Cheese:
Hello, this is Cheese, currently working on <Ratocalypse>.
To begin this month’s Dev Diary, we’d like to first share our upcoming schedule, as it will help provide context for the topics that follow.
We’ve been working on <Ratocalypse> for roughly six months now, and we’re planning to hold a public user test event starting December 12. The goal is to gather player impressions and feedback directly from the community.
On December 12, we will release a detailed announcement about test recruitment and promotion. As for this December Dev Diary, it mainly covers the improvements and updates we’ve been working on in preparation for that testing event.
UI/UX Improvement
The first area we began revising was the UI/UX. Up until now, our focus had been on testing core functionality, so the UI was often put together quickly—just enough to validate whether features worked. For this prototype test, however, we wanted to bring the UI/UX up to a level that wouldn’t detract from the overall gameplay experience.
That said, many features are still not finalized, which means certain aspects of the UI are difficult to lock in. Because of this, we plan to continue gathering feedback on UI-related improvements throughout the testing period.
In our previous title, <Ratopia>, many features shared the same UI format, so having a broadly adaptable UI system was crucial. However, <Ratocalypse> requires a much larger number of unique, feature-specific UI screens, which meant we needed to establish a clear priority list for what to revise first.
To start, we focused on UI elements that players interact with most frequently or ones that are central to the game’s core systems. Below are examples showing the before-and-after states of the UI screens we updated during this phase.
Among all the UI elements we worked on, the one that took the most time—and is still the most challenging—is the Tactical Setup UI. One of the core features of our game is the ability to configure each character’s tactical AI, but this screen contains many adjustable options, which made its layout particularly difficult to design.
The system is divided into three major components: Movement AI tendencies, Skill usage priority, Attaching condition/effect runes to skills. Trying to present all of these controls within a single interface raises concerns about whether first-time players might find it overwhelming or cluttered. This is something we are still carefully evaluating.
Currently, you can set Movement AI tendencies on the top left corner, and Skill usage priority and Condition/Effect Rune settings on the center.
Aside from these, we identified many other areas that could benefit from further UI adjustments. However, with so many features still expected to be added or changed, we decided to wrap up the current UI revisions at a reasonable point based on our internal standards.
During the upcoming public test, we plan to closely examine which UI interactions players find most unintuitive or inconvenient, and gather feedback to guide our next round of improvements.
Tutorial System
The tutorial is probably one of the most challenging parts of game development for many developers. As the development team repeatedly plays the same build over a long period, it becomes harder to accurately predict which parts players will find difficult to understand. And if the game’s systems aren’t originally built with tutorial implementation in mind, it’s not uncommon to end up having to rework entire sections later just to make the tutorial possible.
Perhaps the tutorial is what we’ve revised the most in <Ratopia>
Based on our past experience developing the tutorials for Ratropolis and Ratopia, we’ve learned that tutorials inevitably require frequent revisions—as well as large amounts of content being added or removed over time. With that in mind, we wanted the tutorial system for this project to be easy to integrate with any game feature and simple to maintain from the very first design stage.
The system is structured so that a separate observer module runs on top of the main game systems.
One limitation we still haven’t overcome is creating a tutorial that unfolds naturally as the game progresses. Ideally, a well-designed level structure would allow players to learn the mechanics without needing a formal tutorial at all. However, for this first prototype, we decided it would be safer to provide a solid, conventional tutorial rather than attempt something overly experimental.
Like the UI/UX work, the tutorial system will also be refined continuously based on player feedback throughout testing.
Event System
In <Ratocalypse>, players will encounter two types of events: main events that progress alongside the primary storyline, and sub-events that follow various characters and situational developments. We plan to add as many diverse events as possible, and to support this, we designed the underlying system so new quests can be easily created and tested.
To achieve this, event data is stored in an Excel file that is converted into a database, allowing the game to load new events directly from structured data.
Events appear in the intended order by loading data directly from the database.
Most of the prologue, opening scenes, and in-game events are still using placeholder compositions and temporary staging. Even so, we’ve arranged them in a way that supports player immersion and conveys the overall narrative flow of the game.
In the public test version, you’ll be able to experience the opening, the prologue, and roughly 15 additional events built on this system.
Closing
In addition to the systems mentioned above, we also spent time refining several other elements in preparation for the upcoming test. These include:
- Adding a new title illustration
- Designing the game logo
- Implementing localization support
- Updating various icons
- Improving our cutscene/sequence system
- Adding new visual effects
- Developing the game options menu
Looking back, we really did polish a lot in a short time.
Even after three Dev Diaries, we know many of you may still be wondering what kind of game Ratocalypse ultimately is. In the tester recruitment post scheduled for December 12, we’ll be sharing our first full overview of the game and its core experience.
That wraps up this month’s Dev Diary.
