tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-167600442024-02-28T21:33:20.006+00:00Utterly Superb!Art and games.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11548365295552568104noreply@blogger.comBlogger66125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16760044.post-24812547188019059052017-03-11T22:04:00.000+00:002017-03-11T22:04:09.872+00:00Presents Panic Unity 1 - Project plan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I have been trying to decide what to do as my next project. As tempted as I am to use libgdx or Haxe I have found that when looking at my CV rather than saying 'wow, this guys has lots of finished projects in multiple different engines/languages' potential employers say 'bah, I want someone with lots of experience in the one I am using'. Unfortunately apart from Flash that's not something I have and I am not comfortable with blagging. It seems Unity is a good way forward so I have decided to do another Unity project. I want it to be a small project so I will just port another of my old Flash games that I think will work well on mobile.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg9L_GPDDUBhoDayBWbu8twjlIGyQGRo5wfNYAEQrpQ_mzv_5paNXeCivL3FS4ttIZxXq0nWD3QL16eqayudbTMVSIvfajrsX7RyTbfGb8GticFRcmxI_nnWa8NW-EXgVsX3uO/s1600/presentsPanic.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg9L_GPDDUBhoDayBWbu8twjlIGyQGRo5wfNYAEQrpQ_mzv_5paNXeCivL3FS4ttIZxXq0nWD3QL16eqayudbTMVSIvfajrsX7RyTbfGb8GticFRcmxI_nnWa8NW-EXgVsX3uO/s320/presentsPanic.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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The game that I have decided on is <a href="http://utterlysuperb.com/games/presentsPanic">Presents Panics</a>, a game I created about 10 years ago as a mash up of Tetris, Super puzzle fighter and Same Game. At the time I really liked the game - it has depth and multiple ways you can play and win.</div>
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Of course the game has issues and it didn't set the world alight when I originally released it. I am hoping that I can keep what I view as the original game's strengths but fix or at least smooth over the problems it had. In my view the two main problems it had were the controls and the progression.</div>
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<b>The controls:</b> In the original version the game used both the keyboards and the mouse. The keyboard to move and rotate the pieces and the mouse to remove them once they had settled in blocks. Obviously as the creator I had gotten used to this and had no problems with them but new players often didn't understand or like them. Since I don't have access to a keyboard on a mobile I couldn't keep the old controls even if I wanted to. I will experiment once I have something running but I think it will work well with swipe to move, tap to rotate or explode. It will be simpler and more intuitive, I hope. Of course until I have a version up and running it's hard to say for sure.</div>
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<b>The progression:</b> The original game goes for a very Tetris style progression. You play until you lose with the game gradually getting faster and harder, whilst the score multiplier increases. It's pretty basic and unsatisfying. There are no concrete challenges and it ends up feeling like a slog. It's not just of it's time, it's of 10 years earlier and when you compare it to the scientifically engineered addictiveness of something like Candy Crush it feel positively stone age. I am not sure what I will do here, I just know that I need to do something. Some ideas I have:</div>
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<li>Have discreet levels with a score players need to reach and a limit on the number of presents they get to reach the score. Maybe predefined starting presents already present.</li>
<li>Change the number of blocks sent down from 4 in an L shape to just 2. This would mean that if I could make sure that you always get on colours present the level should always be clearable. this might make it too easy though. This would open up the types of game mode available - I haven't player Dr Mario in 15 years but I think this is close to what they do.</li>
<li>Bombs and other power ups that destroy rows and columns. Spawned when you destroy larger presents.</li>
<li>Still have a 'rush' mode that is like the old one.</li>
<li>I could go full candy and have a currency that you collect in games that you can spend on boosts/power ups.</li>
<li>Make it less Tetris twitchy and more of a strategy game. This would mean that instead of speeding it up I would give the players less blocks to achieve the objectives so you feel like it's about planning rather than just being fast.</li>
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The only other question I'm asking myself is, should I bother? I have no illusions on whether this will be popular or successful. It won't be no matter what I do unless I am willing to spend some serious time/effort on both the polish and on marketing/pr and even then I don't think it has enough to it for it to be successful. I have to look at it as being 90% a portfolio piece so maybe I should just bog a fairly bog standard version with limited additions.</div>
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The other remaining questions is how much effort I am going to expend in trying to monetise the game. I feel like if it's going to be a portfolio piece it needs to look and feel like a real pro game and that will mean extras, though probably not iaps. In the end I will probably just stick some ads and maybe if I do boosts I will offer them for reward ads. It has to be easy and quick. </div>
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I have all the assets, though they will need some work to export them for unity. I will need to redo the ui as the aspect ratio has changed and I want it to look more sparkly. I am hoping to complete the project working part time in 4-5 weeks. If it takes longer I won't mind too much if it genuinely improves it.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11548365295552568104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16760044.post-54302063149102137062017-03-10T09:37:00.002+00:002017-03-10T09:37:33.131+00:00Watercolour RedditGetsDrawn pieces<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
After experimenting with coloured I decided to go back to trying to improve my watercolour technique. I enjoyed the convenience of pencils but I realised I am nowhere near the stage of being able to get nice results and I wasn't sure of the direction it was going in. If I'm honest I don't think I've ever seen a coloured pencil piece that I actually like.<br />
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I also want to improve my ability to produce likenesses so I've gone back and done more <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/redditgetsdrawn/">reddit gets drawn</a> pieces. I am still nowhere near where I want to be, both in watercolour technique or draftsmanship but I do feel like I am making progress.<br />
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<a href="http://i.imgur.com/gBm2qrF.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://i.imgur.com/gBm2qrF.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
