with the animal theme and its a neat little refrence. Better yet is if you actually make a little platypus parry enemy hits
Wow, I just found your channel, saw your devlog summary and now this, and to be honest I am so sad that the demo is not on steam rn :D I really want to try it out after seeing this much of gameplay :D Good luck with your work, and I am following you from now! Wish you success! :)
Room gen ideas? Ok! What about an industrial setting. Maybe have some scenes set on a side walk, and randomly a human could step on a certain area. All hail Toad God!
I wanted to add a few name ideas for the items: Evasion - Hooded Cloak Parry - Mirror Gem Spark - Conductive Gel Shock - Charged Battery Flame - Combustive Powder Bleed - Metal Barbs Combo - Ticking Watch Low HP Crit - Adrenaline Syringe Killing Blow - Heavy Sword Bonus - Clockwork A few of them aren’t probably good, but why not throw some ideas at the wall
Just found your channel! I'm impressed with the art style and will definitely check out your game when it comes out!I was thinking about maybe a jungle environment with creepers to swing around the map.
To solve the upgrade problem you could maybe solve it like in Magicraft. You could add a probability of spawn a second exit in the level that leads to a Shop. And whenever two exits appear you can choose which one you want to go through or there are almost always two exits but they are sometimes blocked by stones (or by the room). So you only have one option
Havent played the game, But just from watching this video I found that there is little distinction between the player and the enemies. When both take damage it is in white text and they both have red health bars. I think it would be more readable if the enemy damage was smaller and red, and the player damage was more impactful and the players health bar was green. Also a lilypad that dissapears after you jump off it could be cool and fit the theme. If you added deeper more dangerous water it could be interesting and it could have a rock counterpart for the volcanic levels. These videos are absolutely delightful and i adore your artstyle ❤
something that could be really cool is a bucket item. maybe it could be distributed like bombs, X ammount per level, maybe found. they'd allow you to take the hazard zone and place it somewhere else. like, block of some enemies etc., use them as mines. but maybe you walk much slower with it and can't attack, so you'll be more vulnerable during carrying the hazard zone
omg amazing! u should make the souls look more fly like, it will add to and really show that this is a frog based game making breakables/chests let out blue light that engulfs ur character with flies and bringing up the relic selection page would be awesome too or have little ponds as "bonfires" that let u upgrade ur relics :) subscribed, liked, and added to my wishlist ^_^ !
im loving all the changes to the game they're really well thought out and are way more synergetic! I think because you're leaning much more into the frog theme the items themselves should be less fantasy like and more nature focused. like being bugs, moss, plants, etc. Spelunky and other rougelites do this cool thing where there's sometimes random effects that effect the whole level like the room is shrouded in darkness or all the tiles could be struck by some kind of effect like freezing temperatures that slows everything. I think having effects like these be rare chances would add variety to the levels so they don't get too monotonous since the player usually has to go through 10 of the same enviroment. you could also balance out these level effects by having them have a greater chance to spawn rewards in them
A simple way to increase items variability and synergies could be to add curses and negative effects. For example something the life hunt scythe, it could be interesting itemizing around it
you shiuld make mini boses which can just be larger and stronger versions of regular enemies with some new attacks and have the mini boss correlate to the environment
Maybe add something with ants and then there could also be a lot of them. Also it is maybe fun if every 10 rooms there could be a shop what it would sell is probaply relics and extra health but it would be a save place with no enemies
Maybe you could add „special chests“ that have more powerful items. These could only be opened by keys, that are bound to different challenges like maybe killing a number of enemies in a set amount of turns. This could make for some really challenging and rewarding gameplay. Overall I really love the adjustments you made, keep it up :)
Loved the video, and I'm happy to see you aren't scared of making big changes in order to improve your game. I really liked the glowing-flies particles, although I didn't know that's what they were until you mentioned it. I was really happy to hear you'll hone in on the frog theme, I was about to comment how the game didn't fit the theme much atm It'd be nice to see the character doing frog stuff! RN it just feels like a human in a frog costume, if that makes any sense :/ Some ideas to expand on the theme: Frog themed abilities and relics! How about a reusable leap? Frogs are notoriously hard to catch (for me at least :P), and having an ability that lets you reposition (on a cooldown, of course!) when things get nasty would be fitting. A grapple-like tongue ability? You could use it to pull yourself into walls (or enemies!), or to eat small insect-like enemies (I feel like a frog would have a better answer for the morsel-sized spiderlings other than swinging a sword!) Some frogs ooze poisonous mucus, so how about a relic that poisons enemies that melee you? Special environment interactions? I'm sure that the character would thrive in the forest area, having access to water tiles, and the opposite being true in the volcanic levels, the extreme heat being extra hard on the frog's moist skin. Of course I'm not saying that adding stuff like a moisture meter or the like would be the right approach, but it'd be interesting to see the character interacting differently with the environment by the sole fact of them being a frog. About the new relic system, I like how you moved away from the "x% chance to do y" approach. Although having some items like that is just fine, IMO it takes away from player agency, as they can't really plan out their next move when most of the outcome is determined by RNG. Something like "25% chance for x to happen" could be changed to "Every 4 turns/enemy deaths/some other trigger". It would make relics more consistent and it'd allow the player to make better decisions. Of course that'd mean displaying that info somewhere, and if a more frantic turn-based gameplay is what you are going for, it could even be counterproductive! The relic enhacement system could be a great opportunity to add some flavour to the world! The essense feels very magicky, so how about a fellow amphibian NPC (some sort of wizard/priest?) that appears every x floors and is in charge of upgrading your relics? You could also use it to give some lore nuggets to the player! Also, I'm not sure how serious you were about the Frog God thingy, but it does seem like an interesting concept and worth considering adding into the game! Can't wait for the next devlog!
