Dev Day Episode 59: I Can't See Outside Right Now Because The Blinds Are Closed. WAIT I OPENED IT IT"S SNOWING

so right now i'm pretty happy with the game, even though it's very unfinished, i'm going to start asking some people to play this prototype.

i want feedback on the character designs and how the game plays.

i will direct people to this post because it will contain the link for the game.

right here.

this will redirect over to dropbox where anyone will be able to view the file.

i know some people that would actually love to maybe get my game as a physical gift.

because they're fans of my work, some little kids, but they're pretty cool.

i'll burn that onto a disk, i think they'll like that.

i've been sketching up ideas for level one.

i need to make a setup that will introduce the core mechanics in separate safe environments.

i'll take a lot of inspiration from famous metroidvania games,

sections for combat seperated and linked with sections for platforming.

this core level design philosophy will hopefully lead to an optimal gameplay experience.

tomorrow still working on level

and today i learned a little bit more of how i'm going to share my game.

it costs a fee to put a game on steam, i've hear.

i could potentially sell physical copies of the game on disks, but i don't know if i would reach the right audience for it.

it's a lot to consider.

TO ANYONE PLAYING THE GAME, PLEASE LEAVE REVIEWS, COMPLEMENTS, OR CREATIVE CRITICISM IN THE COMMENTS.

Dev Day Episode 58: It’s Pitch Black Out Because It’s 7:48 At Night, Because I Had A Field Trip Today That Lasted Aaaaaaaaaaalllllllllll Day.

so i'm finding out my laptop has a dvd burner.

so i'm going to start making some prototype disks to give out to some testers so i can get feedback.

i've got my first prototype disk burnt and labeled.

it's on my dad's desk right now.

unfortunately, this is all i did today, on account of my being absent.

tomorrow, i'll be checking if the computers at school have the same disk drive i do, to see if i can make prototype disks there too.

...

i've already sent what i've completed up to today to some close friends of mine, i didn't expect the most in depth critique from them, but luckily i wasn't disappointed.

everything i heard was largely positive, they said it controls well, but it's a little hard to get used to.

i don't remember exactly what they said so i get some more people to test it out and see if i can isolate some comments.

i also managed to spot some bugs with other people playing it, like they're able to get the grabbling hook to go through walls.

this will be fixed.

Dev Day Episode 57: It's Cloudy Out, It Used To Be A Little Sunny Out Earlier.

so instead of working more on the rain, i worked on some lighting stuff because it would accomplish what i really wanted and more.

so this is what it looks like in game right now, because i finished it already.

but there might be a better place to show this off.

but i really like how this all looks.

there are two bits of particle ffects here, one for the light bit, and one for the magic bit.

here's the code for the light bit:

///the light bit

c_lampelightblue=make_color_rgb(60,188,252);

//particle system

part_light_sys = part_system_create();

part_system_depth(part_light_sys,0);

//particle

part_light = part_type_create();

part_type_shape(part_light,pt_shape_flare);

part_type_scale(part_light,1,1);

part_type_size(part_light,18,20,0,0.1);

part_type_color2(part_light,c_lampelightblue,c_lampelightblue);

part_type_alpha1(part_light,0.1);

part_type_life(part_light,1,1);

part_type_blend(part_light,1);

//particle emitter

part_light_emit = part_emitter_create(part_light_sys);

part_emitter_region(part_light_sys,part_light_emit,x,x,y,y,ps_shape_ellipse,ps_distr_gaussian);

part_emitter_stream(part_light_sys,part_light_emit,part_light,1);

and here's the code for the magic bit.

