GenjiPig

GenjiPig.com

2010-07-23T00:45:00.000-07:00

From now on I will be doing all my blogging on my new blog, GenjiPig.com.

And it wont just be Daisuke related stuff .. pretty much anything I'm working on .. or just whatever comes to mind.

See you there!

iPad. DaisukeMobile.

2010-05-13T01:15:00.000-07:00

My iPad finally arrived in the mail. I totally love it! It's really fun, fast, powerful and has an amazing display.

I've also set up my iPad for development and loaded up "DaisukeMobile".

The iPad has significantly better graphics processing than my old junkey iPhone3G and Daisuke runs WAY better on it than it does on my Phone. Realizing the game should run similarly as well on the 3GS and the upcoming 4th Generation iPhone, I decided to push the limits a bit further.

I set the FPS back up to 25 and de-nerf'd some of the graphics, and the game still ran PERFECTLY smooth. It might even run better than the flash version on my computer! It's probably because the resolution is so small that there is significantly less processing power needed in comparison to my computer, but also, the iPad is just really great for gaming in general!

So .. in it's current form, Daisuke will run like crap on the iPhone3G (and presumably even worse on the 1st Generation iPhone). But it works wonderfully on the iPad, and should work just as well on the 3GS and the 4th Generation iPhone.

Since it will be a while till Daisuke is ready, and the next iPhone should be here in a few weeks, I think it shouldn't be THAT big of a deal to make Daisuke's minimum requirement a 3GS iPhone.

Sorry to anyone who still has a 3G (or god forbit a 1st Generation iPhone) when DaisukeMobile finally comes out, but the game just wont run properly for you, you'd might want to upgrade your hardware!

As for the iPad .. Daisuke is still being developed as an iPhone app, so it isn't to iPad spec. I plan on making "Daisuke HD" later, but for the time being I am constrained to iPhone resolution due to CS5 lacking the ability to export to iPad specifications.

So look forward to Daisuke on your 3GS, 4th Gen iPhone or on your iPad (in double pixel, somewhat blocky mode) in the near future! And Daisuke HD soon after that (hopefully) !!

Daisuke for iPhone Test Version v0.1

2010-05-05T22:17:00.001-07:00

Got the very first test version of Daisuke for the iPhone to function on my phone!

Exciting !!

Here is a video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9kcsC_Apio

Daisuke for iPhone.

2010-05-04T16:06:00.001-07:00

I recently joined the Apple Developer Program. This means I can make and publish iPhone apps for the app store. I got the SDK which contains all the tools needed to make iPhone apps and I even got to test out the new iPhone OS4 beta!

Also, I am trying out the new Adobe Flash CS5 demo, which will allow me to publish my FLASH files as iPhone apps.

I am VERY excited about this.

There is one catch though. Apparently iPhone exporting only works with flash files coded in AS3 and I coded Daisuke using AS2, which means I will have to recode the entire game.

I will continue with Daisuke as planned, as it is nearly finished in it's current form. I will simultaneously start building an AS3 verison of Daisuke so that I can get Daisuke for the iPhone up ASAP.

I'll also start making some other fun apps for the iPhone as well.

Exciting !!

Level Boss Behavior.

2010-04-22T14:15:00.001-07:00

I was having a hard time determining how I wanted the boss for this level to behave. It had been bothering me for quite a while actually, even before I put him into the game. I knew how I wanted him to take damage, but I didn't know how I would implement it in a way that made sense and would be a challenge without being impossible. This is a fine line that I have been walking on throughout the whole process of making this game.

SO .. This morning I think I finally figured out how the boss fight will go. I immediately made a detailed sketch, which I think, speaks for itself ..

WARNING !! SPOILER ALERT !!

Here it is:

Click on the image to see the full thing if you can't already.

Sorry if it's a bit fuzzy, I took the picture with my cell phone.

So, I think it's pretty obvious from the picture how this battle will go. And I hope you will enjoy this epic battle!

The next step is to actually PROGRAM this guy, to behave in such a way. Shouldn't be too hard, but still I'm sure it be a quite a headache. Also have several sprites to animate for this as well.

Epic Battle! Also bats.

2010-04-21T12:24:00.000-07:00

In addition to the crabs, I have also added bats! There are a few of them flying around. They are very quick but don't do TOO much damage. They're more of an annoyance than a genuine threat.

This is what they look like:

I still intend on adding a few more hazards, I just have not yet decided what they should be yet.

Now, the main event! Mini Boss battle !!

The mini boss is ALMOST done, I just need to make a few more sprites for him.

His attacks on the other hand are finished and they are quite spectacular.

He is based on a spear bandit. The differences are that he is faster, stronger and has significantly more health. Also, his attacks behave very differently.

This character is a hired mercenary with a mysterious past!

If you remember, I actually started making him quite a while back. I have since totally redesigned his behavior and changed his attacks.

When he gets within attack range, he will begin to spin his Naginata in the air, creating a vortex that will not only deal damage, but it will suck you towards it. Running will allow you to escape to a safe distance.

When he gets to low health, he will unleash an even more devastating attack! But I'll let that one be a surprise ..

This battle will also take place on a platform with no walls, so you will have to be careful not to fall off while fighting him!

CRAB BATTLE !!

2010-04-16T20:29:00.000-07:00

So, I have been adding some new "obstacles" in the levels, including some angry animals who live in the cave.

