Welcome readers, to this new vlog!! 

Finally, the last week of our production sprint is here! From now on, we cannot add any new features to the game anymore, however we can improve the art and mechanics that we already have. We have tried to implement all the features that we wanted for our game, which went pretty well.  We have some exciting updates to share with you today, starting with the level layout of our game.

Level

We will start our devlog with talking about the level layout. A few things have changed! First of all, there are more smaller objects in the house. Gone are the days of emptiness! This way, the house looks more filled up, and these little props have a function now as well, but we'll unravel that mystery in the mechanics section later.

After receiving valuable feedback, we realized that our sacred shrine was not exactly screaming for attention.We have added a spotlight on top so it is more clear. The ethereal glow shall guide our brave exorcists straight to the place where they shall complete their complex cleansing rituals on these cursed items.

Last week, our haunted house seemed to hover in the void, which gave an eerie oddity to the whole experience. Not anymore! We have conjured an outside world into existence. Behold the grass, the creepy fences, and the mysterious bushes around the house. And oh, if you dare to gaze closely, you might just catch a glimpse of something intimately related to our two  little ghosts. However, beware! Next week, we plan to extend the grassplane to cover the entire screen, to give you the real sense of a house with a large garden.

But wait, this is not all! Our house's windows were mere paintings on the wall, lacking the presence of true moonlit charm. Fear not, dear readers, for we have added some moon light rays to the game! It is a small feature, but adds a feeling of the house being a real house in a real world.

Other things regarding the level that were done were mostly smaller fixes, like fixing some of the prefabs that were not loaded in correctly, and scaling up the small props, since they were not very visible. We also changed the colour of the outline of the object so it is more visible. Furthermore, the colour change when a player can interact with it!

HUD/UI

Let's talk about the HUD and UI of our game! It is implemented in the game itself now, giving more player feedback, which was needed. We have the 2 ghosts on the top left, and the two exorcists on the top right, with each their abilities, which have a cooldown which is shown with a red overlay.

on the bottom we have the 5 cursed objects. We changed the gameplay this week, which we will also talk about in the mechanics section, however we can already say here that the HUD did get an upgrade because of this change too. Instead of checking off the items that are cleansed, the 5 items at the bottom will either be red, meaning it is a cursed item, or blue, meaning it is a cleansed item. 

Something that is not noticable in the game, yet has been done, is scaling down these icons. They were too big for the resolution of our game, and therefore not optimized. So we have asked the UI artist to change this, which she did perfectly! 

Mechanics

Now that the art part is done, we can talk about all the new mechanics, or improved mechanics that this game has to offer! 

Curse these items!

Last week, our ghostly players were limited in their mischievous endeavors, making sure the exorcists do not cleanse the house. But fear not, for a spectral surprise awaits! Behold, the power of recursion! Once the exorcists cleanse an object, it vanishes and reappears randomly for the ghosts to haunt again! With a mere touch and a ghostly hold of 'x,' the item is cursed once more, adding a wicked twist to this game!

Throw to stun

Remember how we talked about the added  little props in the house?  Well, prepare to unleash chaos and mischief upon your adversaries, for these props now serve a mischievous purpose! If you carry a small prop and throw it at someone who is holding another prop, or a ghost who is busy cursing an object, you can make them drop their item! Why, you may ask, would one indulge in such playful trickery? Well, allow us to shed light on this diabolically amusing mechanic. Imagine a rival ghost, painstakingly bestowing a curse upon an object that threatens your team's chances of victory. With a well-aimed throw, you can rudely interrupt their spectral endeavors, forcing them to drop the item and start again. 

Oh, the satisfaction of interrupting their progress! But let us not forget the pure,  the pure joy of simply annoying the other team with a well-timed throw. After all, what's a game  without a dash of good-natured irritation? 

The power of the cross

Previously, the exorcists only had their salt with them on their mission to cleanse this haunted house, but now, they've brought their sacred crucifixes! The mechanic works the same as  the possession of an exorcist. When an exorcists feels threatened by the presence of the ghosts, they can take out their holy cross, hold it in the air, and say  "begone you foul ghost! ". This will initate a button mash battle, just like "possess exorcist" mechanic. It will stun the person who lost the battle. 

Those were all the major changes of the level and the mechanics. From next week on, nothing new will be added and we will mainly improve everything we have, like the main screen, player selection level and some tweaks on the textures of our models, and changing some time based things. 

See you next week dear readers!