diary entry

src/diary/entries/220504

@@ -1,33 +1,39 @@
 <!--201217,200903-->
-<h1>blessfrey </h1>
+<h1>artfight 2022: team bloom </h1>
 june 9, 2022<br>
-#blessfrey #game <br>
+#personal #artfight #art <br>
 <br>
-<b>Blessfrey</b> is a 2D action RPG developed in Godot Engine for PC by Chimchooree in the USA. Its major inspiration is Guild Wars 1. <br>
+<h2>what's artfight? </h2>
+<b>Artfight</b> is an online art game every July. You post profiles for your original characters then go off browsing to find someone else's character to draw. Everyone's sorted into teams and each "attack" or drawing is valued for a certain number of points, so one side wins at the end of the event. You don't get anything for winning, and people game the system so bad that it's hard to even care about the competitive side of the site. <br></p>
 <br>
-<a target="_blank" href="/static/img/ent/screenshot_June292019.png">
-    <img src="/static/img/ent/screenshot_June292019.png" alt="(image: Lots of Angels and other characters at a shopping center)" width="500" height="278.66">
-</a><br>
+<p>It's more fun to approach the game with your own personal challenge. There's a huge variety of character types and art styles, so there's no harm in trying something. Female or male anatomy, mechanical characters, fat or thin characters, old or young characters, simple cartoony characters or intricate designs...The person on the other side will appreciate your effort, even if it was unfamiliar artistic territory. I know a lot of people try a new style or technique during this month, like my friend trying single-layer digital paintings. My personal approach this year is thematic. I drew cute couples! I don't usually draw boys, so it's a good compromise if his girlfriend will be in the frame, too. Also, more characters per attack = more points! <br></p>
 <br>
-<h2>Mechanics</h2>
-Rely on your skill and creativity while exploring a rural southern town, getting involved in local shenanigans, and uncovering the mysteries the downtown dungeon. <br>
+It's a huge community, so at least a few people are bound to draw your characters, which is such a fun surprise when it happens. Some people like to make art in return for people who attack them, too, as thanks. Their discord is probably the best place to get attention, but it's intimidatingly fast for me. <br>
 <br>
-Class progression is free-form, and virtually no decision is permanent. You will pick a permanent job during character creation, but you will be able to choose among 5+ side jobs during gameplay for multiclassing. Find your perfect combination to clear levels and express your playstyle. <br>
+<h2>my attacks </h2>
+<p>These are the characters I drew. <br></p>
+<img src="/static/img/ent/AF22_Abbey_Lune_Arcon_SanoAmaterasu_goddess_big.png" alt="(pixelart: Sano Amaterasu in a lupine field, playing her harp.)"><br>
+My pixelart of Lune_Archon's Sano Amaterasu, a horned goddess with her harp.
 <br>
-Each class has its own style of skills associated with it. Skills are individual powers gained through gameplay which give specific effects when activated. Your skillbar only has 8 skill slots and can only be edited in safe areas. The challenge comes from discovering effective strategies and synergies against the next area. <br>
+<h2>my defenses </h2>
+<p>These are my characters, drawn by other people. <br></p>
+<img src="/static/img/ent/AF22_CawfeeCakes_Abbey_Rune_sadlittleguy.png" alt="(image: a bust of a sad Rune in a dark hoodie)"><br>
+CawfeeCakes's bust of Rune. He's so sad, he's droopy! <br>
 <br>
-You'll not only manage your own skillbar but also the skillbars of your AI companions. <br>
+<img src="/static/img/ent/AF22_Lune_Archon_Abbey_TessaSkyeStMartin.jpeg" alt="(image: Tessa with a vampy lip!)"><br>
+Lune_Archon's bust of Tessa with a vampy lip! <br>
 <br>
-Skills are gained during exploration. As you find new areas, encounter enemies, and interact with your surroundings, you will internalize those experiences as new skills. There are multiple paths to learning, so you are free to focus on your favorite parts of the game. <br>
+<img src="/static/img/ent/AF22_BlackReshiram_Abbey_floofdrago.png" alt="(image: Abbey in an adorable style!)"><br>
+BlackReshiram's illustration of Abbey in an adorable style! <br>
 <br>
-<h2>Story </h2>
-You play as Helia, a girl from the United States who has to live with her uncle in the Confederate States for the summer. Through dare or curiosity, she <br>
 <br>
-<h2>Setting </h2>
-
-Blessfrey's development has taught me a lot about programming and devops. I hope you enjoy it whenever the demo and full game drop. <br>
+<h2>do you recommend this game? </h2>
+<p>It's one of the more fun art communities these days. A lot of communities have turned completely business-minded or are littered with off-topic content, which is fine but not as collaborative and laid-back as the 00s and 10s communities. Artfight, however, is structured around getting people interested in OCs outside their own canon and interacting with other artists. I try to play at least a little every year. <br></p>
+<br>
+<p>This community definitely has a lot of overlap with Toyhouse and Tumblr, though, so don't be surprised if you keep running into massive text walls of character permissions and "original character donut steal" warnings. Obviously less complex art can be churned out faster to dominate the front page, but there's a wide range of ability. I see everything from minors taking grainy photos of lined paper to a sea of amateur digital artists trying to copy Tearzah to university illustration students to kinda condescending professional artists. It feels like old DeviantART in that respect. <br></p>
+<br>
+<p>You should know that the servers reliably crash during the first week of July every year, so if you do want to play, prepare during June. Upload a few characters and their reference pictures, find targets you'd like to draw, and save their usernames and reference pictures. Even if the servers crash, you've got everything you need for a few days. <br></p>
 <br>
-Chimchooree<br>
 <br>
 Last updated June 4, 2022 <br>
 <br>

