Development of AnitoHara
This week was one of those “it finally feels like a *game*” weeks. I didn’t add flashy cinematic stuff — I focused on the boring-but-important systems that make the world respond to you.
AnitoHara is still the same core idea: **Anito** (spirits/ancestral + nature presence) meets **Haraya** (imagination) — the player shapes the world, but the world also pushes back.
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What I shipped this week
Inventory that doesn’t fight you
I now have a working inventory flow that feels usable:
- Drag & drop moving items
- Stacking logic + **stack splitting**
- Tooltips so you’re not guessing what an item is
- Feedback via small UI toasts so actions feel “confirmed”
This sounds basic, but getting inventory UX right is the foundation for everything else (farming, crafting, loot, building).
Farming loop: plant → grow → harvest
I implemented a clean farming loop:
- Place seeds
- Growth stages over time
- Harvest returns items straight into inventory
It’s small, but it’s the first “peaceful loop” in the game — and it helps balance the darker vibes later when spirits/hostiles start showing up.
Stamina + movement rules (so the player has limits)
I added a stamina system that actually changes how you move:
- Sprint drains stamina
- Regen has a short delay (so you can’t spam)
- Jump costs stamina (and can lock if you’re empty)
- UI stamina bar included
This is the kind of system that quietly makes exploration and combat pacing feel intentional.
Hotbar + Adventure/Build mode switch
I built a hotbar that supports switching between modes:
- **Adventure mode**: standard play / tools / interaction
- **Build mode**: placement preview + selecting build slots
The goal is to make building feel like a natural extension of gameplay, not a separate “menu mini-game”.
Build placement foundations
I set up the early build system:
- Build preview object
- Placement logic + rules
- Build data structure (so builds can scale later)
Next step is making placement align to where the camera is aiming (crosshair-based), not just the character’s forward direction.
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Stuff that slowed me down (real talk)
“It works” vs “It feels right”
A lot of this week was me tweaking the little details:
- UI feedback timing
- stack splitting edge cases
- interaction flow when inventory is full
- making stamina not feel annoying
It’s the kind of work that doesn’t look impressive in a screenshot but saves the project later.
Build preview aiming
Right now, build placement is still in-progress because I want it to be **based on where you’re looking** (camera/crosshair) instead of where the character is facing. That means I need a cleaner aiming ray + a better third-person camera offset so the crosshair sits true center.
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Next goals
- Crosshair + proper camera-based placement ray (build where you’re aiming)
- Smooth out build mode UX (rotate, cancel, invalid placement feedback)
- Start a simple “spirit presence” system (even if it’s just ambience first)
- Keep expanding content loops: more crops, more items, more reasons to explore
If you’re following along: thanks. This is a solo dev grind, but the foundations are starting to lock in.