This is a piece from a user's wedding album. I think it came out well, though I messed up the bride's face. Sadly it was the last bit I did so there was no way I was going to restart. This is what makes watercolour so brutal - there is no way to fix or recover from mistakes, you just have to go with it.<br />
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<a href="http://i.imgur.com/3Y7rp6p.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://i.imgur.com/3Y7rp6p.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
This pieces is actually coloured pens, not watercolour. I really like it though.It's fun, bright and I think it captures the couple.<br />
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<a href="http://i.imgur.com/8GvDLK6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://i.imgur.com/8GvDLK6.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
A picture of someone's wife and dog. I think elements came out well but it's too obvious that I ran out of time/interest towards the end. I often get like this - I really didn't want to do the whole background but I wasn't sure what else to do instead. It has made me want to do more animals though.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11548365295552568104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16760044.post-26932464185962599542017-02-28T12:35:00.002+00:002017-02-28T12:35:06.958+00:00Some old Reddit art<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;">I haven't posted for ages, I just lost the energy and all the stuff I was producing seemed terrible. I'd like to start up again so this post is just a few of my favourite pieces from the oh, six months since I last blogged.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://i.imgur.com/TyUcby2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i.imgur.com/TyUcby2.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gene Wilder (and Richard Pryor)<br />I'm still terribly with likenesses and my watercolour techniques is poor but I still like this.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.imgur.com/QbYiOUW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i.imgur.com/QbYiOUW.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Western fence lizard for Daily sketch</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.imgur.com/iShFF2m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i.imgur.com/iShFF2m.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Reddit Snoo<br />One of my favourite pieces from last year. Most of it actually looks like I meant it that way</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.imgur.com/Zy055B6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i.imgur.com/Zy055B6.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A rgd drawing<br />A drawing from a couple of weeks ago. It actually looks vaguely like the person.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.imgur.com/U1cCDM0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i.imgur.com/U1cCDM0.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another rgd drawing<br />Another recent rgd piece. I've been trying out coloured pencils again, largely for the convenience. I still haven't worked out how to do skin tones correctly but I do like elements of this and it looks like the picture.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.imgur.com/tNBpCc5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i.imgur.com/tNBpCc5.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Ulysses butterfly<br />Just a cute pixel butterfly.<br /><br /></td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11548365295552568104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16760044.post-36061994844837597112016-06-06T15:16:00.001+01:002016-06-06T15:16:07.461+01:00More Reddit prodded art<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I've been too busy to do much drawing or painting recently, putting most of my time into projects that could be thought of as being 'work'. I did have time to do a few pieces. All three pieces here were done with Joshua next to me, him frantically stabbing my watercolours with the brushes and complaining that he wanted to use the colours I had mixed up instead of the dirty smudges he was creating. My poor brushes.<br />
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<b>Daily sketch 363 - Swans</b><br />
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<a href="http://i.imgur.com/QRP0T9Y.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i.imgur.com/QRP0T9Y.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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I am actually very happy with this! I really think it came out well, though I should have added more contrast in the water.<br />
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<b>Daily sketch 367 - Neptune</b><br />
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<a href="http://i.imgur.com/dzAYNLK.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i.imgur.com/dzAYNLK.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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I like this one too, though Neptune's arm is definitely a bit weird. Unlike so much of my stuff it looks like I mostly intended it to look this way!<br />
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<b>Reddit gets drawn - sir_megatron</b><br />
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<a href="http://i.imgur.com/Wi3by5Z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i.imgur.com/Wi3by5Z.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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I am not so sure about this one. It's a bit of a mess, like I couldn't decide whether to do a cartoon picture or try for something more realistic. Which is of course exactly what happened.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11548365295552568104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16760044.post-42944925885776611042016-05-04T09:22:00.000+01:002016-05-04T09:22:18.542+01:00Daily sketches - Prince and Meerkats<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I've been a bit slack with art recently, mostly because I've been spending most of my free time working on javascript projects to get my skills up to a point where someone will ay me to do stuff.<br />
I still managed to do two daily sketches.<br />
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<b>335 - Prince</b><br />
I was looking after the kids on bank holiday Monday morning so I broke out the crayolas and watercolours and made this version of Price as the Little Prince. I actually really like it, enough that I wish I had had more time to do it properly. Instead it has indistinct lines and because I didn't use watercolour paper or take enough care the background colours are a bit of a mess. Joshua enjoyed stabbing my paints (which are all now a dirty green brown) and I like the feel of doing an activity with the kids.<br />
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<b>333 - Meerkats</b><br />