src/diary/entries/220604

@@ -5,36 +5,28 @@
 <br>
 <p>Everything's coming together. I've been learning a lot and think I'm finally ready to start sharing my work. <br></p>
 <br>
-<h2>
+<h2>up and up </h2>
 <p>I've had a mostly solid horizontal slice of Blessfrey ready for a while, and this cycle of system revamps is finally able to support the sophistication of content I want. When I finish this iteration of skill systems and AI, I will be ready to make a real demo release of Blessfrey! <br></p>
 <br>
 <p>I don't know why it never occurred to me that I don't have to hold back my website waiting on that demo, though. Releasing and publishing is an important skill in itself. I threw together No-Legs the Cat in a few hours, exported it, hosted it on <a href="https://chimchooree.itch.io/legless-the-cat">itch.io</a>, and embedded what is currently the crown jewels of my website. Finally! I have a gamedev website with a playable game on it. <br></p>
+<img src="/static/img/ent/everythingscomingtogether_no-legsthecat.png" alt="(No-Legs the Cat screenshot: Poltics Cat finds a bowl of breakfast in the maze)"><br>
+<p>All this time, my website maintenance skills have been getting stronger. I have a years' worth of content as a buffer. My artist's block has dissipated for the first time in years, and I actually <i>enjoy</i> drawing concept art and character designs again. I've also spent a year trying different languages and frameworks and improving across the board. The website's already a night and day difference from old versions, and I finally feel comfortable with where it's at. <br>
 <br>
-<p>All this time, my website maintenance skills have been getting stronger. I've been documenting my development process since 2018 and writing it in a blog-friendly format for 2 years now. My artist's block has dissipated, so drawing concept art and character designs is no longer like pulling teeth. I've also spent a year trying different languages and frameworks and have more confidence in my web development. <br>
+<h2>changes </h2>
+<p>This is <i>my</i> website, so I might as well use it however I want. If I have a website, I shouldn't have to rely on anyone else for image hosting or digital content presentation. There's no reason for me to have to pull up my phone all the time to show people what I'm working on. Blessfrey.me can take care of all of that for me. <br></p>
 <br>
-<a target="_blank" href="/static/img/ent/screenshot_June292019.png">
-    <img src="/static/img/ent/screenshot_June292019.png" alt="(image: Lots of Angels and other characters at a shopping center)" width="500" height="278.66">
-</a><br>
+<p>From now on, I'll post fashion content here. I used to have a separate online portfolio for it and tried a separate blog from that once, but I was always struggling to fit into standard formats. Giving myself a blank section of my general portfolio to structure however I want is freeing. Some fashion designers like <a href="https://www.kennethdking.com/">Kenneth D. King</a> don't even organize their ideas into seasonal collections. The industry as a whole is moving away from the rigid structure of in-person runway shows in lieue of directly meeting with the press, releasing lookbooks of fashion photography, and shooting short art films. Why shouldn't a fashion blogger re-evaluate her portfolio, too? Maybe I'll add a section for general art here, too, someday. Who knows? <br></p>