The first of these obstacles is the deadly orange cave crab !!

Here is what he looks like:

The orange crab will shuffle back and forth, snipping his claws. He will deal some damage if he runs into you but he is very easy to kill. One quick strike of the sword will finish him.

I did however add .. a special type of crab ..

This crab is known as the legendary, "Kenyan Mangrove Crab":

I've added this crab as an homage to the legendary "crab battle" internet meme.

These special crabs do significantly more damage and are totally impervious to pain. Daisuke's sword will simply bounce off his hard shell!

Look forward to more creature additions in future updates!

Buffed up Bandits.

2010-04-14T20:58:00.000-07:00

I've moved on to making the 2nd half of the demo level. It will include buffed up versions of the baddies from the 1st half.

The buff versions of the enemies will have double health and wear purple shirts. They'll also have gold accented weapons. I might make them deal more damage also .. but well see.

I plan on also adding a few perils like falling rocks, attacking bats and killer jumping fish or something. Maybe some spiders and/or crabs.

Anywho, here is a pic of the buffed up spear bandit:

More Little Things & Daisuke's Face.

2010-04-11T23:03:00.000-07:00

So, I really REALLY love making my game. I love the little things especially, they're the most entertaining to create.

My latest additions are some "just-for-fun" animations I added to the UI/HUD.

Now, when Daisuke picks up an Onigiri, his status face next to his life bar can seen consuming it. This means he exposes his face !! GASP !!

So, I guess I wont really keep Daisuke's face a secret .. but it still isn't very revealing, because in my cartoony style of animation, everyone's face looks pretty much the same anyways.

His HAIR on the other hand, remains hidden .. and well .. don't count on seeing that quite yet.

Anywho .. I decided that ONE eating animation wasn't enough, so I added a SECOND food item with it's own eating animation as well.

The new food item is ..

鰻丼！！

(Unagi-Donburi !!)

Unagi-don is basically worth ５x points as onigiri, and will fill up your health, energy and defense all the way up to 100%!

Look for a hidden or hard to get Unagi-don in every stage!

Anywho .. I decided also that I will make a "training" stage with easier/less enemies to get players used to the game before jumping into the main story.

Also, I am going to stretch out the demo level to 4 stages, plus the mini boss and boss battle. SO, including the training stages, that will be a total of 7 stages !! WOAHHHHHH .. thats kindof a lot .. but so far I have 2 done .. and the mini boss is under construction. And considering the next 2 stages will be more fun-time in the cave, they should be considerably easy to make (wont need to do a lot of new drawing, basically just rearrange stuff and make a couple new baddies).

ANYWHOO .. training stage will be in the ninja village, and since I've already made ninja badguys, all I need to do is rearrange some stuff and make some new backgrounds (or recycle some old ones).

So the things I need to worry about MOST .. are the mini boss .. who's a real pain in the ass to make, and the FINAL boss, who I have not yet even begun to program .. BUT I HAVE DRAWN HIM (her?)

.. so ..

It doesn't seem like there is TOO much stuff left, after all, I've written almost all of the code I need (thousands of lines .. should be considerably less, but I'm a very sloppy/inefficient programmer(but hey, "if it ain't broke", am I right?)) so there isn't too much brain-racking to do .. just a bit of drawing, arranging and creative thinking.

Anywho, here are some still shots of Daisuke eating.

Onigiri:

Unagi Don:

The Little Things.

2010-04-06T14:07:00.000-07:00

I somehow managed to totally finish parts 1 and 2 of the level I am building for my game. I just kept on fixing bugs and adding the things I wanted to add, and then I realized that I ran out of things I needed to do!

So I am now done with those sections of the game, and now I need to move on and finish building the mini boss and final elements of the level.

Yesterday however, I decided that it was a good time to deal with an issue that I had put off for quite some time

THE DREADED PAUSE BUTTON.

Since flash has no pause function, and I coded this game so incredibly sloppily, I had to get creative with how I was going to tackle this issue.

Long story short, I made kindof a half-assed, ugly, slop of code that happened to work perfectly.

So now I have a fully functional pause button!

And here is what the pause screen CURRENTLY looks like:

(subject to change)

If you look closely you can see I put in a little speech bubble next to Daisuke's head with the kanji "Retsu" in it. This is a simple stereotypical pop culture ninja reference. I just wanted to make the pause function to be an extension of Daisuke's talents, so when you hit "p" he will shout out "Retsu" (I plan on adding a sound effect) which is the Kuji-in for "control of time and space" and he does the matching hand gesture. I thought it seemed appropriate.

I also added a speech bubble for when he preformed is "Rin" healing technique, which is another of his Kuji-in talents. So now the kanji for "Rin" appears when he uses that skill:

I plan on adding a sound effect/voice clip for that one too.

Finally, fat guys will now sweat when they run:

経過計時機構.

2010-04-02T21:04:00.001-07:00

OK !! I have been in this mood, where I want to make Daisuke a fast paced hack-and-slash game.

So, my latest additions are ..

Adding LOTS more baddies.

.. and ..

Adding a 経過計時機構 !!

What is a 経過計時機構 ?? You ask.

It's an elapsed timer.

So now the time elapsed (in seconds) will be displayed in the top right corner above the BGM on/off button.

Here is what it looks like:

I could have just labeled it as "timer" or "stopwatch" or something, but the big huge kanji looked so much more awesome. I'm pretty sure I'm using it properly.