Heya, I recommend making tiles outside of the level 2x darker than your floors to better focus on what's important and make your play area more visually appealing. Keep it up!
I think it would be amazing if the game had a side quest to save tadpoles that appear randomly in the some rooms. These tadpoles are scared and run away at a predetermined time or if a enemy attacks then. They could serve as a companion that helps in combat or as a collectible. loved your game, a big hug from Brazil. o/
I was thinking here, and when I saw the updated combat I think it would be interesting if you could add something to highlight who's attacking the player too, like if you hover the mouse on top of the enemy, all the red attack highlights could fade a little so only the specific enemy highlight would be visible. That could help the player to Strategy his movement or attacks.
A really fun compromise between premade rooms and random noise, is premade parts of rooms, glued randomly, or picked from a few options. For item ideas: - Crit/power up below HP%: *Preserved Snack* : a fly stuck in an amber piece. "break in case of emergency" - *Eel's Tail* for Shock Immunity - *Birch Polypore* for Bleeding Immunity (a real mushroom useable as bandages) - *Buckle Shroom* (Cap of a mushroom as a little buckle shield, maybe bonus chance to return enemy attacks, because bouncy) - *Pointy Fishbone* - Bleeding damage - *Fishhook* - Bleeding, or manipulating enemy movement Desert specific treasure: - *Dung Beetle* - For each enemy defeated it grows it's ball, granting Poison bonus damage. Resets on taking a hit. Alternatively, grants a chance for enemies to avoid moving closer, because smelly. - *Pocket Sand* - When about to take fatal damage, deploy pocket sand, confusing the enemy, leaving the player on 1HP.
Something i would do for more of a visual feel would be to give the sprites more animation like the rat actually throwing the bomb instead of it just appearing out
For players to be able to strategise, in the WIP environment, when you hover on the hazard it would be better if it communicated where you'd sink to, considering you can use bombs and push enemies to them, knowing that information would be helpful Great video my guy!
Looks awesome! Have you considered using wave function collapse for the room generation? It seems like it'd be a good combination of having control over the rooms, while keeping each one fresh for the player.
You should add a shop place in the game. For example after 5 or 10 rooms or however many the player will have the option to go to a shop to purchase things to help along the way like healing potion damage potion etc.
In regards to the weight system for the floors: If muuuuultiple common enemies are a possibility, make sure to adjust the floor size to it's weight, else it could be a mess. Also, make sure the player can use some kind of AoE ability in some way, nothing more satisfying than ending a horde of minions in one blow. EDIT: Now I finished watching and saw the shock chain and burn spread. That could do, else it could be tedious if no elites in the room (or at least it was a possibility) I like how you are reshaping yout game, keep it up!
The quick sand mechanic looks really fun but it seems like they's a lot on screen. It might be good to only have a few so that the player can work out which ones go where and plan accordingly. In any strategy game, to much randomness is always bad. Overall really great work though, wishlisted!
Great work so far, the game is looking a lot more polished now than before. If your goal is to have a frog themed game why not change the name of essence to flies... it fits with the theme better makes more sense and is more unique :) also, it would be cool if they were collected by shooting your tongue out automatically when nearby (like actual frogs do). Keep up the good work my man, hope it's a success.
Please tell me that "Toadgoth" is a reference to "Morgoth" from Tolkien's Silmarillion?? 💍 The game is coming along very nicely. Awesome work, brother! Keen to see more!!🤘
depending how easy/fast each level is, the amount of zones can make a massive difference. coming from Shattered Pixel Dungeons (SPD), i dont think i would play if there was 10 floors between each boss. SPD is pretty punishing tho. game looks fun. gl on the dev journey!
what I think would be a great addition to the game is somenthing like: permanent upgrades. These are upgrades that you keep permanently even if you start a new game (if its a rogue like). I also have a relic suggestion. bloodthirsty: whenever you kill an enemy you will gain temporary stat boosts. also what may be cool is curses, these are just Items you can get in chest, you don't get to choose between other relics and It just give you something like less damage or extra burn damage against you.
