Hey, everyone! Welcome to my first devlog for ‘Expedition Wildlife’! I’m Marijn, an indie solo developer behind this passion project. Today, I’m thrilled to give you a sneak peek behind the scenes of what I’ve been working on and what’s in store for the game Expedition Wildlife.
But before we dive into the game, let me share a bit about myself. As a child, I always had this creative itch, of making small movies, drawing, and weaving stories. As I grew older, I explored graphic and vector design, delved into filming and video editing, and even decided to pursue a bachelor’s in Communication and Multimedia Design.
During my bachelor studies, I took various online courses, from Gamedesign to 3D modeling, character design, animation, and game development. It was during these courses that I decided to combining all my skills into one epic project.
Finally, after years of experimenting with different game engines and concepts, I mustered the courage to go all-in and create Expedition Wildlife.
So, what is Expedition Wildlife all about? It’s a delightful and cheerful world called ‘Wildlife,’ where all the animals live together in harmony. You and your friends become the new citizens of Wildlife, embarking on exciting adventures. As you enter Wildlife, you’ll meet Mr. Chewer, the landowner, who will send you out on quests to help the citizens tackle various challenges in the different regions. Each area has its unique problems to solve, like Savannah poachers, Arctic mining for precious resources, and jungle deforestation.
The game features three playable characters, each with their own special abilities. The Lion can throw items, climb trees, and up against the walls. The Elephant uses its trunk as a whip in combat and its ears to fly around the map. Lastly, the Penguin dashes with lightning speed towards your opponents and slides gracefully through the areas.
Official development began around June 2023. I started by creating the art assets first, working on shaders to give the game a happy, cartoonish look. As more assets fill up the world, I might fine-tune the look in the future.
Then, I focused on bringing the first playable character, Jari the Lion, to life. Using Blender, I crafted the 3D model and generated animations with Mixamo. I plan to add custom animations later, but for now, Mixamo’s ones work well for testing my own locomotion system. This system will allow easy swapping between characters as I add the Elephant and Penguin with their unique animation sets.
Once the player character was ready, I started crafting the player hub—a central point where players can easily travel between the three worlds, interact with civilians, get quests from Mr. Chewer, and purchase collectibles to unlock new levels or clothes. I’ve already finished the Savannah and Arctic entrances and spruced up the central hub. More assets will be added later in the future.
Recently, I’ve been diving into some coding tasks, setting up collectibles like coins and health points, and implementing a health system and enemy AI that will chase and attack the player.