Anywho, the elapsed time will be SUBTRACTED from your score at the end of the level !!

This means that if you want to get a good score you'd better hurry your ass up!

Hopefully this will make the game more competitive when I add a leaderboard.

I guess I could have just made it so that your score is subtracted by 1 every second, instead of making them two separate entities .. but I like my way better. Besides, it might come in handy for future levels where you have a time limit or something.

Parry Expanded.

2010-04-02T19:25:00.001-07:00

So I've significantly changed several factors in the game, which made it very difficult to fight enemies without retaining SOME damage. So, I decided that Daisuke should be able to parry sword bandits as well as spear bandits.

The parry itself does minimal damage, but it is immediately followed up by "chain slash 2" which does significant damage and will prove to be a killing blow in most cases.

Parrying CAN be done without taking any damage, however this takes good timing.

I'm pleased with the outcome, but there are still bugs to be fixed.

I also think I might add some hit-sparks and slashes soon.

Introducing: Fat Bandit.

2010-04-01T17:10:00.000-07:00

So I want the game to have more of a hack-and-slash feel to it, so I decided recently to add more enemies. I ran into a slight problem though, because I started running out of space to put particular types of enemies. I couldn't put spear bandits in certain areas because they take up a lot of space and can be overwhelming if they're too close to one another. And I didn't want to put too many regular sword bandits near each other, because they all run at the same speed and would start overlapping one another.

SO I CAME UP WITH A SOLUTION.

All I had to do was make a new type of enemy!

And that enemy is: FAT BANDIT !!

"Fat Bandit" is basically a regular sword bandit, except he's fat. As a result of his being so fat, he will be significantly slower than a regular sword bandit. He will also sweat when he runs. Other than that he will remain pretty much the same. I might make him wave his arms higher in the air, resulting in moved hitboxes, but he won't be any tougher than a regular bandit.

So here is the first image of Fat Bandit

Complete with double-chins, beer-belly, man-boobs, fat-ass, love-handles and arm-flab.

Notice how his gut almost completely hides his belt.

I hope this doesn't offend anyone.

Happy April Fools day !! (But this isn't a joke, I'm dead serious, this guy is going in the game.)

Ninja vs. Ninja Kumite.

2010-03-27T00:57:00.000-07:00

I think the obvious final training task to learn to play the game is a practice fight against a skilled opponent.

In this case, Daisuke's opponent is one of his fellow ninja. Using wooden swords, Daisuke and his classmate are equally powerful (although Daisuke seems to be a bit quicker on the draw).

This is a simple 5 point match. So first to land 5 hits on the other wins.

Of course this is not a serious match. The whole point of this test is to prepare the player for enemy attacks and give them a sense of how the game works. It will prepare the player by teaching them how to fight before jumping into the first level.

Compared to this ninja opponent, regular enemies will not be much of a threat but Daisuke may run into some even more challenging opponents down the line.

This opponent is not completed yet. I still need to figure out how to work parring in, both for him, as well as Daisuke. Also, I may give him the ability to jump and use super attacks like Daisuke as well. I have not yet decided for sure. I may actually just keep him simple. We'll see.

Here are some pics:

Training Mode.

2010-03-26T00:09:00.000-07:00

So I started working on a training mode. This mode will probably be the "learn to play" stage that will teach players the commands before starting the actual game. I'll probably also add a training stage for people just to mess around or practice or something. I may base the survival mode on this mode as well.

ALSOOoooo .. Once the training mode is done, I think I will release it publicly as sort of a "tech-demo" or a "pre-demo", just so that people can try out my game engine.

So far there are two types of training exercises, "Wooden Dummy" and "Tameshigiri". They're not complete but they kindof work so far. I'm hoping to add more types of training and improve the existing ones.

Here are some pics:

Tameshigiri:

Wooden Dummy:

Hitbox Removal. Lots of fixes.

2010-03-25T20:50:00.001-07:00

So, I removed the hitboxes, and the game looks much better, but I realized later that certain things didn't look right, or didn't make sense.

One in particular, was that the snow on the ground was all white all over and looked really boring.

So I added a gradient to it, made it darker the further back it went on the screen, and also a bit darker at the front of the screen. So basically it's lightest where Daisuke walks. It instantly made the game look significantly better! Added a sense of depth to the forest as you walk through it.

I also noticed that the distance between Daisuke and the enemies was all wrong. I guess I just didn't notice it with the hitboxes in the way, but it really doesn't make sense for the enemies to run into Daisuke then stand on top of him.

So what I did instead was make it so that when they get right in front of him, they stop and attack. Right when they're at striking distance with their weapon. And if Daisuke gets too close, they run backwards. They're much smarter now, and I am rather pleased with them.

One other problem that I realized I missed (probably because of hitboxes) was that Daisuke could basically just run through enemies with minimal damage. Keeping in mind though, that the enemies themselves do not cause damage, rather, it is their weapons that do damage to Daisuke. Even still, it just didn't seem right that Daisuke could simply run past them.

So I decided to give enemies a bit of "mass" I couldn't ACTUALLY give them mass obviously, so instead I simply added a little script to their AI that would push Daisuke back slightly (at about his walking speed) in the opposite direction. This would make it easier for the enemies to attack Daisuke, meaning the player would actually have to stop and fight more of them.