A pen and watercolour picture of the meerkats. I went for a group composition but found it quite hard to get it right, so I cheated. I opened my source picture in an artists grid app and drew a grid on the paper and the drawing worked out quite well. I am still not sure how I feel about doing this. Drawing a grid definitely helps with the result, but I am doing these mostly as a learning exercise in order to get better, and do I really want to get better drawing from a grid?<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11548365295552568104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16760044.post-10803591153680529642016-04-20T14:28:00.001+01:002016-04-20T14:28:19.755+01:00Daily sketches + Reddit gets drawns<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We went away for the weekend and took the kids to Centre Parcs. They had great fun and I got a bit of time in the evenings to do some drawing + painting. I did 2 daily sketches and 2 rgds.<br />
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<b>Daily sketch 328 - Pizza</b><br />
Our elder hd begged for pizza then refused to eat it when it came so we took it back with us and I did this watercolour from (still) life. I really like it, though it suffers from my usual washed out thing.<br />
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<b>Daily sketch 331 - Bob's Burgers</b></div>
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This was supposed to be something in the style of or about the cartton show Bob's Burgers. I've never watched the show so I think my picture came out more 'generic cartoony' than anything else. I'd like to say it was a decision to do it in ball point pen but really I had one to hand and couldn't be bothered to get up. It's a picture of Theo Walcott eating his own foot while Alexi Sanchez phones his agent and Mezut Ozil regrets his life choices.</div>
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<b>Reddit gets drawn - Bitterljuvast</b></div>
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I tried for a watercolour, but after I messed up the initial skin colour I decided to just go with it and make it a bit creepy. I quite like it, though as always it's too mono-toned.</div>
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<b>Reddit gets drawn - Innersoulkitten</b></div>
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A marker comic style picture of some girl. I like this and did intend to colour it, but it got late and I went to bed.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11548365295552568104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16760044.post-66850357734244935092016-04-13T16:07:00.000+01:002016-04-13T16:07:02.542+01:00Journey into Bargue drawing<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I'd really like to start abstracting my drawings and to try to develop something close to a style but I've always been painfully aware how poor my fundamentals are - basic things like anatomy, perspective and actual drawing/painting technique. I feel I need to get a good handle on all this before I can really try to experiment more. Or maybe I'm just putting it off and making excuses...<div>
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Anyway I had read about an old drawing course create by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Bargue">Charles Bargue</a> that involved learning to draw by repetition and copying works by old masters. This is something I would never have had the patience for when I was younger but I like to think that I'm more measured these days so I thought I would give it a go. Thanks to my wife for buying me the <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Chales-Bargue-Gerald-M-Ackerman/dp/2867702038">book</a> for our anniversary.</div>
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My copy of the first plate:</div>
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<a href="http://i.imgur.com/knQIpGI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i.imgur.com/knQIpGI.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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I probably should compliment this with trying to draw from life, or at least photos in a similar style. When I have time.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11548365295552568104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16760044.post-18969116023062937332016-04-09T23:17:00.003+01:002016-04-09T23:17:26.330+01:00Lots of daily sketches<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I haven't updated in a while, so I'll just splurge the daily sketches I've done. I haven't felt like doing any rgds.<br />
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<b>309 - Southpark</b><br />
A watercolour of the Southpark characters doing the Reservoir Dogs pose. I was initially going to do it black+white but then after I had drawn them out I decided to colour them.<br />
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<a href="http://i.imgur.com/nDIVKIz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i.imgur.com/nDIVKIz.jpg" height="540" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>310 - Sushi</b><br />
Just a little watercolour of some sushi, shown in the best way to eat.<br />
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<b>317 - Paws</b><br />
A line drawing of a cat's paws.<br />
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<b>318 - Fjords</b></div>
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A little watercolour of some Fjords.</div>
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'But! Norway! My soul resides in your watery fiords fyords fiiords Inlets.'</div>
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<a href="http://i.imgur.com/tPh8w8e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i.imgur.com/tPh8w8e.jpg" height="466" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>319 - Tibetan Sand Fox</b></div>
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A digital painting of a cute san fox</div>
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<b>320 - Mucha</b></div>
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The start of watercolour that is supposed to be in the style of Mucha. I was trying to do a picture of my wife, but it looks nothing like her. I just can't crack likenesses. I may finish this one day...</div>
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<b>322 - A Lobster riding a Narwhal through space</b></div>
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Yes really. I tried using the kids' wax crayons with watercolours and I actually quite like the result - I will have to give it a go again.</div>
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<a href="http://i.imgur.com/CTA2CtI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i.imgur.com/CTA2CtI.jpg" height="478" width="640" /></a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11548365295552568104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16760044.post-51497899162105779662016-03-27T23:04:00.002+01:002016-03-27T23:04:56.022+01:00Reddit gets drawn - BuffHagen + Daily sketch 309 - Southpark<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I am really enjoying getting back into silly watercolour cartoons. I did a Reddit gets drawn picture of <a href="http://i.imgur.com/UjZr5lI">BuffHagen's dad and nephew</a>. I really like the overall feel, though the nephew looks like some dwarf or something. I'd like to blame the size constraint making his features hard to draw but I do find myself having trouble drawing children.<br />
