{"author_link":"\/users\/dhim","author_name":"dhim","author_uid":"dhim","comments":[],"epoch":1728146032,"event":"LD56","format":"md","ldjam_node_id":402206,"likes":5,"metadata":{"p_key":"207509","p_author":"dhim","p_authorkey":"1015212","p_urlkey":"445362","p_title":"Progress","p_cat":"LDJam ","p_event":"LD56","p_time":"1728146032","p_likes":"5","p_comments":"0","p_status":"WAYBACK","us_key":"1015212","us_name":"dhim","us_username":"dhim","event_start":"1728000000","event_key":"115","event_name":"Ludum Dare 56"},"node":{"_collation":{"body_sanitizer":"TextUtils::SanitizeHTML via existing importer","event":"LD56","removed_author":false},"_superparent":395186,"_trust":3,"author":15212,"body":"![Screen Shot 2024-10-05 at 18.00.10.png](\/\/\/raw\/c6b\/3\/z\/655f4.png)\n# Devlog: Slow Progress, But Steady!\n\nThe development of my game has been moving at a slower pace than I\u2019d hoped, but there\u2019s still progress! So far, I\u2019ve got the **game board set up** and you can now **traverse neighboring cells** (in orange and green, the path from the currently selected cell (in white)).  This is a small but essential step in bringing the game\u2019s core mechanics to life.\n\n## What's Next?\n\nI still haven\u2019t implemented the **Tiny Creatures (TC)** that will populate the board, but the basic idea is coming together. The creatures will explore the board, aiming to reach different cells with various values. Each time you leave a cell, it will become barren, and the level ends once you\u2019ve cleared the entire board. There will also be an AI-controlled TC that either competes with you or tries to prevent you from completing the level.\n\nI\u2019m juggling a few concepts for what the TCs could represent in the game. Here are the current ideas I'm playing with:\n\n### Current Next Ideas:\n\n1. **Ants competing for food**  \n   Your TC could be ants searching for food, with rival ants competing for the same resources. The goal would be to collect food faster than your competitors and make sure your ants stay nourished.\n\n2. **Viruses infecting human cells**  \n   Another idea is to have the cells represent human cells, with your TC being viruses that need to infect them. You\u2019d have to race against the body\u2019s immune system (like antibodies) trying to block you from infecting the cells.\n\n3. **Antibodies curing cancer cells**  \n   In this concept, the TC could be antibodies, and the objective is to \"cure\" cancerous cells before they spread. This might be an interesting angle, especially with a theme related to **Pink October** to raise awareness about breast cancer.\n\n### Scoring and Progression\n\nI'm also thinking about how the player can use their points. Depending on how I finalize the gameplay, points could work in several ways:\n- **Use points immediately**: You can improve your Tiny Creatures on the spot, making them faster, stronger, or creating new creatures to help explore the board.\n- **Points for level completion**: Points could be necessary to clear levels, meaning you'd have to balance between spending and saving.\n- **Upgrades between levels**: You could accumulate points to upgrade your TCs between levels, which would require more strategy as the game progresses.\n\n### What's Next on the To-Do List?\n\n- **Implementing the Tiny Creatures** \u2013 I need to bring the TCs to life and give them the ability to interact with the cells on the board.\n- **Deciding on a core theme** \u2013 Whether the game will be about ants, viruses, or antibodies, I\u2019ll finalize the theme soon to better shape the mechanics and tone.\n- **Balancing points and upgrades** \u2013 I want to make sure the point system is balanced and fun, so I\u2019ll be experimenting with how players can upgrade their creatures.\n\nThat\u2019s all for this update! There\u2019s still a long way to go, but I\u2019m excited to keep refining these ideas and bring the game to life. Stay tuned for more updates as the Tiny Creatures start to take shape!