This is classy gaming at its finest! It's kind of freeing to not care at all what the art looks like. It's also kind of difficult. Like the farmer portrait there... I could've whipped out a one-color stick figure in under 10 seconds much more efficiently, but I spent a minute or two drawing a really bad picture of a farmer instead, because I couldn't not do that. I don't think it will delay the game too badly. I kind of like the hand-drawn button shapes instead of proper squares (nevermind that I could've drawn them faster using a box tool).
Anyway, this is the first character class I'm working on, which you can clearly see is called the Farmer. His prime stat is Might (if you play Diablo 3, you know how prime stats work!), and his weapon is a Pitchfork of course. Each class has a unique weapon type, but otherwise uses all the same gear as everyone else. As far as I know so far though, there won't be any item sharing, so it won't matter whether they can equip the same items or not, since they will only see items of their own. That could change given time. It's all coming along pretty well!
There's nothing playable yet, just a title screen, this character creation screen, and a partial town screen. It's interesting how much I'm having to modify the design based on just how small the screen is combined with how big the buttons have to be for your big fat thumbs. I originally had 10 player stats, and I've cut that down to 5. I have a sneaky suspicion that these simplifications will actually end up making a much better game, even though I'm making them for a totally non-game reason. They definitely made me spend a long time thinking hard about what each stat is for and how important it is! I refused to drop Charisma. This is a game about shopping, so a stat that makes your prices better matters! I did rename it though, to Brains.
If you're curious, the current 5 stats in the game are:
- Might - Determines how much weight in equipment you can equip.
- Speed - How fast you move and attack.
- Defense - Reduces the amount of damage you take.
- Life - How many hit points you have!
- Brains - Reduces the prices you pay (and raises the money you get when you sell stuff).
It's all up in the air and subject to change. I'm sad to lose the Stomach stat from NPC Quest, that's an entire game element I will be removing, the need to eat. I normally hate games that make you deal with food limits, but I thought it was a nice touch in NPC Quest because of the unique nature of the gameplay. I could still include food, and just not have a stat that controls how much you eat. But I probably won't.
