The loop finally loops
There’s a fight to finish, an upgrade to choose, and another encounter after it. That feels like a real milestone for my first game.
- Milestone
- Combat
- Readability
Updated September 20, 2026 to reflect the current prototype. Original entry date retained.
For a while, BattleBall was a collection of pieces I was trying to get working together. Now the prototype can carry a battle through to an upgrade choice and into the next encounter. It’s a foundation I can actually keep playing and improving.
The backboard has become a little battlefield rather than a list of enemies. The player stands on the left, melee enemies approach in order, and ranged enemies stay behind them. At the end of a ball, the camera moves in so the fight has a chance to be seen.
Readability has taken more work than I expected. A long ball can produce a lot of attacks, and rushing through them makes it hard to tell what helped. The combat sequence needs to show its work without making every turn feel like a wait.
The upgrade screen has been part of that too. It now has its own space instead of riding along on the backboard. Hovering a board upgrade focuses the camera on the actual mechanism and highlights its shape. It’s a small change that makes a choice much easier to understand.
I’m happy with this as a milestone, not as a finished game. The next job is to keep playing it and notice where that working loop still feels awkward.