Making LOOT More Engaging in my 2D RPG!

[@puzzlebeast783]

How about: Button pressed - pick item Button Held Down - Auto-looting I like being able to change the behavior only by how i press some key instead of going through a menu.

[@Sputterbug]

agreed except i like the menu. i think it would be good to also be able to hotkey or favorite an item

[@puzzlebeast783]

​@@Sputterbug yeah, maybe turn auto-looting on/off(in the menu) with some hotkey. the change in the code would be minimal.

[@PuppetSquid]

Maybe autoloot should only function for items you already have a (non-full) stack of? Also if you have the hold-to-autoloot button it could be context dependant; if you pick up an item and then hold interact it will only hoover up that kind of item (e.g. if crabs dropped legs and shells, you could use this on a leg to hoover all the legs up and skip the shells)

[@Vxrxd]

Or you can change It in the settings

[@itsCatMeme37]

I would get a little more specific. Holding should auto loot everything around the player that is a stackable (Like crab shells) but not Equipment.

[@hyverian1165]

Hey, I just had an idea for an extra island! How about an island, where the coast is quite full of trash and the island animals would be intoxicated by it. Then, during progression on that island, you would slowly clean the coast of its trash and mybe even fight some sort of corrupted squid, where in the boss fight, you would have to take of a trash coat off of his skin. Or there could be some evil NPC you wouldn't have to fight, but maybe interact with in some way. Anyways, I love how the game looks so far! Keep the great work up! :D

[@DevDuck]

I absolutely plan to have some element of cleaning up refuse from the water and islands! Appreciate the kind words.

[@familievermeulen5499]

​@@DevDuck I'm looking forward to it!

[@Midnightzc1]

@@DevDuck I'm subcriber of you i will support your game I'm from Philippines

[@Midnightzc1]

@@DevDuck your progressing to good programer

[@C4NDYCatz]

I feel as if the jingle when picking up an item could get annoying when auto-picking materials. I would recommend having 2 different sounds for items being picked up, materials and weapons (materials could just be a rustle or something). This would also give more importance to the weapons if they have a music queue with them

[@DevDuck]

Totally agree! Will come up with more sounds to add some variety.

[@TSHolden]

A suggestion: have a sequence of sound effects for the most common pickups. The marimbas are actually already perfect for this, because you could easily chain together a little melody (perhaps a reflection of the Dauphin main theme?). That kind of audio prompt is super satisfying, and is one of my favorite little details in the Mario series.

[@michaelrichards914]

Another option is to randomly vary the pitch of the jingle

[@Diamonddrake]

100 hours into breath of the wild I was never annoyed by its pickup jingle

[@JRX]

Gradually rising the pitch of the loot sound effect as you pickup multiple items could be a really small change towards a more satisfying looting feel. This and other sound effects for different item types, would also help with the feeling that the sound effect could end up repetitive.

[@familievermeulen5499]

great idea!

[@PandaTheGFX]

That's called "shepard tone", the ilusion of the pitch going infinitely upwards, used in the endless stairs on super Mario 64

[@midnight9870]

New devlog YAYYY

[@Midnightzc1]

New devlog goes brrrrrrrrrrrrr

[@interactivedecoding7506]

You can say that again 👌🏼

[@Rhino123freak]

For generic items like crab shells you can try a similar function that you use for the sounds of your footsteps which alters the pitch for each pickup, it would really sound more lively and less repetitive. Keep up the great work! :)

[@64jcl]

A common thing that pixel art games does is for text to be more readable by having a black outline around them which will make it look nicer as well.

[@dstn.01]

i think adding an outline to the loot would be a better way of doing it

[@newosso]

I agree

[@RialuCaos]

I also agree. It's simple and tells you enough information.

[@migueldomingos4570]

definitely agree since this way it may be confused with the background

[@woolybear]

I would add a different jingle for unique or important items. Keep it up man, looks great so far!

[@peschken23]

Poggies another dauphin devlog :)

[@eggeggington606]

P O G

[@IndieIndite]

And another Dani upload, today

[@peschken23]

@@IndieIndite already seen it :)

[@revolverrenato]

Great job so far, here are a few suggestions: 1. For the loot log, have the text that shows up not be monochromatic; instead, give it a black outline. This is to help with reading the text in any scenario, as the text only being one color could cause it to blend in with the background. Another way you can achieve this is by making each item you pick up have a colored gradient corresponding to where it is in the inventory. For example, when picking up the fishing pole, which goes in the buoyancy compactor vest, the text would have a blue rectangle gradient which not only contrasts with the background to make sure the text is clear, but also helps new player discover where the item is in their inventory, ultimately making it a less confusing experience. 2. The pickup sound for compactor vest items like the sword and fishing rod and collection bag items like crab shell parts should be different. This is to make the sound you have at the moment less redundant overall, but it also helps to further create a discernable difference between the two separate types of items. Also, since buoyancy compact vest items will most likely be rarer, making unique audio for each item (Ex. Fishing Rod pickup noise is the reeling of the fishing rod line.) Would be a good step. 3. Instead of just playing two notes on the xylophone when picking up stackable items, give the stackable one tone and pitch it up chromatically for each pickup when there in a large pile of the same item. The tone would reset if there was a short pause in-between picking up the same item item, or if the whole chromatic scale is finished. (If you're not quite sure what this entails, just watch some Temple Run game play and I'm sure you'll understand what I'm trying to articulate.) That's about it, keep up the good work!