Awesome stuff! This is definitely just personal preference, but I do think the essence particles should move faster, and maybe be bigger to give them a lil bit more oomph
Just a suggestion, maybe it would be cool to put layers of leaves around the arena, making the leaves darker with each layer until you reach the black edges
Hello fellow Game dev here, (Sorry for the english😅) Loving the longer devlogs 👌 even tho im not gonna play the game when its finished, i like the devlogs for the inspiration and motivation it gives, by seeing how far the game has come, and just seeing the thought-process behind it. Keep it up and please never stop😂
Just a thought. Instead of having the bombs explode after 3 turns, you could base it on a short timer. This would force the player to think and move fast. Dont know if it will work with the players bombs, since you would just place it at move to get the enemies stuck in the bomb zone. However i think that some sort of time limit would make the game harder in a way where you cant just figure out the best move with an indefenite amount of time on your hands (could make it boring for some I imagine). Anyways, the update looks super good and have defenetely made a huge impact on the game :)
I would like a goal when playing a rogue-like. You can maybe consider to add room choosing like Hades. That way you could give players more agency on the game. Also some breathing rooms could do well I guess. They will just be free rooms only containing things that a true mighty frog warrior deserves. Such as bunch of fly to eat and regen hp etc.
The game is looking great!! But I think a great idea would be to make it a little less cute. Turn the particles as actual flies and let the body of dead enemies to persist some turns so that it gets in the way of the player as an obstacle.
i think it would be cool if enviroments are randomly encountered and the difficulty scaled depending on when you get that one. so one run youll get forest desert lava next desert lava forest etc to vary runs more and maybe a set final stage that you always encounter last to make a final boss make sense
A QOL feature might be being able to click anywhere on the map and the character pathfinds to that spot. This might make navigating the new big maps a bit easier and less tedious? I haven't played it so I don't know if it is tedious but it could be a nice QOL feature
I agree with you that you put the game in steam next fest too early, altough it might be a good push stat wise. I think if your game was a bit more polished it would have given the game more popularity. Just the changes you showed in the video are a great improvement, really like the new look of the hazard tiles and corner tiles.
Damn, the new lava tiles looks so amazing :D I am pretty sure you know this, but your grass have two visual bugs. Isn't properly depth sorted and the bigger one (green) while waving, the sprite is cut because of too smol mask/surface size.
Though maybe not relevant anymore with the recent changes. I had a thought while watching all the dev logs, when you talked about scaling enemies in difficulty that other than just giving 'em more health and damage they could have been given a random assortment of the items as well (a % of what you are currently carrying or something) to add some randomness or extra level of "strategic obstacles". Maybe it still could work, maybe it would be a pain to balance, who knows. 🤷♂ Food for thought.
I think when an enemy is killed the particles should stay in place and swirl around and the frogs tongue should shoot out and grab it. Would make it more interesting.
I suggest making the opponent move slightly after the player. Still on the same turn but the animation plays with a delay. That would make it look more natural, like the enemy responds to the player's action instead of both being instantaneous.
Another great dev log, probably your best so far. I like the current system of having every 10 rooms change the environment, however I feel like more can be done to flesh it out. Having every fifth room or so be a "break room" containing a way to upgrade relics, could be a great way to pace out runs and give players a way to catch their breath. Break rooms don't even have to be guaranteed every 5 rooms, rather they could have an increase chance of spawning the longer the player goes without entering one. This could also be tied into the frog theme by having the break rooms be kinda swampy or aquatic.
i'll write this down
Another option is to have the breakroom right before the boss room as a warning sign to rest up cause things are about to get reeeeaaall.
When you said Frog God it made me think it would be so cool to have a bunch of frog eyes spawn randomly outside the game area. (In the area you can't go). It would be like all seeing frog eyes watching the player, guiding it in a way.
I second this eye, would really add some pop to the empty space around the game area too.
You should add a frozen environment with ice that slides you to the other side of it
yes! i was planning to have that be the next one i work on
@@GreedableIt would be fun if there was a unique elite enemy just for this biome that created said ice or smth
Nice
@@Greedable You lookin' gamedevish and greedable.
Cough. I can't stop myself.
@@Greedable Gamedevish and greedable.
Cough. I can't stop myself.
Fantastic changes, the removal of multiple actions really streamlines the readability of the game. Great work!
Massive fan of the changes so far. Some feedback on what you have:
1. Floor doors look a little off putting when spawning in lava / water. Consider making their spawns mutually exclusive from those tile types.
2. I love the variety offered by rats, possums, etc. I would NOT find an overwhelming representation of frog themed enemies more interesting than a varied group. I think you can explore a variety of enemies without necessarily undermining a frog theme in other game aspects (frog deity, frog items, frog NPCs etc.)
-- more over, I really enjoy seeing a variety of enemy abilities based on the enemy type (i.e. your spider spawning spiderlings). You'd lose the cool thematic execution of enemies if they were all just toads and frogs.
3. For hazard tiles, consider maybe some sort of biome specific lily pads: a one time use platform that lets you not take damage on a lava tile and then sinks.
4. The quicksand teleporting is cool, but there are definitely too many. Consider them disappearing after a character (not item such as a bomb) passes through them. Or reduce the amount by 30-40%.
5. Massive fan of the combat changes.
6. With these new room dimension changes, a % chance of a hidden room spawning in your floor would be cool. Think illusionary walls from Dark Souls. Maybe even an item to reveal these rooms or increase the chance of them spawning.
