Scrapped: Overmap

     Sometimes removing features can feel just as good as adding them. Shrinking the game's scope to increase feasibility boosts morale and brings the game's release day closer. I was thinking hard bout the pickup and play feel I wanted the other day and felt that getting around the map needed to be faster. If some players are only playing in stretches of 5-10 minutes at a time, there needs to be a fast sort of warping system in place. It'll make dashing out of a dungeon or forest to stock up on items and warping back smooth and quick. Why waste time roaming a map when you can press a button?

     I also wanted to reduce the scope a little. Having a world map means making more sprites, spending time defining a good look for it, and working out how to control Clover on it. Cutting this feature probably saved me a couple weeks of development time. I think the world will feel better as a Zelda style connected whole in the end anyway.

Check below the break to see what I have in mind for the world map and it's varied regions.

     I doodled something in paint to get my mental image in front of me. This is the basic flow of the world I wanted to have. Some way to make the drastically different regions mesh and feel natural.

Prom. is short for Prominence, the capital city in Equica.

     It's based on the world map of Equestria from the My Little Pony cartoon and Hyrule in The Legend of Zelda A Link to the Past. The two things that inspired this game in the first place. I plan on describing each location in detail as I make at least mock-ups for them. Each place has it's own town, dungeon, and a big area to explore.

      My goal is to get the basic game features working then charting out the world room by room until I end with something satisfying and feasible. By replacing the world map with a pause menu warp feature (using pixie colonies which can teleport you in this world) I can focus on making the world itself more interesting and immersive.