I'm not dead!!!!!!
by Jon Frisby · 07/17/2006 (9:07 am) · 2 comments
It's been a LONG time since I posted anything, so I figured that I ought to post SOMETHING.
Currently, I'm in the more-or-less final stages of bringing together a demo release. This probably WON'T be quite the same thing that I start handing off to consumers but it will be useful for talking to publishers and for the sales pitch for the other side of the business. It'll be missing a few critical things like an interactive tutorial, auto-updater, and such but it WILL be playable with all gameplay modes, support three skins, and be download-ready (I.E. fit into a reasonable download size). Currently, I'm working with the main composer to make sure that the audio is properly leveled/mastered and also that it is properly compressed for the download world as that's the single biggest determining factor in the download size of the game.
Now for the pretty-pretty. The graphic artist has been working on polishing up the graphics for the existing skins in preparation for the demo, but I've had the chance to use Level Builder to assemble one of the concepts she came up with a while back. I present to you, "Ritual":
So the things to note: The Egyptian gods walking in the background are done via a straight path with two points. The scarabs in the background are also each on their own path but they're animated sprites (legs move) and their paths are much more complicated bezier paths with many points producing a very random-seeming route -- and of course they are affected by all the shadows.
Now, for the demo I'm planning on using the following skins as they are the most complete overall (music, graphics, animations):
I would just like to take a moment to name John Seguin (Seguin Sound), and Peter Kojesta (Exis) -- without their excellent work, this game would be nowhere NEAR complete. And of course, "Jane", the graphic artist without whom this game would never have gotten off the ground at all.
John has faced several unique challenges over the course of this project and handled them all skillfully and gracefully: The music consists of not one, but TWO tracks -- one of which is faded in/out depending on how full the board is, but unfortunately during much of the time this capability was in place, the synchronization was WAY off and he had to work around it. Plus, coming up with sound effects that can be played off-beat and still sound like part of the music is NOT an easy task!
Peter has done a great job filling in the gaps where "Jane" didn't have the skillset necessary to take her ideas to completion and didn't have the time to learn the skillset. Whether it was coming up with a video clip to use as the background of the "fractals" clip, or a low-resolution animated scarab, or particle effects (many, many particle effects) Peter has been able to deliver.
"Jane" is the creative genius who has defined all the concepts for the skins. From "Radioactive Rose" to "Ritual" she's done a better job than I could have ever hoped for!
Currently, I'm in the more-or-less final stages of bringing together a demo release. This probably WON'T be quite the same thing that I start handing off to consumers but it will be useful for talking to publishers and for the sales pitch for the other side of the business. It'll be missing a few critical things like an interactive tutorial, auto-updater, and such but it WILL be playable with all gameplay modes, support three skins, and be download-ready (I.E. fit into a reasonable download size). Currently, I'm working with the main composer to make sure that the audio is properly leveled/mastered and also that it is properly compressed for the download world as that's the single biggest determining factor in the download size of the game.
Now for the pretty-pretty. The graphic artist has been working on polishing up the graphics for the existing skins in preparation for the demo, but I've had the chance to use Level Builder to assemble one of the concepts she came up with a while back. I present to you, "Ritual":
So the things to note: The Egyptian gods walking in the background are done via a straight path with two points. The scarabs in the background are also each on their own path but they're animated sprites (legs move) and their paths are much more complicated bezier paths with many points producing a very random-seeming route -- and of course they are affected by all the shadows.
Now, for the demo I'm planning on using the following skins as they are the most complete overall (music, graphics, animations):
I would just like to take a moment to name John Seguin (Seguin Sound), and Peter Kojesta (Exis) -- without their excellent work, this game would be nowhere NEAR complete. And of course, "Jane", the graphic artist without whom this game would never have gotten off the ground at all.
John has faced several unique challenges over the course of this project and handled them all skillfully and gracefully: The music consists of not one, but TWO tracks -- one of which is faded in/out depending on how full the board is, but unfortunately during much of the time this capability was in place, the synchronization was WAY off and he had to work around it. Plus, coming up with sound effects that can be played off-beat and still sound like part of the music is NOT an easy task!
Peter has done a great job filling in the gaps where "Jane" didn't have the skillset necessary to take her ideas to completion and didn't have the time to learn the skillset. Whether it was coming up with a video clip to use as the background of the "fractals" clip, or a low-resolution animated scarab, or particle effects (many, many particle effects) Peter has been able to deliver.
"Jane" is the creative genius who has defined all the concepts for the skins. From "Radioactive Rose" to "Ritual" she's done a better job than I could have ever hoped for!
Torque Owner Gina-Marie -Netjera- Hammer
It looks fabulous, though!