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<a href="http://i.imgur.com/oWPACrV.jpg?1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i.imgur.com/oWPACrV.jpg?1" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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I also did a daily sketch, the subject of which was Southpark. I decided to try for a half way realistic monochrome Reservoir Dogs pastiche, but when I had pencilled it it became clear to me it wouldn't work so I just did a straightforward watercolour. I kind of like it but I still have massive shortcomings when using watercolour, not helped by the paper being to thin to properly take it. Maybe if I had spent another hour on it I could have improved on it but I am not sure.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11548365295552568104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16760044.post-37647991687507650982016-03-23T14:39:00.002+00:002016-03-23T14:39:55.487+00:00More Reddit daily sketches<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I haven't posted much recently, so several daily sketches in one post.<br />
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<b>299 - Pokemon</b><br />
I'm too old to have been into Pokemon when they came out and I didn't want to just copy some anime, so I did a cartoon or Ash charging his phone on Pikachu. Not a great drawing.<br />
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<b>300 - Pre Raphaelites</b><br />
I've always kind of liked the pre Raphaelites. On the one hand they produced moody, atmospheric paintings but on the other side they were fairly boring usually. I went for a coloured pencil version of <a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/Edward_Burne-Jones_-_An_Angel_Playing_a_Flageolet.jpg">'Angel playing a flageolet' by Edward Burne Jones</a>. It's not awful but my unfamiliarity with coloured pencils and gutlessness with strong colours show though.<br />
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<b>301 - Teeth</b></div>
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I suppose I could have tried to do something clever or interesting but instead I just did some pencil studies of teeth.</div>
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<b>302 - Mermaids</b></div>
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I actually like this drawing. I was planning on colouring it in with watercolour but it turns out that the pens I used for the outlines aren't waterproof so when I tried the colours leaked and ran. Luck I took a picture first. Also I need practise drawing hands.</div>
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<b>303 - Gerenuk</b></div>
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Gerenuks are a funky looking type of gazelle. I did a nice little drawing and coloured it in with watercolour. I quite like it, though I could have maybe used stronger colours.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11548365295552568104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16760044.post-47521850393263519512016-03-15T09:28:00.002+00:002016-03-15T09:28:50.348+00:00Reddit gets drawn - Thurgebroketoe & Donavarion<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Another two rgd pictures.<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/FV2arUZ">Thurgebroketoe</a> was from <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/redditgetsdrawnbadly/">r/redditgetsdrawnbadly</a>, so I didn't feel the need to go all out for a likeness. I intended to squash his features into the middle of his face but instead it turned into a chinny superhero picture. If I had intended it to look like this I would be really happy as it's quite a nice drawing. I just wish I could have more control on how my art ends out.<br />
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<a href="http://i.imgur.com/frUva32.jpg">Donavarion</a> posted a moody and cool black and white photo. I thought I would try to do a colour version, and while I think my little watercolour is nice it looks nothing like him. I could try to pretend it's a result of using a tiny drawing pad but if I'm honest it wouldn't have been better if I done it bigger. Still, practise, right?<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11548365295552568104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16760044.post-62148482163838216702016-03-15T09:13:00.000+00:002016-03-15T09:13:21.804+00:00Daily sketch 293 - Don Quixote & 294 Android vs iphone<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Two daily sketches in a row!<br />
The first was Don Quixote, he of windmills and stuff. I should really read it some time. I did a nice little watercolour sketch. I really wish I had more time because the idea is cool but the execution is just a little lacking. It actually got featured on the daily sketch instagram, which is nice!<br />
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The second was Android Vs Iphone. I was initially going to go full rule 34 but I was drawing it while looking after the kids so I decided to dial it back. I did a version of the iconic <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=the+kiss+photo">VJ kiss photo</a>. I of course knew of the photo but I hadn't really looked at it closely before and while I can see why it is so well known there is definitely something wrong about it to me. The tension in the hand, the leering crowd and the way he almost has her in a chokehold. I posted about this on Reddit and apparently the sailor grabbed her roughly and she wasn't willing, then was traumatised by seeing the image posted everywhere.</div>
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Even though I actually really like my drawing and I wish I had had more time to flesh it out and add some colour.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11548365295552568104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16760044.post-2467049921525578492016-03-09T10:06:00.000+00:002016-03-09T10:06:32.459+00:00RGD - Hugz-are-fun + Alistairs<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I did two Reddit portraits.<br />
The first was a small watercolour sketch of <a href="http://imgur.com/FPLOzNd">Hugz-are-fun</a>, which I think came out nicely, though I could probably have been more decisive with the colouring. To be honest I should have just done a larger image, I was planning on trying to do something a lot more simplified and stylised but could pull it off and found it was too small to add more detail.<br />
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The second wasn't actually from <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/redditgetsdrawn">r/redditgetsdrawn</a>. It was from a similar sub <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/redditgetsdrawnbadly">r/redditgetsdrawnbadly</a>. It has the same idea (you post your picture, people draw or paint them) as r/redditgetsdrawn except the quality is more uneven and there are no expectations. There are still people who are amazing doing stuff in <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/redditgetsdrawnbadly">r/redditgetsdrawnbadly</a>, but in r/redditgetsdrawn, <i>everyone</i> is amazing. Except me when I post, or at least that's how I feel. It means I don't feel quite so insecure which is nice, and I am hoping it will make it easier for me to experiment instead of just producing bad attempts at likenesses.<br />