 <br>
-<h2>Mechanics</h2>
-Rely on your skill and creativity while exploring a rural southern town, getting involved in local shenanigans, and uncovering the mysteries the downtown dungeon. <br>
+Maybe best practice is to stay laser-focused on a content niche, but I'm not an SEO zombie. I develop websites, games, programming projects, fashion projects, interior design projects, pixelart, writing, and more, and they all deserve some web real estate. Maybe later, I can work with clients through here, too, but that is a dream for the future. For now, I'm keeping everything Web 1.0. The security is <i>so</i> much easier that way. <br></p>
 <br>
-Class progression is free-form, and virtually no decision is permanent. You will pick a permanent job during character creation, but you will be able to choose among 5+ side jobs during gameplay for multiclassing. Find your perfect combination to clear levels and express your playstyle. <br>
+<h2>plans for the future </h2>
+<p>That isn't to say the website's perfect as it! It looks pretty wonky on mobile and tablets, and I've only been testing in Firefox and Chrome-based browsers. It's functional and has a decent amount of content, though, so I'd say it's a-okay to take out of maintenance mode for now. <br></p>
 <br>
-Each class has its own style of skills associated with it. Skills are individual powers gained through gameplay which give specific effects when activated. Your skillbar only has 8 skill slots and can only be edited in safe areas. The challenge comes from discovering effective strategies and synergies against the next area. <br>
+<p>Next I'm going to work with every resolution I can get my hands on and refactor my code a little. Also, I have a different vision for the formatting of most pages. The demo and fashion pages could definitely be broken into pieces. There should probably ultimately be a separate, permanent page for each HTML5 application. I also like having not just my Blessfrey characters but all my ocs here. It's like Toyhouse, but the price of custom CSS is already included in server costs. If nothing else, it'll be nice for when Artfight's sputtering. <br></p>
 <br>
-You'll not only manage your own skillbar but also the skillbars of your AI companions. <br>
+<h2>let's appreciate what we have! </h2>
+Don't go through the motions. If you have anything super cool like a website, don't just use it how you're "supposed" to use it. Put your stuff to work and have fun! <br></p>
 <br>
-Skills are gained during exploration. As you find new areas, encounter enemies, and interact with your surroundings, you will internalize those experiences as new skills. There are multiple paths to learning, so you are free to focus on your favorite parts of the game. <br>
 <br>
-<h2>Story </h2>
-You play as Helia, a girl from the United States who has to live with her uncle in the Confederate States for the summer. Through dare or curiosity, she <br>
-<br>
-<h2>Setting </h2>
-
-Blessfrey's development has taught me a lot about programming and devops. I hope you enjoy it whenever the demo and full game drop. <br>
-<br>
-Chimchooree<br>
-<br>
-Last updated June 4, 2022 <br>
+Last updated July 21, 2022 <br>
 <br>