I am pleased with this, because now if someone wants to power through everything and run past enemies, they will be forced to take significant damage.

I also dramatically changed the way the Bow Bandit works. Instead of firing straight at you, he shoots arrows into the air (like a mortar) and they rain down on you depending on your position. I like this way much better because it is cleaner, easier to manage and I can reuse it over and over again!

So here is a cool action shot that I happened to take while testing:

I also made a couple of videos. One really crappy one, and one decent one. Both videos were made after hitbox removal, but before corrections. They're both on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbSooFn8EUY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_UQ4WWDNGk

Daisuke Testing.

2010-03-12T21:43:00.000-08:00

So I realized that I couldn't get a good grasp of how difficult I was making Daisuke, so I decided to start the very first round of testing!

I hooked up my computer to my 46" HD TV so that everyone in the room could clearly see what was going on while I had my roommate test what I have made so far.

After a little bit of instruction on the controls, I began recording video (with my iPhone) of the gameplay, as played by my roommate.

Please excuse the poor video quality .. and also please excuse all the hitboxes.

But enjoy our commentary during this first round of testing!

Part 1/4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LQ6ZB057R0

Part 2/4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_B0OYpvwCws

Part 3/4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8Zo_6K_t14

Part 4/4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiwEhazPy4w

Attack Redesign Continued.

2010-03-08T10:41:00.000-08:00

So, I implemented Daisuke's new attacks. They're a lot more fun than the old ones. His regular attack is a 1-2 chain combo. He'll automatically do the follow up attack after preforming the primary as long as you're holding down the button. He also takes a half step back on the follow up attack which is good for approaching enemies.

The primary attack is 100% as strong as the original regular slash that it replaces, while the follow up attack is at 150% strength. This makes Daisuke much more powerful at close range, so as a trade off, I gave all the enemies a bit more health .. but even still, Daisuke can seriously kick their asses now.

Primary Attack:

Follow Up:

I also changed the look of the parry attack and decreased it's power down to 50%.

Parry:

The Parry attack can be injected in between the two slashes or immediately after they're preformed, acting as a 3 hit combo. The follow up attack can also be used immediately after the Parry as well. Good timing between enemy strikes can allow for some pretty awesome effective combos as well. You can also jump in with Daisuke's mid air slash. And for a cool finish, you can use a super strike! So Daisuke is now significantly more versatile than he was before.

I am however thinking about either limiting the supers to only 1 of the 3, or possibly taking them all out, however I am undecided upon this.

Attack Redesign.

2010-03-04T22:30:00.001-08:00

So, I have not worked on Daisuke in about a month, but I'm trying to get back into it. I could really use a bit of help, mostly just someone to toss ideas around with. So if anyone wants to lend a hand, I would appreciate it.

In other news, I realized that Daisuke's main attack looks too stiff and boring, so I decided that I might try and improve it, not only visually, but also make it a bit more interesting.

I thought up the motions the other night and spent this evening animating it.

I've decided to change is main attack from a single attack to a chain attack based on timing. So if you hit the button once, you do one type of attack, and if you hit the button a second time at the right frames, you'll trigger a follow up attack. This could be upgraded later on in the game to be a multi-stage chain attack dealing out multi hit combos and special techniques.

I might actually use this system to change the entire way that Daisuke fights .. but first I have to develop it.

Anywho, here are the motions:

Step 1:

Step 2:

Improvements, boss battles, more difficult.

2010-01-11T16:43:00.000-08:00

So, I've put in a lot of work, but I haven't made any update posts in a while.

To summarize, I've added/changed a lot of stuff, but nothing particularly amazing, although I did give Daisuke a new jumping slash. I've mostly done a lot of tweaking to the gameplay and fixed a lot of bugs. For instance I've adjusted the gravity, added music and more sound effects, fixed a LOT of glitches and bugs, given the bad guys a slightly more sophisticated AI, as well as rules and boundaries.

I have however finished building both the 1st and 2nd parts of the level, and am working on making the mini boss fight against the Naginata bandit. I'm trying not to make him too easy, without making him impossible to beat .. it really is a fine line.

What will be cool about this battle, is that it will be similar to a MegaMan boss, in that once you enter the boss battle, the background will no longer scroll and you will be able to freely explore a given area. What is also going to be cool, is that the camera will be zoomed out a bit to make Daisuke and his Opponent appear a bit smaller, in order to give more space for maneuverability.

I have also made the regular enemies significantly quicker, and thus much more difficult than before.

Here are some pics of what I've been working on, please excuse the hitboxes.

Jumping Slash:

Jumping Super:

Level 1 Area 2:

Naginata Bandit:

Fight !!

These images do not represent the final product. I have since changed many of the hitboxes, which will not be visiblae in the final version of the game, and I have and will continue to change several other elements as time goes on.

Senban Shuriken.

2010-01-03T11:29:00.000-08:00

I haven't been able to put in too much major work on Daisuke lately, BUT I did fix some bugs, figure some things out AND I gave Daisuke a new skill.

Ah yes, would Daisuke really be a ninja if he COULDN'T throw shuriken ??

Figuring out how to get them to work properly was a bit of a pain, but now Daisuke can throw Senban Shuriken fast and furiously! They will be especially helpful since I'm beefing up the number of enemies per level!

Coding.

