Prototype Underway

Using the systems I’ve built previously – collision, walls, stairs, NPCs, levels, dialogue, battle, etc, I’ve started work on a short, simple prototype of Goblin Hero. I intend for this prototype to be playable by anyone who wants to download it. I wouldn’t call this a demo exactly, although it’s a fine line. Generally, demos are longer and more elaborate than prototypes, as I understand it. I still plan to release a longer, fancier demo in the future. This is more of a small scale, proof of concept release.

The first level of the Goblin Hero prototype – the first floor of the Collector Hermit’s house.

The scope of the Goblin Hero Prototype is as follows. The player starts outside a small, snowy house at night. They go inside, and speak to the house’s owner, a goblin Collector Hermit, who confirms that the quest item the player seeks is in their basement, and asks them to retrieve it. As the player walks away, the Collector says, “Sorry about the mess.”

Speaking to the Collector Hermit.

The player descends to the basement and finds it vast and maze-like to an extent that is absurd for the size of the house above it. This is actually a mini-dungeon, and there are monsters down here to fight. The Collector has done quite a bit of collecting, with crates and barrels forming a labyrinth that goes on for several screens.

Exploring the basement.

Finally, the player finds the chest, and retrieves the quest item, the Ancient Key. At this point there’s a party chat moment about the situation. The player then returns to the house and speaks to the Collector again. The prototype ends with a screen that says “Coming Soon.”

The prototype’s end screen.

I spent the last week focusing largely on building the assets and levels for this prototype. The levels’ objects, and their locations and properties, are hard-coded in python. As you can see, the player can enter it and walk around. I have some bugs to squish and some features yet to add, but it’s coming. It will be a huge milestone to release something playable, and polished, after six months of development. I’m looking forward to it.