Ok, "Playable!" may be a bit of an overstatement given this is just a prototype to test out the backend I've built over the last week and to set-up a release workflow. But still, I'm super excited! Currently I handle game projects as more of a background kind of thing and don't say a whole lot about them before they're ready, simply had to many projects fall apart and not go anywhere, but I'm trying something new with this one! (Also worth mentioning, the title is very much a WIP title and just a placeholder! We'll have a fancy name soon enough! ^-^)

Some quick things to mention about the current build, I wanted to just develop something over a week and see how much I could get done and set myself a (relatively) strict release timeline to get whatever I had done out by the end of said week. Technically I took a day longer than planned because I had some save-system issues and got too tired to release yesterday, but 1 day off isn't bad! This version is a very simple front-end and gameplay loop to test the backend systems that will power the actual game, but this does not represent the gameplay of future versions (I already have stuff in the works that will change things rather drastically ^-^). So consider this a test prototype purely designed for testing! (In-fact, a community member in the Discord, alphabetsoupdog123, already helped me find a logic error which I fixed earlier today! Thank you, alpha!~)

Although there are executable versions available for testing (I specifically need people to test on Linux just to make sure the export is working on different repos), I recommend checking out the web-version over on my site for easy and quick testing! (Future supporter-only versions won't release on web, sorry! >.<)

WebGame Version : https://michaelpstanich.com/webgame/idlefoxrpg/

Download Links!
(Public Release 0.0.1)
Website : https://www.michaelpstanich.com/?mode=game&view=ProjectIdleFoxRPG
GDrive : https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1c6vho59sdO-1EhO9_GiBTXw-CFrA3JU7?usp=drive_link
Mega : https://mega.nz/folder/J5hWWbZC#SXujM5Z_kE2Jbj65Zy5Gbw

(Changelog will not be available for this version)
Basically I implemented various back-end systems which probably are not worth documenting in a front-end sense, and since the gameplay of the proto-type doesn't match what will be the 'actual' gameplay it felt a bit unnecessary. X.x

I felt I should introduce this game with a bit of an explainer, especially considering I've been already working on another project (Data:EnCryptic). There's a really common issue among creatives like myself where we tend to get really ambitious visions and projects tend to scope out of control rather easily. This is something I've been really working on over the last year and it was my goal for 2024 to release a game in some form or another. But there's a snag, I typically don't like releasing things that are unpolished or have issues, it's been a major struggle for me personally to release dev-builds for projects as frequently as I have, but honestly it's been a very positive experience overall I think and has been inspiring for many of our community members! So, I wanted a game project I could try this with while also having a bit of a simpler, non-scoped to hell and back, concept to help test-bed ideas and create assets that can then also be used in other projects.. hopefully. (if they don't suck too much X.x)

So ultimately, I decided a bit off-the cuff I was going to start a project and just release whatever I had after a week of development, see how much I could get done from scratch and for myself to break my habit of 'just one more thing!' That does mean this initial release is VERY underwhelming and I don't think it'll be of any interest to many, nor will the next few releases honestly, but there's the origins and why this is kind of out of no-where!

Idle Fox RPG (WIP placeholder name) is an incremental RPG inspired by character-focused RPGs with diverse ways to level up and acquire skills, along with inspiration from other incremental titles. (Although many equate idle and incremental as the same game genre, Idle Fox RPG will have a more active play style and be much quicker in progression when actively played, but offer some AFK style options in the form of the auto-choice tree mechanic!) In Idle Fox RPG you play as a demon-born fox lady who's been freed from the void by a mysterious fairy with an attitude. After freed, this confused fox lady is able to explore the world and make decisions as she sees fit, she can go out hunting materials for new fancy outfits and gear, fight off the local bandits to raise some reputation, take in quests from tavern go-ers for some coin to buy more pillows, or just sleep the rest of this realm's short existence in the comfort of her new den! The choice is hers yours! Every activity is a skill, every action working toward your strength, every item holds value, and every choice determines your path!

Since the current version in this posting is fairly simple and lacks any graphics, just a basic interface for testing values and systems, I thought it would be important to outline exactly what my goal here is. The goal is for Idle Fox RPG to be a fully 3D game with 3D character models and 3D environments, but with a bit of a confined scope. One of the main concepts behind Idle Fox RPG is cosmetics which will integrate with various systems and act as one of the driving factors for players (hopefully, anyways >.<). I'm most likely going to use a cell-shader and painterly textures as this is suppose to be a chance to build assets for Data:EnCryptic as well, locations will be small island like locations with simple randomized geometry with a few key locations having much more to it. The UI will most likely follow Data:EnCryptic's design language with simple but sharp UI elements (I know I haven't shown this off yet, it's not 'quite' ready), though I'll most likely aim for a brighter and lighter mood to the overall style. Animation wise I also want to try a more comical/whimsical approach than my previous works, so we'll see how that aspect goes!

Exactly how things will link together isn't quite figured out completely yet, but there are various systems which I'd like to test and have already begun building and implementing into the game. The general gameplay loop has the player looking at their various objectives, both in-game and personal progression goals, then using in-game information to decide where to go and with what gear. Gearing up and selecting a class for the switching system is integral to the gameplay loop where before heading out the player can define different sets of equipment and class combos which will determine what they will have available for that journey. Once prepared, the player will choose on a hex map what region(s) to explore with each hex having different rates for certain activities such as combat with enemies, finding resources for harvesting, or treasure finding! While exploring the player will manage their inventory and can determine what actions the fox lady takes, optionally there's also the auto-choice system which acts like a command list of actions the fox lady will perform on her own through an if-then branching system. Actions run on an act and wait system, think turn-based but real-time by default.

The progression loop is a bit less defined at the moment as I'm still investigating what the best methods for handling different mechanics would be with this kind of gameplay loop. Ideally the player will have various choices in how they want to approach their goals, every activity the fox lady can take part in will have a level associated that will attribute to her base stats and improve her abilities in all other tasks, and every item will have some sort of base-value that can convert down to universal currencies. Currently, the plan is to have the player build up their skills through activities, build up resources to craft their own gear with gear having durability and a life-span. Since gear breaks eventually, the idea is to have upgrades to crafting be a central component where you slowly build-up minimum crafted qualities that make gear acquisition for your favorite sets easier. As the player progresses they'll unlock new cosmetics like outfits, tail/ear customization, apply-able colors, animations, along with your typical new gameplay locations. (how these unlock systems work is yet to be determined)

If you have any thoughts, ideas, suggestions, or are just curious on further discussion, we have a dedicated channel in our Discord that's well worth checking out!

If you try the version from this post you'll notice it's pretty bare-bones as just a very basic and default Godot user interface and some buttons! That's obviously not how the actual game will look, so the next step is getting some 3D models, implementing the proper stylized shaders, and then starting to implement the actual mechanics! Part of building the prototype was getting a lot of the back-end stuff set-up as well as planning the methods to accomplish it. I didn't quite get 'everything' I wanted done before this week was over, but with the systems I've built already, adding new systems should be a lot easier since the base-line types are in-place and what's already built could be extended pretty dang far. Building 3D assets, however, can be VERY time consuming, especially with how slow I am working in blender at the moment, but that's the next major step! Hopefully the next version upload looks completely different and resembles an actual game!

1 - Implement environment models and build transition systems.
2 - Introduce proper player model with clothing system.
3 - Build shader/visual system for the intended cel-shaded style.
4 - ???