2009-12-22T00:16:00.000-08:00

So, I've realized that much of my coding has been really sloppy and should have been made much more organized. At this point, I really don't want to go back and reorganize all my code, but it looks like I might have to.

Part of the problem lies in that I have certain variables which I want to remain constant throughout the span of the game (ex: points), other variables which will only need to be refreshed with each new level (ex: health) and the remaining variables would be particular only to the portion of the level in which they belong (ex: enemy variables).

So I would need at least 3 different layers of code, each spanning over various chunks of the game.

Also, I realized how terribly ugly and poorly written my hitTest coding for all my enemies has been. I really should go back and condense it, not just for the sake of organization but because the way that I currently have it written is just plain embarrassing.

I just don't feel like going back and dealing with this quite yet. Maybe once I've gotten a bit more of the art I need done, I'll go back and fix all this junk code.

I did however already go back and fix a bit of the code that I realized was just plain stupid. I managed to condense about 30 or 40 lines of code down to about 2 or 3. I don't even want to talk about how I did that because I feel really dumb for it was written before.

For some of the hitTest stuff, I think I'll have to go back and make some new hitboxes. I really realize now why making hitboxes are so important. It isn't about the structure of the box, or where it is that's important to the programmer, it's because it serves an independent purpose as an instance which makes coding SO much easier. This may however negatively effect the way some interactions occur between Daisuke and his enemies.

Gameplay Trailer.

2009-12-17T01:42:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I made a little gameplay trailer using footage of me playing the current build. It shows off the first map and the various enemies that inhabit it. Enjoy!

YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKhEZQ8BXl4

Bomb Bandit details.

2009-12-14T14:01:00.000-08:00

"Bomb Bandit" isn't a very strong guy, which is why he doesn't attack you directly like the other bandits. Instead, Bomb Bandit will hide behind something, or someone and chuck his powerful bombs at you.

Bomb Bandit hiding behind Hammer Bandit:

Together they make one tough barricade!

Bomb Bandit, Naginata (MiniBoss) Bandit

2009-12-14T10:54:00.000-08:00

I made another bandit character! I think he will be the last of the regular bandit baddies.

He throws bombs! So watch out!

I've also made this character who is currently called "Naginata Bandit", but I'll give him a real name later. He is going to be the first MiniBoss fight.

Adding baddies.

2009-12-09T14:31:00.000-08:00

So, I've been adding bad guys to the level, and it has been a bit of a pain in the ass.

It isn't so much the adding of guys, it's the fact that I'm making more complex bad guys than before. When it was just the bandit swinging his sword around and chasing Daisuke like a madman it was no problem, but with the new bad guys I'm putting in, it has become a bit more difficult.

"Bow Bandit" is a character I had in one of the early builds of Daisuke, he was very simply a bow and arrow guy that just repeated the animation of shooting over and over again and didn't give a crap where Daisuke was in relation to himself.

For this new and improved Bow Bandit, I will be making him shoot arrows at Daisuke. The secret to beating this character will be to keep moving and not to stand still, otherwise he'll hit you. Also, this guy is in a tree, so it should make it a bit more interesting.

Here is a pic of the first "new and improved" Bow Bandit:

The "Spear Bandit" is pretty new. I first made him about a week ago. Originally he was just going to stand around and stab at you with a spear, serving as a type of barricade, but I figured that that was kinda lame and that this character had a lot more potential.

So the Spear Bandit has become my most complex bad guy so far. His main function is that he runs at you holding his spear, which not only hurts you, but pushes you backwards and will continue to do damage. You can jump over his spear and get in his face to slash him, but if you don't act quickly, he will use his close range attack to knock you back into spear-range. I'm also thinking about possible adding a way to deflect his spear with an attack.

Here is a pic of the Spear Bandit, complete with hit boxes:

Neither of these baddies are done yet, but both should be finished pretty soon.

HUD Expressions.

2009-12-07T17:18:00.001-08:00

So I've been doing a lot of work to the HUD lately. I think I'm pretty much done with it for now, and am going to go back to finishing other aspects of the game. The last thing I added to it was expressions to Daisuke's face depending on how much of your various stats you have left.

For example ...

Daisuke at 5/5 health, 100% energy (genki) and 100% defence:

Daisuke with 3/5 health:

Daisuke with 2/5 health and less than 50% defence:

Daisuke with 1/5 health and 100% defence:

I might add in a few more faces later, and I might put sweat or something in for low energy. So far, I like the way it turned out.

HUD again.

2009-12-07T10:05:00.000-08:00

So, I learned how to make a real functional draining bar by looking at the coding of a preloader, and I applied it to my HUD. I also turned the Genki meter into a 3rd bar so that I can change the values without distracting people with random flashing numbers and decimals.

So here is what it looks like now:

Only thing I'm not 100% sure about is the colors. I might make the defense bare more of a grayish blue, and I don't know what to make the Genki bar at all. It's yellow right now because it seemed appropriate, but I'm starting to think it may just be a bit too obnoxious. Maybe orange? Health will stay bright green. And he health bar still drains in chunks, because you only actually have 5 HP.

Also, a cool feature I'm going to add in, is that Daisuke's face in the HUD will show different expressions based on how much health/genki/defense you have. It will be cool, I promise.

Another HUD upgrade !!

2009-12-04T16:03:00.000-08:00

So, I have been feeling very creative lately, and have put into motion several ideas that were stirring around in my head. I feel pretty accomplished.

