Tag: Projects
Quietus: Psychobiography – A look at the Quietus 0.3.7 UPDATE
AmalgamAsh‘s "progressive updates" review of Quietus v0.3 (which he’s conveniently cited as v0.3.7) is on YouTube.
Watch the Video
On the Points Made
Addressing some of Ash’s points, I overlooked the "missing" desk, but will resolve in the next version.
For now, I won’t create custom models, using the default models and others’ assets instead. I currently have an unresolved and unresolvable issue with Blender to SGB, which has me stumped!
A final point: Quietus IS my primary focus. Development on Quietus will supersede development on Enigma of the Wulf and Otherworld: Through the Veil. Incidentally, plans to migrate the latter to the Unreal Engine are underway.
Working on Quietus is actually a form of "bereavement creativity", a kind of catharsis, especially after my Dad’s and Grandfather’s deaths, as many elements in the game being actual events, incidents, emotions, and memories, etc. in my own life. It isn’t a life story, but rather a "psychoanalysis", defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as:
A method of analyzing psychic phenomena and treating emotional disorders that involves treatment sessions during which the patient is encouraged to talk freely about personal experiences and especially about early childhood and dreams.
Version 0.4
I have no release date timeframe for v0.4, although the goal is within the next two weeks (at the time of this post).
Bearing in mind, I work 4 nights now, which means 3 days to work on Quietus’s development.
Game Development News
Starborn: The Fallen & Relationship Sim
Those who follow me on social media already know about the various projects I’m working on, including my games.
Various Game Engines
I’ve tried my hand at various genres and storylines, inculding a quasi-biographical game entitled Confluction, but none of them really progressed beyond initial concept. There are numerous reasons behind this, but the main one seems to be that they haven’t felt "right".
In addition, I’ve been experimenting with various game engines for some time now, including RPG Maker, Unity, GameMaker, Axis Game Factory, and GameGuru. And, of course, SMILE GAME BUILDER.
In a recent announcement on the SGB Discord, I stated:
My problem is that I have so many ideas bouncing around in my head and not enough time to implement them all. This then becomes fingers-in-too-many-pies syndrome and none of the games actually reach completion. So to resolve this, I started looking closer to topics I’m interested in and conversant with, and eventually settled on a theme.Game development on "Starborn: The Fallen" will most likely migrate to GameGuru MAX (official release September) and development on "Relationship Sim" will be for SMILE GAME BUILDER.
The next goal was to determine which engine to use for the overall feeling and outcome. I settled on SMILE GAME BUILDER for "Relationship Sim" (a previously planned but now resurrected game idea) and GameGuru MAX for "Starborn: The Fallen".
Why GameGuru MAX? Why Not Unity?
Someone in Discord asked why I’d use GameGuru MAX for Starborn: The Fallen rather than Unity or the Game Creator asset for Unity (interpretably haughtily).
My answer was probably rather terse, so I thought I’d expand it here. What I won’t do here is extol GameGuru MAX’s virtues or lament its drawbacks.
Now I responded that I wanted to try something different. Since I’ve been using GameGuru (not necessarily intending to produce a game with it) on and off for awhile, I saw the potential for a small yet simple horror-style game because of its post-effects, like lighting. Furthermore, some of the models in the add-on packs were (are) perfect for this purpose.
However, as before the "feeling" just wasn’t there, so the motivation dwindled. I continued creating the maps for the game – sometimes from scratch, sometimes randomly generating landscapes – and soon realised that some of the maps bore a striking resemblance to those in Starborn. This was purely subconscious; I wasn’t planning on it.
This then prompted me to delve further into GameGuru as a whole. Although I still need to learn its programming language, Lua, it is more lightweight than the C# that Unity predominantly uses and, while not primarily an object-orientated programming (OOP) language, primary classes and tables can be used to store data and create objects. I wrote a very simplistic script to store some basic information for an equally basic quest log (admittedly partially functional and very buggy).
Completely by accident, I saw a trailer for GameGuru MAX so decided to preorder it in February and recently received the first alpha release. This seriously lacks in actual content but it is a vast improvement on its predecessor, with a better, more intuitive interface and a built-in character creator. I even tried importing some of my own hi-tex models into the engine and was impressed with the results.
So, I made that executive decision to migrate Starborn to GameGuru MAX. I’ll continue working on the game (intermittently) until its official release in September.
Relationship Sim (SMILE GAME BUILDER)
And I will resume development on my SGB game, "Relationship Sim", which I started some time ago. This was loosely based on and inspired by an old tutorial I did, #16: Relationship System.
I particularly like those kinds of games where choices matter and actions have consequences, which result in multiple endings based on those choices.
Relationship Sim is no exception in that you can follow the path of faithful boyfriend or cassanova. Each path has a different outcome and different influences on other characters.
