Developer Diaries: EliGD Games

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Laura_D
  • 1 Nov, 2024
  • 874 words
  • ~4-6 mins
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START OFF BY INTRODUCING YOURSELF

Hello, I’m Eli from EliGD Games!

I’m a Brazilian multidisciplinary indie game developer with over 10 years of experience. I specialize in game direction and game design, having released over 10 games in both the entertainment and educational sectors.

I’m also the Executive Director at ASCJogos, our local game developer association.

I love game jams, indie games, tabletop RPGs, and dream of developing an MMORPG one day!

CAN YOU TELL US A BIT ABOUT YVY AND THE INSPIRATION BEHIND IT?

YVY is an adventure autobattler game featuring customizable dice rolls and rogue-lite elements, inspired by real events in 16th century Brazil. Players can build their own dice, strategically choosing each face, and defend the region from the Whitecloak invaders!

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The original inspiration for the game came from dice-rolling mechanics, similar to Dicey Dungeons and the King of Tokyo board game. After a lot of prototyping, the idea evolved into an autobattler, drawing additional inspiration from Loop Hero, Pokémon Quest, and Digimon World 1.

The game’s themes are a fantasy reimagining of Brazil’s colonization, particularly focusing on the 16th century, when many conflicts occurred between indigenous people and colonizers. This theme is rarely explored in video games, and we saw the opportunity to create a rich, unique universe around it.

THE GAME HAS UNDERGONE A FEW SHIFTS DURING DEVELOPMENT, CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT ITS EVOLUTION?

Initially, the mechanics were very different, the player would roll their dice and each face would correspond to different types of energy, and use the results to cast different spells, but soon I started asking myself “what if all the players' skills where on the dice?”

Then after a lot of prototyping, I found this really interesting formula on auto battlers, and we merged the dice mechanics with auto battling with active abilities, like in Pokémon Quest and Digimon World 1.

The games theme also changed quite a lot. Initially, the game told the story of fantastical creatures whose lands were being invaded by monsters due to a curse. However, after discussions within the team, it was decided to shift the focus to a more Brazilian theme. This led to the creation of a new story also based on an invasion, but this time reinterpreting the colonization process of Brazil.

I think that these changes are a natural process of game development and creative products in general, and I hope that they lead to a better game in the end!

WHAT MADE YOU CHOOSE CONSTRUCT?

From the moment I first used Construct, I fell in love with it. It was perfect for me—a game designer with a solid understanding of programming logic but without deep programming skills. Construct had everything I needed to make my games, and it made the development process so much easier right from the start.

Initially, I used Construct for prototypes and game jams, but it didn’t take long for me to decide that it would be my main engine for commercial projects.

WHAT’S BEEN YOUR BIGGEST DEVELOPMENT HURDLE SO FAR?

Balancing the game has been quite challenging since it heavily relies on dice rolls and luck. It's also tough to create a truly engaging auto-battler, so we're using a lot of trial and error, along with as much playtesting as we can, to find the right formula.

Soon, we'll have another public demo available, and we invite everyone to play and share their feedback!

ANY MEMORABLE DEV STORIES?

We love when people recognize the Brazilian elements we’re incorporating into our game. The indigenous peoples have such beautiful stories and rich cultures that are rarely showcased in video games.

One of the most memorable moments for us happened while we were showing the game to an indigenous elder. He recognized a character inspired by his culture, and seeing the big smile on his face was truly unforgettable.

DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR PEOPLE DOING THEIR OWN GAME PROJECTS?

Oh, I’ve got so many things I could say, but I’ll mention what I think is the most fundamental: start small.

If you’re a beginner, like in any other craft, begin by mastering the basics and using plenty of references. Don’t dive into a big project right away, even if you think it’s manageable—it probably isn’t. As beginners (and even as professionals), it's tough to accurately predict a game’s scope. To avoid this, try to base your first games on smaller, well-established games like Flappy Bird, Pac-Man, or Pong.

And for the more advanced folks, prototype quickly and ensure the game is fun from the start. I've learned the hard way that not all projects are worth pursuing, and moving forward, I’ll make sure that any game I spend years developing is genuinely fun and engaging.

ANY FINAL THOUGHTS?

I hope you give a chance to YVY when the demo is released, and that you have fun developing your own games. The world needs your games, so take care of yourself and make your art!

If you want to follow YVY you can:

Wishlist YVY on Steam

Join our community on Discord

Follow us on Bluesky

Thank you for the opportunity and for creating such an amazing engine that helps turn our dreams into reality!

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  • I think your game looks great! I just wish listed it and I look forward to playing it one day. As a game programmer, this blog post (and game) is definitely very inspiring.

  • Hey! I saw your thing. I'm hoping on making a game of my own one day... But I want to start simple. I'm currently making an Angry Birds like game, but I need some help. I want to get better at coding, so I need all the help I can get...

    • That's great! One thing I’d recommend is joining a Game Jam - an event where you create a game within a limited timeframe (usually 48 hours) based on a given theme. It’s a fantastic incentive to finish a project, even for beginners!

      You can check out upcoming Game Jams here: itch.io/jams.

      GitHub’s Game Jam actually starts today and runs for 30 days!

      • Oh! Okay! But, it's been so long since I coded anything... I'm going into Computer Programming and I need all the things I can get. Also, I'm using a computer that blocks that link you sent me. Sorry... If there is a way I can do something, let me know.

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