Checking in and sleeping

Last time, the alien guests were already able to ask for a room and check in. Now, there is a first activity that they can turn to after check-in: sleeping. To model this, each guest has a sleepiness variable. Everyone arrives super sleepy (sleepiness value: 5) and goes to bed immediately. While the guests sleep, the sleepiness value decreases, and when it reaches 0, they wake up and start relaxing (= for now, walking around randomly). This basic mechanic should be easy enough to apply to other actitivies like eating; coming up next: snacks! (The snack machine is already there!)

We have also added a blanket sprite (and after some trial and error, we got the layering right: bed < alien < blanket). After sleeping, it turns into an untidy blanket sprite. This should also give the staff something new to do soon, so that they are no longer stuck behind the reception all day.

Greeting people and admiring things

We want our alien guests to interact with the world around them. That's why we gave them a circle-shaped area that is sensitive to both people and objects. Whenever someone or something enters the area, the guest can react to it. If it's a person, the guest says "hi". If it's a decorative object like a plant, the guest admires it (see the palm tree in the animation above). How polite!

There is an open issue, though: the guests often admire things that are behind a wall. Although it is not inconceivable for an alien to see through walls, it probably should not be the default behavior. We'll have to look into ray-casting at some point – if the aliens can send out a ray towards an object, we will be able to check whether a wall interferes and whether the object is visible to the alien or not.

For further updates, follow this devlog or follow Marta on Twitter (@martadendron). We are using the amazing asset pack "Modern Interiors" by @lime_px. Check it out! https://limezu.itch.io/moderninteriors

Best, Marta & Alexej (Gvarab Games)