Hi again all. Hope all is well in your respective parts of the world - as we find ourselves in another lockdown here we are doing our best to stay safe.

There is a limit to how much I can share today, as this sprint is moving towards a Playable Prototype! Once ready, it will be published alongside several other documents and be ready to playtest. A contact sheet has been added to our page description - so put your details in that or follow this itch page to be told when it goes live!

That aside, it's time for another devlog. Enjoy~

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Sprint 4.1 - Devlog - November 2nd to November 6th

Progress:

As I said, the main focus for this sprint has been a playable prototype that we can share for playtesting purposes.

To this end, Jake has been working hard laying the groundwork for next week. He has been putting together the systems required for a customer to come into the store and request a drink, presenting their order in a clearly visual interface. We are using Fungus to convey this text, a unity plugin that supports the integration of narrative and dialogue.

As a team we have also undergone some changes, with our introduction to our new supervisor bringing light to several useful improvement we can make to our agile process. We still have a long way to go improving our documentation and agile practice, but every step will help elevate our process.

Jemma has had a hectic week for several reasons, but has still been taking a little time to model more café scenes like the one above. She has also been putting together a randomiser for our customers, so that everyone who walks through the door is a little different.

Sapphire has taken a step back from customers for the week and begun to focus on the player experience itself. She has been putting together the UI pieces the player will see for incoming and active orders, to help them keep track. She also began laying the groundwork for the diegetic menu provided to the player. With this, the player can learn all the exciting recipes found in Slime Café and produce some tasty drinks. While still plenty of work to go, the menu will be a great way to learn and check important game information.

I have also been working on the foundations of something, playtesting data forms!

Playtesting is a vital way to get useful data on our game and improve it - but that information is useless if not properly organised and processed. To this end, I've been putting together contact documents, playtesting feedback forms and associated data spreadsheets to help control the incoming data we have. While a busy week for portfolio work as well, having appropriate feedback questions that give us useful and actionable information is crucial to progress. There is plenty still to do next week ahead of playtesting of course!

Warren has been focusing on the audio space once again - implementing simple sound effects to help create an active café ambience, making the game feel more alive.

As a team we have also been discussing several key gameplay mechanics to bring our project into a reasonable scope and head off issues before they become a problem. I can't share much more than that, but look forward to a playable build coming soon!

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Problems:

With the UK starting its second lockdown, it has definitely been a difficult week for progress. Everyone had to ensure they were ready for the new rules and regulations that came with it, and mental health has suffered as a consequence.

We have done our best to keep everyone's health in mind. This is a difficult time for all of us and anyone in the team should look after themselves first and foremost! 

To this end, some members have been unable to contribute much while they tackle their own health and personal issues. Some members relocating and going home before the lockdown also caused some disruption.

At Slime Crime we take the physical and mental health of one another seriously, so while its been a blocker in our progress - there is no game with no team to make it!

Outside of the Pandemic and portfolio assignments to work on - we have not hit many team wide blockers. Progress continues, slowly but steadily!

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That brings an end to a  slightly shorter then usual devlog. Its been a difficult week for everyone, but with every week our game gets closer to being what we envisioned. Keep a close eye out for an announcement around when playtesting will begin! Every person we can get playing and sharing their opinion will help our game grow.

Remember to follow us on itch, twitter or send us an email if you want to get in touch.

In the meantime, stay safe out there and enjoy your week.

Till next time~

• Dan Baker: Producer, Supporting Writer and Scrum Master for Slime Crime