Devlog 7: Making a Splash

This week was all about making the game world feel more alive and chaotic. We made a big visual pass on the main scene, introduced a new deadly threat, and kept pushing gameplay polish forward with new systems and features. As always, everything is still a work in progress, but the game is getting closer to the experience we want to deliver.

ART

Lighting and Post-Processing

This week we changed the lighting and post-processing in our main scene to better fit our desired look for the game. These are things we'll continue to tweak throughout development.

Orca

We also expanded the game's cast by adding a scary orca who's out for penguin blood.

Character Selection

We're finishing making a character selection menu where the players can swap between different penguin colors, so that they know who they're even playing as.

Ice walls

We also updated the ice wall models that will be spawning on the arena, allowing for even more chaos.

Crown

What is a winner without a crown? Show off your win by wearing a fancy crown!

VFX

Wanna know where the next item will spawn and what it is? We got you! We are now working on a landing indicator for the items.

We also worked on some vfx for the pufferfish explosion! Lets us know what you think about it.

To make the game more lively we also added some jump particles. Jump around and enjoy.

DEVELOPMENT

Pufferfish

We also fixed all issues with the pufferfish and added new features: it now explodes with a non-lethal blast that ragdolls players, can be picked up or caught by anyone, has a weaker throw, can be transferred to others via heavy attack, and no longer clips through platforms.

Orca's movement

One of the biggest gameplay additions this week was the orca enemy's movement system. We used NavMeshes, NavAgents, and NavObstacles to make this work. This combination allows us to dynamically update the navigation mesh when a platform piece falls, enabling the orca to reach the player no matter where they are in the water. The attack behavior is planned for implementation next week.

Animation & VFX

We also focused on improving the game's visual and gameplay feedback. A bunch of animations and VFX created by our artists were integrated into the game. Movement, attacks, and other interactions now feel much more dynamic and readable. I suggest you to go play our game and see for yourself!

Sounds

Added walking sound effects to bring more life to the penguins when they waddle around. 
Added a soft attack sound so you can hear the impact when penguins slap each other.

Player Selection

We spent quite a lot of time rebuilding the player selection screen over and over again.