Devlog (5/31/23): Hard parts

Hello again! I'm making this post to signal that I'm finally beginning work on the dreaded QoL laundry list now. This is like, the big deal thing which is *technically* really important even if my soul is put in a blender every time I work on it. But I am actually working on it now. Options menus, key binds, accessibility settings, all that jazz is actually underway now.

Currently I only really have the exoskeleton laid out: A system for keybinds/controller binds already exists, but I've laid out all the buttons I want to use/be changeable now (the only hardcoded binds are now the Function keys), and I've laid out all the variables I'll be using for the many options you'll be able to change, as well as the structure of the config file itself, and code has already been written to basically "rewrite" any old outdated config files that people with carried-over Part 1 data may be using. That's hardly exciting, though...

Now that I've laid out/scoped all the options, the two big things I still have to do are actually implement the effects of those options (which is easier for some things than others), and implement the options menu itself (which I've been planning out in excruciating detail so that I know exactly how I'll implement it to make sure that it, y'know, works). For now, I'm just getting the ball rolling, but the pieces are in place to start actually hacking away at some of those things I promised.

Once those are done (which will TAKE A WHILE I'm sorry it will most certainly not be done in a matter of days), next I want to see about implementing a feature I like to call... (extended drumroll... spotlights waving around... the drums keep on going...my ears are starting to hurt now somebody stop it) PENCILMARK MODE!

So, to describe Pencilmarks for the uninitiated: they are effectively a form of physical note-taking for puzzles which is meant to aid you in solving the puzzle and keeping track of all the things you've figured out. One common way for this to be done is to allow drawing on the screen, but I actually want to see about doing something slightly more ambitious. How pencilmarks will work in I Wanna Lockpick is, by using the mouse (or some alternative input if I manage to get that working on both keyboard and gamepad), you will be able to CLICK a key or door, which will bring up a menu that lets you assign a colored symbol, number, or letter of your choice to that object! I intend for the options to be quite versatile, but for example, you could put a "1" above a door you open first, and a "2" above the door you open second, etc. Or you could put an "X" above doors you never open, and an "O" above a door you do open. Ultimately, how you use them will be up to you, and I'm pondering a means of saving/loading these pencilmarks so that you will always have them as some form of tangible progress in whatever puzzle you're solving. I haven't gotten to work on it yet, but it's something I would like to add.

Maybe when all of this is done, I'll make I Wanna Lockpick 2?!?! ...Nah, I'm just joshing, there's only gonna be one. But I do have 2 things I'd like to show you.

The first is this new version of the puzzle you see at the end of Part 1.

Returning players who've finished Part 1 will have to solve this again when they begin Part 2. Maybe solving it isn't too hard to figure out. I wonder what that other thing is, though..?

The second thing is this Actual Part 2 Puzzle that you might be able to find in the game someday. The puzzle itself is pretty simple and just uses Part 1 mechanics, but if you manage to actually reach it, then you will probably be hot off of several life-altering epiphanies after everything else Part 2 has to offer. Think of it as one of those tiny candies you get at a restaurant which is somehow more appetizing than the actual food.

Anyways, that's basically it for this devlog. If any folks here remember those posts I was making about release dates, maybe just throw them in the trash can now, they are not to be trusted. As I've said before, Lockpick isn't my only project, and in fact, it's arguably the one I work on the least these days... I would like to be done with it someday, but as much as I want to just release what I have now and wipe my hands clean, I know that I'll just incur the wrath of They Who Be Being if I push out an unfinished game without all of the final spices or QoL improvements added to it. And I'll be honest, this game has so much stuff in it, and so much stuff *planned* for it, that it's kind of overwhelming every time I come back to it... Sometimes I open the project file, stare at Game Maker for a few seconds, and then close it again. It sucks!

Anyways, thanks in advance for your patience, everyone. It's 5 AM now. I need to go to sleep soon. Have this Lily I drew in MS Paint.