I drew <a href="http://imgur.com/jGbGFjV">Alistairs</a>, and I didn't have much time so I just did a quick pencil sketch without trying too hard. It came out ok, though it doesn't look like her and I didn't abstract it at all. Still if it were r/redditgetsdrawn I am not sure I would have had the courage to post it but I had not problem here and I actually got replies to my post saying how good it is.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11548365295552568104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16760044.post-86519193978881524012016-03-09T09:45:00.000+00:002016-03-09T09:46:10.382+00:00Daily sketch 288 - Samarkand and 290 - International women's day<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I been spending all my free time working on my game so I haven't had time to do much drawing recently. I promised myself I would get some done this week, and managed to do something, helped in no lage part by having house guests sleeping in my study so I couldn't use my computer in the evenings.<br />
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I did 2 daily sketches, both of them quite difficult subjects.<br />
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The first was day <b>288 - <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=samarkand&newwindow=1&safe=off&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiI26PPprPLAhVKOBQKHVShBr8Q_AUIBygB&biw=1920&bih=995">Samarkand</a></b>, which is a beautiful and inspiring city in Uzbekistan. Unfortunately it's known for very precise and intricate tiles and architecture so it was extremely hard to draw. I opted for watercolour, but as usual the painting was ruined by my inability to take risks and use bright, strong colours. Also it would have probably helped if I had used a ruler.<br />
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The second was <b>290- International women's day</b>. I was stumped as to what to draw so I started drawing a<a href="https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Lady+Justice&newwindow=1&safe=off&biw=1920&bih=995&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjC7p-HqLPLAhXEzRQKHcVPCN8Q_AUIBigB"> Lady Justice</a> image. Half way through I realised how boring it was so I switched the scales and sword for a large severed set of testicles and some garden shears. Very silly but I am actually quite happy with it, though it might say something bad about my psyche, </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11548365295552568104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16760044.post-29507853841457059292016-02-04T22:37:00.003+00:002016-03-09T09:45:56.396+00:00Reddit Daily sketch 261 - Lips + 267 - Torsion poses<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I quite liked doing these two. It's always good to just practise individual elements in isolation so doing the lips was worth doing on it's own.<br />
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Torsion poses is twisting the body and it's good for forcing you to really look at the physique as it won't look as you expect.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11548365295552568104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16760044.post-65647764414871597682016-01-27T23:07:00.002+00:002016-01-27T23:07:34.683+00:00Reddit daily sketch 259 - Soccer players<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Two days in a row, wooooh!<br />
Today's was football players so I broke out the watercolours I got for Christmas and tried to do Mezut Ozil. It was way beyond my technical skill level so it's come out pretty shonky, but I do like bits of it and hey, it's practise.<br />
To be honest though, even if I had done it perfectly, would I have liked the result? Cheesy earnest watercolour can be so dull. I should have planned it for some kind of abstraction, but I've always been terrible at visualising what I want to achieve with a picture before making it.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11548365295552568104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16760044.post-69820756452965084232016-01-27T11:27:00.003+00:002016-01-27T23:08:05.507+00:00Reddit daily sketch 251 (Gesture drawing) and 258 (Wedding cakes) + Reddit gets drawn - zerolinks2014<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I've been trying (and failing) to get stuff done on my game so I haven't had time to do very much artwork recently. I did manage to do two daily sketches and a rgd.<br />
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<b>Daily sketch 251</b> was gesture drawing. This is supposed to mean quick, 30 second drawings which try to capture the flow of the subject with flowing gestures. I used <a href="http://artists.pixelovely.com/practice-tools/figure-drawing/">this site</a> which lets you customize the source images and time. I enjoyed it and it's definitely something I intend to try to do more whenever I have free time. Whether I can do this or wasting time on Reddit/my phone will win I'm not sure.<br />
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<b>Daily sketch 258</b> was wedding cakes. I intended to either do one of those intricate pen drawings or do something I could colour in, but I lost interest towards the end of the main outline when it became clear how boring my picture was, so I just finished off the inking and left it at that.<br />
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I then did a drawing for Reddit gets drawn of user <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/redditgetsdrawn/comments/42rpd6/me_on_my_first_day_at_work_i_would_love_to_be/">zerolinks2014</a> and I like it as a picture but it looks nothing like him, sadly. I really need to practise on getting likenesses, because at the moments it's just hit and miss. I think I also need a better idea of what I'm trying to do - a realistic picture or a cartoony caricature. At the moment I'm getting neither one nor the other and I'm ending with lots of disappointing results.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11548365295552568104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16760044.post-56084302854419610232016-01-08T23:15:00.002+00:002016-01-08T23:15:52.313+00:00Reddit daily sketch 240 - Archery<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Today's daily sketch was archery. I used to be a huge anime nerd so I decided to try to draw a Japanese archer. I only had time for a very quick pencil sketch so it's rushed and messy but still has something. I still think that whenever I try to scan or photo my pencil work it loses a lot, something I will have to do something about.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11548365295552568104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16760044.post-72502111267420957032016-01-06T23:37:00.004+00:002016-01-07T10:58:36.164+00:00Reddit daily sketch 237 - Picnics and 238 - Lizards<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
There is a great subreddit, <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/dailysketch">r/dailysketch</a> where every day a subject is posted and you try to do a piece based on it. As well a encouraging you to do something every day it also gets you to draw lots of things which you otherwise wouldn't think about, which is awesome. Oh, and you get a cool flair counting how many times you submit a piece!<br />
