Be Not Afraid August Devlog

It's been a bit of a slow month for development, but I’ve still made some steady progress on refining and enhancing the game. Here’s an overview of what’s been going on with the development of Be Not Afraid this month:

Tidying Up

Much of this month was spent tidying up and polishing parts I wasn't happy with. This included tweaking the main menu animations, troubleshooting some map problems and replacing the old UI.  These improvements may not be as flashy as new features, but they are necessary for making the game look presentable, so this month had to take a hit in terms of fun new things. 

Map Completion Rules

Another focus this month has been the implementation of map completion rules. This feature should help players understand what areas they have searched fully and rooms where items haven't been discovered, which was much needed after the feedback from people who played at QCon. 

Accessibility Features

Again, looking back at QCon, one player pointed out that the control scheme on the pause menu was hard to read and not very user-friendly for dyslexic players. So finally I got around to replacing the wordy instructions with some easier-to-read symbols. This change aims to make sure as many people as possible can enjoy the game without facing unnecessary barriers and make the information easier to understand without breaking immersion. If anyone has any other accessibility tips/changes please let me know. 

Website Archive

Hey did you know that my website has a section for artefacts and materials from Halbury on Trent, where Be Not Afraid is set? Well, you do now. 

Looking Ahead

Looking forward, there are a couple of exciting things on the horizon. Firstly, I’ll be collaborating with a sound engineer to enhance the audio experience. Yay! No more janky programmer audio. 

Additionally, I’m considering adding another level to the game, maybe something underground. This is still in the planning stages, but I’m addicted to adding more and more features to this game without ever actually finishing it. 

That’s all for this month’s devlog. As always, thank you for your continued support and feedback. I’m thrilled with the progress so far and can’t wait to share more with you soon!