Devlog #11. New characters (Work-in-Progress) and how they are made
More than two months have passed since Potion Craft was released in Early Access, and we would like to thank you all for playing it, for your feedback and for your support! We are currently working full blast on a large update. While making games is not a fast process, we still want to tell you about content to come. To do this, we have started a series of devlogs on features that we are currently developing and that will appear in the game soon.
To begin with, we are going to show you some new NPCs as well as unveil the process behind their creation. There are two global types of NPCs in the game: with a stable appearance and with a customizable one. Despite the differences, which we will expand on a bit later, working on both types begins with a sketch.
NPCs with stable appearance are returning visitors. For example, Mushroomer and Herbalist are among them, who are well known to you. They always look the same, that’s why creating them is comparatively easy: you need to divide them into layers correctly, define a head rotation pivot and draw 6 face emotions.
NPCs with the randomized appearance are divided into classes: citizens, warriors, rogues, peasants and so on, each of them having their own set of parts. For example, a Female Wealthy Citizen class has 3 dresses, 2 head wears, 3 hairstyles and a lot of necklaces. Each time such NPC comes into the shop, her appearance gets generated from accessible parts, which includes unique parts for this class as well as universal ones for all females.
In some cases, we make an appearance variable by using a lot of accessories. The Female Warrior class has only two armor variants and two helmets, but there are as many as 4 different weapon types and 3 shields, which may be combined in many ways.
When all parts are made, we then need to set color schemes for those of them that have variable colors. We also need to decide what layers of clothing and accessories should have the same colors. For example, headwear color is usually one of the main clothing colors.
And there’s still more to come! We also have to decide the place where the potion is stored after it is given to the visitor and the trajectory with which it flies there.
You now know how long the NPC journey is before appearing at the shop, so, please, don’t refuse them potions! Stay tuned for more devlogs on the upcoming update. Please don’t hesitate to follow our Steam Page and make sure to join our Discord so you don't miss other upcoming devlogs!
To begin with, we are going to show you some new NPCs as well as unveil the process behind their creation. There are two global types of NPCs in the game: with a stable appearance and with a customizable one. Despite the differences, which we will expand on a bit later, working on both types begins with a sketch.
NPCs with stable appearance are returning visitors. For example, Mushroomer and Herbalist are among them, who are well known to you. They always look the same, that’s why creating them is comparatively easy: you need to divide them into layers correctly, define a head rotation pivot and draw 6 face emotions.
NPCs with the randomized appearance are divided into classes: citizens, warriors, rogues, peasants and so on, each of them having their own set of parts. For example, a Female Wealthy Citizen class has 3 dresses, 2 head wears, 3 hairstyles and a lot of necklaces. Each time such NPC comes into the shop, her appearance gets generated from accessible parts, which includes unique parts for this class as well as universal ones for all females.
In some cases, we make an appearance variable by using a lot of accessories. The Female Warrior class has only two armor variants and two helmets, but there are as many as 4 different weapon types and 3 shields, which may be combined in many ways.
When all parts are made, we then need to set color schemes for those of them that have variable colors. We also need to decide what layers of clothing and accessories should have the same colors. For example, headwear color is usually one of the main clothing colors.
And there’s still more to come! We also have to decide the place where the potion is stored after it is given to the visitor and the trajectory with which it flies there.
You now know how long the NPC journey is before appearing at the shop, so, please, don’t refuse them potions! Stay tuned for more devlogs on the upcoming update. Please don’t hesitate to follow our Steam Page and make sure to join our Discord so you don't miss other upcoming devlogs!