I threw some animations into the mix and have a couple more little tidbits I want to throw in there.

I also upgraded the HUD yet again !!

The defence % meter had been pissing me off. I thought it was really ugly. Even though it was accurate and technically got the job done, I just felt like it was an eyesore. SO, I turned it into a smaller 2ndary lifebar!

So when your blue defence bar drains, you lose 1 chunk of your green life bar.

The blue def bar only shows every 10% defense, so you won't be able to see down to the single % how much def you have, but that isn't really all too relevant since you can refill your defense by using Rin.

I also put the points or "Yen" on top of the lifebar, and moved the Genki meter underneath .. although, I might change the way the genki meter looks as well .. maybe, maybe not. Impressions?

New baddies, obstacles.

2009-12-04T00:19:00.001-08:00

So, I've been putting quite a bit of work into Daisuke over the last few days. I've found new motivation since I leaped over some major programming hurtles I had in my way. I'm pretty proud of myself, not just for getting it done, but for doing it totally on my own! With no help whatsoever! I feel like I'm really getting better not just at using AS, but at problem solving and figuring out creative ways to deal with issues.

So !! I made a few cool additions to my Daisuke level, which will SOON become the official Daisuke Demo. It's really starting to look like a real game now! I'm excited.

Here are some new baddies I've added into the mix ..

Spear Bandit:

Hammer Bandit:

They will be joining the Sword and Bow bandits in the "Bandit's Lair" level, that will be the playable level in the Daisuke Demo. I'm also working on a couple of boss "bandit" characters to make the level a bit more exciting, possible a few more regular bandits just to spice up the level a bit more. I am planning on making a naginata bandit, who may be a boss, and I also will be making a "Bandit King", who may become a reoccurring character in the series, so he'll need a real name ..

I think I'm gonna throw in some other different kinds of baddies in there just for fun too.

ALSO .. !! The game can't just be ALL bad guys and Daisuke .. I made some obstacles for Daisuke to overcome as well.

Wooden Gates:

Spike Logs:

Daisuke will have to avoid dangerous obstacles, and figure out how to overcome those that stand in his way. I'm going to make at least one more variation of the gate, and I'll try and think up some more interesting obstacles for Daisuke to deal with.

Any suggestions are appreciated!

Tougher baddies and keeping a tab.

2009-12-02T16:45:00.000-08:00

So, it finally came to me today. Sitting down and squeezing ideas out of your brain doesn't always work, most of my really good ideas come to me via epiphany. They can't be forced, rather they just pop into my head, usually when I'm really relaxed or something.

So, the problem I had been having was how I was going to make enemies in Daisuke take multiple hits. It was something that I just had no idea what I was going to do about, so I kept avoiding it for as long as I could.

Suddenly this afternoon, the answer to my problem seemed not only obvious, but downright simple. So after about 20 minutes of coding and testing, the game now acts almost EXACTLY how I wanted in terms of enemy damage.

I can now input how much total life I want an enemy to have, as well as how much damage Daisuke's various attacks will deliver. This works both ways, so different enemies will be able to do different amounts of damage on Daisuke as well.

TOO GOOD !! I can finally make really tough guys and bosses and all the good stuff I've wanted to make for a while !! I just need a new mouse so I can get to drawing again.

The only problem I'm having with this new system is that I'm having a LITTLE bit of trouble making hit-sparks. Not a huge issue right now, I'm pretty sure I can figure it out in no time.

The second thing I've added is a points system. This system goes hand in hand with the enemy health system, as well as the story.

We need to remember that Daisuke is a ninja for HIRE, and he'll present his clients with an invoice after he's done with a mission. Daisuke keeps a tab on EVERYTHING .. not just what he collects, but who he fights, and even how he fights them. The tougher the enemy, the more points your attacks will be worth. The fancier the move you use to hurt an enemy, the more points you will get. You'll get different amounts of points for just about everything you do, and those points translate to a dollar amount for Daisuke .. or rather .. a Yen amount?

Kuji-in: "Rin".

2009-11-20T13:32:00.000-08:00

So I came up with a creative solution to an issue I was having.

I originally adopted a % health system with X amount of lives. I changed it to a % defense with X amount of health system and only 1 life.

That probably didn't make any sense to anyone besides myself.

The way Daisuke's health/life system works, is that you can take a certain amount of preliminary damage before losing a chunk of your health bar. This allows different types of attacks to effect Daisuke in different ways. For instance, if you get hit by one arrow, you'll lose a certain % of your defense, but you may not lose any life. On the other hand, if you get hit by a flaming arrow, it will do more damage to your defense. If you get a flurry of sword swings, your defense will be drained so quickly that you will probably lose one or two chunks of your health bar.

So to put it more simply, you start off with about 5 chunks of life, and 100% defense. Once your defense is drained to 0% you will lose 1 chunk of life from your life bar, and then you will go back to 100% for the next chunk of life.

Different types of attacks will drain your defense at different speeds.

The big problem with this is that because of the way that the hitboxes work, you will sustain some damage to your defense when you strike an enemy, even if you don't get hit.

I could go back and do some major work to the way the hitboxes work, but I came up with an interesting and creative way to work with this system.

OK! This is the way that Daisuke has been working, and I've had mixed feelings about it for a while, but I found something to make it a little more fun.

