Thursday Turn Out - 01/01/2026

It’s 2026! I know this because I had to correct the name of both this post, and the Word file I used to draft it, from 2025. That’s the new “previous year in the checkbook” in a tap-to-pay society.

My coding goal this week was to add knockback/cooldown to both Zel and the enemies, and here’s how that’s going:

There are three mechanics on display: the hookshot-style fishing pole that lets Zel travel across obstacles, the “hook-and-kick” attack that temporarily stuns the enemy (that little foot-shuffle is Zel’s attack, she kicks enemies with her big-ol’ boots), and a “just-kick” attack while the enemy isn’t stunned. Zel has an obvious advantage when using hook-and-kick, at least when she’s attacking enemies one at a time. If she uses the just-kick attack, she has to attack almost immediately when she enters the enemy’s ChaseRadius shape, or she’ll be damaged and kicked back.

Now, do I want to leave that as is, or do I want to tweak it? If I leave it as is, it could persuade players to incorporate the fishing pole into combat while leaving a challenge for more confident players. The other option is to add a short delay timer to enemy attacks: this would give Zel a longer window if the player opted for the just-kick method. I feel this will depreciate the fishing pole’s role in combat. I want the fishing pole to be more than just a traversal mechanic, so I’m leaning towards the first option. I’ll need to listen to playtesters once I have the prototype ready to play.

That’s a next week problem, though. I still have a song to finish and an animated sprite sheet to make. Can I get the job done? Subscribe to the newsletter and find out first! See you Sunday!