From the development notebook. These entries discuss story details and describe the game at the time of writing.
October 21, 2026: Braden has a point
I keep coming back to Braden at the beginning of Discovery. He sees through the
enemy patterns, gets tired of repeating himself, and recognizes when a game tries
to create difficulty by throwing more enemies at him. I wrote that criticism,
and I want this game to live up to it. I want it to be fun.
The comic story is important to me, but the player also needs something worth
doing when a panel ends. This pass gives the same small encounter several answers:
make and launch slime, freeze and break the spell, or time Haley's shield to send
an attack back. The Gorgons behave differently without turning into an endless
crowd. I want players watching, deciding and experimenting.
The trampoline gives Jillian's imagination a physical result. I can take a direct
bounce toward Gabby or choose a higher route with optional sparks. Haley can steer
and glide, and a mistake sends me back to the nearby trampoline instead of through
the story again. The challenge should invite another try.
These are gameplay inventions inside the existing rescue area, not a finished
recreation of the book's entire scene. I still need to play it and judge the feel.
Passing a test can tell me the jump lands; it cannot tell me whether I smile when
I make it. That is the standard I want to use for what we build next.
October 21, 2026: Get the controls out of the way
The game is improving, but the controls still feel wonky to me. I also spotted
Danny's old model in the game. A newer model sitting in a folder does not count
as progress if the actual scene still loads the old one.
My priority for this pass is predictable movement: a camera I can control,
clear button roles, quick stops and a dodge that stays grounded. I want the
trampoline to give me a useful launch without turning my view for me. The input
checks now exercise the same bindings the player uses, as well as the existing
route tests.
Danny's academy scene is being connected to the supplied newer model and its
Blender body rig. That gives us the right body in the playable encounter, while
facial acting and fingers remain work to do. I would like sound eventually,
but I am putting that aside until moving around is fun.
October 21, 2026: Haley has to feel right
I want the moment-to-moment game to justify the story around it. Haley's run and
the controls were getting in the way. If I have to think about which cousin to
select before every small action, the family feels like a menu instead of a team.
This pass keeps Haley in my hands while letting the others help. Jillian can make
the trampoline when I interact with its marked spot. A team button calls for the
next useful power, and the cousin briefly appears to perform it. Haley's shield
no longer throws her into the air; jumping and soaring belong on the jump button.
I also want a place worth waking up in. The lantern walk, market stalls, nearby
homes and wooded backdrop give the courtyard more context. The new Haley model
keeps its blue jacket outdoors, and the animation work uses the motion files we
already own. I want to judge this by how it feels in play, not just by a still image.
I am putting the game on GitHub as a private project, with the playable assets
under Git LFS and the large source-art archive backed up separately. This is a
foundation for continuing the work. Faces, hands, hair and ground-aware foot
placement still have room to improve.
October 21, 2026: let the children tell the story through movement
I wanted the changes carried through the whole opening. When Johnny asks the
kids to turn toward the house, I need to see them turn. That action is part of
the reveal. The new sequence gives each child a slightly different head lead,
weight shift and turn, with the house disappearing as they face it.
I also want the discovery of their powers to happen through the comic itself.
Haley glides before she understands it. Gabby pulls Jack's attention toward the
doll. Braden makes it float. Jillian thinks of help and brings Johnny into a
very unexpected place. Those moments carry the story's heart, so the adaptation
keeps their order and records the passages behind them. Jack's speed is explained
later by Johnny; the moving panel shows what Jack imagines he could do.
Baby Wets-a-Lot now has the same distinct toy identity in the earlier basement
illustrations. Johnny moves the eyes and blinks while crying, keeping Jillian's
surprise intact. The game has its own simpler vinyl prop as well. The body motion
is a first pass, and I still want stronger acting and closer consistency between
the animated models and the illustrated faces.
The three story segments now sit around playable interactions in Unreal. I can
advance a page, pause or skip a scene and continue playing. The full route through
the basement, doorway and existing outdoor adventure passed its check. I want to
keep that connection between story and play as I move toward the trampoline rescue.
October 21, 2026: the doll is not another Gabby
I liked the direction of the comic, but Baby Wets-a-Lot looked too much like
Gabby. Some of Johnny's speech tails also seemed to point at Haley, and I wanted
stronger music, sound and intrigue. The revised toy now has a simple vinyl face,
a molded curl and visible plastic joints, while Gabby keeps her natural hair
and living expression.
I corrected the suggestion that the doll's eyes should stay painted and fixed.
That misses a detail I wrote: Baby Wets-a-Lot does not normally move her eyes,
which makes Johnny doing it unusual. Jillian explains that her other doll moves
its eyes. The revised close-ups now show a lifelike left-and-right gaze inside
the still plastic head. The exact passage is recorded with the artwork so that
this distinction carries into the next implementation.
I also want these panels to support a fun game. The proposal is to use short
comic beats around actions, with the complete scenes available to watch in the
journal. I am interested in occasional interaction when it changes what I do:
where to place a trampoline, which route to take, or how to combine powers.
I do not want clicking through illustrations to become the main activity.
The strongest next candidate is the ice-cream rescue: create the trampoline,
bounce, steer Haley's glide, recover from a miss and help the boys. Movement and
quick retries should feel good before we add more presentation. Danny holding
Gabby is different; that emotional moment should have room without a timed
button press getting in the way.
The revised house scene and eye-motion comparison are standalone reviews. The
Unreal doorway, earlier basement art and native toy still need this new identity
carried through. The gameplay proposal is a plan for the next milestone, not a
claim that the trampoline rescue has already been built.