Lockdown Hudokai (Blog)

Remember Hudokai? I barely can, either, but in a nutshell, it's a 2D sci-fi RPG that I started up many, many years ago on RPG Maker VX. Back then, it was titled Dark Matter, but the release of another game with the same title kind of forced my friend and I to change it. Anyhow, since lockdown, I've been able to return to the project and pick away at it to see if I can finish it at long last.

Returning to old projects is bizarre, especially when they haven't been properly touched for years. You look at them and some bits seem so alien, like someone else made it because you've come so far, whereas other bits make you go "how the hell did I do that?" The last I'd properly worked on Hudokai was when my friend and I shifted all the maps and work over to RPG Maker VX Ace, rejigging the entire battle system and re-writing a chunk of the story in the middle. So, that's where I've picked it back up, re-tuning everything so it looks a bit better and making that part of the story that was changed. All for the better, of course.

I entirely redid the stage scene in the Biorhythm part of the story, which now includes QTEs, spotlights, following dance partners and just a more engaging version of what was there before

The thing is, how far do you go with reworking something? I've often asked myself this. If I were to create this from the ground up today, it would be a very different game. But if I did that, then it would never be finished. Ever. Clearly, I thought when transferring it to the RPG Maker VX Ace engine, it was worth changing a few things to make them better, including a bit of the story and the fight system. These were definitely for the better, but created so much work around them that added years onto the project, in hindsight. Part of me wonders if it would have been better to just finish off the original, leave it, and make something new.

I think it would be nice to work away at what I have now and just get it done to the standards of the rest of the game. That way I can say "hey, that was a good project to work on, but now it's time to move on" and I'll never feel satisfied until it's complete. These days, of course, I don't really care if anyone plays it - it's sort of become a work of love which has had a lot of people contribute to the voice side or logo side of it.

The voice actors deserve some particular praise for their work with the literal thousands of lines present in the game. I will never make something that has such extensive dialogue again, since as much as it elevates the story scenes, boy did it make the game so much harder to work with (and grow in file size). But hey, then you'd never get scenes such as this one I've recently been working on:

In the meantime, when not working on Hudokai, I'm doing plenty of work in my day job. I was almost furlouged, but work certainly didn't slow down for the marketing department, so I've been able to work from home since lockdown. As of this past week, it's been announced I'll be returning to the office on the regular from 15th June, so it looks like things are finally easing up. Bit-by-bit, mind. Until my marching band gets back on the field, however, I have my weekends back to myself, which means work on Hudokai will continue!

The cast gear up for a battle against GP soldiers.