\n\n---\nThanks for reading! Feel free to share your thoughts, suggestions, or feedback in the comments below. \ud83d\udc1c\ud83e\udda0\ud83e\uddec\n","comments":0,"created":"2024-10-05T15:56:27Z","files":[],"files-timestamp":0,"id":402206,"love":5,"love-timestamp":"2024-10-05T20:39:52Z","meta":[],"modified":"2024-10-05T20:39:52Z","name":"Progress","node-timestamp":"2024-10-05T16:33:52Z","parent":396535,"parents":[1,5,9,395186,396535],"path":"\/events\/ludum-dare\/56\/fifty-six-frogs\/progress","published":"2024-10-05T16:33:52Z","scope":"public","slug":"progress","subsubtype":"","subtype":"","type":"post","version":1249304},"node_metadata":{"n_key":"402206","n_urlkey":"445362","n_parent":"396535","n_path":"\/events\/ludum-dare\/56\/fifty-six-frogs\/progress","n_slug":"progress","n_type":"post","n_subtype":"","n_subsubtype":"","n_author":"15212","n_created":"1728143787","n_modified":"1728160792","n_version":"1249304","n_status":"WAYBACK"},"source_url":"https:\/\/ldjam.com\/events\/ludum-dare\/56\/fifty-six-frogs\/progress","text":"![Screen Shot 2024-10-05 at 18.00.10.png](\/\/\/raw\/c6b\/3\/z\/655f4.png)\n# Devlog: Slow Progress, But Steady!\n\nThe development of my game has been moving at a slower pace than I\u2019d hoped, but there\u2019s still progress! So far, I\u2019ve got the **game board set up** and you can now **traverse neighboring cells** (in orange and green, the path from the currently selected cell (in white)).  This is a small but essential step in bringing the game\u2019s core mechanics to life.\n\n## What's Next?\n\nI still haven\u2019t implemented the **Tiny Creatures (TC)** that will populate the board, but the basic idea is coming together. The creatures will explore the board, aiming to reach different cells with various values. Each time you leave a cell, it will become barren, and the level ends once you\u2019ve cleared the entire board. There will also be an AI-controlled TC that either competes with you or tries to prevent you from completing the level.\n\nI\u2019m juggling a few concepts for what the TCs could represent in the game. Here are the current ideas I'm playing with:\n\n### Current Next Ideas:\n\n1. **Ants competing for food**  \n   Your TC could be ants searching for food, with rival ants competing for the same resources. The goal would be to collect food faster than your competitors and make sure your ants stay nourished.\n\n2. **Viruses infecting human cells**  \n   Another idea is to have the cells represent human cells, with your TC being viruses that need to infect them. You\u2019d have to race against the body\u2019s immune system (like antibodies) trying to block you from infecting the cells.\n\n3. **Antibodies curing cancer cells**  \n   In this concept, the TC could be antibodies, and the objective is to \"cure\" cancerous cells before they spread. This might be an interesting angle, especially with a theme related to **Pink October** to raise awareness about breast cancer.\n\n### Scoring and Progression\n\nI'm also thinking about how the player can use their points. Depending on how I finalize the gameplay, points could work in several ways:\n- **Use points immediately**: You can improve your Tiny Creatures on the spot, making them faster, stronger, or creating new creatures to help explore the board.\n- **Points for level completion**: Points could be necessary to clear levels, meaning you'd have to balance between spending and saving.\n- **Upgrades between levels**: You could accumulate points to upgrade your TCs between levels, which would require more strategy as the game progresses.\n\n### What's Next on the To-Do List?\n\n- **Implementing the Tiny Creatures** \u2013 I need to bring the TCs to life and give them the ability to interact with the cells on the board.\n- **Deciding on a core theme** \u2013 Whether the game will be about ants, viruses, or antibodies, I\u2019ll finalize the theme soon to better shape the mechanics and tone.\n- **Balancing points and upgrades** \u2013 I want to make sure the point system is balanced and fun, so I\u2019ll be experimenting with how players can upgrade their creatures.\n\nThat\u2019s all for this update! There\u2019s still a long way to go, but I\u2019m excited to keep refining these ideas and bring the game to life. Stay tuned for more updates as the Tiny Creatures start to take shape!\n\n---\nThanks for reading! Feel free to share your thoughts, suggestions, or feedback in the comments below. \ud83d\udc1c\ud83e\udda0\ud83e\uddec\n","title":"Progress","wayback_source":[]}