Game Journal #97 - Investigation Mode

Hey guys! Welcome back to my game journal series. I don't have too much to talk about, so I'll just get on with it.

I officially started implementing the official story mode this week! That's right, the actual story mode that you'll play through in the finished game. I'm really excited to be at this stage of development. For context, I started writing the game's story in 2018 right after I finished Tokyo Mirage Sessions FE (because there was no other game like it, and got tired of waiting for new and original JRPGS.) I finished it in 2021. So yeah, it's been a bit. Crafting lore and making it interesting is a slow process!

Anyways, this week I just worked on implementing the Investigation mode. You could already investigate some things ingame (like the hot springs for example) but there wasn't an official disclaimer for it. Now there is! Remember, Joe Maverick isn't just a JRPG, it's also a detective game. So you'll fight monsters, but also solve cases.

Regardless, I was able to completely finish the Investigation mode. Now all that's left is to continue implementing the story, along with creating more models and art. It's really not so bad. I think I'll have the introduction chapter done in the summertime, and that's also when I'll release the official paid version of the game. As a reminder, the game will cost 4.99 on launch, and will have its price raised to 9.99 when all 6 chapters are implemented (probably 2026 at the latest.) I'm just saying that to be safe, don't worry! And of course, all updates will be free.

Okay, with all that said, here's the video of me going over everything that I added. Next week, I should have a lot more graphical updates to show!