If your defense is less than 100%, you can hit space while standing still to perform the first Kuji-in which is "Rin" for strength. This will quickly allow you to gain back your defense back to 100%. You won't however gain back any health, so once that is gone, "Rin" won't help you get it back. Also, you must be standing still and not performing any other actions to use "Rin".

Right now, "Rin" does not cost any Genki, and I'm not sure whether or not I'll make it cost any .. I guess I just want to get some impressions before I make any decisions like that, maybe I'll try a few things out first.

Took some damage:

Use "Rin":

Defense is back full again:

Also, if anyone has any creative ideas for levels, characters, skills or anything else that would be cool in the game, let me know.

Daisuke Update.

2009-11-17T13:20:00.000-08:00

This is an update of the functional gameplay aspects of Daisuke. This video highlights some of the changes I've made from previous builds including size, and gravity. There is a TON of other functions I want to add to the game, but they will take more time because there are a lot of bugs I need to work out.

This video is also on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVOivyzKb6U

Beta Overhaul & Standing Position.

2009-11-12T13:21:00.000-08:00

OK, so after a lot of thought, I realized that before I switch media, or jump onto a new platform, I should at least finish what I started. So I went back and made the decision to overhaul the Beta Engine using aspects of Alpha.

So I spent the morning doing that, and I am VERY satisfied of how it came out. The code is much less messy, and the sprites are more organized. It will be much easier to work with from hereon out.

I also tweaked the gravity to make it a bit less floaty, and shrunk Daisuke down to 75%.

There is still a lot I need to do, but I am happy with the way it is developing.

I do need opinions on one matter however.

I need opinions on Daisuke's standing position.

Should Daisuke be holding his sword, or should it be on his back?

Holding:

On his back:

Right now I'm leaning toward moving the sword to the back .. but that would mean I would have to redraw several sprites. Opinions?

Here is a side by side:

Frustration with AS3.

2009-11-10T12:19:00.000-08:00

So, it turns out that neither of my engines are going to work in the future, because they're not written in Actionscript 3. AS3, is the future of flash, and is a more compatible scripting language that will be able to export directly to other media (such as the iPhone) in the future. This means several things, none of them favorable to me. What this means to me is that, I'll have to scrap all my coding and learn AS3 from scratch if I want to make Daisuke worthwhile.

There are other alternatives though.

I could try and find someone who already knows AS3 and is willing to help me make this project.

OR

I could BUY a game engine.

Here are the problems. First, I don't know anyone who programs in AS3. I don't even know anyone who programs AS 1 or 2! So I don't know where I would find someone who would work for free.

The problem with buying a game engine is that .. I'm broke. Licensing a game engine to develop my own game from what I've heard would cost around $1500 depending on what it is used for, which is money I just don't have right now. And even if I did license an engine, I would benefit from having an AS3 programmer, so as to customize it and give Daisuke the depth I've imagined.

Oh, there is also another problem. I'll have to BUY the new version of flash when it comes out, which is probably another $700 that I just don't have.

So a list of things I would need are .. ~ $1500 for the engine, ~$700 for Flash CS5 and then I still need to either, LEARN AS3 from the ground up, find someone to help me program or HIRE someone help me program.

OH! And I still need to be able to pay rent.

Things are not looking so hot for me right now. I've got about $9 in my wallet.

I'm not really sure what to do at this point. Should I apply for a loan? Should I look for investors? Should I just buy a book on AS3? Should I just keep tinkering with with AS1&2 for now?

All that I know is that I need some help here.

Quick Size Comparison.

2009-11-08T11:41:00.000-08:00

Beta Engine:

Alpha Engine:

As you can see, Daisuke is smaller in the revisited Alpha Engine. His size is 75% when compared to the Beta engine. This was a much easier task to accomplish by switching engines, rather than resizing him frame by frame in the Beta engine. Even if I had tried to resize him, there would have been a good chance that he would have been very buggy, and would have had some major hit-test issues.

Switching Back.

2009-11-06T13:57:00.000-08:00

When I initially started making this game (way back at the beginning of this year), I had learned how to make a rather code heavy (at least for someone barely learning actionscript) game engine, which I will refer to as the "Alpha Engine". The Alpha Engine did not provide platforms or side scrolling, as well as several other elements I desired for my game. So after I had reached the point where my scripting knowledge was maxed out, I moved on.

I learned how to make a side scrolling, platform hopping world for Daisuke to run around in. This newer engine, which I will refer to as the "Beta Engine" was VERY easy to make, VERY user friendly, and versatile enough for me to throw in some cool stuff. This is the engine you see in the 1st Daisuke teaser trailer.

I eventually hit a coding brick wall, and realized that I didn't like how several elements of the Beta Engine worked, so I stopped working on the game for a while.

I then took a look back at the Alpha Engine I started the game with, and realized that I have gained a significant amount of knowledge about actionscript in my time working with not just the Beta Engine, but a few others as well. My understanding of in game graphics has improved as well.

So today, I have reopened the initial Daisuke Alpha game engine, but this time with significantly more tools on my belt. Although it will take A LOT of time and energy to get the Alpha Engine to the point where I would want it to be, I think I have a better chance at this task, than I would if I just kept trying to work at the Beta Engine. I think that the Beta Engine just has way too many issues for me to try to work around, even though I had a lot of fun customizing and working on it. The basic mechanics of the Beta Engine were just not what I was looking for. Also, it had become a huge mess of code, and had become a pain to work with.