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I know I'm not going to be able to do one every day but I've set myself the goal of getting the red sketch x100 fliar by the end of the year. That seems achievable. These are the latest two:<br />
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Day 237 - Picnics:</h3>
I missed the anthromopomorphic animals day a week earlier so I chose to do some animals having a picnic. I tried to do another digital piece with the tablet and Krita but I really don't like the result. I just didn't have enough time to put into it and I'm still too inexperienced with blending, the brushes and using the tablet.<br />
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<a href="http://i.imgur.com/KtxYA7F.jpg?1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i.imgur.com/KtxYA7F.jpg?1" height="505" width="640" /></a></div>
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Day 238 - Lizards</h3>
I'm much more please with this, and it took a fraction of the time. A simple ink and watercolour image in the mini watercolour book I got from my reddit secret santa.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11548365295552568104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16760044.post-49298895428333418222016-01-05T00:02:00.000+00:002016-01-06T23:40:15.956+00:00Reddit gets drawn - MjrMuffCabbage<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Another Krita piece for Reddit gets drawn. Not as successful as my last one - it's more apparent that I'm trying for a painterly style and failing. I think I will try more abstracting in the future.</div>
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<a href="http://i.imgur.com/rvaZGRs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" src="http://i.imgur.com/rvaZGRs.jpg" height="640" width="515" /></a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11548365295552568104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16760044.post-35011769479388911822016-01-04T13:32:00.000+00:002016-01-06T23:40:35.836+00:00New graphics tablet! Reddit gets drawn - Flatishsassy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I was lucky enough to be given a graphics tablet for Christmas by my brother. I haven't really had that much time to play with it but so far it's amazing and I feel it could be giving my art a big kickstart.<br />
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I think my two major issues with painting, even back in my uni days were a lack of technique and a crippling fear of making mistakes that could ruin a half decent piece. This meant I found it very difficult to make myself take risk with strong colours and tone and frequently came out with bland, washed out works. Being able to try something then if it doesn't work undo and try something else is amazingly liberating and the ability to split things apart and work on different layers also makes thing much easier. It really gives me hope that if I persevere I'll be able to get myself up to a fairly decent standard, given a bit of time.<br />
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I downloaded and have been using Krita, an open source free photoshop clone and so far I'm finding it to be great. It's all a bit different form photoshop, particularly the shortcuts and keyboard commands, and there is definitely a learning curve, but it's still very good. And free!<br />
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This is the second nearly complete piece I've done using the tablet. It's a piece for the <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/redditgetsdrawn">Reddit 'Reddit gets drawn' subreddit</a> based on <a href="https://i.imgur.com/XI85ShB.jpg">this photo</a> of Reddit user Flattishsassy. While not overjoyed by the result it's definitely progress and does gives me some ideas of what direction I want to go in. Also practise is always good.<br />
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<a href="http://i.imgur.com/thsepRu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i.imgur.com/thsepRu.jpg" height="460" width="640" /></a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11548365295552568104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16760044.post-75159220718466448242016-01-04T11:32:00.001+00:002016-01-04T11:32:34.851+00:00Third attempt at actually blogging!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So I gave up on this blog again. I am now going to try again. I will probably fail again but I want to give it another go, for two reasons:<br />
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After also giving up on the game I spoke about in this blog earlier I've come back to it and nearly have a version playable. I want to be able to write about it and this could be a good place.<br />
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I've started drawing again and I want to put my stuff up and talk about it somewhere better than imgur.<br />
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It may come to pass that I find that it's better seperating things and using something like itch.io for the game and something like deviantart for the art stuff. I will see. I can always just mirror stuff I guess.<br />
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Oh, I am resisting the temptation to delete the old stuff I wrote about the roguelike even though it makes me look like a gibbering idiot. I suspect I will fill the same about this in a few years time anyway.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11548365295552568104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16760044.post-35230734053424760522012-11-17T16:45:00.001+00:002012-11-17T16:45:41.811+00:00The town layer<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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This is the persistent layer that sits on top of the Roguelike game play, added as a hub to give a sense of persistence to the user, make the game more casual friendly, and add avenues for rmt that don’t impact the Roguelike game. <a href="http://utterlysuperb.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/adding-farmville-elements-to-me-my-game.html">This post</a> says more about my thinking behind added this extra game element. This post is focused on how the town works. I’ll do another later on how it looks.<br />
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There will be no title screen as such instead when the user starts the app they’ll come straight from the loading screen to the town view (obviously if it’s their first time there will be story/tutorial overlays). On entry there will be modal message prompting them to either continue and existing adventure or start a new one. If the player chooses to view the town there will be a persistent ‘adventure’ button.<br />
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The town view will also have navigation to get to things like global options, credits, info etc.<br />
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
Currency</h3>
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It uses 2 different currency types. Gold, which is created in the town and crystals(or some other unit), which will be the paid for currency, but which can also be found in the dungeon. I may also add other reagents that can only be found in the dungeon.<br />
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
Areas:</h3>
