The Second Step

~airwave~ - I Fought the Law, and the Law One has been out for nearly a week now, and the reception has been encouragingly positive. Feedback seems to show that the world and characters are engaging enough that players are interested in seeing more, the musical theme of the game has been very well received and I've gotten some great suggestions from players that I can incorporate.

Now, however, comes something that I have to do that I've never done before: Build a sequel.

Obviously it isn't really a sequel; I took my original story and split it up into a number of chapters, so it's really more of a continuation than a separate second part. This provides some challenges that I am quite conscious of, though:

- I need to make sure that, even though it's a single smaller part of a greater story, the game can be played as an individual unit, so that if players have forgotten plot elements they aren't left wondering characters are doing certain things. The story needs to have a clear, engaging beginning and conclusion, which ties it to both the previous game and the next one seamlessly.

- I need to introduce a whole new setting without losing it feeling like it is disconnected from the setting in the previous game. The location needs to feel different without feeling like a whole new world.

- A whole new bunch of characters need to be introduced, and they need to be engaging and memorable, with personalities that complement Elodie's personality and allow her character opportunity for further development.

Being my first sequel ever, I'm quite nervous about it. I really love the first game, and am glad it has been well received, and I don't want this to feel like a weaker second part. After establishing the location of Wave, it feels like hard work to go and build Eda City knowing that people probably would like to go and spend more time around Wave.

I'm still trying to sort the game's plot out - obviously I have the major plot points mapped out, but am still quite unclear on how exactly they tie together - something that needs to be compelling.

These things, however, do develop somewhat naturally over time, and I'm not stressing too much about it just yet. I've still plenty of other things to keep me busy for now, and aside from giving Elodie a change of clothes and a couple of backgrounds and characters being sketched out, the game only exists in my head.

We'll see how it gets from there to my (and yours) computer soon, I hope.