In just today, I have been able to get the Alpha Engine LOOKING much better than either had before. I have been able to fix the choppyness that was an issue in the Alpha Engine before, but I have done so without the floatyness of the Beta Engine, which means I have reached a pretty happy medium for the time being. I have also been able to successfully shrink down the characters to 75%, which is something that would not be easy to do in the Beta Engine. Combined with the 700 x 500 size I switched to before, there is plenty of space on the screen for all kinds of cool stuff.

It will take a while before I get this game working the way I want it to, but at least now I think I am more prepared to handle it. Hopefully this doesn't just turn out to be a big setback.

Opinions on Character Eyes.

2009-10-26T18:56:00.000-07:00

When I designed Daisuke, I meant for him to be simple and easy to draw (over and over again). Every now and then I wonder if I should have given him more detailed eyes though.

I think his simple vertical line eyes get the job done, and convey his expression sufficiently enough. Overly complicated eyes would probably be too distracting.

I made several other characters with similarly simple eyes.

Opinions?

Daisuke:

Character A:

Character B:

Character C:

Character D:

Character E:

Character F:

Character G:

As you can see, most of the characters have very simple eyes, with the exception of the last two. But even "Character F" is relatively simple in his eye's construction. "G" however is more complex .. so I guess my question is .. do more complex eyes look better? Or should I make all the eyes simple?

Daisuke Trailer #2.

2009-10-07T15:27:00.000-07:00

I just finished and uploaded Daisuke Trailer #2.

This is not a gameplay trailer like the first one was. This trailer is actually a cutscene that I plan on using in the game. The in game version will be fully voiced, however this version is not. Instead this has the song "Sadja's Soul" playing in the background.

The reason I didn't put voices in this trailer is because..

1: I have not yet decided who I want to do each character's voice

2: Daisuke wears a ninja hood which covers his mouth and the Tengu character's mouth wont move when he talks, so I thought it would look weird if two characters were exchanging lines, but no one's mouth was moving.

Anyways .. Here is the link again:
http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/513803

Twitter, New Levels, New Graphics.

2009-10-02T10:58:00.001-07:00

So even though I am not a fan of twitter, I caved today and made one for GenjiPig. So if you use twitter, you can follow me at http://twitter.com/genjipig. I'll update there every so often I suppose. I'll still keep updates here whenever I get a chance, and probably update my Newgrounds blog sometimes as well.

Anyways, I am working on a couple new levels, one is a foggy/snowy forest, and the other is a rooftop hop level where you're under constant fire from archers beneath you. They're currently not much to look at, but they'll be finished sooner or later.

I also made some very cool graphical upgrades.

I dramatically upgraded my UI/HUD.

Here is a quick evolution:

Original HUD

Second HUD

New HUD

So as you can see, my first HUD was fugly, the second was boring, and the new one I made looks fantastic. Everything fits perfectly into a snug area on the upper left side of the screen.

Also, you may not have noticed that the aspect ratio of the trees in the images seems a bit different in the three pictures. That is because I stretched out the display width of the game, so now the game is in "wide screen" meaning you can see more of the level at any given time. Blogger squished all three of the pictures into the same size, but if you view them at full size, you'll see the difference.

FINALLY, the other cool graphic change I made, is that I made the super slashes a lot more super, by adding a cool glow effect to them rather than just making them blue slashes.

Here is a sample:

"Daisuke: Ninja for Hire" Teaser Trailer.

2009-09-04T03:06:00.000-07:00

OK! So, I finally came up with a name for my game! Th official title of my game will be "Daisuke: Ninja for Hire".

So the name is as straightforward as it sounds. It is about a Ninja named Daisuke, and the ongoing story will involve him doing various missions for all types of characters.

I also have been doing a lot of bug fixing and adding a lot of content to my game lately, so I decided to make a bit of a teaser trailer.

There isn't too much to it, but I just thought I would give the people a little taste:

The video is also on youtube.

On my ZNOLMT Channel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsGcLNoCtd8

And on my GenjiPig Channel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umFkczwvtQ8

Banner.

2009-08-18T12:40:00.000-07:00

So I made this banner today. It isn't anything too special, but it has my piggies and it says GenjiPig.

I gave Toshi a halo since he passed away last week. I really miss him and love him forever, and I know Genji and the boys miss him lots also. I'll write something nice about Toshi later this week. I am also doing a special cartoon dedicated to him.

As far as things I'm working on, I have made significant progress on my game, and even started working on some animated cut scenes for it. Several of my friends are interested in being voices, even though barely any of them have even seen any of my recent progress.

I still don't have a name for my game yet. I know I want it to have "Ninja" somewhere in the name.

I do however have a name for my main character. The rest of my cast of characters remains unnamed. I have about 15 characters so far and I am considering making a few more. Keep in mind though, many of them are just generic bad guys.

Suggestions welcome.
Previews to come.

Blog Get !!

2009-06-22T14:34:00.001-07:00

So the other day I decided to open a production blog for the projects I'm working on. Some of my projects are just for fun, and some are business related. Some of my other projects I might actually make a separate blog for, as they don't necessarily relate to the types of projects I will be posting here.

I will mainly be using this site for my flash projects, which will include cartoons as well as games. I am also planning on using this space for some other types of projects as well.

Anyways, keep checking in on this page if you're curious and I will unveil some of the things I am working on soon.