Since our last meeting here in the devLog, I haven't made too many more design decisions/changes, but there are a few I'd like to go over:

• Remember point 5 from the whiteboxing post? Well I'm gonna change that area AGAIN.... I think the player learning dashing in the area right after picking up the mechanic (point 4 in the whiteboxing post) is good enough tutorial. But still, what can I do about that area from point 5? I actually think I got feedback that will help with that, Which I'll go over in just a sec.
• I've changed my stance on checkpoints. I don't want my game to be annoying in any way, and I like making the player restart the entire game for dying is a bit much. I realize now that this is not that type of game, and the feel of the game should be progression, not punishment.
• So, this game is in first person. Therefore, I wouldn't need a player model, right? Well, not so fast. I think it will make the game more immersive if the player knew that they were, in fact, a person. I think the shadow of the player/animations would really give it that extra juice, ya know? This idea came to me when I saw a post on Reddit r/GamingDetails that had a gif of the player from Mirror's Edge (2008). Despite it being entirely in first person, the player model still had really good hair physics, and people seemed to really like the attention to detail the devs at DICE took. 

So I realized that I've been kinda vague on how exactly I want this project to pan out. So, first and foremost this is a first person adventure(?) platformer. Throughout the game you go through a sort of ruins that eventually goes underground, where you'll gain special abilities that will help you. I want these abilities to be a dash mechanic and a wall run mechanic (maybe a double jump if time permits?) The player can't progress without these mechanics. The player will also encounter small puzzles during their journey. So far, I've only scripted the dash mechanic, and still need to handle the wall run,  puzzles, rope swing, breakable objects, and health/damage. I know that seems like a lot, but I think this can all be done pretty quickly. It's the asset placing and scene building that takes the most amount of time. I will also have to adjust the placement of these items once I having everything scripted to make sure everything is accessible. 

Now, what we've all been waiting for, the player feedback! I was given some really good suggestions for the game thus far, including what I mentioned earlier with the point 5 area. Let's go over them:

• I had mentioned to today's playtester that I don't really know what to do with that pesky point 5 area. Well, he came up with a fantastic idea to add moving platforms as an obstacle! (another thing I'm gonna have to program) I'm thinking I can use that as an introduction to the next area that will really feature the obstacle. 
• In point 6 from the whiteboxing post I had mentioned how the path going back would become impassible, and elaborated on the subject more in point 7. Today's playtester recommended that I'd just make a gate close behind the player, keeping them from going back. I will, however, keep the spike trap there, because I have a good idea on how to make the player wall run through it, which would be pretty cool. I also want to add a rope swing joke into this area. I know that doesn't make sense, but be excited for it.
• The playtester commented that the way the level splits off from the first part when the player goes underground almost feels like a second level. Which, I can understand, because I know this level is pretty long, especially because it's supposed to serve the entire purpose of the game. However, splitting the game up into just two levels seems weird to me. He didn't say to do this, though. We were kinda at a lost when it came to this subject. I think that going into a new area is somewhat refreshing to the player instead of seeing the same landscapes. It also gives the player the feeling of progression, and it does it a lot less obvious than a level 2 would. The player is also immediately awarded for entering this new part by getting a new mechanic. I think the underground segment transition will be a lot more seemless than we think because while playtesting I only had most of the outside area done. 
• The playtester liked the corridor/mountain enclosed feel of the walls. I seems I really encaptured the feel of the game I wanted to portray here. I hope I can keep that up!

Also, I think I'm gonna change the name to 'Lost in Ruin: Guardian Amulet.' For some reason I thought because this is a short game that it isn't able to have a longer title but that's not exactly logical reasoning. I mean, one of my games is literally called 'You Snuck a Water Bottle into the Movie Theater' and that game is 20 minutes at best. I'm rambling, expect a name change soon™️