7. The water looks too cool/icy. I would consider a deeper or more saturated blue, and use the current color for ice tiles in an ice biome.
8. The "Relic Lv." text should just say Relic Level. The abbreviation is a little weird since the text will often be shorter than the descriptor below it.
9. The next floor is currently locked until all enemies have been defeated. It would be cooler if there was a specific enemy who was given the next floor key at random, so that you could luck out and unlock the next room before all enemies are defeated. Maybe you get lucky and can avoid a tough enemy should the key spawn on the first few guys you take down. Perhaps a future item could make it easier to obtain the key.
10. Suggestion for a future swamp biome hazard: a plant that will snare enemies for 1 turn when someone is adjacent to the plant. Maybe a Venus fly trap that bites your leg like a bear trap haha.
These are all great ideas, I'll have to keep a note of them
This is probably redundant/obvious to you already but a good way to make enemy designs could be to research the predators/prey of real-world frogs and use those specific animals as sources of inspiration for enemies. Perhaps basic enemies could be based on common prey of frogs, elite enemies could be predators/competitors of frogs and bosses could be animals that are significantly higher on the food chain than frogs are (Like an eagle or large snake or something). This approach could limit the variety of your enemies but the thematic consistency of the frog game would get stronger and the power/abilities of the enemies could become clearer right when a player looks at them as opposed to only after the player fights them (Eg. tarantula is an elite enemy that makes webs and does poison dmg).
I agree, I was trying to do that with enemies from the previous devlogs but it's starting to feel like its not a frog game anymore because everything isn't a frog. I'll probably end up doing a mix of both or something 🤷♂️
You can make an enemy which does area damage and hurt other enemies resulting in a strategic game play where you try keep it alive so it helps you clear the level but not dying while doing it.
i'll keep this idea in mind!
I really like how the game is looking and the general idea of it. However I feel having the door unlock only after killing every enemy makes the point of the door redundant and robs you of the chance to add an extra layer of strategy. I'd like to suggest having a random mob be chosen as a "keyholder" with the chance of them being it tide to their spawn weight, you could also hide this from the player to reestablish the encouragement of combat and it might balance out strong enemies. Thanks for reading, just an idea.
I think key holder is a good idea
I know this is not a priority now, but I've always loved character customization, possibly adding different colors or costumes to your frog could spice up the visual aspects of the game! You could unlock these from playing a certain number of runs, reaching a certain number of rooms, or beating bosses. I think this would be a great addition!
The changes definitely improve the game a dang big amount, good job. One change id recommend is adding light details outside the play area as the single solid colour looks quite jarring, also perhaps some sort of vignette effect as the brightness of the walls is pretty distracting especially in the forest area.
The only complaint I have is if the game is called Penumbra Tower, why does the stairs to next level go down and not up?
Also, in the future, maybe you could add a resting floor inbetween levels, like a hub area with NPCs, where you could buy or upgrade items or get quests
Great devlog! 🎉👍
Yes I think resting floors are a great idea, as for the name yeah idk I guess I could invert the stairs
@@Greedable could be an underground buried tower that the our frog protagonist is exploring in a swamp or something like that for lore /introduction
These all seem like great changes. I was only mildly interested in playing before, but now I'm more than ready to try your next demo! Keep up the good work
Thanks haha don't know how long it will take me to have the next demo ready 🙂
Awesome progress! I like the changes a lot, but I feel like there's just a few too many quicksand pits in the badlands/desert level.
Yeah there definitely was
A little late to the party, but I love the new hazard tiles! The enemy changed are fantastic! I loved the devlog and the game is coming along excellently!
I got some ideas:
- Maybe a giant rattlesnake that acts as the boss for the desert. It either could act like a significantly more dangerous and advanced version of the skirmisher or move around, extending its body like one does in _snake_. Damaging segments could cause it to split into more snakes, sorta like the water of worlds.
- Maybe random room modifiers that can make some things more difficult.
- for the desert, maybe a Gila monster that acts as a tangy enemy that can push you away or a Sidewinder that mimics enemy movement patterns and can maybe reposition other enemies.
- in terms of items, well, a philosopher’s stone that allows you to transmute hazard tiles (like water tiles to ice tiles) when you walk on them. Or a diamondback that causes you to deal addition damage based on percentage of health lost (granted, it’s a tad generic)
- Having a pool of boss exclusive items is would be pretty neat.
As always, great devlog- I can’t wait to see what you create next!
Okay ideas for item visuals:
-parry item: just the hilt of a rapier or an arm guard armor piece
-evasion item: maybe coffee/energy drink because you would vibrate from all the caffeine or a feather keychain type thing
-shock item: a broken tazer
-spark item: a broken electrical wire
-hemmorage item: barbed wire or a chipped blade
-chain item: a literal chain because it would be funny
-low hp crit damage: fake angry eyebrows
- red tearstone ring: a bug incased in amber
Also i dont know what item but some item HAS to be moss because moss is epic. Maybe it would be funny if moss was one of those legendary items like the one that makes you immune to bleeding
Having the bomb explode one turn sooner, but giving the player sometimes of dash(two spaces of movement) on a cooldown. This would give an interesting risk/reward mechanic that the game in its current flows state does not have. And while it would result in more unavoidable damage, it could also be truly game changing if used correctly.
it would be interestin if you made status effects work with the environment. For example, maybe when a shocked enemy walks in water, everything else in that water (player or enemy) will also become shocked
That would be cool, I will try to add
The game look much better now, nice work !!
