The Lone World: 1.1.0 - The Vegetation Update

One and a half year later after releasing The Lone World as a result of my two week game challenge. I decided to fix some of my gripes with the game without changing things mechanically or its narrative. 

Here's a summary of the changes:

• All hazards can now be visually identified before being triggered.
• Additional instructions have been added to the game.
• A pause screen (accessed by pressing 'esc') has been added
• Several areas have been given a slight visual bump (mostly a focus on vegetation)
• Several bugs where the player's spawn direction was incorrect or scenes weren't linked correctly
• Full game pad support (tested with an Xbox One Controller)
• Upgrade Unity Engine to 2019.4 (LTS) from 2019.1. 
• More particles!

Some sneak peaks!

So, what next?

As I mentioned above. I avoided making any narrative or mechanical updates and whilst I would love to rework parts. This game's only purpose was to see what I could do in 2 weeks without succumbing to scope creep. However, v1.1 (not part of the original challenge) came about as I really wasn't happy with the final product.

Despite being in a better place following this update. I have still major issues with the game mechanics and narrative (the game's ending was rushed as I burned out). Instead, I'm pondering the idea to start from scratch. Assets can be reused of course, but otherwise I'll be taking a different approach. I want to set up a solid foundation for the story and really put my soul into crafting a game in the Lone World universe without the need to cut corners.

Not many people will be aware that The Lone World is a jam sequel to Lone World (Ludum Dare #23 entry). In fact, even those who are aware may overlook the connection altogether. Just another thing I'd like to tackle in a new version.

These are just some of my thoughts on what can happen next and where I'd like to go with this universe. Not to say a new game is planned or even in progress, but a potential future for me to think on.