Bramblewood devlog #01 — the shop takes shape

First proper devlog. We had a good three weeks on Bramblewood and there’s actually stuff worth showing.

What shipped (internally)

• Shop interior, playable end-to-end. You can walk in, stock a shelf, greet a customer, sell them something, close up. It’s rough but it’s a full loop.
• Bartering prototype. Customers have a target price and a patience meter. Go too high, they walk. Go too low, you’ve been scammed.
• Ingredient foraging. Basic version. You wander, you click a plant, you get a plant. We’ll make it more interesting.

What’s broken

Plenty. A non-exhaustive list:

1. The save system saves, but doesn’t load correctly if you closed during a transaction. Classic.
2. One specific raccoon (internal name: “Kevin”) consistently offers buttons instead of coins. We don’t know why. We’re leaving it in.
3. Potion prices reset to £0 if you unpause during the morning. Under investigation.

Next sprint

• Fix the save bug, for real this time.
• Pass on the UI so it’s readable at small sizes.
• Another customer tier — something that pays in favours instead of money. We want a reason to keep the notebook mechanic.

A note on scope

We keep catching ourselves wanting to add “one more system”. We keep not doing it. The goal is to finish Bramblewood, not to keep it alive forever as a demo. Every feature gets the “does the shop need this?” test.

So far: the shop does not need a weather system. The shop does not need a multiplayer co-op mode. The shop does not need a crafting tree with 400 nodes. The shop needs to be a good shop.

See you next one.

— Rich