So, I don't know if it would be appropriate to put up a development journal here, but perhaps having it online will give me some incentive to actually finish the thing. And maybe attract others to help out with some of the stuff I need.
Anyway, the game is called Sander's Dale. It's a top-down survival/horror game about a man named Cedric, who's wife was murdered by a cultist named Joseph. He left his home and has been away for ten years. Now, he suddenly finds himself coming back and is surprised by how little has changed in his old hometown, aside from everybody getting older. Not long after he arrives, the town is hit by a terrible storm and wolves come out of the mountains and overrun the place. Cedric has to run and fight (but mostly run) for his survival from threats both natural and supernatural as he pieces together the events leading up to the night of his return, confront his wife's murderer and finally lay his past to rest. If he can't, he'll die in Sander's Dale, just like his wife did. The story is loosely inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft and Silent Hill 2.
I've already got quite a few of the maps done, which includes the woods, the town, most of the houses, the church (interior and exterior) and all of those maps after the storm hits. I also have the sprites for Cedric attacking with the axe and, thanks to the help of KobraStatik, the base sprite for the ghoul. I also have all the music I need to set the tone, although I may have to acquire permission to use them. I'm not sure if that's needed exactly, since I don't plan on commercially releasing it, but I suppose I should check anyway.
I have also found and applied a special script for collecting and reading notes and journals that you find scattered throughout the game and have written up the first journal you find. I believe I found the script on this website, actually, back when I first started playing around, but before I officially joined. I'll have to check and see and credit the appropriate person.
I will be using the Blizz-ABS system for combat, since it's hard to make turn based combat intense. Also, there won't be leveling up. You'll play as an ordinary human, so you'll have a small amount of HP and won't be able to take more than a few hits from enemies before you die, meaning you'll have to either run away from them, catch them by surprise, or hit them from a distance. Ammunition for ranged weapons and healing items will be in short supply, meaning that you'll have to think carefully about every enemy encounter; those who run in like an action hero will quickly find their faces being chewed off and spat back onto their corpse.
Below is a checklist of things that I still need to finish. As I get them done, I'll cross them off.
Maps
Roland's House
Wither's House
Dream Scape (cutscene)
Church Basement
Joseph's Lair
Forest
Forest Cabin
Mine (3 levels)
Notes
Recipe
Roland's Journal
Mysterious Tome
Father William's Journal
Cultes De Goules excerpt
Foreman's Journal
Sprites
Cedric attack (crossbow)
Crossbow bolt (projectile)
Cedric attack (Baneful Dust)
Baneful Dust (melee attack)
Cedric Skill Use
Joseph's Doppleganger
Doppleganger skill use
Wolf attack
Ghoul attack
Joseph attack
Joseph's weapon (haven't decided what, possibly a dagger)
Joseph skill use
Lightning bolt (Joseph's spell)
Fireball (Joseph's spell)
Things to Figure Out (scripts or event systems)
Dynamic Lighting for the mines: In order to explore the mines, the player must find a lantern and oil, which will light up a small area. Ghouls are hiding all over in the mines, which makes exploring them intense.
Make enemies randomly spawn: Part of making a horror game frightening is a constant sense of danger, but to stretch out the combat so that the tension has time to build. As such, there will be very few placed enemies on each map and they will not respawn; however, to make the player feel in constant danger, any map where enemies have appeared have a chance of randomly spawning an enemy somewhere on the map every minute. I don't want enemies to spawn often, just enough that the players won't feel comfortable standing around in any one place too long.
Enemy idle noises: For ambiance, I want enemies that haven't noticed the player to make idle sounds if the player is close by. This will make the mines especially stressful, since the player will have to use the enemy sounds to guess where they might be when they are outside the circle of light the lantern provides.
Enemy custom death sounds: Just for atmosphere. The standard death sound for the enemies breaks the tone.
Specific damage values for weapons and attacks: Easier to control how much of a threat enemies represent and for the player to determine whether his best course of action is to fight, or run away screaming. It's probably the latter.
Blizz-ABS script: Still figuring out how everything here works. Perhaps some of the above is already covered in it.
Stats
Cedric: The player.
Rats: Non-combative wandering creature. Flees from player. Can be killed if you're feeling cruel.
Wolf: Only found in the forest and in the town during storm. Low hit points and low attack damage, but usually attacks in groups.
Ghoul: Encountered in the church basement, Joseph's lair and the mine. Higher hit points and attack damage, but slower than wolves and vulnerable to Baneful Dust.
Jospeh's Doppleganger: Guards specific areas. Casts weaker versions of Joseph's spells, which are nulified by Protective Ward.
Joseph: Casts two spells - lightning bolt and fireball. Has a barrier that must be dispelled before he can be attacked.
Weapons
Axe: Melee weapon. Does high damage, but has a slight attack delay.
Crossbow: ranged weapon. Deals a small amount of damage and needs ammo, but has good range.
Baneful Dust: Only harms ghouls, but makes them flee. Technically a thrown weapon, but has melee range. Also requires ammo, which you have to acquire several ingredients to make and you only get a very small amount.
Skills
Protective Ward: Defends against harmful magics. Without this spell, Joseph's attacks will all insta-kill the player.
Story Elements
Climax: I'm not sure yet how to handle the final encounter. Joseph himself is the final enemy you encounter, but given how powerful he is with his spells, an actual direct boss fight may not be a smart idea. Given that the player has a small amount of health and very limited healing items, having the player fight him directly might be difficult, bordering on impossible (Unless *redacted for spoiler*). Perhaps I should consider having a final puzzle to stop Joseph and make the player have to dodge his spells while doing it. But if I'm going to do that, how can I work it out in such a way that it feels natural and doesn't pull the player out of the game?
I think I'll be focusing on the sprites and maps first, since I can make those without any help. Once I have those done, I'll be looking for help with the scripting or event systems needed to make the gameplay effective.
Update on 4/2/12: Finished all the maps for the town and the church basement and a good part of Joseph's Lair. Also wrote up the recipe for the Baneful Dust.