Thanks!
Amazing work! The tile generation and visual upgrades inspired me to work on my side project again haha. Amazing as always, can't wait for the next episode.
Awesome! Thank you!
I got 2 enemy ideas: a dead fish that like bones who is elite and can turn into a pile of bones every few turns and you can’t hurt him. Could have like a big version of him that’s a boss
2: a basic enemy that’s like a heron or something
The dead fish could also fit in with the desert theme (I hope I spelt desert right lol)
The new tiles look incredible, awesome video!
Thanks!
i love how your game is looking! im going to be seeing the progress you make and hopefully play it when it comes out, i would recommend making a frog/ogresque like boss, since you added an enemy similar to that, also lowering the generation of skulls in each level because it feels a little too repetitive, or maybe adding another tipe of obstacle so it doesnt feel like that, keep the good work!!
Resting exits on the floor is a lovely change but with the stairs going down, it sorta contradicts the “Tower” aspect of the name.
So as a suggestion, i have two ideas.
1st idea, we could invert the staircase to be going up. Simple, sweet, and straight to the point.
My 2nd idea would be instead of it being a staircase, it could be something like a Launchpad or a Water stream that activates after the dungeon is cleared. This way you could send the player flying up and u could add a falldown animation when the player loads the next level, kinda like hopping between levels.
Thats just a lil idea but i think jumping floors sounds more fitting : D
Game is looking good and so much has improved! Cant wait for the next log!
Another awesome dev log! I really enjoy seeing these dynamic changes, where you are altering established mechanics deeply to enhance the game. It shows you are eager to create the best game you can and I love watching it!
Glad you like them!
This might be something you implement later I just didn't see it in the video. I think it would be a good idea to combine room layout's (if you haven't already), it would save time on level design and you would be able to make a larger rooms and have a abundant amount of new room combinations because of those bigger rooms you already made, it has a longevity factor that on could potentially save you time during development. Great video man!
the visual changes look amazing! about the camera, is there any way to lock so it doesnt go too far past the edge of the room? in some of the shots where your standing by the egde of the wall there's alot of empty space in frame
maybe I'm using the unity cinamachine camera so maybe it has something for that
@@Greedable it tottaly does, use the camera confiner, it's pretty easy to use and works like a charm
@@Greedable Tarodev has a great video on this
I recently joined your dev log journey and as an aspiring game dev, I love it all! I love how bold you were to change the main combat mechanic for a different system, and I think it does work better in the long run. In fact, I think your new system is similar to that of Crypt of the Necrodancer and Cadence of Hyrule, made by the same developers. I would look into those games for some inspirations, such as an interesting feature would be the different weapons they use in those games to attack more than just one tile in whatever direction. Keep up the great work!
Oh hell yeah! I'm really digging the new environment designs, lava + water effects, and _especially_ the UI. It all looks really sleek and professional. I was a bit worried about the turn system changing, but the more you went through explaining it, the more I'm on board with the design shift. For a second, I was worried I would lose my delicious drought of juice! Thankful to see that's not the case- even if it isn't nearly as busted as before. Excited to inevitably see how the new mechanics feel.
For some icon concepts for the new items, I think a _'lightning'_ bug would be a fun way to tie the shock mechanic in with the frog theme. Whether the frog eats it and gains the ability, or if they wield it like some sort of weapon. Maybe a raven wing cloak could be the icon for evasion, depending on whether or not they've been one of the enemies to be scrapped from the enemy roster.
I noticed you didn't cover skills that the player could use. Not sure if it was because you were scrapping them from the current battle system, or if the script was just jam packed enough as it was, but if you're keeping them in the game, might I suggest some sort of offensive skill that pushes enemies a few tiles away from you? Whether it's a wind mechanic (to keep with the elemental theme of the rest of the 'magic' effects), or maybe its diegetically a predator skull the frog wears to 'scare' other creatures away from it. One of the biggest sticking points for me during the beta was finding myself trapped in a corner on all sides, and while the moveset change could combat this, it might be nice to have other avenues of defense. As well as having a method of shoving creatures into hazards, now that their AI chooses to avoid them more often.
Super excited for the next devlog, and especially excited to see what sorts of new, regional specific creatures get implemented among the hoard of the classic critters
I'll need to adjust the skills again since I changed the enemy abilities, I'll need to go through it again in a future devlog
Nice work, the rooms definitely needed that update. As for some ideas, maybe you could consider adding a ledge of sorts, like the ones in Pokémon, that can be jumped down from, but u need to find stairs to get back up.