[@DevDuck]

All great suggestions, thank you for the feedback!

[@SuperDutchrutter]

Great progress-really like the way you’re handling pick ups. Intuitive and player-friendly.

[@caleba.robinson8451]

I always look forward to your videos! I'm an app developer, and while we work on very different projects, it's always encouraging for me to see someone else who's passionate about their ideas.

[@h_m21]

After a tiring day your videos are always very calming to watch.

[@Siptom369]

Very ambitious video game project and I can't wait to get my hands on this game when it actually releases

[@Colossalis]

These videos have such a calming effect on me, it’s great.

[@Zeal115]

these videos are so chill, it’s amazing I love keeping up with your stuff

[@golden998]

I love the thought bubble popping up for lootable options, it really looks great

[@Bergdoogen]

I love the progress that you have made since the beginning. I remember watching the first few dev logs, unsure where this game was going. But now its really looking awesome and I am so keen to see it completed. I will definitely be playing it!

[@trunkostudios9500]

Also I’d switch the loot to auto pick up when you walk over it, clicking each time is going to get old fast (unless it’s some special item) Edit: Saw that someone else commented that and you’re working on it!

[@matangoldstien5922]

The devlog filled me with inspiration, thank you 🙏🏻

[@pius6330]

Every devlog I learn something new from you! Really engaging video, can't wait till I will have to implement sounds in my game. Keep it up!

[@DevDuck]

Thanks so much!

[@CzlowiekImadlo]

Hey Ben! Your devlogs are awesome, and a great source of inspiration and motivation! Keep it up. Love how your game is shaping up, can't wait to see more :)

[@fosterturtle]

I really like the idea of staying consistent with island instruments for your UI feedback! Also, giving the player the option to auto loot or not is such a good idea, and opens so many different play styles! Great progress as always

[@Jeetjeet1108]

Dani and dev duck on the same day!

[@vidurlutchminarain3686]

Can't wait to play this game, been following you for about a year. You're a great programmer and artist

[@space-timedog2954]

Crazy how much sound design can improve A game. I like the pick-up jingle

[@Videogueimeiro]

You are awesome and such an inspiration to me! I'm developing my second game and went throught the first one thanks to you and a few other developers who kept inspiring me to keep going.

[@shreyasbhattacharya1659]

Brilliant devlog as usual!

[@blarpax9061]

Game devlogs are my favourite type of youtube content.

[@durrium]

For the lootable object I would add a highlighted outline that indicates the object can be picked up. The thinking bubble pop-up is great for other interactions but looting is not in my opinion not one of them 😊 great vid!! Always happy when a upload comes up!!

[@tauheedgamedev2388]

The pick up sound on the loot and the Waves sfx on the beach really bring the game to life.

[@MrMagicPenguin12]

Always happy to see this drop on Saturdays! Makes my weekend start great

[@KazKai]

finally!! a devlog , i was waiting so much for this

[@Nick-Games9]

Love the look of the loot. Having a sound effect playing when picking something up is crucial to making the game experience feel great

[@thejakery]

Really love all of these improvements. Thanks again for another great video

[@GamesBySaul]

Another great video as always! I love the editing you've been doing recently, and showing you talking to the camera more face to...screen! :D As for the loot, I am super glad you added auto-looting just that extra bit of easy playability! And the sound for looting is great too! :D

[@DevDuck]

Thanks Saul!

[@matangoldstien5922]

Nice surfing! Loved how he falled right after celebrating the successful wave

[@littlemangamer2752]

Yes! New devlog! Also, here’s an idea, what if you added a cleansing feature for the player? Like maybe on certain islands or in certain areas there will be some sort of a pool or a water aquifer in caves and there you might be able to cleanse the player from corruption? Of course, to combat infinite life, you could probably make it so that there is an invisible timer after you get hit that, when it hits zero, you are allowed to use the anti-corruption pool. For now, just call it Holy Water. Or maybe an island that is actually multiple islands split up? Like say how your current island is there, and you have the other miniature island? Well what if there was an island, or sector, that actually had multiple mini islands split up on it?

