My Little Game Dev Forum

     This forum was particularly inspiring because I was browsing this when I came up with the idea of making my project featuring unicorns and elemental magic. I actually posted there days before I mentioned it on the blog. It's a place where brony developers talk about their projects and collaborate. Brony developers are particularly interesting to me because they generally seem to be on the same level as me. Looking at indies in general makes me feel a bit small because so many indie teams are producing awesome flashy stuff that I'm not capable of.

     The things I see on Equestria Gaming however, are more my speed. Just one or a few people working on fan games and mods while in school. I can relate more to that than indies doing Kickstarters, taking loans, and working on games full-time. It's that humble feeling that pushes me forward. Seeing my peers working toward a similar goal makes my own goal seem not so impossible to reach.

     I basically wanted to give a shoutout to the development forum I frequent the most in hopes that more people discover it and increase the size of the community. Keeping up with the other great projects over there is becoming a hobby of mine. This community got me interested in game development in the first place, so it's only fitting that my first completed passion project is based on the show that inspired the community.

Gushing About: The Legend of Zelda ~ Twilight Princess

     Twilight Princess is an incredible Zelda game. While it's not everyone's favorite, it's a favorite of mine. This game will always be one of the most memorable Zelda's to me because of all the fond memories and experiences I'm left with. This game had new things to do at every corner and was the next-gen Zelda I always dreamed about after playing Ocarina of Time and Wind Waker.

Let's revisit this Wii Launch title after the break.

Walk, Trot, and Gallop

     Clover's animations and speeds are dependent on her location and status. If she is in battle, she looks determined and runs around quickly. If she's indoors, she walks calmly with a smile on her face. If outside, she trots about like any cute cartoon pony would. When her health is low, Clover looks out of breath, both in battle and in the overworld. All these minor additions were added to her basic sprites easily thanks to the setup I have in MS Paint.

     I programmed these animations to be easily changeable on the fly. This will allow me to use more expressive sprites in cutscenes. I can even take individual frames out of context and reuse them as expressions. Little details like that will really make the game come to life.

Clover's Animations Complete!

     I literally finished putting these into the game minutes ago. I promised there would be a video today and I met that deadline. I was surprised how many little problems popped up toward the end. This took an entire day when I expected a few hours of work. But as with everything for this game, it was a labor of love. I want this to be the best game it can possibly be.

Check out the video showing off a fully animated Clover on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TysGyG8kDKI