Hello, Descendants. This is the Director for The First Descendant, Minseok Joo.

 

Today I'd like to talk about the Grappling Hook and Parkour, both of which garnered a great amount of feedback after the last Steam Beta Test. In our last DevTalk, we mentioned improvements made to the Grappling Hook including the swing and introduction of Parkour. In this Dev Note, we'll explain in more detail about the thought process that went into creating the Grappling Hook and Parkour, and how we've been improving them.

 

See how the Grappling Hook has changed!

 

[Creation of the Grappling Hook]

"Let's add a movement device that is stylish and unique to The First Descendant!"

 

This is how the development of the Grappling Hook began, and we studied examples of grappling hooks in other games. From this, we established several criteria. First, we wanted the movement device to be able to attach to anything within the environment. Second, since The First Descendant is a grinding game, we didn't want to create a Grappling Hook action that would be unduly advantageous in combat. This second criterion led to a Grappling Hook action that only allows movement in a straight line. Third, we wanted it to be utilized in boss combats, which gave birth to the Part Removal action.

 

It's embarrassing, but this is how the Grappling Hook looked in the very early stages.

 

The Grappling Hook has undergone two major changes through the FGT and the last Steam Beta Test. Based on the user feedback received from both tests, we diagnosed the current state of the Grappling Hook and identified areas for change. Once again, we highly value the feedback of all our Descendants. We always try to learn from your feedback like model students, and we hope to work with you to build and develop this project together.

 

[Grappling Hook: Improvement #1]

The FGT confirmed the potential of the Grappling Hook as an interesting movement device, but it also uncovered issues. Namely, its lack of utility in combat.

 

Therefore, we added the ability to attach the hook to monsters, and an action to link with melee attacks.

 

But we've moderated the improvement level so that the action of attaching the hook to monsters wouldn't become another skill. In The First Descendant, characters are the core content, and skills are the most important component of a character. We want players to be able to interact with monsters with the Grappling Hook, but we also want shooting with guns and skills to be the main way to take on monsters.

 

 

The following is the sort of play I envisioned with the addition of this feature. Blair hooks a monster and dashes quickly at the enemy position. He then uses Blaze Up (Q) to set the area ablaze, and uses the Grappling Hook to dash out again.

 

Right, I wanted a link between the Grappling Hook and skills. But unfortunately, the forced jump after arrival made it difficult to link the two in a swift manner. This was fixed after receiving feedback through the Steam Beta Test. Now you can use the Grappling Hook Move and link it swiftly to your next action.

 

Before (Steam Beta Test Build)	Now

 

[Grappling Hook: Improvement #2]

After the Steam Beta Test, the Dev Team received a lot of feedback regarding the Grappling Hook.

 

As mentioned earlier, there was the issue with the forced jump after the Grappling Hook Move. (Once again, this has been fixed!) There was also quite a number of feedback voicing dissatisfaction with only being able to move in a straight line without and the lack of swing (or inertia). It was also pointed out that while the hook can be attached anywhere within the environment, there is insufficient information about whether the hook is in or out of range.

 

The swing is actually something that I decided not to include when the Grappling Hook was first developed, but the feedback showed the error of my decision. As mentioned previously, during the initial design plans, I was concerned that if swinging allowed greater freedom of movement, the flow of combat might become heavily dependent on individual player skills.

 

However, the tests showed that many people anticipated great freedom of movement with the Grappling Hook, and creative plays through the clever linking of actions. The feedback showed that we needed to enhance the action, so we re-examined our early concepts for a movement device that is stylish and unique to The First Descendant.

 

We added the ability to swing left, right, and down using the directional buttons or the L-stick of the controller during a Grappling Hook Move.

 

 

The Grappling Hook can be used freely anywhere within the environment. The fact that the hook has no restrictions is an advantage, but the range limitation was a problem because there was insufficient information as to what was in range before firing the hook. We considered splitting the Grappling Hook action into aiming and firing, but this method didn't jive well with the fast-paced nature of The First Descendant.

 

We needed to create a Grappling Hook that could attach anywhere within the environment, be used on the fly in combat, and provide information in advance about whether it will attach or not.

 

Therefore, we've added a feature that tells you in advance if the Grappling Hook can attach to something in the environment and where it will attach. When you indicate towards where the Grappling Hook can attach, you'll see a red dot in the center of the crosshairs. This marker moves slightly to find the best spot to attach the hook. Of course, you can turn this feature on or off in Options.

 

 

We've done a lot of other fine-tuning too. During the last Steam Beta Test, the only way to cancel a Grappling Hook Move while in motion was to press the Grappling Hook button again. Now you can cancel it by shooting, jumping, etc. and link it with other actions.

 

 

[Parkour]

I think I've talked enough about the Grappling Hook, so I'll move onto Parkour now.

 

The First Descendant is a fast-paced game. Even when developing a single skill, the Dev team pours their all considering whether or not it fits this intensity. Not all skills do, but for the most part, the skills in The First Descendant prioritize usability and being able to fire on the move over flashy, full-body motions.

Up until the last Steam Beta Test, I regarded Parkour from the same perspective. Since The First Descendant is a fast game with free Z-axis movement, we didn't hadn’t installed a Parkour feature to avoid interfering with the intensity of movement.

 

However, we received a lot of Parkour-related feedback after the Steam Beta Test. Some said the overall animation quality was lacking, and others said that Parkour was needed for when you narrowly fall after failing to jump or Grappling Hook onto a structure.

 

As such, the Dev Team went back to the drawing board, and decided to add Parkour in a way that matches the rapid speed of the game, increases the pleasure of movement, and makes maneuvering easy. Climbing and Vaulting were added as a result.

 

 

The character now hangs on to the edge and climbs over the obstacle after narrowly missing a jump. If the character's leg catches onto a low ledge, vaulting helps them get over the obstacle. Also, vaulting doesn't interfere with sprinting, allowing for a more pleasurable movement.

 

 

[Conclusion]

Since the Steam Beta Test, the Dev Team has been actively responding to various feedback to improve the game. If it went against the design plans, we reassessed those plans from the ground up. This led to the addition of the Grappling Swing as well as Parkour.

 

But don't worry, we're taking all it in stride and reviewing things carefully, so that the core identity of The First Descendant is preserved. We have been using your feedback to improve the game, but we're also trying to stay true to the core values that we're pursuing.

 

 

You will soon be able to experience the improved Grappling Hook as well as Parkour in the Crossplay Open Beta Test. I can just picture it, seeing Descendants flying all over Kingston with their Grappling Swings! I'd better get used to the swinging too so I don't get left behind.

 

In the next Dev Note, we'll discuss improvements to Missions. We'd love to keep our Descendants in the loop and share updates, so please stay tuned to our community channels, including our official Discord.

 

We'll see you for the Crossplay Open Beta in September!