It could work so that half of the room is elevated
It was my favorite devlog of the chanel ! I feel like thoose change are really smart. Its hard to reallize what dosent work and it even harder to scrap former features to rebuild them differently. And the way you'v done it is actually impressive. Keep up the great work. This inspiring !!
I think It will be cool some kind of relic that buffs the player when he triggers Hazard tiles, like you take damage from lava, but you gain extra attack. Anyway really good devlog!
You should make the boarder of the relics change colour and look depending on the rarity
Small tip to make the legendary and rare relics pop more: add the rarity color to the card (either the whole card or only the outline of the card) and possibly some visual effects like some background glow.
I BEG you call the parry item, "Parry the platypus", fits with the animal theme and its a neat little refrence. Better yet is if you actually make a little platypus parry enemy hits
Wow, I just found your channel, saw your devlog summary and now this, and to be honest I am so sad that the demo is not on steam rn :D I really want to try it out after seeing this much of gameplay :D
Good luck with your work, and I am following you from now! Wish you success! :)
Room gen ideas? Ok! What about an industrial setting. Maybe have some scenes set on a side walk, and randomly a human could step on a certain area. All hail Toad God!
I wanted to add a few name ideas for the items:
Evasion - Hooded Cloak
Parry - Mirror Gem
Spark - Conductive Gel
Shock - Charged Battery
Flame - Combustive Powder
Bleed - Metal Barbs
Combo - Ticking Watch
Low HP Crit - Adrenaline Syringe
Killing Blow - Heavy Sword
Bonus - Clockwork
A few of them aren’t probably good, but why not throw some ideas at the wall
Thanks for the ideas! 🐸
Would be cool if there was a sky environment where clouds are the hazard time amd they are rhe only thing you can step on
Love these updates, really enjoyed the video! Keeping an eye out for the next one for sure
3:00 FYI isaac does the same way you did (not in unity, but with rooms built and assemble together) and for me is the right decision! :D
Just found your channel! I'm impressed with the art style and will definitely check out your game when it comes out!I was thinking about maybe a jungle environment with creepers to swing around the map.
The game looks so good, the rounded polish on the tiles absolutely blows me away
Environments look great, your art style is very visually appealing!
The hazard tiles looks polished! Great work!
For evasion item icon maybe you can do a boot dashing! Great video and keep it up! I look forward to this game!
To solve the upgrade problem you could maybe solve it like in Magicraft. You could add a probability of spawn a second exit in the level that leads to a Shop.
And whenever two exits appear you can choose which one you want to go through or there are almost always two exits but they are sometimes blocked by stones (or by the room). So you only have one option
Havent played the game,
But just from watching this video I found that there is little distinction between the player and the enemies. When both take damage it is in white text and they both have red health bars. I think it would be more readable if the enemy damage was smaller and red, and the player damage was more impactful and the players health bar was green.
Also a lilypad that dissapears after you jump off it could be cool and fit the theme. If you added deeper more dangerous water it could be interesting and it could have a rock counterpart for the volcanic levels.
These videos are absolutely delightful and i adore your artstyle ❤
something that could be really cool is a bucket item. maybe it could be distributed like bombs, X ammount per level, maybe found. they'd allow you to take the hazard zone and place it somewhere else. like, block of some enemies etc., use them as mines. but maybe you walk much slower with it and can't attack, so you'll be more vulnerable during carrying the hazard zone
omg amazing! u should make the souls look more fly like, it will add to and really show that this is a frog based game
making breakables/chests let out blue light that engulfs ur character with flies and bringing up the relic selection page would be awesome too
or have little ponds as "bonfires" that let u upgrade ur relics :)
subscribed, liked, and added to my wishlist ^_^ !
im loving all the changes to the game they're really well thought out and are way more synergetic! I think because you're leaning much more into the frog theme the items themselves should be less fantasy like and more nature focused. like being bugs, moss, plants, etc. Spelunky and other rougelites do this cool thing where there's sometimes random effects that effect the whole level like the room is shrouded in darkness or all the tiles could be struck by some kind of effect like freezing temperatures that slows everything. I think having effects like these be rare chances would add variety to the levels so they don't get too monotonous since the player usually has to go through 10 of the same enviroment. you could also balance out these level effects by having them have a greater chance to spawn rewards in them
A simple way to increase items variability and synergies could be to add curses and negative effects. For example something the life hunt scythe, it could be interesting itemizing around it
you shiuld make mini boses which can just be larger and stronger versions of regular enemies with some new attacks and have the mini boss correlate to the environment
Maybe add something with ants and then there could also be a lot of them. Also it is maybe fun if every 10 rooms there could be a shop what it would sell is probaply relics and extra health but it would be a save place with no enemies
Maybe you could add „special chests“ that have more powerful items. These could only be opened by keys, that are bound to different challenges like maybe killing a number of enemies in a set amount of turns. This could make for some really challenging and rewarding gameplay. Overall I really love the adjustments you made, keep it up :)
Glad you liked the changes!
Or thet the chests give items and curses if you open them without completing the task
Loved the video, and I'm happy to see you aren't scared of making big changes in order to improve your game.