///the magic bit

c_lampelightblue=make_color_rgb(60,188,252);

c_lampdarkblue=make_color_rgb(60,288,252);

//particle system

part1_sys = part_system_create();

part_system_depth(part1_sys,1000000);

//particle

part1 = part_type_create();

part_type_shape(part1,pt_shape_flare);

part_type_scale(part1,1,1);

part_type_size(part1,0.25,0.35,-0.005,0.2);

part_type_color2(part1,c_lampdarkblue,c_lampelightblue);

part_type_alpha2(part1,0.75,0.25);

part_type_speed(part1,0.1,0.3,0,0);

part_type_direction(part1,0,359,0,0);

part_type_gravity(part1,0.2,90);

part_type_life(part1,room_speed*0.5, room_speed);

part_type_blend(part1,1);

//particle emitter

part1_emit = part_emitter_create(part1_sys);

part_emitter_region(part1_sys,part1_emit,x-10,x+10,y-10,y+10,ps_shape_ellipse,ps_distr_gaussian);

part_emitter_stream(part1_sys,part1_emit,part1,1);

and i learned everything from this video.

tomorrow, i'll, i don't know i'll start making the intro level.

the hubworld is pretty much done except for more universal mechanics.

Dev-Day Episode 56: It's Rainy And Pretty Cloudy Out Today

got myself a new naming convention, i'm going to name these blog titles after the weather i see outside.

come and get your healthbar overlay.

this is just layered over the healthbar in-game, with the same object using the draw_sprite command.

in-game it looks like this.

you may also notice that the rain doesn't go over the healthbar.

that's because of setting the foreground image to the room, i set it to an object with a set depth.

i make the rain fall by giving the object a downward speed, but the speed is not set.

i have a modifier so that every time the room is re-created the rain is moving at slightly different speeds.

it doesn't make much of a difference.

but at least it doesn't show up over the ui anymore.

i'm informed that the rain should stop when the game is paused.

i'll do more stuff with the rain tomorrow.

Dev-Day Episode 55: Three

tomorrow i might change naming conventions, i'm getting tired of this one.

quick and easy solution to get the healthbar in the foreground, make a new object.

the draw event is tied to an object's depth, and so if one object draws a healthbar, its depth can't be changed.

here's the code from the new object, and it's depth is at like -1000000000 so it's way up front.

not in front of the rain though.

nothing's in front of the rain.

i think i can fix that by doing something similar to what i just did.

also, the healthbar is dynamic and changes depending on if the game is paused.

here it is in the character ui.

and it totally works.

tomorrow i'll be sketching up some enemies, maybe some fight animations, and after that i'll be working on level 1.

like an actual level 1.

i'm picking up momentum again.

...

actually before combat stuff i'll just be polishing up the healthbar.

no biggy.

and i'm still learning about the importance of ui placement and such.

Dev-Day Episode 54: Madness Of Men

making a healthbar.

but.

when the code's in the draw event,

arlette,

she's not drawn.

this needs to be solved.

i can't have an invisible player.
...


...
alright.

fixed it.

the code is real simple.

draw_self();

draw_healthbar(x-640,y-320,x-40,y-300,hp,c_black, c_red, c_lime, 0, true, true);

i just originally forgot to include the bit where it draws itself.

it even works a little bit.

now instead of restarting the room when arlette falls out of the world, it restarts when hp hits 0.

if (y>room_height){

hp=hp-10;

}

if (hp<0){

room_restart();

}

now i just need to figure out how to get the bar at the top layer, and then i can start making it look good.

i'll be doing that tomorrow.

Dev-Day Episode 53: Phantom Pain

okay i'm not worrying about controller support for now, it's staying in the closet.

made some more musics things here and here.

they're just works in progress.

but they're coming along, with more development i think they could really be something.

i think that second one is just about done too, it's decent enemy encounter music.

maybe the instruments are wonky but w/e for now.

the instuments you pick, as i'm finding out are very important in the tone and setting.

a character's theme speaks a lot for their background and personality, it's what it's for it sets the tone.

tomorrow i might start making so combat stuff, or enemies, or a damage system.

a think a damage system is the way to go tomorrow.

