Camel - A Desert Survival Adventure

[Suika]

An update for those who are interested:
This project has been "completed" for quite some time, but I chose not to release it due to balance issues that I didn't quite have the time to work out...
I began Camel as a 2-week jam project, and although I finished in just over that time, the product ended up being at a quality that I wasn't comfortable releasing.

Specifically, the story contains a lot of branching without a very good indication of how your choices will impact your survival. Even when reasonably good choices were made, you ended up at a bad end (honestly that was the intention to some extent) without really knowing why.

Recently, while I was cleaning out my hard drive this project started crossing my mind again, and I've been working on a way to fix the balance issues. I think I have a good direction, but it involves some added complexity (read: minor gameplay mechanics) which I intend to add in the coming months. This is very much a side project though, so I won't make any promises.

Also: Thank you to everyone who's commented along the way! I'm sorry that this game still hasn't been released, but I really do appreciate the interaction.

[HiddenCreature]

I'll keep my eyes open for the update, then.

[Suika]

Below is a quick textbox mockup. The background is a placeholder by Nepenthes.


I'm liking the look of the buttons, but I'm afraid they'll be hard to read...

I'm also playing around with vertical alignment of the text:

1. Are the buttons too difficult to read? Does it distract from the presentation?
2. Is the textbox too plain? Are there obvious places that look off?

[HiddenCreature]

The text box looks fine to me. But the buttons are hard to read because there's no negative space.

[Hazel-Bun]

The story seems intriguing and the NVL screen is beautiful! I agree that the quick menus need to have some sort of cast put onto them.

[Suika]

Thank you both for the replies! I'll try to adjust the buttons tonight and post an update.

[Suika]

I played around with the buttons quite a bit. I'm not completely satisfied yet, but I settled on a light shadow. It makes the buttons pop quite a bit imo, as can be seen below.


Updated nvl screen:

[fleet]

The buttons are still hard to read.

[Suika]

Still having trouble with the buttons


On the bright side, I've some some script editing, and should be done with writing soon ^^

[Hazel-Bun]

I think it's mostly because letters like "a" or "o", which are usually hollow in the middle, are filled in making it all muddy. Fixing that along with the light shadow effect would do wonders.

[Harliqueen]

I think it's mostly because letters like "a" or "o", which are usually hollow in the middle, are filled in making it all muddy. Fixing that along with the light shadow effect would do wonders.

I agree with that, having those hollows would help make it easier on the eye. Though I do like the font you've used!

This is sounding like a great game though. Will there be any sprites?

I think the visual novel format will really suit this kind of setting and story, so I'm looking forward to when it's released

[Suika]

I think it's mostly because letters like "a" or "o", which are usually hollow in the middle, are filled in making it all muddy. Fixing that along with the light shadow effect would do wonders.

Thanks for the feedback! I'll be posting another nvl-screen update at the end of this post, in which I've tried to address the font issue (again )

This is sounding like a great game though. Will there be any sprites?

Originally I had a route that included several characters, but I've since cut that out to reduce asset count (and I think the game dynamics flow better with the new script). With that said, it's just you and the desert!

If you don't mind, what are you most looking forward to? / what are your expectations?


edit: I almost forgot the GUI update...

[Hazel-Bun]

Much better!

[AntiquedFae]

Just dropping by to say this looks great. I'm always intrigued by survival games (even though I'm abysmal at them) and I'm certain the VN format will be an excellent way of telling a survival story!
And I concur that the hollowed out lettering looks perfect. Much easier to read!

[XianXian]

Ooooh. Pretty UI. Looking forward to this.