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There will be several different areas, all performing different functions. Areas are building that all users have and that cannot be moved. They can be upgraded though. There will also be constructs, which are buildings created by the user than can be moved/upgraded destroyed etc.<br />
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<b>Ancient cave (will probably be called something else).</b><br />
This is where the players go to play the Roguelike game. Can be upgraded to access different game mode – different difficulties, plus maybe a sprint or defense mode in the future. Probably only uses dollars. If the player doesn’t have an existing adventure then clicking the ’adventure’ button take them here, where they choose their character/equipment/mode for the adventure.<br />
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<b>Training ground (need a new name)</b><br />
The way my game and power design will go the build and abilities will be dependant on the cards the player has. When a player chooses a classall they’re actually choosing is the starting cards/equipment. They start off with a basic fighter/assassin/mage selection, then as they player more combinations can be unlocked using this building. There will also be blank slots where players can create their own starting classes. These will be expensive, and bought with the pfc. I’ll also have to be very careful when balancing it so players can’t create OP combinations (though it’s only the starting decks so in the long run it shouldn’t matter).<br />
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<b>Blacksmith</b><br />
Use this to create weapons and armor that characters start off the game with. My idea is that every time a character is sent off into the dungeon you have to equip them first. There will be bog standard weapon choices, which the user will have unlimited amounts of, but other weapons/armor combinations will have to be made beforehand. Most take money on it’s on, but some require better reagents. Again, I should emphasize that the better weapons will help the early game but will become obsolete relatively quickly.<br />
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<b>Graveyard</b><br />
The morgue where you can view your dead characters. I want to make it easy to export and share stats – I’m not doing a hugely intensive file, but enough to be interesting. You can also use it to buy monuments and crypts for characters which are contructs placed in the map.<br />
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<b>Bar/general store</b><br />
This is where a player can buy things. This will mostly be things like extra skins/consumables to take into the dungeon.<br />
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<b>Hall of honour</b><br />
This is the achievements and quests + record of winning characters and where you buy monuments to them. Monuments can be placed around the town.<br />
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Buildings:</h3>
<br />
<b>Gold Mine:</b><br />
This is a building that constantly generates small amounts of gold. The trick is that it continues to do so in real time while the game is inactive, but there is a cap on how much it can hold before it becomes full. This encourages the user to log back in frequently to collect the gold. Produciton rate and capacity cna be upgraded, with higher ranks being exponentially more expensive, encouraging rmt.<br />
<b>Lumber ill:</b><br />
Same as gold mine but produces wood.<br />
<b>Steel mill:</b><br />
Ditto, but creates metal.<br />
<b>Decorations:</b><br />
Things to make your town look nicer. They don’t do anything, so I can make the nicer ones ridiculously expensive. Also I can slo them in as they are created without worrying about balance etc.<br />
Monuments are a sub catergory of decorations. They’re built to honour fallen (or victorious!) characters. The grandeur of the momument is determined by how far the character got.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11548365295552568104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16760044.post-46521498443295070272012-10-18T16:51:00.000+01:002012-10-18T16:51:13.451+01:00Actions<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Before I get going properly building the engine I want to have a pretty good idea of what it need to be able to do.<br />
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Every turn the user can perform an action. Their choices boil down to:<br />
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<ul>
<li>Moving.</li>
<li>Attacking.</li>
<li>Using an ability.</li>
<li>Using an item.</li>
<li>Performing an environment action.</li>
<li>Making an inventory change - this means picking something up, equiping items etc.</li>
<li>Wait.</li>
</ul>
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<h3>
Moving</h3>
Moving is fairly obvious. The characters move from one square to another adjacent square. I'm only going to do four way movement, both because I'm told it makes it easier for casuals and also because there may be at some point a (small) chance of me putting in animations and thats 4 less directions to have to create cycles for. Well 2 if I just flip the artwork.<br />
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I'm going to have pathfinding in there. I just need to decide how to implement it. I already have a reasonable A* pathfinder that works with tile based maps. It works fine for just the player character, but it has issues when there are lots of mobs, all heading towards the player. After reading this article<a href="http://roguebasin.roguelikedevelopment.org/index.php?title=The_Incredible_Power_of_Dijkstra_Maps"> '</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><a href="http://roguebasin.roguelikedevelopment.org/index.php?title=The_Incredible_Power_of_Dijkstra_Maps">The Incredible Power of Dijkstra Maps'</a>,</span> I want to try to use Dijkstra maps, at least for the mob pathfinding anyway.<br />
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Attacking</h3>
Attacking another character without using an ability. Can be either ranged or melee. For a melee attack the attackee must be on an adjacent square, for ranged attacks they can be further away.<br />
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When a player uses an attack I want the attack to be able to not only have different types or damage, apply damage over time, have a potential to splash damage over an area, but to also trigger abilities. The properties of the attack would be stitched together from the player's equipment status effect and stats. Each attack will have a primary damage type specific to the weapon, and this is what can crit, is use in some calculations, and has combat bonuses added to it.<br />
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Using an ability</h3>
What can abilities do?<br />
First I have to decide on what the attacks and abilities need to be able to do. I did a rough brainstorm and this is what I came up with:<br />
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<ul>
<li>Damage enemies, with varying types of damage (eg slashing/crushing/piercing/fire etc).</li>
<li>Damage should be able to be over a duration.</li>
<li>Should be able to add status effects* to characters.</li>
<li>Should also be able to stun, root, fear or put character to sleep (sleep is a stun which breaks on damage) for a duration.</li>
