v0.0.1(Blog) - Sow It Begins...

Part 1: The Problem

For the past couple of days, our team has been sifting through design ideas and asset packs to find a style that fits. With the overall game vision still taking shape, narrowing down art and theme direction can feel like shooting in the dark, but it’s crucial for momentum and team morale. Meanwhile, we were also trying to get our Perforce system running so everyone could start contributing without overwriting each other’s work. That kind of setup is easy to put off, but we knew it would save us from bigger headaches later.

I also teamed up with Scott to tackle the more hands-on problem of camera placement and player movement. Without the right perspective, even basic gameplay feels off, so we needed to nail that early to lay the groundwork for future mechanics.

Part 2: The Solution

For the asset challenge, I narrowed down a few packs and styles that felt grounded in our “living world” concept, something we could build out without boxing ourselves in too early. We’re still leaving room to pivot, but now we’ve got some shared inspiration to rally around.

With Perforce, we got the check-out system working and folder structures aligned enough for everyone to sync up and start tinkering. Still a work in progress, but now we can actually start doing instead of just planning, which feels good. We also have enough that everyone can work on something at one time, now that we are over the initial rush.

And on the gameplay side, Scott and I focused on locking in the camera angle and basic follow mechanics for the player character. I started mapping out animation for the new characters and getting about 51 animations ready to go and getting them to work with the Ik rig. We wanted something that felt natural and responsive,  even in this early stage, and we landed on a setup that gives a clean view of movement while staying grounded in the world. It’s a small step, but it already makes things feel more alive, though it will be just shy of our build. 

We’ve planted the seeds, sorted the tools, and found our perspective, now we just have to keep watering it. (Its cheesy and I will not stop with the sod jokes.