So it has once again been way too long since I updated our dev blog. It's funny, I'm looking at that progress report from four months ago and thinking, "a lot of those numbers now read 100%." Progress is happening, and it's going quicker than slower to boot! All of the levels are done save some little details here and there, we have battle maps for every level but the one I'm about to talk about, we're maybe two songs away from having a full soundtrack, and all the dialogue is done save for one final round of editing.
We don't have a specific release date yet, but you know, soon.
However, we're here to talk about the Scarfoam Coast, or the water level in Land of Glass. This was the level I think both my brother and myself were dreading to make, partly because we had no idea what it should look like, and partly because the water engine can be finicky to work with. It does a lot with a little, but you have to know how to make it work to get the best out of it. Thankfully, I know the guy who made it.
Also, I made him do all the water.
I spent a good amount of time looking at other water levels from games and anime because I wasn't sure where to start. The majority of this game is pretty grounded as far as magical landscapes go. Yeah a city wedged between a few active volcanoes is a stretch, but the layout itself doesn't have any floating bridges or the like.
The rest of the levels follow suit. A city in the trees? Yeah! But it has to make some kind of sense.
The Scarfoam Coast sort of breaks that rule a bit. The big city I landed on for inspiration came ended up being Altissa from Final Fantasy, and that place doesn't make any sense! It's waterfalls into waterfalls into waterfalls. The city is somehow set between all the big layers of water.
I liked the idea though--a lot--so here we are. I also looked at this big water city from One Piece and maybe took some building inspiration there too.
Now, here's a gallery of pictures.
[Click to scroll]
There's a lot of lore to The Land of Glass that goes into making these levels; however, most of it doesn't end up in the game. The characters take the story where they will, and sometimes that means not noticing important things or not asking the right questions.
I went into the societal structure of the Scarfoam Coast with the idea that every man is a king aboard his ship, a line I probably picked up from A Song of Ice and Fire. I like it though! What if everyone who owned a boat had a big say in the government? That would be interesting given that this is a city on the water.
That tidbit isn't in the game though. Maybe it'll get there between now and release, but I doubt it.
Release is creeping up on us.
~ Chad