Project ITV

Project ITV

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

12-18 May New turtle sprites, Camera panning, Etc

Progress so far...
The game was in a way, completed. Everything done now is to make the game better and polish it :)
I have one month left to do this!

New Turtle Sprites
You know, one thing I learned recently with the help of Li Hao is that...drawing is easy.
But drawing for a game is not.

When I was drawing random turtles and comics, it was pretty easy. I didn't have to think to draw. But when it comes to drawing for games, there is a lot thinking required, and I was not a very good thinker / analyzer.

Things like style differences, sprite outlines, whether something looks too 3D-ish, whether something should be spinning or not, they became things I had to really look into because of this project. And I had overlooked many things. Of course, that meant I learned a lot too.

Camera Panning
It was disorienting to have the camera immediately switch to the player's location after moving through a door or switching players. The camera now follows the player loosely, and pans from one player to another when switching among the two controllable players.

This is my favourite change to the game this week. I couldn't stop moving my character through doors just to play with the camera panning to and fro.

Less punishment
Spikes collision box reduced.

Zoom changes
All levels had their zoom rounded to absolute values (1.0, 2.0, 3.0x zoom).

Text Design
Text enters a level with fade and move into the level from a certain direction. I created a function so I can easily adjust the fade intensity, direction, the distance which the text moves before locking into its final place, the starting alpha value of the text when it appears.

Reflection + Idea of a second game
I had the idea of new game. I wouldn't call it Introvert 2, because it isn't a sequel. It will be a much smaller and simpler game that is only slightly related to the story of Introvert. I simply do not want to attempt making a game of the scale of Introvert. That is just too tough for me to do alone. Honestly, Introvert was better meant to be done in a team, and I'm glad that I had the help of Li Hao, and though it is pretty late, David is also helping me correct design issues for the past days.

If I have the time, I will probably make another game after this, even though I repeatedly told myself that Introvert will be the first and last game I will make.

7-9 May - Meeting The David Carney

Meeting The David Carney (Written in the week of 7 May)

This has got to be one of the most exciting week for me!

I had been trying to contact David Carney in hopes that I can work with him, and also because he makes really good music, and the game's sounds is lacking in quality as well. On 7 May, I finally got the chance to talk with him.

Day 01
He seemed reluctant to work with me at first, but I managed to convince him! I was soo happy when he asked me to send a copy of the game for him to look at. I was overwhelmed with excitement. I was so warm and sweating, and full of nervousness and tension when I was talking to him. But don't get me wrong, he's a nice person. I just get all nervous talking to him for the first time.

Day 02
On 8 May, we discussed about the game as well as about business and it was a real joy to talk to him, though I was still trying to suppress my excitement / tension whenever I wait for his replies. I couldn't sleep after that because I was just so caught up thinking about our conversation that I was too excited to sleep. He said that he would come up with a list of the music/sounds in the game. And another list concerning the design issues. I was looking forward to the lists.

Day 03
He talked to me about some of the things he liked about the game as well as well as a bit of the things he felt needed to change.

Day of 15 May
He gave me the list of the design issues with the game. The sound fx and music list was written last week. It was time to start fixing!

It has been pretty awesome so far.

Unexpectedly...

15 May 2013

This is a bit more personal than the other entries here about the game.

You see, my time is limited. I will be enlisted in National Service on 12 June, and it's 15 May now. I had been training up for NAPFA for the past few weeks in hope that I would get a two-month reduction to serve National Service.

Unfortunately, I did not make my NAPFA booking in time, and I was not able to take the test. I had my schedule planned out across the following two months because I was very sure I could get the extra two months.

This was a mistake I made that I overlooked the NAPFA booking. It has quite a consequence, because now I have less than 30 days to finish and make any changes I want to make to the game.

But, Li Hao told me a few things that made me realise a bit more about how Introvert has progressed. Introvert got this far, and it's much further than what I could have dreamed of months ago. I learned so much.  And just last week, I met David Carney and worked with him, and he's been a great help !!!

Indeed, I have gained alot, and though I would gain much more if I had those two extra months to work on Introvert, I shouldn't be too disappointed that I lost it, since I have already gained so much.

But it was my mistake still.

I made many mistakes when I had been working on Introvert. Fate hasn't really been good to me, but if I were to look back, and learn from those mistakes, and be grateful that I met David Carney and look at what the game has accomplished, I will be truly happy.

I will only be able to check on the game on weekends after a three week confinement. And with one month left, I guess I have to take things a lot more seriously.

"will be looking forward to see u on weekends", Li Hao told me.

Sunday, May 5, 2013

5-11May Adding lightning, misc stuff

Progress so far
The game is complete save for a few many things that has to be done:
- Music*
- Sound*
- Grayscale Feature (working on it)
- Polishing and improving whatever graphics I have
- Improving the first few levels as they tend to be boring and pointless

*Waiting for a reply before it can begin

Lightning
I added some lightning to amplify the drama of the last level.
The left most lightning was ironically, inspired by a photo of real lightning, but I think it looks the least interesting among the 3 lightning streaks, so I put it in the most elusive place I could find on the map.

The night of 7 May is going to be unforgettable. I talked to David Carney. I hope he will have the time to work with me on the project. But I also realise that I have much polishing left to do. There was so much tension in the air for me, and when the tension dissipates, stress remains.

Redrawing / Retracing the turtles
Planning to redraw the turtles in better graphics.

Contacting David Carney
I contacted David Carney in hopes of working with him.