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.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Quick Size Comparison.
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.
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.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Switching Back.
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.
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.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Opinions on Character Eyes.
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?
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?
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Daisuke Trailer #2.
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
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
Friday, October 2, 2009
Twitter, New Levels, New Graphics.
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:
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:
Friday, September 4, 2009
"Daisuke: Ninja for Hire" Teaser Trailer.
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
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
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