Dev-Day Episode 52: Pestilence

seriously considering whether or not to keep up with the controller inputs.

i really think it's worth it because it feels nice, and movement of the character works perfectly now, but the grappling hook does not.

i want my game to have combat, and side scrolling combat works really well with a controller, but the grappling hook does not.

it just doesn't feel good, i made a placeholder cursor, and jumping around and trying to move that thing feels awful.

so for now i'm suspending the grappling hook.

i'll be working on more music and characters and enemies too, as well as the rain effects i want to get done for the next couple of weeks while i pick at the issue of how to make this work.

i'm thinking of maybe limiting the hook down to one direction, shooting it off at a 45 degree angle relative to where the player is facing, that could let me work with more control over level design.

it's also possible for the grappling hook to just be scrapped entirely for another mechanic.

i don't like that possibility.

i'm repurposing the digital cursor to give the gamepade a way to interact with the ui.

hspeed = (gamepad_axis_value(0, gp_axisrh)*40);

vspeed = (gamepad_axis_value(0, gp_axisrv)*40);

these bits basically just multiply the degree of tilt for the analogue stick (which goes from 0-1) by 40.

so if the stick is tilted all the way to the right, the cursor will move about 40 pixels/frame to the right.

game making is hard.

Dev-Day Episode 51: The Costs Of Revenge

ooooh boy.

so i solved the thing so that wasn't working just by putting

if (runleft=false)&&(runright=false){ hspeed=0;} at the top of the movement code.

the position is important, i'm finding out. because now that code will be the first thing in this sequence the game will check.

so now it'll check if the character shouldn't be moving before it checks if they should be.

which fixes my problem.

i'm also working on how to make the mouse controls work for the gamepad, like the menu selection and especially the grappling hook.

right now i'm working on a aiming arrow, but that isn't working.

i think i'll trash all of that and make a virtual cursor instead.

the tricky part will be distinguishing the virtual cursor from the real one.

maybe if i just make new grappling hook objects and replace the mouse parts with the cursor parts.

we'll see tomorrow.

Dev-Day Episode 50: Fire and Cold Ashes

a quick indivisible update.

they've got less than a day left, but they've got 116% funding, so the game is definately made.

they also got their first stretch goal, $1,650,000, which gives us more music.

their next goal is $1,900,000, which is for an animated opening.

i'm excited for their third stretch goal, $2,050,000, full voice acting for major characters.

...

okay, back to my game.

...

i decided to go the route of implementing gamepad controls.

the first thing i had to do was make small adjustments in my previous movement code.

the basic left/right movement now includes;

if (runleft=true) hspeed=-24;

if (runright=true) hspeed=24;

those variable, runleft and runright are now and can be found in the creation event.

in the begin step event i have this bit of code.

runleft = gamepad_axis_value(0,gp_axislh) < -0.4;

runright = gamepad_axis_value(0,gp_axislh) > 0.4;

if (-0.4<(gamepad_axis_value(0,gp_axislh))<0.4){

runleft=false;

runright=false;

}

this just detects the direction of the analog stick and marks runleft or runright accordingly.

however an issue arises that when in mid air, the player lacks a certain degree of air control.

tomorrow i will remedy this.

and i guess today i learned that there's a big difference between analogue and digital control.

Dev-Day Episode 49: Traitors’ Caravan

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

i think i'm done with the hub world track.

i also implemented rain so it makes sense.

i just need to put in some more rain effects on the so it doesn't just look like it's just between the ground. and the screen.

oh, and indivisible got funded, 100%.

actually it's more like 106% now.

even though it's done they're still going strong.

gotta get those stretch goals man.

and mr bilesky brought in a wired controller.

it worked right away and works like a charm, i tested it out with the indivisible prototype.

no input lag, and the computer recognizes it.

tomorrow i'll either be fixing the rain effect, making title music, or working on controller inputs.