[@Skeffles]

Fantastic changes this time! I really like how materials can automatically be picked up but tools need the button press.

[@Shreef_Aamir]

I've been watching you since day one and you inspired me to start my dream game someday in the future .. Keep on the good work 💜

[@HobokerDev]

I finally decided to pick-up Godot and do something, and whatayaknow here's your video with some additional dose of motivation. Nice.

[@totallynotjosh8748]

With every devlog I get more and more excited for the release.

[@evan_game_dev]

This game is really coming together, great job

[@Diller25]

I love the camera angle that you have on your desk. Suggestion for the looting system, instead of clicking the interaction key multiple times to pick up the same thing in a radius, you take the same radius but make it so you only have to click the key once and then the rest of the same item in that radius get sucked up into your inventory

[@trunkostudios9500]

Nice! I really find creating sound effects fun and looking for ones that you can record yourself

[@a_coneish_one4398]

looks really good nice job man

[@HandcartRule46]

The interaction prompts are awesome!

[@xbulletboi563]

You're gonna make it some day

[@Forcemaster2000]

Nice work on the loot pickup! I think it would be useful to have certain lootable items like the crab shell pieces fade away after a certain amount of time if not picked up, to keep things from getting too cluttered. It would also make picking up some items more time-sensitive.

[@Mrjacharles]

Some cool techniques... also I really love your art style its so colourful! :D

[@Tkdriverx]

I don't know if someone has suggested it, but in the manual pickup mode, it should pick up all like items nearby. In that example with the pile of loot, I would expect it to pick up all the nearby shells at the same time with one interaction.

[@mauri3700]

Been here from the 1st devlog. Keep up the good work!

[@HandcartRule46]

Love your dev logs - keep it up

[@andrewdavid86]

Here's a loot idea: If you already have a stackable item in your inventory, whenever you get close to items in your inventory (and stackable), automatically pick it up IF the stack is not full. IF the stack is full, then do not pick it up. This way, you can make a filterable auto-picking mechanism: you can spread the same item in multiple slots in the inventory, and it will auto-pick up until those stacks are filled up.

[@fglass]

Nice progress! One suggestion is to save the speech bubbles for entity interactions (opening doors, speaking to NPCs, etc) and use another mechanism to indicate lootable items. Perhaps outlining them could work well... and you could even use different colours to represent item rarity

[@hwstar9416]

agreed. I personally didnt like the bubble showing the item.

[@samsapling8348]

Let’s goo new devlog! These are always great.

[@AshrindyAnimates]

The interaction bubbles for picking up loot is a great idea! But sometimes the player would think that he is about to interact with something instead of picking up loot.

[@Nnif_Boots47]

There could be a random spot on the island where an interaction prromt with an red x in it will apear and if you interact with it with a shovel in your inventory you get some loot

[@cm14tm]

i think this is pretty cool, and that you’re already thinking of addind this, but in the items pickup sidebar thing, ad a little number that tells you how much of one item you picked up instead of it being seperate

[@bitbraindev]

Hey Ben! Is that a new mechanical keyboard I am seeing there? I love the layout. Nice devlog as always

[@GradyDuncan]

Yeah definitely looks like a new setup! Would love to know the details

[@verrofy]

Great way to start the morning

[@Sk4lli]

When picking up, especially with a pile of items, a little highlight might make it easier to see which item will be picked up. It matters if it's a pile of different items. And to give the player more control over what will be picked up you could use the mouse position instead of the player for proximity.

[@justinslingerland7848]

You could do a mix of the two systems: when you have an incomplete stack (not the max amount of items) of an item, you automatically pick the item up until that stack is maxed

[@shreyasbhattacharya1659]

I don't know if you already thought of this or what, but there could be a like ability of the player to 'dive' into the ocean and the scene would change and be replaced by lush colorful sea weed and plants along with fish and other animals. You can add different like equipment to help see better, breathe longer, and go deeper into the ocean. Also you can introduce the 'divie' mechanic by asking the player to dive into the ocean, but because of salt water, the players vision will become darker/hazy whatever. Then the player will be introduced to the diving equipment and the googles should be the 1st thing he crafts. there can be like diff. tiers of the same equipment. Also to make the game more challenging/ realistic, you can make any equipment degrade after certain use. Wow that was a lot (maybe a little too much?)

[@dl5857]

That sounds amazing

[@FerplayDev]

Am such a fan

[@tundralight8464]

I think maybe having a letter appear over the item once u get close to it to pick it up, You could also make it that in the settings you choose whether u want to auto-loot or clicking the letter to pick something up

[@KarmBDV22]

I would definitely add an auxiliary icon next to the object, like a green + or a hand, just to make it more clear that the action is "picking up" and not another interaction.