I really liked the glowing-flies particles, although I didn't know that's what they were until you mentioned it.
I was really happy to hear you'll hone in on the frog theme, I was about to comment how the game didn't fit the theme much atm
It'd be nice to see the character doing frog stuff! RN it just feels like a human in a frog costume, if that makes any sense :/
Some ideas to expand on the theme:
Frog themed abilities and relics!
How about a reusable leap? Frogs are notoriously hard to catch (for me at least :P), and having an ability that lets you reposition (on a cooldown, of course!) when things get nasty would be fitting.
A grapple-like tongue ability? You could use it to pull yourself into walls (or enemies!), or to eat small insect-like enemies (I feel like a frog would have a better answer for the morsel-sized spiderlings other than swinging a sword!)
Some frogs ooze poisonous mucus, so how about a relic that poisons enemies that melee you?
Special environment interactions?
I'm sure that the character would thrive in the forest area, having access to water tiles, and the opposite being true in the volcanic levels, the extreme heat being extra hard on the frog's moist skin.
Of course I'm not saying that adding stuff like a moisture meter or the like would be the right approach, but it'd be interesting to see the character interacting differently with the environment by the sole fact of them being a frog.
About the new relic system, I like how you moved away from the "x% chance to do y" approach. Although having some items like that is just fine, IMO it takes away from player agency, as they can't really plan out their next move when most of the outcome is determined by RNG. Something like "25% chance for x to happen" could be changed to "Every 4 turns/enemy deaths/some other trigger". It would make relics more consistent and it'd allow the player to make better decisions. Of course that'd mean displaying that info somewhere, and if a more frantic turn-based gameplay is what you are going for, it could even be counterproductive!
The relic enhacement system could be a great opportunity to add some flavour to the world! The essense feels very magicky, so how about a fellow amphibian NPC (some sort of wizard/priest?) that appears every x floors and is in charge of upgrading your relics? You could also use it to give some lore nuggets to the player!
Also, I'm not sure how serious you were about the Frog God thingy, but it does seem like an interesting concept and worth considering adding into the game!
Can't wait for the next devlog!
Heya, I recommend making tiles outside of the level 2x darker than your floors to better focus on what's important and make your play area more visually appealing. Keep it up!
One of the bosses could be a giant fly
You could create an elite frog and its ability is tongue pulling ( pulling the player close to it)
I think it would be amazing if the game had a side quest to save tadpoles that appear randomly in the some rooms. These tadpoles are scared and run away at a predetermined time or if a enemy attacks then. They could serve as a companion that helps in combat or as a collectible.
loved your game, a big hug from Brazil. o/
I was thinking here, and when I saw the updated combat I think it would be interesting if you could add something to highlight who's attacking the player too, like if you hover the mouse on top of the enemy, all the red attack highlights could fade a little so only the specific enemy highlight would be visible. That could help the player to Strategy his movement or attacks.
A really fun compromise between premade rooms and random noise, is premade parts of rooms, glued randomly, or picked from a few options.
For item ideas:
- Crit/power up below HP%: *Preserved Snack* : a fly stuck in an amber piece. "break in case of emergency"
- *Eel's Tail* for Shock Immunity
- *Birch Polypore* for Bleeding Immunity (a real mushroom useable as bandages)
- *Buckle Shroom* (Cap of a mushroom as a little buckle shield, maybe bonus chance to return enemy attacks, because bouncy)
- *Pointy Fishbone* - Bleeding damage
- *Fishhook* - Bleeding, or manipulating enemy movement
Desert specific treasure:
- *Dung Beetle* - For each enemy defeated it grows it's ball, granting Poison bonus damage. Resets on taking a hit. Alternatively, grants a chance for enemies to avoid moving closer, because smelly.
- *Pocket Sand* - When about to take fatal damage, deploy pocket sand, confusing the enemy, leaving the player on 1HP.
Love how this project feels like a mystery dungeon game! Great work!
Something i would do for more of a visual feel would be to give the sprites more animation like the rat actually throwing the bomb instead of it just appearing out
You should change the skull head in your bone pile to a frog shaped bone head. That would be neat.
I love the game so far! I think it would be cool if rooms can have wall tiles inside which you can’t move on
snapping turtle for a boss would be so cool 🤔
Yes!
For players to be able to strategise, in the WIP environment, when you hover on the hazard it would be better if it communicated where you'd sink to, considering you can use bombs and push enemies to them, knowing that information would be helpful
Great video my guy!
Looks awesome! Have you considered using wave function collapse for the room generation? It seems like it'd be a good combination of having control over the rooms, while keeping each one fresh for the player.
I think it would be a cool idea to have like a storm biome room that spawns lightning and possibly set fire to the tiles
I really dig your art style. Nice visuals :D
You should add a shop place in the game. For example after 5 or 10 rooms or however many the player will have the option to go to a shop to purchase things to help along the way like healing potion damage potion etc.
looks so polished with the outlines now!
9:46 - 9:56 💀💀
This part had me laughing so hard
You should call the essence fly essence
In regards to the weight system for the floors: If muuuuultiple common enemies are a possibility, make sure to adjust the floor size to it's weight, else it could be a mess.
