Happy full moon, everybody!

A new full moon means a new version of Village Monsters for you to explore. I’m happy to announce that the latest Were-Release (what is this?), code named “Snow“, is now officially released.

I’m very proud of what I can share with you today, but I also want to stress that this is still very early. It’s not exactly brimming with content quite yet!

Still, if you’re interested in following games in early development, and you want to provide feedback to shape a game in the making, then please take a look!

“Snow”

RELEASED: February 10th, 2017

Download: Windows | Mac (Soon!) | Linux (Soon!)

What’s New

Player & Actions

• Basic character movement (WASD)
  • Includes sprinting (hold Shift), creeping (hold Control)
  • Press the Middle Mouse button to move the camera around
• Dynamic Camera
  • Follows the player and slightly lags behind
  • Use the middle-mouse button to move it around
  • “Shaky Cam” system implement for some actions
• Player Action – Talk
  • Get near a villager and use the X key to talk to them. X also advances the text
• Player Action – Interact
  • Currently the only object to interact with is Dragon’s Hoard, the claw machine in the building with Mock
  • Use the X key to interact with it
• Player Action – Grab / Pull
  • Currently can only grab/pull a box.
  • Use the X key when near a box to grab it
• Player Action – Swing Net
  • Press V to swing your net
  • Critters caught by your net are added to your inventory
• Player Action – Throw
  • Press F to throw the ball
  • Requires to pick up the Dog Ball and make it active

Villagers, Dog & Other Critters

• Two new Villagers
  • Mock, the depressed goblin
  • “Sign”, the unnamed – but still angry – Sign
• A more complete Dog
  • Dog snoozes when bored
  • Dog wags its tail faster when ball is picked up
  • Dog fetches ball and brings it back
    • To play fetch, first pick up a ball, make it active, and then throw it with F
  • Dog can be pet and spoken to with X
• New Critters to catch
  • Half Hopper
    • Flee when you approach
  • Sea Fly
    • Spawn indefinitely near pool
    • Chase after the player when close
  • Candy Horn Beetle
  • Holiday Horn Beetle
    • Winter only
• Initial pass at “ambiant critters” system
  • A occasional bird will fly across the screen

Menus & UI

• Basic dialog system
  • Typerwriter text and tap noise
  • Different types of text
    • Dialog
    • Narrator
    • Emphasis
  • Portrait & animation
• Basic inventory system
  • Press I or click the bag icon to bring it up
  • Use your mouse or arrow keys to navigate items
  • The F key allows you the currently active icon. Not all items may be used at this time
• Basic world map menu
  • Press the map icon to bring it up.
  • Use your WASD keys and mouse wheel to navigate.
• Notification system
  • Notices trigger for various important events, such as inventory management, day changes, and more
  • Like-notices are grouped together

Simulation & Systems

• Two new major systems: Time & Weather
  • 8 times of day with their own daylight filters
  • A full day takes about 20 minutes, but there are ways to increase this in the demo
  • 4 weather patterns:
    • Clear
    • Drizzle
    • Heavy Rain
    • Snow
  • A clock UI element to monitor the time and weather
• Prototype of a 3rd major simulated system – Seasons
  • “Winter” version of map with new visuals, new critters to catch, and new weather
  • Find a way to trigger Winter via an in-game mechanic

Village & Related

• Completely new and revamped art style and layout of “village”
  • New trees, flowers, and other vegetation
  • Can no longer walk out of bounds
• Two new buildings
  • Test inn. Contains Mock, Dragon’s Hoard, and some tables
  • Historical Society. Contains naught but spider webs
• Dragon’s Hoard claw machine
  • Incredibly basic and buggy!

Other

• Basic SFX
  • Wind noises
  • Footfalls
  • Dialog sounds
  • Pickup sound

Known Issues

• The player always resets position when changing ‘rooms’
• Very little is persisted
• Huge amount of graphical bugs, especially incorrect overlapping and sprite flipping
• Collision system is frequently dumb
• Overall, it’s very fragile!

Feedback

There are many ways to provide feedback on your time with the game. All feedback will be read and considered – it’s my favorite part of this whole thing!

Email: josh@warpdogs.com

Comments: Click here. No registration required.

Twitter: @WarpDogs

Other: Scream loudly into the western sun. Let the ground shake with your fury, your blood hot with the magma of the earth.