Thank you for reading.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CasselGames/
X: https://x.com/CasselGames
Cheese:
Hello, this is Cheese, currently working on <Ratocalypse>.
To begin this month’s Dev Diary, we’d like to first share our upcoming schedule, as it will help provide context for the topics that follow.
We’ve been working on <Ratocalypse> for roughly six months now, and we’re planning to hold a public user test event starting December 12. The goal is to gather player impressions and feedback directly from the community.
On December 12, we will release a detailed announcement about test recruitment and promotion. As for this December Dev Diary, it mainly covers the improvements and updates we’ve been working on in preparation for that testing event.
UI/UX Improvement
The first area we began revising was the UI/UX. Up until now, our focus had been on testing core functionality, so the UI was often put together quickly—just enough to validate whether features worked. For this prototype test, however, we wanted to bring the UI/UX up to a level that wouldn’t detract from the overall gameplay experience.
That said, many features are still not finalized, which means certain aspects of the UI are difficult to lock in. Because of this, we plan to continue gathering feedback on UI-related improvements throughout the testing period.
In our previous title, <Ratopia>, many features shared the same UI format, so having a broadly adaptable UI system was crucial. However, <Ratocalypse> requires a much larger number of unique, feature-specific UI screens, which meant we needed to establish a clear priority list for what to revise first.
To start, we focused on UI elements that players interact with most frequently or ones that are central to the game’s core systems. Below are examples showing the before-and-after states of the UI screens we updated during this phase.
Among all the UI elements we worked on, the one that took the most time—and is still the most challenging—is the Tactical Setup UI. One of the core features of our game is the ability to configure each character’s tactical AI, but this screen contains many adjustable options, which made its layout particularly difficult to design.
The system is divided into three major components: Movement AI tendencies, Skill usage priority, Attaching condition/effect runes to skills. Trying to present all of these controls within a single interface raises concerns about whether first-time players might find it overwhelming or cluttered. This is something we are still carefully evaluating.
Currently, you can set Movement AI tendencies on the top left corner, and Skill usage priority and Condition/Effect Rune settings on the center.
Aside from these, we identified many other areas that could benefit from further UI adjustments. However, with so many features still expected to be added or changed, we decided to wrap up the current UI revisions at a reasonable point based on our internal standards.
During the upcoming public test, we plan to closely examine which UI interactions players find most unintuitive or inconvenient, and gather feedback to guide our next round of improvements.
Tutorial System
The tutorial is probably one of the most challenging parts of game development for many developers. As the development team repeatedly plays the same build over a long period, it becomes harder to accurately predict which parts players will find difficult to understand. And if the game’s systems aren’t originally built with tutorial implementation in mind, it’s not uncommon to end up having to rework entire sections later just to make the tutorial possible.
Perhaps the tutorial is what we’ve revised the most in <Ratopia>
Based on our past experience developing the tutorials for Ratropolis and Ratopia, we’ve learned that tutorials inevitably require frequent revisions—as well as large amounts of content being added or removed over time. With that in mind, we wanted the tutorial system for this project to be easy to integrate with any game feature and simple to maintain from the very first design stage.
The system is structured so that a separate observer module runs on top of the main game systems.
One limitation we still haven’t overcome is creating a tutorial that unfolds naturally as the game progresses. Ideally, a well-designed level structure would allow players to learn the mechanics without needing a formal tutorial at all. However, for this first prototype, we decided it would be safer to provide a solid, conventional tutorial rather than attempt something overly experimental.
Like the UI/UX work, the tutorial system will also be refined continuously based on player feedback throughout testing.
Event System
In <Ratocalypse>, players will encounter two types of events: main events that progress alongside the primary storyline, and sub-events that follow various characters and situational developments. We plan to add as many diverse events as possible, and to support this, we designed the underlying system so new quests can be easily created and tested.
To achieve this, event data is stored in an Excel file that is converted into a database, allowing the game to load new events directly from structured data.
Events appear in the intended order by loading data directly from the database.
Most of the prologue, opening scenes, and in-game events are still using placeholder compositions and temporary staging. Even so, we’ve arranged them in a way that supports player immersion and conveys the overall narrative flow of the game.
In the public test version, you’ll be able to experience the opening, the prologue, and roughly 15 additional events built on this system.
Closing
In addition to the systems mentioned above, we also spent time refining several other elements in preparation for the upcoming test. These include:
Looking back, we really did polish a lot in a short time.
Even after three Dev Diaries, we know many of you may still be wondering what kind of game Ratocalypse ultimately is. In the tester recruitment post scheduled for December 12, we’ll be sharing our first full overview of the game and its core experience.
That wraps up this month’s Dev Diary.
Thank you for reading.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CasselGames/
X: https://x.com/CasselGames