Clearing My Head of The Next Project

     I came up with a very fun idea for a game two nights ago and I spent all of yesterday organizing it into a basic design document so that I can get it out of my head and written down. I was going to start my dragon themed RPG right after Unicorn Quest but an irresistible idea for another pony RPG popped into my head when I watched my girlfriend play a mod. But I won't give any details until Unicorn Quest is done and I've proven I can finish a big RPG in the first place.

      Just know that this won't be the only pony game series I'll work n in my career. Also know that there is a turn-based RPG coming in between Unicorn Quest and my dragon RPG.

     If a game idea pops into your head, just write it down as quickly as you can because you don't know if it'll come back when you wake up the next day. I scribbled thoughts into my iPod's notepad and retyped it in MS Word to make revisions. If I didn't do that the idea would hang over me while I'm trying to make Unicorn Quest which needs my attention right now.

Unicorn Quest Item Ideas

     What would an RPG be without some way to turn currency into a way to strategize when to heal yourself in combat. There is a quick access bar above the magic bar with 4 slots for your four favorite items. Players can assign what four items they are in the pause menu. There are 16 items in the game and each one can hold up to 99 of any given item.

     Some items can only be found in certain shops. Some are more expensive than others. Some cost certain gem types in one town and other gems in another. I'm trying to make each item special and interesting and the list of items changes frequently as I balance things so the item definitions are not final. The general theme is that tonics restore magic and cupcakes heal you.

Check out the list of all 16 items below the break.

The Gem System

     Gems are used in place of coins/rupees in this game. this was inspired by the colorful gems in Friendship is Magic. It seems to be a colorful alternative to regular bits/coins and by using different sizes I can give each a unique value. I can measure the currency in weight instead of having a separate wallet for each. 

     There's Topaz (1g), Beryl (5g), Garnet (20g), Sphene (35g), and Kunzite (50g). Details on how they work below the break.

Status Report #30

     It feels like only two days worth of work got done in a week. Dropping from 9 hours a day to 2 feels like torture. Homework is killing me when all I can think about is how I could be spending that time doing something that mattered infinitely more. I did get some interesting work-in-progress screenshots of the pause menu though, so catch those below the break.

     Here's what I managed to do in my little work time.