#3 Devlog of Maeldor (Mystery Urns-Buff System)

#3 Devlog of Maeldor (Mystery Urns-Buff System)

Hey there Maeldorian! Welcome to the #3 devlog of Maeldor, where I will be talking about the “Mystery Urns (Buff System)” of my game. I will explain what kind of a buff system it is, what buffs I have implemented so far, and also to share some of my exciting ideas about all the cool buffs I will be implementing in the future to the system. Did you get your coffee? Alright, lets begin!

WHAT DO WE HAVE HERE?

So what are these “Mystery Urns” exactly? Well, they are one of the reasons why you want to explore the levels, because they contain some sort of an ancient power within them, to be consumed and use. So basically, this is a buff system where you become stronger or get a new ability for your character.

And why did I wanted to add something like this to my game? Well, there are more than one reason behind, and the first one is to strengthen the element of surprise in my game, which is something pretty important regarding the game design. Because of our endless curiosity as human beings, our brains are designed in such a unique way to get joy from surprises, and naturally, while in the design phase, we benefit from that feature of human brain as much as we can in our games.

Second reason is the “Exploration” aspect of the game and to strengthen it. As you can see, if you are willing to discover the levels and get these buffs, you become stronger or get a new ability, which in return can help you significantly while fighting enemies or overcoming obstacles in levels. So these “Mystery Urns” are also a motivation source, to help players to be a bit more curious in situations like “What happens if I go to the right from here, could there be a Mystery Urn there?”.

And the last reason is to help making the gameplay a bit more dynamic, regarding the mechanics we experience in the game. With these different kind of powers or abilities, the experience provided by the game changes regarding the gameplay, with different mechanics or by strengthening the current ones. And as a result, gameplay becomes a bit more dynamic.

I FEEL SO LIGHT!

“Movement Speed Increase”. This is the first buff that came to my mind while making plans about this system, and I got my inspiration for this buff from the Wood Elves of Maeldor.

They are the fastest and most agile race in Maeldor, and besides inheriting this agility from their racial features, they also have a quite strong relationship with the earth and nature, and because of this harmony their steps and movements are much more aliened with their environments, which results in a faster and more agile movement. This essence is something belong to them originally.

CAN YOU FEEL THE BLOOD PUMPING?

Second buff I have implemented into my game is a, “Health Boost”, and for this one, origins of it is open to a debate. In fact there is a pretty heated discussion going on between the Humans & the Dwarves of the Maeldor about the origins of this essence.

The story goes like this; In an ancient war between the Atras & the free peoples of Maeldor, they say that two soldiers; a Human Warrior and a Dwarf Berserker were trapped in a forest, surrounded by the Atras and no way to escape but to fight them. In this dark moment, when the two soldiers lost all their hopes of staying alive, a tree standing beside them begins to cry for them and when her tears fall down onto their wounds, suddenly a mad but vigilant hope begins to grow in their souls, burning in their eyes like flames of pure rage. Their heart beats grow faster, blood pumping into their muscles and their wounds healing in an instant, like they were never happened.

In this moment of anger and insanity, they charge into the ranks of the Atras, and chop them one by one with their weapons, like they were nothing but couple of butter molds for them to cut into pieces. When the Atras see their frenzy, they were so afraid to face their rage and while half of them couldn’t escape from their madness, other ones flee without even looking behind.

And this is the story of this essence. As you can imagine, the debate between the Humans & the Dwarves is; they both claim that their soldier was the only one who got the tears of the divine tree and defeated all the Atras and saved the other. But of course there are no proof to their claims, so we accept the common story for this essence. Hehe.

DID SOMEONE SAY “POWER”?

“Attack Damage Increase”. You know I had to add this one. It’s just so much fun to be stronger and hit more damage to the enemies! Feeling that power is so much worth to the effort of finding these Mystery Urns.

And what is the origin of this essence? Well we don’t know the origin of it, but what we know is that it was given to the free peoples of Maeldor by the Old Gods, children of Mael, to use it against the servants of the Dark God. No one has ever been able to solve it’s mysterious formula, since it is a gift from the Old Gods, but it is pretty useful, since it can increase the effects and damage of any weapon possessed by someone with a pure heart and a good will. But if someone with an ill intentions tries to posses this power, it can cause their life, so it is not for everyone.

SOME RULES (ACTUALLY ONLY ONE)

If you die, you lose it. That’s it, there is no other rules about this system (yet). So you might want to be extra careful after getting this buff, if you don’t want to lose it by dying in a level. But other than that, there is nothing else I haven’t explained and all you have to do is to explore the levels and find them. After that you are good to go!

ENDLESS POSSIBILITES!

And what aspect of this system makes it so exciting for me, as a developer?

Can you imagine the endless possibilities? I mean just think about it! I can literally make lots of different, cool and exciting buffs!

WHAT ABOUT THE FUTURE?

Yesss! I have so many exciting ideas about extending this system, adding new buffs, cool features or abilities to make the gameplay much more fun, such as opening portals, shape-shifting or sending fireballs, haha! Just hang on with me and we’ll get there one by one! I just can’t wait to start working on them!

ARE YOU EXCITED TOO?

I am so happy to be able to share all this stuff with all other passionate gamers just like myself! So thank you so much for hanging out with me till now, by reading this long devlog, and hopefully, I will create something enjoyable and memorable at the end of my development journey. And if you’d like to motivate me and help me in my journey – Wishlist Maeldor now, so you can be notified when my game is released!

Again, thank you so much for sharing from your precious time to read my devlog, and until we see each other again in another, stay fun!