BGP Achievement Plans

     A minor thing I'm keeping on my mind is what I plan to do for achievements. Having achievements increases visibility and the lifespan of the game by putting it in a database of optimized compatible products and giving players challenges to take on. Achievements are available in some form on every platform I plan to be on so it'll be good for me to plan ahead and make them universally compatible and evenly divisible by the various reward scores.

     Unlike with my other game DragCore's Achievements I plan on having things that increase replay value and really challenge players to hunt each one down. If you're already being rewarded for doing things like quests, there's no point in tacking on an achievement too. Achievements are meta by nature so they should embrace meta gameplay.

     Chances are you'll be getting high level achievements for doing things like winning stadium matches with bizarre teams, triggering hidden events in the overworld, completing the super hard NewGame+, catching a legendary with the weakest capture gem money can buy, or interacting with secret field objects. I want to make achievements people want to brag about. That's what they're for.

Battle Gem Ponies DevLog #9 (Spreadsheet Code & Music)

     As predicted, this was a very productive week leading to a week with tons of visible progress. After messing with code stuff for a few days I now have an efficient way to put hundreds of moves, animations, and ponies in my game.

     The screenshot above is what the current Move Info interface looks like. If you click a question mark with a move selected in battle yo'll see this stuff pop up. Move type, power, accuracy, classes, description, elemental match-up, and so on. I think it'll be really useful to players so it should be accessible when and where you need it most.

     I considered just showing the Good, Fail, or Bad symbol above text next to the target but decided that it would be more beneficial to the player if they got the chance to memorize all the classes a move is strong against and get more familiar with all the classes.

If you want to see what else I've been messing with this week, hop on over the page break.
It's DevLog time!

Battle Gem Ponies Music

     A soundtrack really makes a game memorable. You may not always notice it, but the music of a game is the emotional bridge to the player. You can often just listen to a song from a nostalgic game and instantly recall the feeling of playing it. When you face off against an epic legendary boss the music hypes it up even further. You'll even go out of your way to download that song so you can hear it again whenever you want.

     I want Battle Gem Ponies to be one of those games with music you never forget. Unfortunately I can't make music myself and learning how to do it well could take over a year. My solution is to get some help with this. I requested the help of electronic musician Justin Heng and orchestral composer Eric Eom to make the Battle Gem Ponies OST something worth searching for.

     Below the break I'll list all the music I plan to put in the game. There's nearly 50 songs and jingles total so expect it to feel fully featured.

Battle Gem Ponies DevLog #8 (Maladies & Battle Interface)

     This week is going to be a productive one. I'm determined to get to a point where the ponies can use moves and hit each other. No fancy animations just yet, only functionality. Messing around with ideas for this has gotten me to dress up the menus again, giving a nice polished feel to everything.

Check out this week in gamedev below the break!