Week 05

Ahoy, Pirates!

Welcome to our fifth devlog! We are already in the second week of our first production sprint, and our game is really starting to take shape. This week, we’ve made great progress on both the programming and artistic fronts, with new mechanics implemented and fresh visuals created. Here’s everything we’ve worked on...

Art

Treasure Chest Design

Every great pirate adventure needs a proper treasure chest! Our artists have worked on a beautiful new design for the chests that players will seek out. Here’s an image showcasing the concept vs 3d model:

Ship & Player Concept Art

Our team has been refining the look of both the ships and the characters. The new concept art helps shape the world of PiRats! Here is a sneak peack of some of our latest designs:

Animations

We're very busy working on the animations for our little water rats, starting with Swimming! We're animating everything by hand so we can put as much personality into our player characters as we possibly can.

The Main Level

We've been updating our blockout level to a fully modeled environment, making sure it fits our style and is still clearly readable. We're still putting everything in place, but it's all starting to come together and we can't wait to share how it will all look!

Particle Effects

Our artists have started working on particle effects to bring the world to life! From cannon fire to water splashes, these effects will make PiRats! feel more immersive. Here’s a clip of some early particle effects in action:

Code

Boarding & Disembarking

Our programmers have successfully implemented a system that allows players to board and disembark from their boat. This is a crucial step toward full player exploration and interaction with the world. 

Island Exploration

Players can now freely walk around the island, setting the stage for treasure hunts, enemy encounters, and resource gathering. Before, movement was limited to the boat, but now the islands are explorable playgrounds! 

Item Pickup System

We’ve introduced an item pickup mechanic! Players can now collect item crates scattered around the island, setting the foundation for our inventory and upgrade system.

What’s Next?

We still have lots to create and to program! This includes giving our island more shape by adding more vegetation, designing some rocks, ... We also need to start thinking about our HUD and some extra particles we want to add in the scene. For the programmers, it's about adding more mechanics and making our GUI navigation work! 

Until next time, happy sailing!