Some Activity, At Last

11/12/2014

20 Comments

For those of you who haven't been aware, this year was kind of nuked by some very serious family health issues. Thanks to those who enquired and lent moral support. It's meant a lot.

However, the dust is settling a bit now, and though things aren't 'over' by a long shot, there's enough time and mental energy to actually be able to engage with this whole 'making a game' thing.

I promised back in the summer, when our household's gates of hell were opening and spewing forth all manner of evils, that I'd show off a few pre-pro shots to show what I'm aiming for in terms of visuals. Well, things have moved on a bit since then, and not all of it is relevant any more. That said, the mood and tone is still exactly what is intended, so it's still relevant. Here goes:

That's all well and good. Some 2D art showing off what a 2D game will look like, right? Woot.

Actually, no. Since all the unpleasantness has fragmented my time to a marked degree this year, I've taken it upon myself to reconsider various aspects of the game. Most specifically, whether it is 2D or 3D.

I took some time to learn 3D modelling. And now the game is 3D. Splines are being used as I said they would be right at the start, and allow you to move around complex 3D landscapes without having to be a camera-man as well as a game-player.

So, now the game looks like this:

That Demon looks really rather nice when it roars and looks at you. The path to the right curves around into the distance, and you can walk around the level as it all rotates rather prettily.

At the moment, I'm re-implementing the weird rule-systems of the game, reintegrating death/exhaustion and status changes, and will then be going back to those regions and 3D-ing them so that they are in the game, with all of their weird interactive bits intact.

It's getting there.

Oh - as an aside, a huge thank you to whoever it was who pointed out I had lost my way. I had. I'm back now.

20 Comments

H. link

11/12/2014 12:05:24 pm

Is that.........

COLOR THEORY and VALUES CONTRAST I spy?

Dene Carter

11/12/2014 12:13:58 pm

Maaaaaybe.

Name

11/12/2014 12:40:11 pm

My comments were perhaps a bit less constructive than the one mentioned at the end of this post, but I like to think they were equally motivating. Ahem.

11/12/2014 12:42:45 pm

Oh my goodness, it's so interesting to see all the comments on your previous posts. So many of them were incredibly insightful! A couple were even pragmatic.

Ideaer

11/13/2014 06:14:59 am

Oh! Idea. Why not make... (shhh) the entire island a giant demon! Oooooohhhh....

Grump

11/14/2014 11:52:18 am

This is almost as bad as animusic 3 and that eden world builder update

Rotflolmao

11/16/2014 01:26:27 am

That lighthouse is not conical enough. And the red stripes are too small. Other than that, though this looks great!

11/19/2014 06:46:47 am

Big butts big butts big butts
Those faces look like big booties
Shake it

Zav link

12/6/2014 08:13:03 am

It's so great to see that you're back up and running and that your personal life is heading towards some semblance of normality, hopefully.. Not that I know you of course.. But I do know your work and literally cannot wait for this to come out! Currently just collected the jet pack in Inco for the second time around! It's almost better the second time and more importantly two years on since I first completed it.. Anyway.. These are my thoughts..

Dene

12/7/2014 12:22:11 am

Thanks very much for that. Glad you enjoyed Incoboto. It's the first game I made where I am surprised when I replay it (I often forget how the puzzles were solved). It was also the first proper level design I've done since about 1990!

As for BeMuse - thanks for hanging in there.

12/7/2014 02:47:30 am

here until I'm not :)

Wub

12/13/2014 12:38:57 pm

Hurry the F up

Not to be rude or anything

Teel

1/18/2015 01:49:06 am

Hey, at least this isn't as bad as that Eden World Builder update...
The developer said he would release an update 2 1/2 years ago, and still hasn't gotten to it
A whole game, like this, should take a little longer than an update

1/18/2015 01:54:45 am

Glad to see someone of my mindset
And, as I said before, it's not quite as bad as Animusic 3 either - they had a kickstarter, got fully funded, and said they would release it in October of 2013, but still haven't released it yet!

1/18/2015 02:16:20 am

Well the constant prodding does force me to do updates to the website a little more often. I keep forgetting that not everyone is on Twitter (which is where I post most stuff).

Last year kicked my (and my wife's ass), and pretty much killed any progress. I'm hoping this year is different. Work's still ongoing, and the game is getting more coherent all the time. Anyhow - I'll make a quick post which should be halfway interesting. :-)

Humbug

1/5/2015 05:58:29 am

Hey, now that 2014 is over, you can go ahead and release that game

Bumpy

1/12/2015 12:35:24 pm

Another update for the new year, please! I can only manage patience with constant tempering of my desire through frequent content updates.

1/18/2015 02:08:22 am

I heard some of your music for this on Soundcloud:
It's too sparse even for Marconi Union
Maybe it would be ok for some deep, dark forest thing, but you definitely need some rockin baselines for Demon encounters

1/18/2015 02:59:34 am

Oh - thanks for the Marconi Union tip. Really like it!

1/18/2015 02:59:09 am

I can see why you'd want some bigger, bassier stuff for Demon encounters. It is worth noting that they aren't going to be boss battles. The idea is more that they are initially this terrifying presence that makes itself known throughout the game in a 'scary ghost' kind of way, and that as you learn more about how the world works, you learn to 'defeat' them through ritual and gain their wishes. They're largely not even visible until you've learned some magic.

Some Activity, At Last

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