[@pancake8133]

One idea for your marimba notes is to have them get progressively higher in pitch as you pick up a bunch in quick succession. Kind of like Bejeweled

[@FiniteSimpleFox]

The loot mechanics seem pretty good, however I would suggest putting the record of items in the top right-hand corner of the screen as it is currently too prominent in my opinion. Can't wait for the next devlog!

[@DevDuck]

Appreciate the feedback! Should be easy to give that a try.

[@FerplayDev]

your vids are really good

[@GY-yv5cz]

Assuming you're using some sort of list/array system for your pick-up item display, an easy way to check for multiple of the same item would be to run through the list using a for-loop every time you pick something up. Check if it matches an item in the list, if so, increment that entries' quantity, and reset its display/alpha timer.

[@BentStudios]

I’d add 3-4 page turn sounds so it randomly picks one so it’s not always the exact same but it sounds great!!

[@OfficialMiles2Go]

Awesome Video. Looking forward to it.

[@obarnew548]

Literally the highlight of my week

[@benrex7775]

In your notebuck you have those stickers. It would make more sense if when you switch the page, the stickers would go to the left side.

[@pablosangregorio6013]

I like the little icon while looting. Although i would use icons rather tan the same image of the object. I just found your channel btw, you have my sub🦀

[@ottosjachrani7821]

I love your videos hope you continue 😀

[@NifarisRed]

some animations on the trees grass and bushes would bring the world to life a lot

[@grunkles]

You should definitely add a background for the item pickup popups! It'd make it a lot easier to read, and it'd be a lot more accessible :)

[@nolanimates1595]

While I do like the two marimba notes for non - stackable items, with stackable items you should probably have a more subtle tone, or no tone at all. The two marimba notes seem more like a special sound that says you discovered an important item. Anyway, great work so far! Love your stuff. It’s amazing that you can create a pretty much fully playable and polished game in just a couple months.

[@smugsenko]

i like the sound used for the pickup jingle but the note choice: B to C, sounds spooky due to the dissonance, implying the chords B diminished to C minor i suggest using 5ths, and 4ths (A to D) to not imply an emotion, and major 6th to give the island vibe (A to F#) the major 6th interval does not only imply major harmony, it is ambiguous between minor and major, A and F# with D or C#

[@thatguyjose6761]

Something that never fails to keep me playing is the looting sounds. You should put more than one succession of notes so that if you loot many items you get something like a melody. Never fails, trust me

[@angadbasandrai4814]

Finally you're back! YAY!!!

[@abboudtaysir1607]

Really love the video. The text on the right could have different fonts to indicate rarity instead of color which most games have.

[@julianojosoa2145]

Damn I love sea side and beaches! I was born in those kind of environment. This reminds me of my childhood since now I live in a big city 😐

[@PixelirPlus]

I like where this is going.

[@pigeon1-1]

Maybe an outline for the items you pick up. I like the bubbles for opening doors and stuff, but it's kinda bulky for the item system. Also an idea may be a rarity system, kinda leaning into the RPG elements, just an idea though. Loving the videos as always!

[@romxja]

I think you should add some sort of message when you run out of space in your collection bag. For example, a little cross like the interaction popup above your head! Also, keep up the great work!

[@starlingrad411]

if i seen this game on steam i would buy it , well done !

[@codebreaker6822]

With the item pick-up system, I'd just show the item tumb nail in a box without text. Also, I think it would look better with the item thumbnails start on the bottom of the screen then they stack on top of each other.

[@grinning_tiger]

This is exactly what I wanted to see

[@hubbahu]

If anything youblearn gets added to the journal you should add a scribble sound. That way a player knows to check!

[@Isaac_Estudillo]

Here's an idea for a "mana" system: When you defeat enemies, you can get an item called "Essence of Corruption", which you can then "purify" to use as mana.

[@Freelancerk1bbles]

I would be cool to be able to have in your book a checklist of items you want to go out and collect. you would write: Sand Crab Shell x 10 in your diary. Then you would automatically loot them until you have 10 in your inventory. Then, when you open your notebook to check your todo list, you will see the sand crab shell x 10 getting scratched through. This will remain until you return to your base. Or perhaps it'll remain on the page for that day in the game forever.

[@onesketchyguy6050]

You should do a single click instead of the two clicks you have when you pickup an item, except only for items you've picked up before. That was you get a little notification that you've received an item you haven't seen before, and don't get tired of hearing that notification sound

[@lionjeff1640]

Maybe the pick up sound effect should end on a higher note, similar to a Mario coin pick up? IMO it could sound a little more cheery. Great video, really cool to see the progress!

[@rafamodd]

Love it!

[@noahl6065]

I recommend making the UI for when you pick up an item be placed above the character’s head. As you pick up more items, they will stack more text above the head. I would also remove the icon from the UI.

[@marijnvanardenne9509]

nice video bro!