Site Update 2023
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For a long time now I've wanted to write a big post about the direction Witness to Unity has taken since I previously properly discussed it, sometime in 2016. The problem with this is oh god that's such a long time. So much has changed in its design and code direction. I don't know if I even have it in me to write a proper rundown for each element, so maybe I'll just bullet-point it.
As much as I think I could create a persona/demon fusion system for this Two Halves Persona concept, the problem in the end is a matter of scope. Even after limiting the number of personas and tiers per arcana to manegable levels, I still had 100 personas to create — that’s art assets, coding their skills/builds, and then balancing them.
The thing about damage calculation is you kinda have to feel it out by vibes. You want increasing stats by certain amounts to feel like a noticeable difference in your damage output, whether that's +1 or +10, or anything else. But to achieve this, it feels like you need to write damage formula and then shape everything else around it and hope for the best.
Which is a problem if you reach a point or come back to it later and the vibes are off.
I'm presently struggling with looking at Witness To Unity's damage formula and thinking... this thing seems a mess. I'm multiplying or dividing the stats a lot just to get things into the "shape" I want, and maybe that's bad? I'm not sure how to explain this, so I'll start with how the stats and all currently work.
So since Witness to Unity uses a “side-view battle system”, it means I need to have animations mirror depending on where they’re coming from. Unfortunately, RPG Maker XP does not even have under the hood ability to understand this, because it was front-view by default. (VXAce meanwhile added some unused variables for scripters to make use of that made this sort of thing easier.)
Let me tell you about my adventures with multi-hit attacks. It was possibly the biggest nightmare I've had in programming in the longest time, not from getting errors or anything, but because of the game logic falling apart or misbehaving in ways I couldn't understand for a while.
Joram Terah is the name I’ve used in numerous RPGs since playing Shin Megami Tensei IV. The name has something of an ironic bend to it in the context of SMT — Joram comes from Yehoram, and means "exalted by Yahweh". Terah has less a fanciful meaning, but my reading of its pronunciation makes it seem like "terror". Despite the biblical significance, I interpret that Joram has a penchant for defying the gods more often than not.
I've been kind of pondering another game idea (yes, I know) with a friend. I then have ended up drawing just excessive amounts of concepts for it. This is my best effort to organise it all in one place as of this date. For the sake of providing some context and clarity, I've included some notes on the characters or design choices.