Dev-Day Episode 48: Two-Way Race

here you go, again.

i added a couple more layers.

it pairs best with rainy mood, on it's lowest volume setting.

with this revelation i'm going to make it rain in the hub world.

which will require sprite work, i'll also have to figure out how to but rain sounds in the music.

or make a constant rain sound effect in the room.

either way, it has to be done.

and i'll do that in the future.

i learned that music is complex and take a long time to work with, but when you do the time just flies by.

today's 2 blocks of infotech almost totally eluded me because i was just so focused on tiny details.

it's crazy.

Dev-Day Episode 47: Club Of The Unseen

here you go

this is a link to the piece of music i'm working on right now.

i'm not 100% sure where i'm going with it, and i'll definitely be changing it, but right now i'm working on figuring out whether or not it'll be for the title screen or the hub world.

it's very bare bones.

i've made this piece from what i've learned from howie.

it's a very ambient piece, but also the melody isn't very strong.

and some of the chords sound off.

i'm trying to go for a peaceful vibe.

but important parts i should look into for this are a stronger melody, bass, percussion.

with more exploration and pointers from howie i should be able to make a respectable piece.

which is what i'll be doing tomorrow.

Dev-Day Episode 46: No Slaves

i did the thing with the house labels.

this was done by making invisible objects that i would just place over targeted objects, and when they were walked over, when they collided with arlette, they would making the respective labels appear.

this is the code for opus' house activator.

alert=0;

if place_meeting(x,y,obj_movement_test){

alert=1;

if instance_number(obj_opus_house_label)<1{

instance_create(view_xview[0]+640, view_yview[0]+64,obj_opus_house_label);

}

}

if (alert=0){

with(obj_opus_house_label){

instance_destroy();

}

}

and to go over this in a little more detail, that alert variable is just so that when arlette is no longer colliding with the activator, the label is destroyed.

i made a new activator for every separate house because it was simpler than messing with the creation code.

simpler is better than faster in my experience.

i also got fruity loops, FL studio.

so tomorrow i'll be messing with that trying to come op with some background music for this hub world.

i don't know to much about composing, but i do know i want something more on the side of ambience than melody.

think firelink shrine vs wily's castle.

Dev-Day Episode 45: Open Minds

once again, the animated sprite coming out of spriter pro is missing an eye.

i don't know why.

it's just, missing.

so once again i had to go through 90 frames putting it back.

this is a problem that needs to be solved.

here she is in game.

looking good.

tomorrow i'll be implementing a system where when you walk in front of a house there will be a little box appearing at the top of the screen telling you who's house it is, because i thought that'd be a good idea today.

and after that i'll make it so you can go into those houses.

i talked to mr bilesky more about hardware, and we talked more about getting controllers.

microphones are also a possibility, for sound fx more than voicework, but i'm not cutting that out of the equation just yet.

maybe minimal voicework will do.

we shall see, it's a lot to take in but i have to keep my scope within control.

one of the biggest downfalls from the last game i worked on was my idea for what i could make it was unrealistic, so not enough things ended up getting done properly.

shortcuts were taken, not here.

it's the day after that last post and the lampost is still wiggling.

it looks soooo silly.

Dev-Day Episode 44: Lurking In The Dark

this is renard.

get it?

it's cause she's got a fox hoodie.

haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa...........

i'm clever and make good designs.

i'm not sure if she'll have any mechanical functions but i'll be placing her next to milk.

she took a longer time to make than opus so she'l not animated right now.

i might be revisiting some of the npc animations to make them better.

like more moving parts.

but i'd also want to put some moving elements in the world so it doesn't look too weird, like bushes waving in the wiiiiiiind.

on a side note it's super windy outside, one of the lamp posts is waving in the wind.

it looks stupid and i will not be taking inspiration from that.

tomorrow i'll be animating her.

mr bilesky gave me an offer today asking me if i need any hardware, like a microphone for example.

i don't know if i need a microphone to do voicework, but maybe some wardware to connect one of my gamepads to the computer so i can maybe make a game for console would be cool.

i've got my own controller but i don't have anyway to hook it up.

it would also be a nice learning experience to get to know how to code for controllers.

it would certainly be different, because WASD is digital controls, a pressed button is a pressed button.

but with an analog stick, you get degrees of control.

usually in games with an analog stick you can move a lot, not at all, or anywhere in between.

that's bring another interesting situation too, because my grappling hook mechanic works on a point and click method.

i suppose mapping it to the right stick would be do-able, somehow.

i look forward to exploring this.

