October 2023

During this month, our primary focus revolved around crafting the necessary documentation for our upcoming game, "Hook, Line, and Axe." This began with the creation of the Team Formation document. In this document we both introduced our team members and also outlined our collective vision, the rationale behind our selection for this particular project, and the framework we intend to employ.

​With this essential groundwork laid, our next step involved the development of the Game Design Document (GDD). The GDD is akin to our game development bible, a comprehensive guide to everything we intend to do with this project. In this document, we detailed every facet of the game's design, including aspects like the movement mechanics, the nuances of level design, and a thorough list of the required assets.

Given that our game, "Hook, Line, and Axe," is built on fluid and dynamic movement, our prototyping phase naturally gravitated toward these critical mechanics. Most important are the movement mechanics, the focal points of our development efforts, due to their complexity and centrality to the gameplay experience.

​First, we began prototyping the grapple mechanic, which is the defining feature and namesake of our game. This mechanic empowers players to wield a grappling hook with precision and finesse. To initiate the grapple, players simply hold the right mouse button, and releasing it propels the player towards their intended target. In-flight, the grapple can be canceled by pressing the jump button. Upon successful attachment to a wall or ceiling, players adhere to that surface, a connection that can also be terminated by pressing the jump button.

Our development then led us to the dash mechanics. Players can execute a directional dash in the direction corresponding to their movement keys, adding a layer of agility and responsiveness to their gameplay experience.

In the coming stage of development, we hope to implement the remaining movement mechanics,  primarily ledge mantling. Additionally, we are gearing up to implement the melee mechanics and begin on the task of creating an enemy AI system.