diff --git a/src/diary/entries/200806 b/src/diary/entries/200806 index 04b45c9..5c98090 100644 --- a/src/diary/entries/200806 +++ b/src/diary/entries/200806 @@ -3,19 +3,21 @@ august 6, 2020
#game

-blessfrey is a 2D action RPG developed for PC by chimchooree.
+Blessfrey is a 2D action RPG developed for PC by Chimchooree.

(image: Lots of Angels and other characters at a shopping center)

-The game is designed to pit your skill + creativity against a series of combat + puzzle challenges while exploring the depths of the downtown dungeon.
+The game is designed to pit your skill and creativity against a series of combat and puzzle challenges while exploring the depths of the downtown dungeon.

-Class progression is freeform, and virtually no decision is permanent. At character creation, you will choose a permanent First Class, but you can unlock several new classes for multiclassing through gameplay. Through swapping out Second Classes, you can find a combination to express your playstyle.
+Class progression is free-form, and virtually no decision is permanent. At character creation, you will choose a permanent First Class, but you can unlock new classes for multiclassing during gameplay. Swap out Second Classes to find a combination to overcome challenges and express your playstyle.

-Each class has its own style of skills associated with it. Skills are individual powers gained through gameplay which give specific effects according to their rules. Your skillbar only has 8 skill slots and can only be edited in safe areas. The challenge comes from building winning strategies + synergies against the next area.
+Each class has its own style of skills associated with it. Skills are individual powers gained through gameplay which give specific effects. 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.

-Skills are gained through exploration of the game world. As you encounter enemies, meet people, and reach new areas, you will translate those experiences into new skills. There are multiple paths to learning, so you can focus on parts of the game you prefer.
+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.

-blessfrey has been lots of fun to work on. I hope you enjoy it once a demo and eventually a game drops.
+Blessfrey has been lots of fun to work on. I hope you enjoy it once a demo and eventually a game drops.
+
+Last updated June 8, 2021

diff --git a/src/diary/entries/200820 b/src/diary/entries/200820 index 4ad4f7f..e9c0cd2 100644 --- a/src/diary/entries/200820 +++ b/src/diary/entries/200820 @@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ august 20, 2020
#assets

-pixel joy is a small, round sans-serif pixel font, made using FontStruct's FontStructor for an old version of blessfrey. Freely use and edit for your personal and commercial projects. No credit needed.
+pixel joy is a small, round sans-serif pixel font, made using FontStruct's FontStructor for an old version of Blessfrey. Freely use and edit for your personal and commercial projects. No credit needed.

Download it from FontStruct.

@@ -11,3 +11,5 @@ Download it from Adigun Polack's AAP-64 palette. :)

+Last updated June 8, 2021
+
diff --git a/src/diary/entries/200901 b/src/diary/entries/200901 index e714b75..83c8ec0 100644 --- a/src/diary/entries/200901 +++ b/src/diary/entries/200901 @@ -1,87 +1,97 @@

august 2020: new server, new site

september 1, 2020
-#apache #css #html #nginx #php #server #website
+#diary

-

tuesday, august 4

+

week 2

+#apache #css #php #server #webdesign #website
+
+

tuesday, august 4


-

wednesday, august 5

+

wednesday, august 5


-

thursday, august 6

+

thursday, august 6


-

friday, august 7

+

friday, august 7


-

saturday, august 8

+

saturday, august 8


-

sunday, august 9

+

week 3

+#php #python
+

sunday, august 9


-

monday, august 10

+

monday, august 10


-

saturday, august 15

+

saturday, august 15


-

monday, august 17

+

week 4

+#mysql #pagination #php
+

monday, august 17


-

august 18 - august 21

+

august 18 - august 21


-

saturday, august 22

+

saturday, august 22


-

sunday, august 23

+

week 5

+#css #cssgrid #html #pagination
+

sunday, august 23


-

monday, august 24

+

monday, august 24


-

tuesday, august 25

+

tuesday, august 25


-

wednesday, august 26

+

wednesday, august 26


+Last updated June 8, 2021
+
diff --git a/src/diary/entries/200903 b/src/diary/entries/200903 index 4539c38..0932b9d 100644 --- a/src/diary/entries/200903 +++ b/src/diary/entries/200903 @@ -3,42 +3,38 @@ september 3, 2020
#gamejam