<li>Damage should be able to be delayed.</li>
<li>Should be able to decide whether or not to affect the user.</li>
<li>Should be able to reposition both the active character and the character it is used on. Not just knockbacks, but tactical movements.</li>
<li>Should be able to target the environment, as well as characters.</li>
<li>Should be able to have a radius of effect. The power of the ability should be able to change depending on the distance.</li>
<li>Radius shouldn't just be circles.</li>
<li>Abilities should be able to trigger follow on effects. This is nice as it's potentially a way of mixing basic abilities together to make different exotic ones. This could be used to do the delayed damage/effects that I want too.</li>
<li>Should be resistible depending on the resistances of the target and the power of the ability, or not resistible.</li>
</ul>
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<h3>
Using an item.</h3>
Using an item can be viewed the same way as using an ability, except that the item is used from the player's inventory/equipment. There will be some abilities that are only available through equipment, like town portal (if I have them), teleport etc.<br />
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<h3>
Performing an environment action.</h3>
This means things like opening doors and chests or pulling levers.<br />
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<h3>
Making an inventory change.</h3>
This means picking something up, dropping things, equipping items etc. I am tempted to make dropping items free.<br />
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<h3>
Waiting.</h3>
Do no action for a turn. The most frequent use of this is in games where the characters regenerate their health over time, so an injured player can wait a time until their health returns.<br />
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<h4>
*Status effects</h4>
A status effect is an effect that can be applied to a character. It lasts for a duration and affects the character. I want status effects to be able to:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Affect stats. This can be by percentage or absolute.</li>
<li>Do damage or heal over time.</li>
<li>Do additional damage on hit/being hit, either for or against the character with the effect. These could just be abilities.</li>
<li>Trigger abilities on hit, being hit, ability use or move. These can have a percentage chance.</li>
<li>Trigger ability on end.</li>
</ul>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11548365295552568104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16760044.post-61261169180062781302012-09-28T16:49:00.000+01:002012-09-28T16:49:31.043+01:00Adding Farmville elements to me my game<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Or Scope creep crope sceep.</h3>
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I've been downloading and playing a whole load of mobile games, one of which is a Farmville lite type game called Little Dragons. It's a nice little tamagochi type game where you you have to hatch and then take care of a load of cute cartoon dragons, with great production values and a disastrously bad monetisation system (I may be wrong about, I have no stats to back this up). It has a system where you have multiple habitats that contain dragons, and each dragon is constantly generating gold, whether you're actually playing or not. The habitats have a limit on how much gold they can hold, then they're full up and the dragons stop producing. As I said, this carries on in real time, even if you're not playing, so what it does is encourage you to open up the game every few hours, just to check on your dragons and collect the gold.</div>
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It works incredibly well with a mobile game because most people have their mobiles with them most of the time, and it's very easy to succumb to the urge to just open it up, make a few clicks and have a quick play. I want to leverage this impulse for my game, to make the players feel an itch to boot it up and take a quick look every few hours, even if they're not playing a long session.<br />
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Since it's so difficult to actually charge for an app I also want to add at least some form of micro payments to the game. I don't want to compromise the main game so I was thinking about adding an extra layer to the game which I could then charge for. It makes sense and I think will work well for this layer to be the farmville style crack that will keep the users coming back to my game all through the day.<br />
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What I'm planning is for the player to have a town that is the base for all of their characters to strike off into the dungeon. My basic thinking is:<br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>The town will have several different areas/buildings that can be used to create items and consumables that can be used in the game.</li>
<li>A training building where you can build upgrades that can be given to you characters on creation.</li>
<li>An embassy to unlock new classes/races.</li>
<li>There will be an actual graveyard for dead characters - I'd love to let the player upgrade gravestones into extravagant statues and tombs.</li>
<li>Square of honour, with statues and monuments to successful characters.</li>
<li>Production buildings that generate resources, that will need to be harvested. Probably wil be mine, farm and lumber forest. Each will be upgradable.</li>
<li>Make it a rule that the items created won't be too powerful. They'll be the kind of thing that can make the early game easier but will be obsolete by the time the players gets to mid-late game. This means is hopefully won't compromise the main game for the hardcore players while providing a way to make the early game easier for the casual players, who may like this game layer more anyway.</li>
<li>This layer will be completely separate to the actual game so if I shit my britches I can discard it without breaking or having to rethink too much the main game.</li>
<li>I was already planning on creating a web version of the game to drive traffic to the mobile versions, and this gives me something extra to use to differentiate the separate versions without crippling the web version to the point that it's not fun.</li>
</ul>
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<br />
The big, scary drawback to the idea is that this farmville layer could almost be viewed as a standalone game on it's own. It's a big job added onto and already huge job. The balancing will be difficult to get right, it needs lots of extra assets and plugging it into a micro payments system is going to require a crap load of testing, not to mention just learning to use the apis in the first place.<br />
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On the other hand it's something extra to make what I'm doing something more than just another tired Roguelike clone. It also adds some permanence to the game - something that survives even if you characters don't, and as it adds move avenues for micro payments it adds more chance that I may actually make some money from the game. I'm already mentally planning what I'm going to do.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11548365295552568104noreply@blogger.com0