#light spirit

Early evening drawings of other devs’ characters. Characters by @vampiredevand@thirdkeyofsun

A while ago, WRIT gave me permission to have Lore be a guest character in Project Light Spirit. You will see her if I ever return to working on the game again.

(It seems fitting for a moth to be attracted to a light spirit…)

2020 is finally behind us.
Will 2021 be better? I hope so…

Let’s get this out of the way real quick:

Project Light Spirit is on hold until further notice
Will still do art posts when they are made

• Composing music for games - Insect Adventure,ODDITY,NDA
• On an Animation contract - NDA
  
• Internal Tester -NDA
  
• Still job searching…
• Learning Blender, Unity 3D, and C#
• Will begin on a different more linear game project when time available

I really want Project Light Spirit to be the best it can be and I think it would be a disservice to work on it while I have so many other things being worked on elsewhere. Recently though, one of my friends threw some fanart at me out of the blue during the holiday and it gave me the energy to not fully give up on it. The game willget made, but only when I am confident I can deliver something good.

When I return to it, I might clean up the devblog. I expect my formatting to change somewhat. That being said, I still see myself making art for Project Light Spirit so if I ever do, it will be posted here as usual. If I make the linear game, it won’t have a devblog until I am far enough in development to confidently show it off. I will share it here should that happen.

As of this post, I currently have over 2K followers, which is not at all what I expected to happen for this reclusive account all things considered. I am forever grateful for those that have continued to stick around and like what I make.

Thank you for the support. I wish you all the blessings.
Happy New Year!

Hiya, this is just a life alert post.

I’m alive, don’t have the bad virus, being safe.
Haven’t dev at all. Job search is abysmal right now.
Life.

Here’s to 2021…

Happy New Year everyone! It’s time for the massive and lengthy wrap up post!

Firstly, I want to thank everyone who has supported my work and helped me keep moving forward despite only working on the game in the small spare time I have. Major shout outs to the devs who helped me make the second major build possible. Their efforts must be credited. Special shout out to @vampiredev​ for granting me permission and blessings to use their character in the game, as well as for all their art and moral support!

TL;DR:

• Build adds so much stuff - map, saving, a new boss, enemies, etc. Controller support and equipment screen still WIP but are implemented.
• Enemies and some abilities need a complete overhaul. Very much needed despite how much this will delay progress.
• Elzie the Vampire Girl joins the cast! Art being made by VampireDev!
• Progress is slow due to life happenings and jobs. Will take a second game project previously worked on to help with the mundane and artist block.
• You can find Layna appearing in both Vampire’s Bit andBug Fables!
• There’s a secret everyone missed out on… it’s somewhere in the mansion.

The Halloween Builds - What’s New?

When I released the build on Halloween, there was a major focus on demonstrating an understanding of non-linear map design. I wanted the player to go in all kinds of directions and be able to decide where they want to go. This design is difficult because you have to take into account as many possible directions and make it where the player’s time is respected by giving them something for their progression before they have to backtrack. Usually this could be as simple as a key or an item being handed over.

I also added new weapons, items, hazards, as well as enemies. More than likely this area will not change too much design wise when progressing further in development. This was a controlled experiment, focusing on a dungeon and not just the world map. Many also noted that the player had all the abilities, making some paths seem trivial. I agree that having abilities “just there” is bad, so you will see them as locked powerups that you will have to find or upgrade.

Along with new music, dialogue, and characters, there was plenty added to the game and still needs to be worked on. Finally, saving is set and the equipment screen’s overhaul was very much needed and is a work in progress. Controller support is also being implemented. What more needs to be added?

Old Stuff - Needs Reworking

The downside is that despite my increase knowledge and skill with Fusion, all the older stuff I have made has been getting in the way and breaking apart. Many are aware of the notorious projectile weapon constantly freezing up, but not only do I have to redesign that, the enemies have to be redesigned as well. Towards the midway point of making this build in my spare time, I created a system for making enemies easily, behaving under a unified structure for physics, fast loops, and behavior. This has made some of the early enemies seem extremely outdated and glitchy. I found out a week ago that a major crash is involved with the Corrupted Lightling enemy, one of the first enemies I made. It is absolutely unacceptable and I apologize for any crashes that happened in the rooms they occupy.

So, in short, I need to rework the enemies entirely.

This is going to take a long time, but it is necessary for the kind of quality that I want in my game.

Character Introduction - A New Friend or Foe?

This build happily introduces a new character that some may find familiar… @vampiredev​‘s vampire protagonist, Elzie, takes a supporting role in the game! She serves as the keeper of information in the Surface World, living as one of the dominant species that survives even the bleakness of all that has happened. She especially finds an interest in Layna for both selfless and selfish reasons, some more obvious than others. Will the two work together and form a strong bond? Hard to say… Layna has to keep her guard up regardless.

VampireDev provided not only permission to use the character, but also the end game artwork for when you win and lose. Their pixel art is incredible and more than likely will contribute to even more parts in the complete game.

Game’s Future - What’s Happening?

As stated before way back, the game is being made in my spare time. This amount of time over the past year or two has slowly diminished in size. It has also been a struggle too when artist blocks sneak in. To keep it transparent with you all, I have been primarily busy with my Masters degree and also music client work. I also have my part time jobs as well. Throw in addition some personal problems I wish to not discuss and then voila, life has been extremely hectic… I eventually want this game to be a thing, no doubt about it. My own inexperience and life’s troubles constantly get in the way, so I can never confidently provide release dates to anything. I have messed that up already by saying this build was going to be out in February lol. I also plan to take on just one side project as well that I was already working on before this. I can thankfully say though that I have improved greatly in my knowledge with this program and game design and everyone’s support means so much to me.

I have a feeling that once I get my Masters and then move out into a new location with a set job, I’ll be able to confidently get a new routine in. Thank you all for your continued patience and understanding.

Other Tidbits - Cameos!

Layna has appeared in other games this year. She has popped up in the recently released game Bug Fablesby@paperbugdev​! Here’s her concept art. I enjoyed designing this version of her to make her fit right in with everyone else.

She also appears in @vampiredev​’s game Vampire’s Bit as one of the walking individuals you have to bite in order to beat the level! If you’re able to catch her, she rewards the player with a power up.

Please try out both of their games if you are able to!

Closing - Something Everyone Missed

To close out this already lengthy post, I have noticed nobody was able to find a hidden item. I will now provide a hint to it… have you checked fully around this location? I hope you find it! 

As always, if you ever find any bugs or want to suggest something, please feel free to send me a message! May this new decade bring great things for all!

https://lightspiritdev.itch.io/project-light-spirit

I have uploaded a new version with some quick but urgent fixes that were needed.

• Fixed bugged locked gate. Should no longer reappear.
• Fixed softlock in one room when doing a down kick during transition.
• Levers will only turned on and will no longer be able to turn off.
• Boss HUD will no longer appear in other rooms after getting a Game Over
• Fixed cursed state during boss fight
• Boss no longer stops the player from rolling when cursed