All posts tagged in early development
Sep 4, 2019
Fields of Mistria is a 2D farming and life simulation RPG currently in early stages of development. The developers say they were inspired by titles such as Harvest Moon, Stardew Valley, and Rune Factory. Therefore, Fields of Mistria is definitely on our radar. The game will initially be for PC, but other ports are a possibility as the development of Fields of Mistria continues. See below for what we know so far!
About Fields of Mistria
You’ve arrived to this region ready to start a new life after learning of an unusual opportunity. The village of Mistria, tucked between forest and sea, has offered a generous plot of land to any capable adventurer willing to help rebuild and defend it after an earthquake causes widespread damage and unseals ancient monster-filled ruins nearby.
Key Features
- Create your character with dozens of customization options.
- Farm, Fish, Mine & Craft your way to revitalized town.
- Follow the storylines of 30+ townspeople.
- Defeat monsters and discover treasures as you explore ancient ruins and uncover the secrets of the town’s past.
- Find your ideal match and start a family with one of 10 possible marriage candidates.
Marriage Candidates
On the official website here, we get our first look at the concept art of two characters that we have the option to marry in-game; Celine and Balor. Celine loves nature, gardening, and studying plants, whilst Balor is a rogue-turned-merchant with a mysterious past! We here at myPotatoGames are excited to see what other characters the development team have in store.
Concept Illustrations
Looking at the beautiful artwork by artist Matt Cummings, makes us anxious to start our adventure and discover all of these intriguing locations! Anyone else getting Claude Monet vibes from these images? Because we’re really digging the impressionism paintings here. Although the gameplay itself will be designed with a pixel art-style, we still think we’re in good hands.
You can follow Fields of Mistria on their Twitter page here as they share their progress. If you want the latest news on Story of Seasons, check out our article here: Doraemon Story Of Seasons Release Date Confirmed. If you’re looking to play other farming simulation games, check out this article: Fantastic Farming Games for Console Gamers.
- Aug 31, 2019
It’s that time again; Robert Tatnell, the sole developer behind Hokko Life, has posted his Devlog for the month of July, 2019. Meaning, we have more information on how the progress of the game is going and what are some newly added features. For the last Devlog go here, to learn more about this adorable village life-sim go to our interview here. Besides changes to the UI, cleaner designs tools and menus, and online features, you’ll see below some exciting new details have been added that we find will make our experience of playing Hokko Life just that much better!
New Crops
Now that Robert has started to implement a farming system into the game, we get a look at some new crops that have been added; cabbages and radishes! Since a weather mechanic was added last update, rain can now water these crops. May we also add that those new headphone accessories on the characters are looking mighty fine.
Auto-Pickup Items
We agree that in any game where you have to pick up several items one by one, especially after tedious tasks like cutting down trees or mining for ores, it can be quite tiresome to stand still and press an action button every time. Therefore, when Robert mentions that he added an “auto-pickup” feature, it’s a bigger deal than it sounds. Now “players automatically collect anything they walk over, if they have backpack space.”
Villager Greetings
Finally, we specifically wanted to show just how adorable the new characters vs. characters and player vs. characters greetings are. When automatic messages pop up along with a little waving gesture, it just makes the game feel more alive and fun. Especially when those greetings will change depending on time of day and the weather. Furthermore, if you don’t like these characters, just give them the boot from their homes! We’re not saying we’d ever do that.
If you want t help support Robert and Hokko Life, you can go to his Patreon page here.
- Aug 28, 2019
Platypus Adventures is an action-adventure, story-driven single-player game currently in early development by solo developer David Richards. We here at myPotatoGames spoke with the creator himself during an interview about some of his future plans and things he is currently working on. David Richards was inspired by the Australian beauty that surrounds him and wanted his artwork to feature that subject matter to which he is deeply passionate. All characters in the game will be anthropomorphic animals based in Australia. The platypus is an extremely iconic animal in his hometown, and since they happen to be his favorite, wanted to raise awareness on these beautiful creatures.
We’d like to thank David Richards for answering our questions and providing us with beautiful screenshots. We’d also like to reiterate that this game is in early development therefore everything mentioned below is subject to change.
You mentioned the animals will be anthropomorphic. Do they speak?
David: The sound they make is a single localisation and not an entire spoken sentence. You’ll see the translation of sorts via speech bubbles above their heads. I’ve effectively recorded a bunch of vocal cues from voice actors to date.
Is there a story? Does this platypus have a long journey ahead?
David: The game has some sci-fi themes and some darker themes which I haven’t touched on yet. It’s a relatively short game that could last about 2.5 hours.
What kind of gameplay mechanics or actions players can perform?
David: There’s swinging, climbing, swimming, sliding and a whole lot more! There’s this whole action side that includes combat, that I haven’t really shown off yet. For the most part, the gameplay consists of environmental hazards which are all completely unique to each area. Exploration is key here as there will be no mini-map or anything like that. Meaning, you have to guide yourself around the world using real visual cues in-game.
Are there any secrets for the players to discover?
David: Yes there are huge secrets! Some are even very hard to find. So hard actually, that I don’t expect people to ever find them. Others are more obvious, and are supposed to be seen. For example: I’ve signed my name in the game, and I’ve got a little shout-out to the love of my life in there too, etched on a rock.
Are planning to release Platypus Adventures on PC?
David: PC for sure. I’m looking into some pretty big prospects, which could allow me to do a console release too however this would probably add at least another year of development time.