Dev-Day Episode 43: Coup De Grace

this is opus.

he's the new npc.

his animation is a litter weird, because he's missing an eye, but i mixed that in game maker frame by frame.

maybe a bit tall.

but that's okay.

i am concerned that his colours might be too similar to arlette's but i think with some more characters this complaint of mine will be diluted.

character design is an interesting thing, and it's something a lot of games do really well, especially street fighter.

these are minimalistic styles of street fighter characters, and they are instantly recognizable to anyone familiar with street fighter.

doing something similar with my characters will probably help further individualize them.

and i redid some of remise's colours.

i'm not 100% satisfied, but it's a start.

back to opus.

he's an old character of mine, who's original idea cam from an old scratch game 2-3 years ago.

his deal is that he's a wizard, and the pilot of the hub world floating islands.

he's a cool guy and i like him.

Dev-Day Episode 42: Green Light

ui

that character screen is still a placeholder.

those bars don't really work.

but they will, they'll also be visible while you're playing the game.

like health bars ought to be.

there's also mana, cause magic will be a thing.

i'll make those bars separate objects, and work similarly to the ui.

this isn't a new concept for me.

however i have learned that placement for your bars might be important.

i see that dark souls and most games for that matter put your health bar in the top left.

minecraft puts it in the bottom left/center area.

however i rarely ever see the healthbar in the right side of the screen, except in saints row.

so what's the point?

i'll look more into this but i can't find any videos blatantly discussing this, so i look more into general hud/ui discussion.

tomorrow, npcs.

Dev-Day Episode 41: Kill The Beast

i was offered a chance to review a game called planetbase.

i started, but i'm dropping the project.

the game doesn't interest me.

also i don't want to sit through half an hour of some european guy talking about it before i get to talk about it.

that's just boring.

all the resources for the review are on the infotech blog.

i even started the review.

but enough of that it's time to get back to work.

i got another layer of islands.

and that goes over this.

but i've made it so it moves at a rate slightly slower than the island does in the background, so the move independent of each other but both relative to the character movement in the room.

parallax scrolling.

this effect also applies to my cloud layer.

and the code is rather  simple.

background_x[3] = view_xview[0]/2;

background_y[3] = view_yview[0]/2;

background_x[2] = (view_xview[0]/1.6)+820;

background_y[2] = (view_yview[0]/1.6)+700;

background_x[1] = (view_xview[0]/1.5)+640

background_y[1] = (view_yview[0]/1.5)+640

background_x[0] = view_xview[0];

background_y[0] = view_yview[0];

basically, here we have different layers are varying "closeness" to the screen.

the closer the layer is to the screen, the slower it moves when the character moves.

there are also some adjustments for the islands and city (background [2] and [1]) , and that is just so they appear at the right place on the screen.

parallax scrolling is an effective tool, because a similar effect is seen in real life.

it's like when you're on a road trip at night.

trees whiz by, but the moon seems to stay still.

tomorrow i'll be working on UI art and features.

Game Journalism Day 1; My first impression of Planet Base

Switching it up this week to a bit of a side project presented to me by Mr. Bilesky.

This week I'll be reviewing a game called Planet Base.

(As a bit of a disclaimer, this isn't usually my sort of game, but it could be good anyways.)

The game's primary motivation seems to simply be to establish a space coloney on an alien planet.

The trailer and screenshots found on the steam page show now sign of a narrative, and so it appears that the primary form of reward is the progress the player has made.

When you land you start out very small.

As you progress however, your colony will expand.

The Steam page for this game claims there are three planets available for colonization.



