Arienette etc.

I actually have been doing some work (honest...). One of the first things I did was work on sketching the main character. I'm keeping the art style as very simple lines (I like this minimalism, and besides, I'm not a technically gifted artist). I like the way subtle changes in the most simple lines have a lot of meaning to the eye, visual shorthand. For instance, I spent ages (and some very embarassing pages of sketches) simply perfecting the hairstyles. In the end, as you can see, I went for similar hairstyles for the character at 17 as when she is 12; the only difference being in the severity of the curl; when she is younger the curl is more pronounced and less womanly. The shape of the shoulders, hips, and neck, as well as the height and the shape and proportion of the nose, are all subtle indicators of age; with just a few changes in the simple lines, the heroine becomes a few years older (you will play the older version for the last 20% or so of the game).

And what is she called? Well, I've gone for the name Arienette. It's a tribute to a Bright Eyes song of the same name, about a girl called (you guessed it) Arienette. I don't think it's a real name; the character was definitely invented by Conor Oberst for the record. Any way, it's a cool name, and it also reminds me of Arriety, the young heroine of one of my favourite childhood books, The Borrowers. You can find the lyrics to the song here; http://www.songmeanings.net/lyric.php?lid=34495

I've also outlined the first small section of the game; (highlight to read)

Arienette’s grandmother calls her into her bedroom, where she lies ill in bed. She asks Arienette to make her her herbal tea for her aches. She speaks of something that she wants to give Arienette when she returns. To make the tea, Arienette must pick up the pail from outside, fill it with water from the pump, and use the full bucket on the kettle. She must then find the tea. The packet in the cupboard is empty, but it has a close up which shows the ingredients; peppermint, rosemary, and mossrock, as leaf shapes. These herbs can be found in various locations around the exterior of the house, and placed in the kettle. When the water and herbs are in the kettle, she can turn the kettle on and a short cutscene shows her making the tea, which she then takes through to her grandmother. When she gets back, however, her grandmother has been stabbed and the perpetrator has disappeared out of the bedroom window. Not long for the world anyway, her grandmother, with her dying breath reassures the girl, implores her to bury her body, and gives her a small key; a few frantic and ominous words about the future of the worlds and a deadly plot later, she dies…

Frasse and the Peas of Kejick

No update yesterday; I was going to do it, honest, but then watching Die Hard and shouting "Die Hard!" every time someone died beckoned. Anyway, I did get some work done yesterday, however. In amongst University work, I managed to spend a bit of time beta-testing a game by Rikard Peterson (www.trumgottist.com) called Frasse and The Peas Of Kejick. It's really rather good. Unfortunately, a crash, and then a puzzle that stupid me hasn't been able to solve yet (it's really irritating, cos it's one of those codebreaking puzzles where you know exactly what the designer is getting at, but you don't know what underlying assumptions they've made) have stopped me completing the game. Basically, it's a lucas-artsy point and click adventure, but with gorgeous graphics that look like they've been taken from a favourite childhood storybook. There are plenty of pretty decent and original puzzles (you have switchable characters and such; a straight forward inventory fest this is not) and it exudes a gentle sense of good-natured humour. In short, it's a perfect game to play by yourself and then give to your kids. I think it's going to get a good response on release.

The Untitled Halo Beater That Is My Game

Well, maybe not quite...

Anyway, let me give you the lowdown on my brand spanking new game (or should I say idea for a game). Because I wanted this blog to chart the complete development of my project, I haven't actually produced anything tangible yet (although the idea has been kicking around in my head for months).

So here's the pitch;

The untitled game mixes the top-down graphical style and free-exploring philosophy of the classic Zelda games with puzzles influenced by the aforementioned series as well as those from classic graphic adventures, especially those made by LucasArts in the 90s (Before they went down the pan, but that's a whole different rant...). One of the unique selling points of the game, inspired by my love of juggling, is that spells are cast by juggling magic balls, and these are used to solve puzzles and defeat enemies. There are a whole range of different balls to collect (I just love collecting stuff!), ranging from the basic balls to more exotic types like fire balls, grass balls etc. The combination of 3 balls the character chooses to juggle with every time influence the spell (e.g two grass balls and a water ball casts a spell that makes plants grow). Different spells defeat different creatures, clear different obstacles etc. Juggling is also your main source of income; there is no gold hidden in plant pots or dropped by monsters here; you have to juggle in the nearest urban centre or complete side-quests to get shiny pennies! Other innovations include the fact that other than your balls and small items (keys, notes etc.) you can only pick up one item at once, opening up new puzzle possibilities. There is also a "low action" mode so that the juggling, which requires co-ordination (a mini-view opens up in the corner, and you must time your characters hands with your left/right keys.) is made automatic, and you have an unlimited time to defeat enemies.

The game will also place a large emphasis on plot. Although the game is set in a fantastical world, it will be internally consistent and hopefully avoid riffing off the same old Tolkien cliches; orcs and magic swords are definitely out. I will reveal more plot details later (and flag up spoilers should they occur...) but I will say now that the main character is a twelve year-old girl. This will have a bearing on the game; it will hopefully capture the sense of childish delight that Zelda and Little Big Adventure capture so splendidly; but it will also be a journey into the beginnings of adulthood, and will become darker in tone (although not needlessly crude or tasteless) as the game progresses.

So... now you know a little about it. Design document process starts tomorrow...

Print 10 "Hello World"

Ahhh. The joys of BASIC. Like many computer users, that line of code was the first one I ever typed. But this blog wasn't started to reminisce; especially about a process I learned was finicky and time-consuming when I was seven. Thankfully there is software that does the hard stuff for you nowadays. Hard what, you may ask? Well, the reason why I was trying to teach myself how to program a BBC Micro at school (they were the only computers we had for years!) was I wanted to write computer games. I'm one of those people who can't watch a good movie, read a book or indeed play a video game without getting creativity-lust. Sure, it often comes to nothing, and even if it does make it to fruition, your own project is frquently, not too put too fine a point on it, a big pile of crap.

But that's not the point. The pertinent fact is; you had fun doing it. So today, I start work on a new game. And I'm going to be blogging the process (amid tossing in any general thoughts I have about video games). I'm doing this blog primarily as a motivational tool. Keeping this record gives me a feeling of accountability, both to myself and anyone who happens to read this journal and actually expects me to come up with something. It's also meant to act as a therapeutic process, and a personal record for the future. And lastly, I hope it will entertain the reader. (The singular may well prove to be literal)

Before I start talking about my game (and games in general) I will make one last point; This isn't going to be a diary of my life. There are plenty of people with more interesting lives doing this already, and much better than I ever could. Whilst the odd detail might slip in occasionally when relevant, I'll work on the assumption you couldn't care less about my mundane existence.

Onwards!