The Project: Another update!

So some nice things and some not so nice things. One of our programmers had to drop out, his full-time required too much of him. However, he realized this and dropped off before it got to be too late so it wouldn't cause any problems. Great dude, but unfortunately it just didn't work.

However, I do have good news! I got an update on the overworld map sent to me, and I saw it, and it was good. I also got a huge update from my other artist of creatures and the characters and I am excited beyond excitement. Thrilled? Titillated? Those words don't enough describe my level of fervor as it pertains to this news.

We have our first meeting this Saturday. I cannot wait!

The Project: An Update!

I do apologize for the long delay between my posts, but here we are! The game is officially underway, and this is exciting. I am thinking a name, mascot, and logo is in order, since we are technically a development studio, even if just an indie studio. We also have our first official meeting date/time/place set up, so that's awesome. I get giggly with excitement if I think about it too much. If you want some info about the game itself, I can give you some! It will (likely) support an Xbox 360 controller and standard keyboard/mouse controls. We will also not be going with the standard "point-and-click-to-do-everything" control scheme.

Also, one of the artists are working on the map for the game at the moment.

I need a word that's thrice as strong as "excited," anyone have one?

The Project: Is Our Team complete?

We now have two artists, two programmers, myself, and a musician (waiting for his computer to be back up, if it takes too long I'll have to look for someone else.) so I think we might have everyone we need. This means it will start rolling quite a bit! I have got the skills developed for the players, as well as some of an in-depth progression (right up to the third milestone of the game! Though I have about fifteen more to go, I think). The enemies are named, but not yet fleshed out, both maps I needed are complete, though up for revision.

One of the things I would like to do is have a different aesthetic for the UI for the different characters, and if we have enough time, have the battle music differ for the different characters as well, maybe the whole musical theme could be different.

What are your thoughts on this? Would this provide a nice touch of immersion, or just be something that would largely go unnoticed?

The Project: It is still alive!

Yes, I am indeed lacking in my blogging because of the project and other job-related reasons, and for this, I do apologize. I will try to work in at least three blogs a week, as I should have some more time, now that nobody is on vacation again.

As for the project, the map is designed, and this works great as a tool to help with progression. I now know when and where I shall send you on this journey, and what direction you're going to get there. After completing the in-depth progression, implementing the other characters will be a million times easier, story-wise. From there I just pick something else to work on, I guess! Is seeing the design process as straightforward as you thought it might be? I thought it would be plenty more linear, do this, then that, then this, then that. But not really. I designed the characters and concept I wanted, with a basic overview of the story and progression. From there I fleshed out some characters, then started working on enemies, then in depth plot, then a map, and more plot... It's all everywhere. I need to re-tweak my list of enemies tonight, and start adding in their damage soon, and then I need to type up everything that was written down in my notebook.

I have been asked on multiple occasions why I write everything down in my notebook instead of typing it as I think about it, and why I use a pen instead of a pencil when writing story material. The short explanation: It's what I'm comfortable with. The long explanation? Well, I prefer writing things down in pen because it makes me think about what I write before I write. Usually. The reason I write instead of type is because writing, as a more natural form of putting thought into words, seems to flow better. Ideas come out easier than if I were typing them. So using a pen kind of balances me from putting something utterly stupid down, while still letting the creativity flow. That's really the best answer I can give, I hope it doesn't confuse anyone!

The Project: We have an artist!

The title says it all, guys. Well not quite all. There's more happenings afoot. We're still looking for a couple more artists for creating digital art. Anyhow, I'm excited to see the concept art for the machinist and his machines, as he is born. I'm literally shaking with excitement, I mean, this is a huge step, and for me, it's like the point of no return. The art is being created. It's exciting. It has been settled, both the gun and the wrench will be available for the machinist. Similar options will be available for other characters as well, of course. The characters that don't make it into the game, depending on the number, will become available as DLC, possibly free. This all depends on who we can implement into the game. If just the core three and maybe one other make it it, there is an expansion possibility, though the game will have to do well enough to warrant doing so. I'm confident that it will.

Just this small bit for now. Mexican food is calling, and it is one of my many weaknesses.

The Project: A Quick Mentioning.

I wanted to mention a couple things, and pose a few questions, about the game that is underway.

I have (almost!) finished getting into digital means all of the core character skills. I have a few more on the machinist to type up. We have decided that we will implement these core characters first, and expand to including the other ones as we have time to do so. This means while you're guaranteed to be able to play 3 different classes (with some super-slick customization options!), there may be up to 8 characters to choose from, all with their own flavor of ass-kickery.

Now, for some questions. I'm thinking for the machinist that he could have a couple options for weapons: Gun or Wrench. Guns do more damage, but wrenches give a bonus to your creations. What do you all think?

Also, If we can't include the characters in the release, should we offer the rest as DLC, or create an expansion that gives the extra characters and makes the world a good bit bigger, with more lives to save and problems to solve?

That's all for now! Leave me some answers, and even more questions, and I will reply to them in my next post about the project.

The Project: Talking About The Game

I have been asked and asked and asked to provide more details on the game I'm working on. I can't say too much just yet of course, but here's what I can tell you:

The influence behind the game comes from many different sources. The want to make the game comes from this old game designing program that we had on my moms old Tandy 1000 HX computer. I wasn't able to do much with it, but found right then that I really wanted to make games. The specific design for games comes from my love of Tolkien-esque worlds. The fantasy worlds have always been a draw to me, especially ones that offer a sort of steampunk theme as well. The genre was first introduced to me with the Diablo and Baldur's Gate games, then later on, from games such as Titan Quest and Torchlight.

It's going to be an Isometric view Action RPG. The turn-based style of play is something that I don't think I want to see anywhere outside of the Final Fantasy realm. The skill learning system will be neither trainer-based nor talent-tree based, and instead will be one that grants you abilities as you use abilities in the same "family." When the project makes enough headway, I'll be able to release to you guys the working title and maybe the number of classes, depending on how far along we are. I am meeting a possible artist tomorrow, and if everything goes well, I will be able to start with art production!