Speech bubbles and particles

Note: This article was written on 2025-01-04, as a summary of the events happening on Discord back during this development log

As environmental effects, like indicators and particles, are an important part of the game aesthetics, I decided to prototype and implement them straight away.

Same as for the heightmap, I mostly based my particle implementation on SimonDev's video on particles.

I created the basic particle system for the game on March 20th, alongside the ability to link a particle generator to any given bone if needed (here, to the hands)

Based on the idea of particles, on March 21st, I added the possibility to display dynamic speech bubbles above the head of characters

I then experimented with particles to make a campfire on March 24th

And also took some time to create a wooden frame for allowing suspension animations while outdoors.

This, of course, was to work towards a more living world, so after a bit of integration, I could bring everything to the heightmap system.