#rpgmmv

Hey, all!

Happy Halloween! We may not have much in the way of  the full game or a demo update, but we do have significant news  regarding the progress of development.

Firstly: Pediatric is rapidly approaching completion, and while you may not see it in the demo, you can see plenty of it on the game twitter which I am trying... VERY hard to update frequently, though it may not happen as much as I like.

Secondly:  As we continue to rebalance characters and enemies and overhaul the  combat, we've decided to overhaul the Despair/Anxiety system! While I  was alright with the current system- the way it is in the demo as it is-  after some feedback and talking with our encounter designer, we've  thought of a more dynamic and engaging way for players to interact with  this mechanic, while still preserving the feeling of anxiety and the  helplessness that comes with it. So, come the next demo update- or the full game, god willing, your menu will look like this!

That  stress meter will be the new implementation of the Despair system. Put  simply, the more you have, the less you can do, and a lot of stuff makes  it go higher- taking damage, using moves, and certain events. As the  player, your job is to manage that bar so Robin can continue to take  part in the action, keep up her pace, and avoid the Panic Attack state- a  state where Robin isn't likely to take commands, and may skip her turn  entirely! With more detail on it, a word from our Encounter Designer  regarding the system:

All of Robin's unique abilities will essentially have two costs:

1. The amount it increases her Stress by.

2. The overall amount of stress she must be at or below to use the skill.

This means that exceptionally powerful abilities can be  balanced around either their availability or stress cost or even both,  leading to a greater level of decision making for players.

Certain skills, like Deep Breath, regulate stress and lower  it alongside their other effects. A means of showing her character  growth and support network through the game can be to give her and her  allies progressively better coping skills that lower stress by a greater  amount and may even supply other benefits!

To compensate for managing a somewhat complex mechanic like  this Robin is, generally, being balanced to be a strong character. This  is already true in the current demo version and is something I want to  carefully hone in future versions.

Having her be a strong party member is also an incentive for  players to learn and engage with the new Stress mechanic as, currently,  it is generally faster to win battles non-boss battles with just Jay  and SG. Even in cases where using Robin as well is ideal having every  battle require a single, static action that completely purges Stress for  just one battle is not engaging in a way we are seeking.

If Robin's stress meter caps out or goes above a value of  100 she will enter a 'shutdown' state, much like the current status  effect where she cannot take most actions until her stress is properly regulated. She is still in combat  and still can be targeted by skills and attacks.

I (the encounter designer) will be drawing up an in-game  booklet explaining these mechanics in simple, easy to parse terms that  will be given to players by Jay shortly after meeting him. That way,  players can easily reference it if they are ever confused or forget how  part of this mechanic works. I don't want this mechanic to be stressful  for our players! Just for it to represent Robin's own stress.

I still intend for the game to be completable without a huge  amount of trouble for players. This is mostly a way of making Robin's  stress more engaging and parseable for all parties! It also gives us,  the developers, the ability to make more challenging and complex  optional battles for players who want to dig into those!

Thank you all for taking the time to read this and I look  forward to doing my part to help deliver the best version of Ghost  Hospital that we can!

And lastly, not so much of an announcement, but  please remember that if you want to have some custom dialogue or add  your own NPC to the game, have custom icons and art made for you, or  just want to support the project, please consider subscribing to the Patreon! While I may not post there that much, I try to make up for it by posting elsewhere.

Hey, everyone! If you like the art I do, the games I make, or just want some art in exchange for donations, I'm streaming today! Come hang out with me on Twitch at 3:00 pm EST today while I work, and donate to The Bail Project! See you then!

Screenshot Saturday: June 14th

I started working on a new game a little over a week ago! For now it’s titled “Project Edel”, until I’ve a proper name for the story. It will be a short rpgm horror inspired game! X3 Here are the first two screenshots I can share! (Sooo excited about this!)

Who is this whale?

And what is she doing there, all pretty, on the rock? (haha)

I don’t want to talk much about this beautiful one from above, but know that she considers herself a goddess of the place where she lives. Maybe figuratively, maybe not.

Hey, guys! I know it's been a while, but I wanted to check in with you all and let you know that the project is still up and running, and thanks to a new person brought aboard, has been given a bit of an injection of life!

Currently, the two major things being worked on are the next area of the game, the Pediatric Ward, which will focus more thematically on the visceral feelings of anxiety rather than the overarching doubt and panic that Emergency did. To do this, the first step is making an environment that, unlike the Emergency Ward, will be able to let the player feel like they could truly get lost, so I've been working hard on making the scenery fit! This is just the starting hallway, not a maze yet, but I think it's coming along pretty nicely, take a look!

Along with this, our composer has been composing great music to go along with this, and really drive home the pressure- unfortunately, we can't show this off quite yet, but believe me when I say it does the job!

The other major thing that's being worked on, once again thanks to the new team member brought on board, is a massive overhaul of the combat! The system itself isn't being changed, but rather, the numbers. Considering that I was doing all of that myself, previously, and had absolutely no idea what I was doing, I'm still honestly shocked people had as much fun with the combat as they did! Balancing the game is tough work, and something that was frankly intimidating to me, so I owe our new team member a lot. With this being handled, though, it gives me a lot more motivation to get the rest of the game going, and to go back and fine-tune things I was too scared to touch before, so when we're finished with the retooling of the combat up to the end of the Emergency Ward, we will be re-releasing the demo, with that, and multiple other improvements alongside it that we're excited for everyone to be able to experience!

Lastly, one more important announcement, a lot of people have been asking how to support the project, and yes, throwing a few dollars our way in exchange for the demo is a great way to do that, but if you'd like a more substantial way to do that, I finally have a Patreon up and running! This is for me, Lev Lefton, rather than Ghost Hospital as a project, but I plan on adding specific Ghost Hospital-related benefits when the updated demo comes out! So, with all of that, thank you all for sticking with me despite the sporadic updates- this is a passion project, and I don't always have the time or energy to work on this, but I still want to give everyone the best work I can, so thank you all again, and please consider donating on Patreon or putting a few dollars down on the demo! Thank you, and see you in the next update!

Delve into the depths of the Pediatric ward with Angitia, coming in the full game!