Update 9/23 - Post-Jam Updates, New Skill System

I've enjoyed getting feedback on this project so far, and have decided to continue this game after the game jam is over.  The first step in this will be redoing some features that either didn't make it into the Game Jam Demo version, and fixing / rebalancing the things that made it in.

First on that agenda was the Skill system which is currently very barebones.  The game's current skill system is, in my opinion, overly simplistic and a bit obtuse and poorly documented.  I had ideas that didn't pan out, and better ideas that didn't make it in at all.  So I have developed a new system through which the characters grow and improve.  These menus are a lot more interesting to look at, and the text is more descriptive regarding what each skill does and how it is used.

Notable changes include:

SKILLS:

Skills must be learned by following a path on the Skill Tree.  

The stronger physical and ranged attacks that replace the default ones have been axed, and instead they will simply be strengthened with upgrades.  

Chiyoko now has a much needed way to spend the Power she builds up by attacking.  Her new Heart Beat skill is a staff attack that hits twice!

Kameko's Shining Slash is now MUCH more powerful, but takes a lot of Energy to build up.  Getting this ability off against an early boss will likely end the fight (it will trigger an event scene if it does.)  It matches the flow of an anime battle in that the battle should be ended with a strong attack!  Of course, eventually, this "Ultimate Attack" will no longer be enough, and the ability will become more of a workhorse all purpose attack.

The player will now decide what skills the other characters take, with the exception of those they have when entering the game.

Other changes in the works:

The demo portion of the story will be lengthened a small amount to accommodate the longer skill trees, and give the player more battles to fight.

Dungeons, which did not make it into the Game Jam version at all, are being reconsidered.  Portals to the Devourer Queen's Nightmare Realm must be sealed to stop her invasion!

The progression system in the demo is all over the place and is being rebalanced.  It will likely be replaced by a slightly more conventional "Experience" style system with incremental increases in Energy, to prevent the numbers from getting out of control.  Spirit based skill growth will also likely be rebalanced.

I have nailed down the bug that was preventing the HTML version of the game from working correctly.  And HTML browser version of the game should be available when the Post-Game-Jam demo update is completed.

Because this is a game-jam entry, I will not be uploading any changes to the game until after the voting period has ended.  I appreciate all the feedback I've gotten on this project so far!  Thanks for checking out my devlog, and have a great day!