March Update 3

Hi! No video this time, but a slightly updated mechanic for Gossip: Secrets!

In my previous Gossip demo, there were a few different ways to unlock new options when you're talking to someone- sometimes you had to use items, other times getting a piece of gossip from another character, or finding something on a map would unlock it, but in testing people had trouble making sense of all these different approaches. I've tried to consolidate these all down into Secrets. Secrets are like items that represent salacious pieces of information. During Gossip, you can select a command from the menu (currently titled "Blab") and then choose one of your Secrets to share, the same way you would use an Item previously. If it's the right secret, it might prompt the NPC to take a new course of action, or add something else you can ask them about.

Over the last sprint I managed to implement my first draft of this system, which basically amounts to a custom Item command in combat. It took a lot more effort than I expected to make that change, but I think I've come away with a better grasp of how the javascript around the combat menu works. I used one of Fallen Angel Olivia's scripts as a reference ( https://fallenangelolivia.itch.io/item-concoctions ) and I really must recommend her work, her code is very clean and clear!

If you're reading this, I'd love feedback on the menu command for sharing secrets. I've considered all of these possibilities:

• Blab
• Share
• Reveal
• Divulge

Currently, I'm using Blab.

In the long term, I want to have a variety of secrets that can be shared to mixed results, such that it's an interesting choice for the player whether or not to share. e.g you may be able to share your Secret Identity with many NPCs, and you'll gain their trust by telling it to them, but you may run into trouble later on if too many people know. That's a long way off though!

In the short term, I'm focusing on the short introductory area for Gossip. I want to have something like the combat in last update's video, just short simple exchanges that relay the basics, ease the player into it.

Alright, until next time!