This is text heavy! :/

This dev log is a day late, but I promise I've been busy! More design work has taken place while I have simultaneously been learning GDscript so that I can code the game. Let's firstly look at what design decisions have taken place.

I have fine tuned the list of systems that will be in place in this game, the below will give you a better idea about what kind of game GUTTERBORN will be.

Systems

Stats System:

• Hunger
• Hydration
• Hygiene
• Happiness
 

Inventory System:

• Open it easily
• Move items around
• Grid like and items must fit and come in different sizes
• Expand storage capacity with better bags
• Can destroy unwanted items
• Hot-bar for tools and other usable items
 

Work System:

• Jobs
• Job specific mini-game
• Performance (Affected by happiness)
• Being late (Affects pay and angers boss)
• Getting fired
• Payday (Once a week)
 

Urban Salvaging and Restoration System:

• Search outdoors in alleys for broken items
• Bring items back to workshop in apartment
• Fix them with required crafting ingredients and tools
• Resell the items for money
• Will possibly have a minigame involved for restoring specific items
• The quality of the restored items is better as you level up associated skill
 

Apartment System:

• Decorating
• Furniture Rules
• Security Levels
• Burglary mechanic influenced by security level
 

Crafting System:

• Workstations
• Recipes
• Item categories
• Breaking down items (recycling)
 

Crime System:

• Muggings at night in city area
• Player defence / combat
• Calculated risk. Time/district/level
 

Economy System:

• Money and income
• Shop prices
• Selling crafted items
• Bank loans
 

Addiction System:

• Dependency affecting happiness stat
• Buffs and debuffs
• Alcohol, smoking, drugs (Gambling eventually)
 

Relationship System:

• NPC Friendship levels
• Friends can accompany you
• Friends may give gifts
• At certain levels, friends give quests

Skill Tree System:

• Branching paths for leveling up
• Main paths will be: Refurbishment, Social, Work and Personal

I'd also like to talk about my Asset Acquisition Strategy. As I have said before, no generative AI will be used to make content for this game. So I wanted to go into detail about how I plan to acquire specific content for the game that I might not make myself as well as how I am making any of the content I am making myself.

Asset Acquisition Strategy

Visual Assets (Tilesets & Character Sprites)

The game will use a 32×32 pixel, top-down art style.

To ensure development speed and consistency while working as a solo developer, visual assets will primarily be sourced from commercially licensed third-party tilesets and sprite packs.

These assets will be:

• Purchased or downloaded from reputable marketplaces (e.g. itch.io, asset stores)
• Fully compatible with commercial use
• Used as a base rather than final art

All visual assets will be modified, extended, and unified using Aseprite, which is a purpose-built and affordable pixel art tool well suited to 32×32 tile-based workflows.

Since I do not currently have professional pixel art experience, this approach allows:

• Rapid prototyping
• Visual consistency
• Gradual development of original assets over time
• Replacement or enhancement of placeholder art later in development

This workflow is common among solo indie developers and allows the project to remain visually coherent while minimizing production bottlenecks.

Audio & Soundtrack Strategy

Sound effects and early musical elements will be created in-house during development.

I will:

• Use my piano to compose simple musical themes and ambient pieces
• Create basic sound effects suitable for early prototypes and alpha builds
• Focus on atmosphere-driven audio rather than complex orchestration

For the soundtrack:

• Early versions will use simple, original compositions created by myself
• At a later development stage (post-prototype / pre-release), I may commission a composer if budget allows, or collaborate with a musician to enhance the overall soundscape

This phased approach ensures the game has original audio from the start while keeping production costs flexible.

Colour Palette Development

The game’s colour palette will be carefully designed to support its gritty, urban tone and emotional atmosphere.

To assist with this:

• I will use ChatGPT as a decision-support tool to explore colour theory, palette suggestions, and hexadecimal colour values based on mood, lighting, and setting
• All colour decisions will be manually reviewed, tested, and approved
• No AI-generated graphics or audio will be used in the project

The final palette will be:

• Muted and atmospheric
• Consistent across environments, UI, and characters
• Iterated upon during development to ensure visual cohesion

Summary

This asset strategy prioritizes:

Practicality
Low upfront cost
Creative control
Scalability as the project grows

It allows development to progress efficiently while leaving room for refinement and originality as the game approaches Early Access and beyond.

Thats about it folks,
See you next week

- K