What's Cooking at Tasty Stewdios? (Apr 2017)

Hey everyone, what’s up?

Development on our next title has gone great this past month! On the art side, we’ve finished the first pass on character portrait art for all five of the playable races in all ten of the available classes, and they are looking fantastic! Similarly, the first pass of enemy AI has been completed, so now we can get a good starting feel for how unit to unit combat plays out. On the design side, while writing the AI procedures we learned a lot about the balance state of the game and have made a lot of adjustments to various character abilities. We’ve also started working in some of the more important UI elements and basic sound effects, which has really made the project come alive. Architecturally, a lot of optimizations have been made to allow the game to run a lot smoother. All of these things combined have us ready to go to make May an equally productive month!

Additionally, this month we've got a preview of some of the music that will be in game. This comes coupled with the usual disclaimer that this is a work in progress and may not reflect the final iteration in the game. That said, it gives a good feel for the kind of attitude we're trying to communicate- lots of energy and action!

As always, we’d also like to give another peek at the world we’re building. You may be wondering why these Wildkids are uh… “viciously” attacking that poor GARDBUDDY™.  To explain why, we head even further north!

Flag of Wixas

Along the border of Arbora and Londo is the roughlands of Wixas (shown in magenta). The craggy ground, deep canyons and numerous plateaus make this an unforgiving region to travel through. Because of these natural barriers, the three countries we are featuring today have developed in unique ways, separated from the conflicts and quarrels of their southern neighbors. Though the people and climate vary greatly, they share a deeply rooted alliance, and nowhere is that more evident than the southeastern bay, where the three nations seamlessly blend into one megacity. The further away from the bay you go, however, the more each of these countries begin to express their unique flavors.

Rural Wixas looks like something straight out of a western- small towns, ranchers, complete with outlaws to disturb the peace. Much of the wilderness remains untamed, making it a unique destination for the most rugged of folk to put their survival skills to the test. 

Flag of Natedo

To the north is Natedo, represented by their signature color of purple. Known for its brilliant inventors and mechanical marvels, this region boasts some of the most technologically advanced cities in the world. This may be related to the fact that this country is the location of the ruins of Supernova Innovations- the robotics corporation responsible for both the GARDBUDDY™ and the last apocalypse. Many of the GARDBUDDIES that are still operational call the ruins their home, even though the factory has been almost entirely reclaimed by nature. Though the robots are inherently peaceful, not everyone sees them that way. Further north is a dense forest- the home of a large clan of Wildkids. Many years ago, they got it in their collective imagination that they were at war with the robots- a game that the ever-obedient GARDBUDDIES will happily play along with. When the skirmishes subside and the Wildkids tucker themselves out, the GARDBUDDIES happily resume landscaping duties, preparing for tomorrow’s games. Everyone is quite thankful that the robots keep the Wildkids occupied.

Flag of the Krimland

To the east is the kingdom of Krimland (shown in blue). This nation is run on a strict hierarchy- towns are ruled over by a nobles, who in turn answer to a monarch. From the outside, the region appears to be rife with civil war. The noble houses frequently do battle against each other without repercussions from the monarchy. However, the people of Krimland abide by a code of honorable combat- battles take place in designated battlefields, on strict schedules, and with no deliberate casualties, and spectated by hundreds of civilians from both sides. These battles are not purely in the interest of entertainment, though- they decide the outcomes of lawful disputes between citizens, to compete for social status, or over high-stakes wagers of aristocrats. To be a Krimland soldier is to be both warrior and performer.

That’s all for this month! Stay up to date with all the latest news on our twitter @TastyStewdios.