Cosplay Crisis full version released

You can get it here


Enjoy!

Been a while

Yes it has! I didn't go anywhere with the series game design thing. I might still, but I lost all the work in progress script data for End of Light, and I had compiled a lot of tedious crap and have yet to gain motivation for it again.
Rather, I have spent the last five or so weeks watching Ao No Exorcist, or 'The Exorcist of Blue Flames'. It's pretty much the story of a human kid who finds out he's the son of Satan and swears he's going to kill him. And a lot of other bullshit happens. Episode 22 was...particularly mind-blowing, to say at the least. At least it got somewhere- episodes 20 and 21 were awful filler crap I didn't even care about. Overall though the anime has been a good experience, and given I see it as seperate to the manga because of its deviation away from it, I'm going to be able to enjoy both :)
Anyway I've been highly considering doing a game based on the anime where you could play through the episodes. I was originally going to do Episode 8- the Esquire Exam, but I was thinking of doing an original level called Episode 18.5- Yukio's Nightmare. A lot of Yukio's feelings aren't explored in the anime, because Rin gets all the expositional monologuing and inner thoughts. Yukio is much more mysterious, especially since he isn't given to expression. He is quite quiet, reserved, and hates getting angry- though he does have a temper at his core. At least in the anime!

It basically leaves me room to do some explorative stuff. Of course, fanbased, but hey, I'm a decent writer! Don't underestimate my skills just 'cause I'm eighteen. I've been writing for a long time and I'm relatively good at reading people and a situation- as long as I'm face to face! I hate phonecalls :C

Anyway I'll be messing with the battle system and how I'm going to do the backgrounds. I want to practice pixelling as well as battle portraits, so I'm doing total sideview.
This is an early wip:


But the perspective is screwy so I have lots more work to do (plus redrafts...:c). For the Yukio's Nightmare stage I need Yukio's run/walk, his and Rin's battle graphics, several other characters and the stage boss. It is deliberately shorter than most stages (because it is a nightmare) but still shows off some goodies. Plus the good thing about the stage's boss is that if I do continue the game I can use its battle graphics for Stage 23. You know. Next week's episode. .3.

Serious Game Development

Recently, I had an urge to make a visual novel after playing Eastern Starlight Romance: Eternal Dilemma. In case you hadn't heard, I'm a fairly avid Touhou fan these days. Most music I listen to are remixes of the music and usually when I want a break I'll play some bullet hell goodness.

The game's demo can be found here, for those interested: http://dsd.faceroll.net/

This, obviously, is not what this blog is about.

No, the engine, Ren'Py, what that game was made with, is available for commercial distribution and use on the Android and PC platforms. Since I'm an artist and a writer, and the coding for Ren'Py is pretty simple...I could feasibly sell a game. I have a composer waiting in the wings, who has offered to do my work for free...but after some practice ;p

Would it be worth it, I wonder? Would that be selling out my dreams and ideals...not really, I think. But I do plan on getting into game development as a serious field, and that sort of thing could give me a real leg up in getting into a related course.

If I was going to do so I'd have to really look at the market and start considering things like that. Namely this would call for an official name change, which was planned anyway.

For all games released by me and my imaginary team from now on, it'll be under the title of Sorcery Studios, if it isn't taken. If it is, not too hard to come up with something else, but Sorceress Studios is a tad sexist. Just a tad.

Other things I'd have to consider is the level of skill involved in the games that do get published and what I'd have to do to get my game out there. I'm no where near as good as tooya, who did the artwork for Re:Alistair++, which was available for free. But if I was to decide to publish said game, I'd probably be shunned from indie game communities who freak at the concept of donations. =3=. Not to mention I can't get any commissions.

My biggest hook is usually my story. I'm a fairly decent writer, and if I could get a game that looked decent and read professionally, why not sell it? I worked hard on it, after all.

But anyway, moving on. I started learning Ren'Py, of course. It seems far easier to understand than novelty (Yes, I have looked into VN development before). I got the first 'scene' done text and code wise, but of course, I haven't worked on any art yet. Don't really plan too either.

Blood Rose (formerly known as DarkXBlood to all you stalkers) is progressing well. I've got the first frame of Sidian's idle pose done and the first scene in the game fully evented. Still missing graphics and such and such because I'm a slow worker with a lot on my plate. I finished up Emile's default faceset buuuuttt I'm not posting it because apparently it looks like something from a porn movie?

