The Notebook

I'm having a late night thought.


Journey to Aktiya Waya has always been the story from Wolf Pack, Kiyuga and Anagalisgi trying to help their people during the French and Indian War.  It translated well (I think) to a game. Watch the Bitchute videos and decide for yourself, but I think it did.  Plus, presenting the story in game form allowed for a huge exploration of Cherokee culture as the elders tell stories, sing songs, and side quests enable you to hunt down some incredible Legendary Creatures such as Spearfinger and the Uktena.

 

If you're new to the saga, the game engine I was using stopped working on my OS.  After several failed attempts at finding a new one (including on that I previously announced would be a good replacement), I finally settled on Godot Engine.

 

Now then, Godot is both a 2D and 3D engine.  It has some bells and whistles but is not really a niche engine.  I first attempted to recreate everything in 2D.  Found some great tutorials, learned a lot.  The standard that I used for every engine I tried out was the ability to get through the opening scene (attack in the sheep pen).

But, as with everything new I try, I get curious and I go snooping.  Next thing you know, I've got the entire thing reworked in 3D.  The hills, the rivers, the mountains, and I'm working on the animations for swimming/diving, canoeing, and even horseback riding and combat.

 

Side note, I'm a lot better with 3D manipulation than 2D.  I like modeling and animating in Blender because I can work and rework and visualize.  I can't do free-hand pixel art to save my life.  Why didn't I start this way?  Well, because my coding sucks, and most of the good engines rely on C#, C++, etc..  But Godot uses GDScript which is similar to Python, plus the system of writing and connecting scripts makes it incredibly easy to learn.

 

So here I am with J2AW reworked in 3D.  Nothing big, nothing fancy, certainly not complete, but it's coming along really well.

The problem is that in 3D, there is an entirely different feel to the game.  The first iteration, in 2.5D, is fun first and serious second, with a more laid-back atmosphere (I think).  Maybe it's just me having grown up with old school Mario, but I've always viewed pixel games, especially turn-based combat, as more relaxing, even if the story is very serious.  Plus the engine was set up for the ability to easily add and subtract party members (made easier because of the turn-based combat).

Looking at the 3D version (I'd show screenshots, but they're on my other computer), and there is absolutely a different feel to the game.  It's both fun and serious.  And, again this might just be me, but I'm not a big fan of large parties in action combat.  Skyrim followers are nice to have but kind of annoying (I keep Kharjo around just because I'll never find him again if I let him go).  Trying to implement a party of five would be obscene.

And I think the main flaw in the J2AW game is how long it takes to actually find the Beads and obtain the Akari abilities.  It's easily 2/3 of the way through the story, maybe closer to 3/4.  It makes sense in the book, less so in the game, because of how late Anagalisgi is introduced as an important figure, and because the abilities change things so dramatically.  Similarly, the story doesn't allow for a lot of "bosses."  Mini-bosses, side quest bosses, but not so much in the main story, and the actual pre-finale and finale "fights" feel more tedious than calculated.

Then, as I'm writing Lone Wolf, I think, What about Sabelu?  He's a single hero and he would have access to the Akari abilities right off the bat.  This eliminates my party problem and opens up a better use of the abilities through something like skill trees.  Because his mission is to confront the Shadows of Holhi, the boss fights would make more sense and feel less artificial.  Not only that, but by this time, Aktiya Waya has taken in more people from more Native nations, allowing for a far broader expanse of stories and traditions.  And it would be fun to explore some of the ruins of Hlohi, like the caves near Lehoyed, or the underground city.

Journey to Aktiya Waya - Kiyuga and Anagalisgi Iteration
Pros:

  • Everything is done, just have to convert and rework it into 3D
  • Go after fantastic creatures from Cherokee legend, such as Spearfinger, the Uktena, the Dakwa, etc.
  • Origin story


Cons:

  • Bosses feel artificial
  • Get through 2/3+ of the game before getting magic powers
  • Large parties in action combat suck
  • So...many...villages... <_>

 

[Unknown New Title] - Sabelu Iteration

Pros:

  • Singular hero
  • Skill tree would allow for more natural progression of magic powers
  • Actual boss fights
  • Explore new places and potentially face new legendary creatures
  • Only three villages and some places of interest

 

Cons:

  • Have to rework entire book from scratch to come up with quests/side quests/minor activities
  • Because it's on an alien planet, have to come up with actual models and animations of strange creatures from scratch
  • Can have stories of actual mythological legendary creatures, but would never be able to go after them or otherwise utilize them
  • Abandoning another otherwise long-standing project

 

On the other hand, Wano did say that RPM was progressing more toward a web application for better universal use, without having to worry about OS compatibility.  I still have everything from my RPM project.  Maybe I'll keep all of that, because I really was very close to rough completion.  Maybe I'll use my 3D Godot project for Sabelu and Lone Wolf while I wait for RPM to be web-ready and then finish that at that time.

Some late night thoughts.