Status Report #46 (Redesign, NPCs, & Title Logos)

     I had no idea what to do when starting on the logo. So I really just typed it in a pixel looking font added some gradients, drew borders in MS Paint and put on even more gradients. At the end of the day I had a title image for Unicorn Training. Made one for Unicorn Quest too while I was at it. I also did a bunch of stuff this week! Check it all out below!

Unicorn Training Development Video #16

     It's been a while since I made a video update so here's some interesting stuff that hasn't been shown before! A town scene that isn't that one forest room I keep using! A nice change of pace. This also shows text boxes in action as I wander around the hub town of the game: Timber Grove.

    I show off just about everything that's set in code, glitches and all. This is a mark to see the game explode into production afterwards because with this out of the way it's time to draw out literally everything I plan to implement for the game on paper. That means drawing on graph paper for the rest of the week! And I actually love this part because I get to dream and build a world I can actually see (to write it is to know, to sketch is to see, to sprite & code is to feel).

Watch the YouTube video here.

Unicorn Training: NPC Ponies Complete!

     Finally done with these guys after 3 days. I was going to have a bunch more unique sprites but it was taking too long as is so I just started doing recolors of my current 4 designs. Two males, two females, no foals. My excuse for not doing little kid ponies is that Clover is the youngest pony in the forest so she doesn't really have any best friends or sibling figures.

    For the most part NPCs will wander around town, chill in their homes and shops, and an occasional few can be found in the wilderness attending to their business in dangerous territory. None of the ponies in Timber Grove are grand mages like Swirllock or Clover so she really has no deep connections with anypony there and spends all her time studying magic and waiting for the day she travels with Swirllock back to her hometown in Bright Valley.

    After importing them into Unity I'm running into some strange animation errors that I'll need to fix tomorrow because as of typing this, it's 2 AM, this took all day, and I need to sleep.

Gushing About: InFAMOUS

This week's is a short one, but it's what has been on my mind.

     I've been replaying a lot of InFamous lately. Actually, just the first game and the second one's demo since I don't have anything else from the series. I really love the superhero origin story feeling it gives me and I noticed how my goals to become more powerful and save the city from chaos fit the theme so well. I also noticed some parallels with with Unicorn Training's goal of becoming strong enough to beat a looming threat.

     The way it introduces new powers had me analyzing how when you're going through the game you'll find some aspect of combat or traversal cumbersome, then two missions later you get a power that makes that aspect a lot of fun and the game gains a rush of interest. You can really make a game feel new the whole way through by not showing all your offerings at once. I'll take that to heart when designing my own titles.