Follow the progress of Platypus Adventures on Twitter here and on the Discord channel here. For other interviews with game developers, check out our article here: Critter Cove: An In-Depth Interview on this Cute Adventure on the High-Seas. If you love Australian wildlife, check out these articles here: Dinkum – Explore an Island Inspired by the Wild Australian Outback and TY the Tasmanian Tiger Coming to Switch Thanks to Successful Kickstarter.
- Aug 3, 2019
In our last article here on this life simulation game about owning your own sushi restaurant and getting to know your customers, created by indie studio Catch & Release, we had mentioned that the crafting mechanics were getting an overhaul. Now when you make your sushi, the flavor, richness, and complexity will change when you switch ingredients. With the most recent Patreon post, Matthew Taylor goes into details with the revamped Customer I.D. card and the “Mood” section.
Customer I.D. Card
As stated, “All of these changes are in an effort to make furniture, food, and customer interactions (both with you the player and with other customers and the environment) as meaningful and interesting as possible.” See below for everything that will affect your customers’ moods and expectations when visiting your sushi restaurant. We’re also loving the wicked name of this wizard character if you catch our drift.
Comfort
Has the customer been standing for a long time waiting for a seat? You’ll see their comfort level fall steadily. Look for some comfy furniture when you’re shopping in town. Customers will be thankful!
Environment
Although the act of expressing yourself through customizing the restaurant’s interior is already fun, knowing that your customers appreciate the carefully crafted ambiance is a big plus.
Fun
In Rolling Hills, you serve a wide variety of customers. That includes children (and playful adults) who value having fun and being entertained. The most obvious examples here are music coming through a jukebox or a pinball machine in your waiting area, but even chatting with customers and serving extravagant dishes can make things more fun for your clientele.
Food
Saved the best for last! Managing a customer’s hunger is your #1 priority in Rolling Hills. Richer dishes will fill this bar even faster, so keep this in mind when crafting your next masterpiece!
Mood
This combines all of the previous stats, weighing food a little more heavily than the rest (it is a restaurant, after all) so that you can see at-a-glance how your customer is feeling.
Appetite and Budget
They are similar in that they determine how much a customer can consume. When a customer has a full belly or an empty wallet, it’s time for the check!
Expectations
These are kind of like the customer’s difficulty level. The reason we display each subcategory is because different customers expect different things. The Caveman character won’t be too concerned about the ambiance of the restaurant, but he’ll have high expectations when it comes to food. After all, he’s used to the freshest ingredients possible!
The developer has noted that there is an “Info” and “More” screen where the former is a summary screen with all the things you’ll want quick access to, and the latter is a secret for now which you’ll unlock as you level up the customer. We’re definitely looking forward to trying this game out on either Steam or through the PlayStation Store whenever it releases!
- Jul 31, 2019
Playful Fox Games Inc is an indie development studio based in Canada. Their main focus is about building a strong narrative experience that creates an emotional connection. In Animal Bar, you play as the bartender and serve all of the drinks to a wide range of adorable anthropomorphic animals each with their own unique personalities. Get to know your customers by interacting with them and solving their problems. Below are the biographies of four characters in development with a plan to add a total of twenty in the final product. Please note that this game is very early in development and is still a work-in-progress. Therefore, a lot of the things mentioned in this article are subject to change.
About Animal Bar
Animal Bar is about understanding and learning about your customers and their personal stories as you try to build and run a successful Coffee/Tea/Soda bar. Create an identity for yourself and your bar, specialize or generalize as you choose whether to cater to your customers or create the experience and aesthetic that you want.
Each customer has their history, their own story, and will deal with some type of dilemma. As you build up a friendship, you can help guide the customers through their stories, and help them make key decisions in their lives. Based on your decisions of décor, the times of day that you show up to run your bar, your interactions with your customers and more, you can guide the experience that you, the player, will have with the game.
Simon
Simon grew up with a lot of siblings. A middle child, he was largely ignored by the rest of his family and struggles with self-worth issues, constantly seeking approval. In high school his grades were on the higher end but did not stand-out. He hasn’t figured out what major to take in college, only that accounting seems to be something his parents might approve of. Simon is very timid, but also very anxious.
Star
Star is a pop-star phenomenon. Bringing back the retro look and sound of the 80s-90s, she was built for the spotlight and performed on stage from a young age. She was the star of her elementary and high school plays and talent shows. In her senior year, a talent agent picked her up and she’s been a star ever since. She goes by her stage name to all but a select few.
Zoe
Zoe is a yoga instructor. She’s been on top of all the exercise trends for women including Zumba, step class, and even had a series of workout VHS tapes in the early 90s. She can only ever be seen in active wear, giving the impression that she’s just coming from or going to another class. She runs her own yoga studio which includes a shop selling salt lamps, candles and diffusers.
Stephen
Stephen once worked as a roadie for some metal bands touring around the country. He has since settled down and started a music shop to spread the tunes to the next generation. Some say he used to be a drummer in a well-known band, but he left because the band went too mainstream. Stephen looks intimidating, but he’s a nice chill guy when you get to know him.
Photo Gallery
You can follow Playful Fox Games on their official Twitter page here and their Discord channel here.
We’d like to thank Ryan from Playful Fox Games for providing myPotatoGames with this information and these exclusive character screenshots! If you love the idea of serving customers and getting to know them, check out our article here: Coffee Talk – Make Coffee & Conversation. This game is about being a barista to fantastical characters. Stay tuned with myPotatoGames as we keep you apprised on these relaxing wholesome games.
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