-WeeklyGameJam is a weekly theme-based game jam hosted through itch.io. It's fairly laid-back for a jam, giving you a full week's time, allowing for premade/stock assets and code, and being understanding towards late submissions. Most people make videogames, but any kind of game is allowed. At the end of the week, streamers will play and critique the submissions while the devs hang out in their chatrooms.
+WeeklyGameJam is a weekly theme-based game jam hosted through itch.io. It's fairly laid-back for a jam, giving you a full week's time, allowing for premade/stock assets and code, and being understanding towards late submissions. Most people make videogames, but any kind of game is allowed. At the end of the week, streamers will play and critique the submissions while the developers hang out in their chatrooms.

(image: Key art of Elwell and Small Thing, buried in dogs)


-

small thing that makes things


I participated in Week 85 under the theme Offspring, submitting my game on February 27, 2019. My game was Small Thing That Makes Things, an adventure platformer. You can play it on itch.io.

You play as Hamish T. Elwell, the hero accountant of an overcrowded animal shelter, investigating the recent explosion of the local stray population. You can walk, jump on platforms, collect items, and chat with NPCs. There's multiple endings, depending on your choices.

-

positives


For a week-made game, I think STTMT is pretty cute, and I'm pretty happy with it.:)

I actually finished a game, and someone actually finished playing it on a stream. That's really cool, even if STTMT isn't all that good. The deadline forced me to make final decisions, complete features, and move on, and there's a lot of value in that.

-The short time-frame forced me to get around to every aspect of game development, many of which I had never done before. I had to learn how to export a Godot project, upload an HTML5 game to itch, and make sure the exported game was complete and playable. Lots of the features were first-times for me, too. I've never written code for platformer movements or moving cameras. This also was the first time I've really gotten branching and conditional dialog working in Godot, which was a skill I immediately applied to blessfrey.
-
+The short time-frame forced me to get around to every aspect of game development, many of which I had never done before. I had to learn how to export a Godot project, upload an HTML5 game to itch, and make sure the exported game was complete and playable. Lots of the features were first-times for me, too. I've never written code for platformer movements or moving cameras. This also was the first time I've really gotten branching and conditional dialog working in Godot, which was a skill I immediately applied to Blessfrey.

mistakes


-I recolored OPP's pixel art and lost the high contrast for the rock ledges. They blend into the rocky background, so you can't tell you can jump on them. I didn't even notice until Joshua McLean pointed this out during his stream. Having more eyes on your game is so important.
+I recolored OPP's pixel art and lost the high contrast for the rock ledges. They blend into the rocky background, so you can't tell you can jump on them. I didn't even notice until Joshua McLean pointed this out during his stream. Having more eyes on your game is so important.

Also the level design is just not interesting. I spent lots of time on the choices and adventure game aspects, while the platforming as an extreme afterthought. It's a game jam, though, what do you expect?

-I took the easy way out with animation. I might have learned more working from scratch, but modifying OPP's sprites to suit my character designs was way faster when I was already struggling to finish on time.
-
+I took the easy way out with animation. I might have learned more working from scratch, but modifying OPP's sprites to suit my character designs was way faster when I was already struggling to finish on time.

screenshots + progression

(image: Elwell and Small Thing in a jumble of dogs)
-Experimenting with Small Thing's summoning mechanic. In this version, the characters are just blocks with collision that can move around the flat, empty world with WASD.
+Experimenting with Small Thing's summoning mechanic. In this version, the characters are just blocks with collision that can move around the flat, empty world with WASD.


(gif: Elwell rides a broken-physics dog across the valley) @@ -56,15 +52,13 @@ Dogs rain down upon Elwell's animal shelter in the finished version.
Dialog between Elwell and his boss.

