nostr:nprofile1qy2hwumn8ghj7un9d3shjtnddaehgu3wwp6kyqpqgag5rxc9wnnevwgauet70f0ml6aeqef4l4s3yykj3y80da3wtgnqup6ses This may seem like a joke, but it's not.
It's just an example, but... Why don't you literally throw the character there? a drop that is softened by water and you have to swim to get out. If you are already starting in shallow water, maybe just add the context of a fall before, and spawn the character swimming.
Remember, our job as devs is to be evil with the player xD
nostr:nprofile1qy2hwumn8ghj7un9d3shjtnddaehgu3wwp6kyqpq4yqjkzqkgv4a27egvq5xmh2ravemytg9g5kldqeqfts92uvh90sqkdj2mx Hahaha that's definitely an option! Not as the _very_ first thing, wanna teach people walking first, but the floor could break later 😈
One player even identified it as water but was still hesitant because she picked up iron boots earlier and thought I would be so evil as to make her drown with them equipped XD So I could plunge people in there to remove all doubts
nostr:nprofile1qy2hwumn8ghj7un9d3shjtnddaehgu3wwp6kyqpqgag5rxc9wnnevwgauet70f0ml6aeqef4l4s3yykj3y80da3wtgnqup6ses As any other game element you have to introduce the player to it in some way. If you are worried they may not think is water, you can make sure that, when that point comes, they are already familiar with it!
nostr:nprofile1qy2hwumn8ghj7un9d3shjtnddaehgu3wwp6kyqpq4yqjkzqkgv4a27egvq5xmh2ravemytg9g5kldqeqfts92uvh90sqkdj2mx Not sure how much more I can make sure they understand it's water haha! Already making players walk through shallow water right at the beginning with splash sounds and ripples, and soon after the only path forward is to jump into a deeper body of water, but players stay hesitant about it. Guess I meed to make it more obvious there is something good on the other side, add a staircase into it so it doesn't seem like they'll be stuck there, and add stuff floating in it...
nostr:nprofile1qy2hwumn8ghj7un9d3shjtnddaehgu3wwp6kyqpq4yqjkzqkgv4a27egvq5xmh2ravemytg9g5kldqeqfts92uvh90sqkdj2mx Yeah, I've been struggling to find information on how to make a small, still bodies of water look nice. Waves that actually move the vertices only really make sense for the ocean. Right now I fake small waves with animated nornal maps which makes some sense I think outdoors where there is wind. For my indoor water there shouldn't be any waves unless disturbed, but but without them playtesters don't seem to realize it's supposed to be water...