src/diary/entries/220704

@@ -1,33 +1,29 @@
 <!--201217,200903-->
-<h1> </h1>
+<h1>no-legs the cat </h1>
 june 9, 2022<br>
-#blessfrey #game <br>
+#game #no-legs-the-cat #godotengine<br>
 <br>
-<b>Blessfrey</b> is a 2D action RPG developed in Godot Engine for PC by Chimchooree in the USA. Its major inspiration is Guild Wars 1. <br>
+<p><b>No-Legs the Cat</b> is a 2D maze game featuring Poltics Cat! Help him find his legs! He can't move by himself, so scoot him around with the arrow keys. Don't forget to feed him all three breakfasts or he'll starve!! Go play it <a href="http://127.0.0.1:9001/demo">here</a> or on <a href="https://chimchooree.itch.io/legless-the-cat">itch.io</a>. <br></p>
+<img src="/static/img/ent/everythingscomingtogether_no-legsthecat.png" alt="(No-Legs the Cat screenshot: Poltics Cat finds a bowl of breakfast in the maze)"><br>
 <br>
-<a target="_blank" href="/static/img/ent/screenshot_June292019.png">
-    <img src="/static/img/ent/screenshot_June292019.png" alt="(image: Lots of Angels and other characters at a shopping center)" width="500" height="278.66">
-</a><br>
+<p>It's cute, but I know this game doesn't have much pizzazz. It's just a demonstation to myself that I can export a game and embed HTML5 applications here. It runs pretty well locally, so we'll see how well it runs on the live server in my playtesters' browsers. I'm getting close to releasing the first minor demo for Blessfrey, so I'd really rather iron out all the kinks with a short and simple project first, you know? Dreading the day I have to handle serialization in the browser. <br></p>
 <br>
-<h2>Mechanics</h2>
-Rely on your skill and creativity while exploring a rural southern town, getting involved in local shenanigans, and uncovering the mysteries the downtown dungeon. <br>
+<p>Have fun! More games coming soon. <br></p>
 <br>
-Class progression is free-form, and virtually no decision is permanent. You will pick a permanent job during character creation, but you will be able to choose among 5+ side jobs during gameplay for multiclassing. Find your perfect combination to clear levels and express your playstyle. <br>
+<h2>faq</h2>
+<h3>who is poltics cat? </h3>
+<img src="/static/img/ent/screenshot_June292019.png" alt="(photo: My pet orange kitty with an empty look on his face and legs tucked entirely under his body. He looks like a loaf of bread.)"><br>
+<p>It's just an inside joke. There was a guy who kept posting his cute pet in the politics discussion on social media, so I copied him. I tried to post the most annoying picture of my cat as the "politics cat" but made a typo. <br></p>
 <br>
-Each class has its own style of skills associated with it. Skills are individual powers gained through gameplay which give specific effects when activated. Your skillbar only has 8 skill slots and can only be edited in safe areas. The challenge comes from discovering effective strategies and synergies against the next area. <br>
+<h3>where'd his legs go? </h3>
+<p>Aren't cats cute when they sit like that? It's called "loafing." Kitty's so fluffy that his legs become totally invisible when he does that, and he just stares helplessly at us if we start heckling him. It looks like his legs are missing for real this time, though. He couldn't have gotten far without them, so they have to be somewhere in the maze. <br></p>
 <br>
-You'll not only manage your own skillbar but also the skillbars of your AI companions. <br>
+<h3>isn't one breakfast enough? </h3>
+<p>I dunno, my cat is weird. He wants us to give him breakfast first thing in the morning, then again when we eat our own breakfast. It's still so early, it's like he eats two breakfasts. He doesn't care about food for the rest of the day. It's like the concept of lunch and dinner are completely foreign to him. He's a dishonest little guy, though, so he'll come to both my husband and me separately to beg for "second" breakfast. We're usually too smart for him, but I'd be lying if he hasn't bamboozled us into <i>three</i> whole breakfasts before. <br></p>
 <br>
-Skills are gained during exploration. As you find new areas, encounter enemies, and interact with your surroundings, you will internalize those experiences as new skills. There are multiple paths to learning, so you are free to focus on your favorite parts of the game. <br>
+<h3>when are godot devs going to stop using the godot head as the majority of the assets in their games? </h3>
+<p>Probably never. Why make your own art when free, professional art is already provided when you make a new project? <br></p>
 <br>
-<h2>Story </h2>
-You play as Helia, a girl from the United States who has to live with her uncle in the Confederate States for the summer. Through dare or curiosity, she <br>
 <br>
-<h2>Setting </h2>
-
-Blessfrey's development has taught me a lot about programming and devops. I hope you enjoy it whenever the demo and full game drop. <br>
-<br>
-Chimchooree<br>
-<br>
-Last updated June 4, 2022 <br>
+Last updated July 21, 2022 <br>
 <br>

src/tags

@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+art
 fashion
 gamedev
 personal
@@ -42,6 +43,7 @@ release
 
 godotengine
 java
+json
 php
 python