Thank you! Yes, pacing I know is a core issue. I've experimented with multiple pacing options. Usually increasing how fast the day/night cycle is. The current iteration is well less than half the original design (the goal of which was to get the player to encounter at least part of a night out in the open between safe spots). But, I can see it needs to be sped up even more. It is a tricky system because the player can advance the clock with the campfires, and different players will play different sections faster or slower than others. I was worried that the game would be too difficult, so I kept the current system so that the day would be long enough for a player to do a little crafting and puzzling how to get past some obstacles before encountering the night with its waves of attackers. I wanted the player to be seeing the sinking sun and to be preparing themselves (torches ready, weapons prepared, trying to decide if they are going to hunker down where they are, maybe build a bonfire or two, or if they will make a desperate charge for the next refuge). The original design of the pass was non-linear with branching paths, so the player would have the opportunity to do more rewarding exploring (a tree to chop down here, a hot spring here, a hidden weapon or two there), but I ran out of time and kept it linear, and so yeah, it is unfortunate since you spend a few minutes walking through the day just walking to the right with the occasional obstacle and the game needs more. The best solution for now is probably just shortening the day/night cycle a bit again.

Thanks for playing, yes, I plan to continue this project to hopefully get it to where I originally envisioned: an open world story mode where you explore, gather, craft, and challenge foes. Plus, Smash Bros style local/online multiplayer with "weapon crafting" between rounds.

Thanks, that is helpful feedback! I realize the palisade hint and the axe sitting there (especially in the dark) would be confusing for many players. But, the idea is that you have to chop down the barrier much like you would an enemy by equipping the axe. Or, any weapon (even a hand crafted one) will probably be enough to get through it eventually, but the axe is the fastest, should only take a 2-4 solid swings. I'm going to add a few more tutorial hints to help clear this up.

Thanks, that is helpful feedback. I think one of the issues is Bokken is just too ambitious a game for a jam prototype. I found myself playing around with the systems too much and increasing the depth without easing in players. Ghost Fire has a bit of an identity crisis since I built it on top of the Bokken foundation, but then took it in a different direction, making many of the system vestigial. Anyways, to someone who isn't experienced with the game (which is really only me and a select few friends and family) it reads as very convoluted. Part of it is that it is definitely not a game for everyone. The other part of it is I've done a bad job at making it accessible. I'm adding a guided tutorial for starting a fire. Bokken in general needs to be a larger game with a gentle design that eases players in by scaffolding each of the systems for them. And I plan to continue work on it. Glad you liked Ikuta '73 too, that is gratifying. That's another project that is high on my list to explore further.

Yes, definitely. Even though I had the original idea for this game long before I played Terraria, I've definitely been inspired by games like Terraria since. The core of the 2D physics and "arm swinging" idea came from Hammerfight. And the crafting was just something that I thought would be cool (crafting anything you want with individual pixels of materials and letting the physics influence how it behaves). I recall it was the first game project I seriously worked on, starting with me hand coding the crafting canvas and tools in C# in MonoGame over 16 years ago. I spent a year on the game and got burned out, I was working a minimum wage job and going to college and my wife at the time was getting worried about us paying the bills. So, I gave up game development and got a career.

Gosh, sorry for the life story. I am just very glad that AI tech has reached where it is now where I can finally realize dozens of dreams I've had in my head all these years. I have game design notebooks full of ideas like this. And, yet, even with AI there is still hardly enough time to realize them all.

Yes, the art style is a sore spot. I don't even have a walk animation, lol! The Octopath Traveller look is one I hadn't considered for this. But, that is a great idea to consider. I had thought about either classical woodblock or ukiyo-e style like Hokusai. I even did a Hokusai-style art for the cover. But, ultimately decided to go more Akira Kurosawa style instead.

Thanks, likewise :)