Ghost of a Tale - Combat Update

In the latest update for Ghost of a Tale (curretnly at 10K out of an asked 45K, with 36 days to go), Lionel shares his thohughts on combat.

In this update I'd like to focus, mostly, on combat.

But first of all a few words about the plot of the game: at this moment I am purposely keeping the story under wraps. Not because I don't know where I'm going, but because I wish to maintain a sense of genuine mystery. In a manner of speaking "Ghost of a Tale" will be the opposite of "Skyrim" (which is a game I love by the way). "Skyrim" is not about an intimate, compelling story; it's about a huge world where you play a nondescript character that you can mold entirely to your liking. "Ghost of a Tale" on the other hand will be infinitely smaller, with a set story in which you play precisely the character of the mouse and none other.

Now many people have asked me about combat. The most common question being: is it going to be like "Dark Souls"? The answer is no. "Dark Souls" is heavily focused on fighting with dozens of weapons, shields, armors, damage modifiers, various attacks, parrying techniques and offensive strategies, character classes etc... "Ghost of a Tale" can NEVER expect to compete on those grounds: it will be a much simpler game. In fact, combat (as far as the player character is concerned) is still very much uncertain.

Let me explain: as a player, I enjoy pressing a button to make my character attack monsters. It's a very basic, yet satisfying, game mechanic. But as game-designer for "Ghost of a Tale" I am less and less convinced that's the right way to go. By now it has been established that you play as a mouse who (obviously) isn't a warrior and who is thrust into a very perilous adventure. So I may in fact tone down combat A LOT to emphasize the helplessness of the mouse. Which of course means I will have to find fun and interesting alternatives to monster-bashing. This is important, so please let me know what you guys think!

There are many more things I would like to say, and points I would like to address but I'll keep that for a next update! Finally here's just a quick WIP screenshot (no set-dressing yet) that shows a new hood color scheme for the mouse, which makes the character stand out better against the earthy natural environment.