-

conclusion


If you're looking for a jam to jump into, WeeklyGameJam is a cute one to try. You aren't too rushed, you get to watch people play your game, you get useful criticism, and the community is pretty chill. The themes are always inspiring, too.<3

-

credits

week 2


-#bottle #python #website
+#bottle #pagination #python #webdevelopment

sunday, october 4



+Last Updated June 8
+
diff --git a/src/diary/entries/210610 b/src/diary/entries/210610 index d908e37..d8716a2 100644 --- a/src/diary/entries/210610 +++ b/src/diary/entries/210610 @@ -1,39 +1,6 @@ - -

writing a game design document

-may 27, 2021
-#gamedesign #gdd #worldbuilding
-
-A game design document (GDD) is a detailed document used to communicate the vision for a videogame. They are used internally by AAA game developers to keep hundreds of people on the same page, but it's worth considering keeping one as a small team or individual. I'll share how I organize mine.
-
-

why keep a GDD if everyone's already on the same page?


-Even small games are complex pieces of software requiring a broad skillset spanning computer science, design, art, music, creative writing, and marketing. The development process can take years, too. A GDD can serve as a single place to collect your thoughts and document the evolution of your design over time. Even as a single person, it's been helpful to give every aspect a little thought as I fill it out. Also, whenever I need to refer back to something, it's a boon to have an organized GDD instead of random notebooks and files.
-
-Of course, writing a GDD isn't developing a game. Barely anyone shares their GDD outside of their team, so unless your team or publisher has extra requirements, they only exist to facilitate game development. If you can't keep the document up-to-date with development or it would never be referenced by anyone, consider alternative forms of documentation. Sometimes a GDD is more effective as a game prototype, a mood board, or merely a thought in your head. If you're keeping scattered notes like I did, though, consider compiling them into a single word document or keeping them all in a binder.
-
-

download the GDD template


-Download my GDD template and make a copy every time you have a new game idea so you never forget any! Obviously, it's just a template. If some parts aren't suitable for your genre or development process, swap them out for something better.
-
-

worldbuilding bible


-I feel it's easier to keep some parts in a different format from my GDD. For worldbuilding, I use a modified version of Ellen Brock's worldbuilding questionnaire. I keep her headings and delete the detailed bullet prompts for less clutter. In general, I try to write my own prompts so they are closely tailored to my fantasy world. If I don't even know where to begin, though, her prompts are a great starting point.
-
-
(image: Ellen Brock's worldbuilding questionnaire.)

-
-Every nation in my game gets their own copy that's written from their perspective, since different people groups can have different experiences or explanations regarding the same world.
-
-

story + dialog


-The pacing and direction of game narratives are dependent on the player's actions, so the stories are less like monolithic pages of text and more like a series of events strung together. For that reason, I don't keep the story or major events in my GDD. I keep an outline of the story and each scene in individual flowchart documents instead, so I can move the pieces around and connect them freely.
-
-
- - (image: event diagram with an unnecessary amount of choices) -

-
-To make my flowcharts, I open diagramming software like Dia and make a box for the title and one for the goals of the scene. Then, using color coding to separate character dialog, conditional statements, stage directions, and emotes, I write the event box-by-arrow-by-box.
-
-Every time I have an idea for a scene, I scribble it in a flowchart to keep with my GDD. Some of them are dumb, but it's never bad to have a giant pile of potential game events.
-
-

backing up your GDD


-Finally, there's no point to keeping everything together in one place if the hard drive loses them. Try to keep a current copy in about 3 places. I have a GDD folder that contains an individual folder for each game. That way, it's easy to push all my GDDs to git at once. Better safe than sorry!
-
-Last updated May 26, 2021
+ +

how to get a character to follow a moving target

+june 10, 2021
+#ai #character #movement

+ diff --git a/src/diary/entries/210701 b/src/diary/entries/210701 index 4e89fcf..663987f 100644 --- a/src/diary/entries/210701 +++ b/src/diary/entries/210701 @@ -1,5 +1,5 @@ -

june 2020:

+

june 2020: mostly sewing

july 1, 2021
#diary

@@ -15,5 +15,40 @@ july 1, 2021

sunday, june 6

+
+

tuesday, june 8

+ +