Unity Blackwood[Development Thread][Released]

[DuckHeal]

Hi!

I'm developing a top-down 2D action-RPG in the horror/urban fantasy genre. Think of Diablo for combat, but also with guns and VN-style cutscenes.
As of now, I have lots of art done and the combat system being partially ready. I think, I'll have the first gameplay video in a few weeks and the first release in 1-2 months. I don't plan any sex scenes in the first release, wonder if it's ok?
I'm not entirely sure what else to say without spoilers and being redundant with my Patreon, so I'm going to edit and update this thread along the way.







You can follow the development on the Patreon for weekly sketches and for dev news, possibly polls. All early backers will be grandfathered to a higher tier when it becomes available.

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[Calm_Spirit]

As a horror fan it's nice to see some horror in these kind of games

 

[DuckHeal]

As a horror fan it's nice to see some horror in these kind of games

Indeed, horror games are underrepresented here. And modern setting games are underrepresented in general. Which makes me realize that I failed to mention the game being set in the 90s

 

[beenzgoof]

That's genius! if it's in the 90's the male protagonist can't call the police when that secksy vamp is harassing him and he has nowhere to go. Too bad i think he'd really want to call the police and no iphone to help him. Sigh

 

[DuckHeal]

That's genius! if it's in the 90's the male protagonist can't call the police when that secksy vamp is harassing him and he has nowhere to go. Too bad i think he'd really want to call the police and no iphone to help him. Sigh

Yeah, too bad for him police wasn't invented until 2010's

 

[DuckHeal]

Eleanor Aindsworth, head librarian at Abbots Hollow, knows the spines of her books better than the lines on her own hand. And she knows her patrons just as well, able to recommend the perfect read with an almost unsettling accuracy. Reserved, yes, but with a dry wit that could crack a smile on the most stoic face. The library is her sanctuary, a world away from the everyday. Ethan Blackwood, with his strange requests and shadowed eyes, is a disruption to that peace. An intriguing disruption. One she looks forward to, despite herself, and despite the way he makes her want to tidy the shelves just to have something to do with her hands.

 

[Sentinel Sparrow]

Think of Diablo for combat, but also with guns and VN-style cutscenes

you piqued my interest

 

[DuckHeal]

The development is going well, the combat part of the game is almost ready, as well as basic core features: inventory, object interaction, quest system. So far, the greatest time sink (save, of course, for bugs that keep popping up) are animations. Even simple 2-3 frame animations are a huge hassle to draw and implement.

 

[Sentinel Sparrow]

Dude look at you go! i like the vibe of this. Maybe if you plan on having it be slower combat less like reverse bullet hell and more like resident evil then you could make it a bit more intimate by having the camera more zoomed in? Then zoomed out when things get more hectic for events like a big wave of zombies where navigation is more critical.

 

[DuckHeal]

Dude look at you go! i like the vibe of this. Maybe if you plan on having it be slower combat less like reverse bullet hell and more like resident evil then you could make it a bit more intimate by having the camera more zoomed in? Then zoomed out when things get more hectic for events like a big wave of zombies where navigation is more critical.

Thank you! Resident Evil, especially early series, is definitely an inspiration for object interaction system, where you can interact with pretty much anything to get information, or just for atmosphere building. Camera, maybe I'll make a zoom in and zoom out option in the settings. Unity has innate zooming abilities, so this should be pretty easy to implement.

 

[Sentinel Sparrow]

there's also this cool camera follow forward technique.

Spoiler: camera moves to forward offset position

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[DuckHeal]

there's also this cool camera follow forward technique.

Spoiler: camera moves to forward offset position

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Oh yes, I'm using Cinemachine for this camera trick. Just a little bit, as I feel that overdoing it can give one nausea

 

[DuckHeal]

The combat part is ready and he's a video of it.

Key features: each enemy has different body parts, which can be targeted for various effects: destroy a leg (or two) to slow down your enemy, destroy his arms for damage debuff, hit his body for stronger knockback etc. NPC have varies abilities. In case of zombies shown in the video, they have a chance to get up after being killed.
In addition to combat, the game has puzzle elements and inventory manipulation, currently basic, but this ought to be expanded.
Things not in the video, but might implemented by the time of the first release: melee weapons, magic, rpg-style stats (very likely)
While combat is probably not why many people play adult games, I think it will be nice to have a 18+ game with actual gameplay

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[ShadowMaster69.]

Love those hand-drawn comic-book style illustrations!

 

[DuckHeal]

So... The development is going great, in under a week I have made an entire new zone 15 times bigger than the one shown in the video. It's amazing how much faster things get going once you have established art pipelines and created basic mechanics.

Also, I have changed my mind about no sex in v1. There will be at least one scene, integrated into the tutorial.

Minor spoiler, sorry

 

[Kurjen]

Keep up the great work! Looks like you've got a solid foundation going and are picking up speed. Excited to see where you're able to take it!

 

[DuckHeal]

Keep up the great work! Looks like you've got a solid foundation going and are picking up speed. Excited to see where you're able to take it!

Thank you! ❤

 

[DuckHeal]

Turns out, you can't use Unity assets in adult gamedev, so I had to make my own dialogue system and dialogue tree visualization to make creating branching dialogues less of a pain. Was a tough challenge, but totally worth it!

Spoiler: Dialogue Tree WiP

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[DuckHeal]

"I'm not afraid, just slightly inconvenienced. This zombie stuff is really messing with my plans to do absolutely nothing today."

No screaming, no hysterics, no looking for a savior, Chloe is a quintessential Gen-X-er. Caught in a nightmare, she seems more annoyed by it than terrified of. With her practical denim jacket and that 'seen-it-all' look in her eyes, she’s the embodiment of 90s cool indifference, even when faced with the reanimated horrors crawling out of Abbot's Hollow graveyard.

 

[DuckHeal]

Getting closer to the release! All zones featured in 0.1 are ready, all art is done, save for a few NPC sprites. Left to do: quests, dialogue, magic (partially done), melee weapons (partially done), RPG stats