Also, make sure the player can use some kind of AoE ability in some way, nothing more satisfying than ending a horde of minions in one blow.
EDIT: Now I finished watching and saw the shock chain and burn spread. That could do, else it could be tedious if no elites in the room (or at least it was a possibility)
I like how you are reshaping yout game, keep it up!
The quick sand mechanic looks really fun but it seems like they's a lot on screen. It might be good to only have a few so that the player can work out which ones go where and plan accordingly. In any strategy game, to much randomness is always bad.
Overall really great work though, wishlisted!
Great work so far, the game is looking a lot more polished now than before. If your goal is to have a frog themed game why not change the name of essence to flies... it fits with the theme better makes more sense and is more unique :) also, it would be cool if they were collected by shooting your tongue out automatically when nearby (like actual frogs do). Keep up the good work my man, hope it's a success.
Please tell me that "Toadgoth" is a reference to "Morgoth" from Tolkien's Silmarillion?? 💍
The game is coming along very nicely. Awesome work, brother! Keen to see more!!🤘
depending how easy/fast each level is, the amount of zones can make a massive difference.
coming from Shattered Pixel Dungeons (SPD), i dont think i would play if there was 10 floors between each boss. SPD is pretty punishing tho.
game looks fun. gl on the dev journey!
what I think would be a great addition to the game is somenthing like: permanent upgrades. These are upgrades that you keep permanently even if you start a new game (if its a rogue like). I also have a relic suggestion. bloodthirsty: whenever you kill an enemy you will gain temporary stat boosts. also what may be cool is curses, these are just Items you can get in chest, you don't get to choose between other relics and It just give you something like less damage or extra burn damage against you.
good vid🐸
Awesome stuff! This is definitely just personal preference, but I do think the essence particles should move faster, and maybe be bigger to give them a lil bit more oomph
Just a suggestion, maybe it would be cool to put layers of leaves around the arena, making the leaves darker with each layer until you reach the black edges
Hello fellow Game dev here, (Sorry for the english😅) Loving the longer devlogs 👌 even tho im not gonna play the game when its finished, i like the devlogs for the inspiration and motivation it gives, by seeing how far the game has come, and just seeing the thought-process behind it.
Keep it up and please never stop😂
the UI look sick !
Interesting to see how game evolves over time!
also add some cut scenes whenever you go into a boss battle basically just add lore
Just a thought. Instead of having the bombs explode after 3 turns, you could base it on a short timer. This would force the player to think and move fast. Dont know if it will work with the players bombs, since you would just place it at move to get the enemies stuck in the bomb zone. However i think that some sort of time limit would make the game harder in a way where you cant just figure out the best move with an indefenite amount of time on your hands (could make it boring for some I imagine).
Anyways, the update looks super good and have defenetely made a huge impact on the game :)
I would like a goal when playing a rogue-like. You can maybe consider to add room choosing like Hades. That way you could give players more agency on the game. Also some breathing rooms could do well I guess. They will just be free rooms only containing things that a true mighty frog warrior deserves. Such as bunch of fly to eat and regen hp etc.
The game is looking great!! But I think a great idea would be to make it a little less cute.
Turn the particles as actual flies and let the body of dead enemies to persist some turns so that it gets in the way of the player as an obstacle.
i think it would be cool if enviroments are randomly encountered and the difficulty scaled depending on when you get that one. so one run youll get forest desert lava next desert lava forest etc to vary runs more and maybe a set final stage that you always encounter last to make a final boss make sense
A QOL feature might be being able to click anywhere on the map and the character pathfinds to that spot. This might make navigating the new big maps a bit easier and less tedious? I haven't played it so I don't know if it is tedious but it could be a nice QOL feature
I think a Heron boss would be cool and thematic with frogs :)
I really like the changes :] and honestly ill miss some of the old enemies, with every vid the game looks better and better :))
I'll add some of the enemies back in bit by bit
You can make the tiles with animation, that would make it way better
I agree with you that you put the game in steam next fest too early, altough it might be a good push stat wise. I think if your game was a bit more polished it would have given the game more popularity. Just the changes you showed in the video are a great improvement, really like the new look of the hazard tiles and corner tiles.
Damn, the new lava tiles looks so amazing :D
I am pretty sure you know this, but your grass have two visual bugs. Isn't properly depth sorted and the bigger one (green) while waving, the sprite is cut because of too smol mask/surface size.
Though maybe not relevant anymore with the recent changes.
I had a thought while watching all the dev logs, when you talked about scaling enemies in difficulty that other than just giving 'em more health and damage they could have been given a random assortment of the items as well (a % of what you are currently carrying or something) to add some randomness or extra level of "strategic obstacles".
Maybe it still could work, maybe it would be a pain to balance, who knows. 🤷♂
Food for thought.
I think when an enemy is killed the particles should stay in place and swirl around and the frogs tongue should shoot out and grab it. Would make it more interesting.
Watching devlogs while trying to work on a game is 10/10. would recommend lol
It looks to be coming together great