Susbsequently, the "relationship system" is potentially quite complex. SGB’s limitations at the time became one of the major reasons the project was placed on hold. Now, with some of the newest additions (notably displaying text as images and string variables), it’s more viable to create a specific HUD style without having to rely exclusively on graphics for names, relationship status, etc.
My SubscribeStar patrons will also gain access to "mature" or "adult" content. This won’t be sexual in nature, not gratuitous but more inferred, and it’ll be optional content for those who want it.
With that said, I’m going to start development on Relationship Sim from scratch, expanding upon and improving its old system to accommodate the new updates.
Development Updates
Working on both projects at once – plus my tutorials, my model packs and live-streaming – will demand much of my time, but with proper micro-management of time I should be able to juggle them successfully.
Although there won’t be updates on Starborn: The Fallen until September (when it’s officially launched), updates on Relationship Sim will be posted on social media and in the SGB Discord.
“Starborn: The Fallen” (SMILE GAME BUILDER Game) – Video Showcase #1
The game I’m working on for SMILE GAME BUILDER – for those who don’t already know – is entitled Starborn: The Fallen.
Its current game dev home (for now) is on Gamejolt. You can follow the project there if you want to keep up-to-date with its progress and development.
Showcase Video
Here’s a game dev showcase video for the game’s intro scene.
The video is hosted on DailyMotion, but you can also view the YouTube version if you prefer.
Game Development Notes
Game development will continue with fleshing out the story first before focusing on graphics, 3D models and animations, so will use many default models for now. Over time, I’ll add more custom assets (including models) and will showcase them in future videos.
Smile Game Builder Monthly Digest – November 2017
The end-of-the-month Smile Game Builder Monthly Digest is up (in line with keeping everything consistent for the last day or week of each month).
Video Tutorial
Xmas Pack Vol. 1 Competition
Simply comment "Happy Christmas" in your native language for a chance to win Serenity Game Studio’s "Christmas Pack" for Smile Game Builder!
All names will be put into a hat – literally! – and drawn at random. The closing date is Sunday 17 December 2017 and the winner will be notified the following day (or shortly thereafter) by message or email. Note that comments after the closing date will not be counted.
This video is the second Smile Game Builder Monthly Digest just to make it consistent for the end of the month. Future digests will be uploaded either the last day of the month or the last week of the month, showcasing SGB related websites, games, assets, and more.
Featured in this Video
Links Mentioned in the Video
Xmas Pack Vol. 1
- Serenity Game Studio Official Site (5 € discount code for all packs for Steam Users)
- Promotion Pack
- Steam Page
SorynStream’s Game Floor Project
Jackson Meira
Monarch of Greed – Act 1 — 30% Off Until 6 December 2017!
If you want more digests throughout the month, let me know. And don’t forget to enter the giveaway competition to win a copy of the Xmas Pack Vol. 1 by Serenity Game Studios. Gotta be in it to win it!
COMING SOON! Top 5 Smile Game Builder Games.
Smile Game Builder has been out for some time now. So, it’s inevitable that there would be a number of games available for it.
Sometime next week, I’ll be showcasing some of the games currently available in Smile Game Builder. This includes both free and paid games. These are all in English since I don’t speak Japanese, but a number of Japanese only games have been produced as well.
None of the games in the showcase is a full review; it’s simply a video providing details on the games, which I’ve ranked according to atmosphere, playability, storyline, and enjoyment.
I won’t spoil the "surprise" by listing the games; you’ll just have to watch the video when it’s uploaded.
Smile Game Builder Tutorial #37:
Customizing Assets
Message Windows
In this week’s tutorial, I give some insight into customizing more of the system graphics in Smile Game Builder, specifically message windows. This includes normal message windows, dialogue windows and the status window.
Video Tutorial
Message windows are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to customizing system assets. In Tutorial #30, I covered graphics not directly importable via Add Assets. They are the Game Over image, equipment items (status screen) and message wait cursor (animated).
Branneg Guthinol
Also mentioned in this tutorial is Branneg Guthinol, an ex-gladiator grown fat from his successes. He will be a character in a game planned RPG Maker MV game, The Gladiator Program: Genesis (some time in the future).
FIRST LOOK – Otherworld SGB: Through the Veil
This is the first look at the game I’m working on for Smile Game Builder. It’s a short, first-person supernatural thriller with plenty twists and turns, as well as some unique features.
Showcase Video
Credits
- Music: Purple Planet Music
- Sound Effects: Free Sound
- Graphics: Companion Wulf / Blender / Daz 3D Studio
- Project Updates: Otherworld SGB
Unveiling New Smile Game Builder Game – “Otherworld: Through the Veil”
I’m unveiling my new Smile Game Builder project next month, entitled Otherworld: Through the Veil.
It’s a short supernatural thriller and is something I’ve wanted to work on for some time. It’ll contain a lot of the techniques I’ve used in my tutorials.
I’ll post more details next month, but in the meantime you can keep up-to-date with it (and other Smile Game Builder news on the Facebook page and the Otherworld MV Twitter account.
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