A Title

According to our xp-dev page, we have completed 95 of 106 tasks. Of the 11 tasks remaining, they range from getting the sounds playing in the game to getting our splash screen in the game. We are in the final stretch.

The main things we are going to be working on from now on, other than the above mentioned essentials, are the 'shiny' things that will give the game more appeal - little animations here and there to make the game feel more alive. As well, because it has not yet been put on an iPhone (and won't be until I get approved by apple), I can't verify that there won't be some performance snags we haven't yet encountered - but those can and will be dealt with when appropriate.

Some of our recent progress:

Screenshots


The title screen. As you can see, it lines up directly with the main screen, such that when you click Play, it appears to the player as though the hud simply changes. We thought this was essential to give the player the feeling of being in the game from the get-go.

As the continue button suggests, saving and loading is functional. The game also auto-saves when it is closed.

There is one other milestone hinted at by this title screen: we have finally come up with a name for the game. We actually were fond of Castle Clash but it sounded too close to Castle Crashers. After much pondering over names, we finally settled close to where we started, with Castle Conflict. It's not going to change the world; but then again, it's just a name.


Some of the aforementioned sparkle is in this screenshot - a bird flying in the background, and sunlight reflecting off the water. Just tiny little things that aren't very obvious but help give the game a polished feel. (If you can't see them, try right clicking -> view image).


The settings screen, with the font built by Josiah on it. This one hints at a milestone above and beyond the settings that we hit today - artificial intelligence. The ai now uses all units and is far more intelligent than it was previously.



The new organisation of the buttons. Now they are sorted by functionality and price. Some extra tweaking will probably still go into this area of the game. (For example, no price is shown as of yet)

Feeling

Josiah and I are both feeling highly optimistic. I think the biggest thing about this game that makes me proud to be working on it is that every time I see it, I want to play it. The graphics are appealing, the gameplay smooth and pleasant. The experience feels very well thought out and accessible.

I actually can't wait to be done so I can put it on my iPhone and actually play it.

We have 4 days left after today to hit our deadline.