The Velan Codex

Design notes

Open questions for Ray

  1. Name entry. Free text with the keyboard (and a word filter), or chosen from a list? Is there a default name, and can the player rename later?
  2. Body type labels. Keep "Male" and "Female" on the cards, or neutral labels ("Body 1", "Body 2") with pronouns chosen separately?
  3. Save slots. One autosaved slot, as built, or several slots, or a manual save as well?
  4. Practice battle on the title. Keep it for players (a golem to spar with), or make it development-only now that Practice exists in the spell book?
  5. Left-handed mirroring. May a player swap which thumb draws which shape in asymmetric spells (Facet Seal, Bevel Lash, Prism Snare)? It changes scoring, and it matters for the tournaments (Codex section 10).
  6. Map. Is there fast travel between visited places? Is the world map fogged until explored, or drawn in full with places hidden? Local maps for towns only, or for every location?
  7. Toasts. Tap-through to the related screen (as specced), or passive only?
  8. Market. Is the Halfway Market (Codex section 9: trading between players) its own screen beyond this Shop? VEL-63 specs it as a Notice board (section 11), which reuses the Shop's purchase panel.
  9. Defeat. What does losing cost: copper, back to the last save, waking at an inn or with Aske?
  10. Cast feedback. Should players see the full score breakdown (shape, size, pace, corners, sync), or only the quality word in battle and the breakdown in Practice (as specced)?
  11. Pausing battles. Can a battle be paused (as specced: Pause top-right), given the breath timer and future tournaments?
  12. Quest status. Can quests fail or be missed? The journal has no Failed tab because QuestStatus has no such state.
  13. Haptics. On or off only, or a strength setting too?
  14. Items in battle. Can consumables be used in battle? That needs an item button on the battle HUD, which is already crowded at the top.
  15. Sealed letters. Can the player break the seals on Aske's letters? It could be a moral choice ("Believe neither until you've met both"), and it decides whether the viewer has a sealed state. The Items and Economy tab and Act 2 already assume yes, behind a warning, and this spec now follows them (VEL-63).

From Game Screens › Open questions for Ray