It appears the Desert Planet is based off of mars, The frozen planet may be based off of Pluto, and the Gas Giant Moon may be based off of one of Saturn's moon, judging from this screenshot:



but it's hard to tell which one, specifically.

Assuming that these "planets" are named "Dessert Planet", "Frozen Planet" in game, they most likely are not placed in our solar system.

The goal of this game is stated on the Steam page as "You will have to ensure that they have a constant supply of oxygen, food and water to stay alive."

However, collecting energy also seems to play an important role in your colonies survival.

This screen shot was taken from the trailer.

With no story (supposedly) the game employs the use of random events in the form of meteor strikes to have a form of tension.

Ultimately, the game is about colonizing a planet, and surviving until you can thrive.

First impressions are positive, the game looks good, however i can't tell how well it plays.

The use of randomized natural disasters is not a trope i enjoy, but we'll see if they can be dealt with.

All screenshot and information used where either from the Trailer, or Steam page.


On to the walkthru.

Dev-Day Episode 40: Playing With Monsters

bush.

blimp.

also there's the lighthouse republic.

i also went along the bottom of the island trying to make things looks better with the airbrush tool.

i think it worked.

need more airships.

this is going to look good.

after i've done the background work, i'll get back to stuff like npc's.

that i'll make a working character and options screen, cause the place holder's look, meeehhhhhh.

yea.

i learned that good games take more than one guy doing this as a hobby.

look at INDIVISIBLE.

it's got a large staff and they need a lot of money to pay for their game.

games take time and money.

and lots of man power, so i need to work really hard if i want this game to even see a dime.

Dev-Day Episode 39: Ghosts

icarius city.

in the world.

looking good.

gunna add in some airships.

to really set the setting.

those'll be fun to make.

i like airships.

i wonder if people'll be down for it as much as i am.

i do intend on creating a decent product that i can sell for, like a dollar on steam.

it's looking alright now, but i need to keep working.

i also made orange house and remade purple house.

it's going good.

Dev-Day Episode 38: Diamonds In The Sky

more house.

the front of them's a tad bare, so i'll make bushes too.

or long tufts of grass.

maybe more background art too.

that'll give the world depth.

i know what i'll put in the background, icarius city.

that'll take some time.

i realize know that the area i made is not too accommodating for the village setting i want to make it.

so i'm expanding a tad bit.

see if you can see the new bits.

yea.

the top part.

so i have to further plan my areas not only for a gameplay standpoint, but also for setting purpose.

oh, also.

open.

closed.

grabby hand no longer a placeholder.

Dev-Day Episode 37: Open Hands

gave milk a house.

look at that roof. that's a good roof.

i also changed up some of the shading, like on the grass, after being informed it looked like goo sitting on dirt.

also told this was called stippling.

how amazingly intelligent and benevolent my wonderful girlfriend is to inform me of this.

i also used the same process in the shading of milk's house, if you can tell.

sooner or later i'm going to have to make a platform you can jump through, so you can jump on to the houses.

i'm also going to give arlette an actual hand, instead of the placeholder.

grabbing with squares and triangles doesn't look right.

another friend also gave me a character to add in.

i may be, tweaking, some of it's design, to fit in better, but they're pretty cool.

dunno what i'll have him do yet.

expect even more art updates in the future.

i'm still trying to make this area look good.

Dev-Day Episode 36: Dirt Work

this is what i did today.

the under-bits, they're transparent. 

also a lamp post, it's a tile.

i also made the wall tiles transparent, so they're more universal.

that's what i did today.

it's once again occurring to me that art is hard, and tedious.

also my hands hurt now, cause when i changed the tile it changed all of them in the room that were affected, so i had to go through fixing everything.

tomorrow i will continue putting things into the hub world, making the illusion of an inhabited area.

i wonder what the architecture'll be like.

that's not a small question, you can tell a lot about a civilization just by what the buildings look like.

structures aren't just there to look pretty, they serve a purpose.

a shelter is a tool as much as it's art.

new nps coming along too.