Pokemon Generations Developer's Diary #1

So, what have I done in the last few days? Well, everything that has been done so far is at the planning stages. Notably, how far the game will go, how will it be released/updated and the features within the game itself.

Everything that I had previously stated on Facebook earlier this year, notably some humour, dialogue choices and the option to join Team Rocket is the integral part of this game. For the first time in a Pokemon experience, your character belongs to you. Their personality is built on your decisions and the game's story, aftermath and the NPCs react to you according to your decisions throughout the game.

But outwith the 10+ hour story of travelling through Kanto and taking down Team Rocket (or joining them), seven of the eight Kanto gyms return and act as the boss battles of the game. Defeating these eight gym leaders, defeating the "Elite Four" to become Pokemon Champion, and defeating Giovanni of Team Rocket sums up the main quest of the game.

Ontop of these basic outlines, the world is at your feet. All of the original 151 Pokemon are obtainable in Pokemon Generations, and it's really just a game of catch them all. The Pokemon able to be caught is expanded by travelling to other locations in the game (which I will come to at the time) and using the Safari Zone which will contain a number of Pokemon exclusive to that area.

The battle system for Pokemon Generations is loosely based on the battle system of modern Pokemon games, but lacks a number of features that may be added in the future. Alot of gameplay elements from previous official Pokemon instalments is included but there are other features missing that may be added in the future aswell, but that would involve engine-level scripting to be updated and that could essentially be a game-breaker.

Let's talk an initial release date. If all goes according to plan, an initial version which will be playable with several locations, Pokemon to catch, Gyms to conquer, and hopefully a good part of the story will be released in August 2012. From Winter 2012, regular updates will be released, and the game will constantly evolve and be worked on in bite-size chunks in the future. This is solely in the interest of time.

That's