As for the visual novel idea's story...it's AST business as usual, though it's much more traditional in terms of Japanese manga. School kids, drama, etc. It, like Blood Rose, is a prequel, though it takes place a few years before the main stories. The story, currently titled End of Light, will be the first official return of Jackson in game form since the craptastic release of Darkseed: Revival. Yes, THAT Jackson. However, he's fourteen here, as are the rest of the characters. It's a month or so prior to the beginning of the original Darkseed, and it also starts off Kaira's journey to become an Organization agent. End of Light is more or less told from Kaira's perspective as odd things begin to occur around her, Jackson and Lex.
End of Light crosses over into Darkseed territory, and ends when Jackson's...uh...'ability' awakens, which is the only part of the novel that is not told from Kaira's view point. The original Darkseed has this occur two chapters into the story. And no I didn't see the symbolism in the two titles until just now. I have skillz.

If I had time, I wouldn't mind polishing up and rewriting Darkseed... probably just because Jackson and Lex have a major brawl as it nears the ending. I like writing fight scenes. Especially between friends, and plus, it's one of the few times where Jackson ends up on the other end of the spectrum.
I'll leave it at that.

Busy

Hey, look, it's school work, game work and me.
Though Blank isn't really me :V.
Long time since I updated this blog >.>.

But in any case, I've been busy. Working on CC, working on AST, working on school. You might not believe this but I actually spend very little time actually doing 'fun things' and I always regret when I do because I haven't been working. I think I might take a break once CC's done and just...play some games, relax. Year 12 so far, besides a particularly panicking first week due to me not getting all my homework finished, has been a breeze. It's not very hard to keep on top of the work so far, probably because a) no social life b) I'm just so used to working anyway. I might not have CC done but it's a pretty exhaustive game and there's a lot still to do! Believe me, I've been working on it constantly for months D8.

I've begun work on my two folios this year; Media and Art. Both I intend to link with AST. Though I may regret it in later years and look back and say "what the hell was I thinking", at least I have a lot to go off right now. It's easier to work with something I'm familiar with and I enjoy as school work. Unfortunately I was really, really ill this morning in art, so I didn't get to mess around with watercolours as I had intended. I'll probably play with them on Thursday afternoon though, because I'm really interested in them. Like I've expressed in my folio, I want to find ways to replicate my digital finish with traditional mediums. I know the result won't be EXACTLY the same, but I'm gonna damn well try!

Right now, I'm working on CC limit break sprites. Then I have Yagami to sprite and the world map monsters. I have a couple of areas to map too. Work work work D8.

Rant

What am I DOING HERE?!

I hate this place. I hate it's people. I'm tired of being a scapegoat, a punching bag, forced and pushed around. It's bad enough at home, with my workspace designated to the kitchen and I am constantly berated by the random people who come marching through. But here I am, in my worst nightmare. Imagine this visit without the computer! I'd have already put someone through a wall.

What a horrible memory that I completed my game HERE. In this horrific place, where every hour there's a new argument, complaint or irritance. With my shit-stirring younger sister who can't deal with no and bawls her eyes out at the smallest thing, and my arrogant asshole of a brother who lies through his teeth and expects everyone to behave as though he's king of the mother-fucking castle. Then there's those few serene moments that are constantly crushed by Liam not getting his own way because Rachael's sitting in his room. The room he DOESN'T EVEN SLEEP IN.

They're all fucking crazy. I'm not even taking into account my beer-guzzling woman bashing bastard of a step father, and my heart fills with anxious fear just typing that damn sentence. I swore I wouldn't complain this year, but I need to vent. I've already had one breakdown up here and nobody seems to care WHY it happened.

On the word 'why': I needed to go to the toilet, which in this place is forever a danger zone, since the door must be locked and nobody knows whether or not someone is in there. So y'know, head in there, and there's pee fucking EVERYWHERE. I'm not fucking joking. SO I have to wipe it up before I can go and then once I have refreshed myself I clean up the rest of it and wash my feet and hands. I'm so fucking repulsed and angry that if I was the She-Hulk some people would be in a lot of fucking trouble. And you know what the worst fucking part is?

My brother didn't do it.

LET ME GO FUCKING HOME ALREADY. Saturday can't come FUCKING FAST ENOUGH.