As 2023 elderly-ly limps towards its iminent demise, I'm calmly tired and rather unfocused. Though I suppose that's been the theme of my year, hasn't it? Unfocused. This post is also that! READ MORE
Here's some rambling about the technicalities of how I create game animations that you probably don't understand or care about!! Also, I have a protagonist and story mostly sorted out now. READ MORE
I did a lot of stuff on this Dreamons project this week! Now you can collect summonable allies and alter your own appearance whenever you want from the menu. READ MORE
I recently replayed this eccentric 'musical memory game' I actually finished and released in 2019. Despite some fears that I'd cringe over concerns about its content, I ended up feeling mostly impressed and in some cases surprisingly emotional! It's such a shame so few people got to experience the most moving moments though due to the gameplay barrier in the way... READ MORE
Did some Dreamons work this week, but mostly felt indecisive and burned out. Also, potential Patreon issue, and I should probably learn to use a DAW. READ MORE
I spent this week making progress with technical aspects of Dreamons, including replacing levels with a mechanic that plays the role of MP or cooldowns in a way I feel plays well with mechanics I already have. READ MORE
Am I onto something with this idea that combines several different ones from the past few months?? Dreamons: A game in which you explore dreamscapes as a customisable avatar to tame humanoid - but with psychedelic aesthetics - dreamons to save people from their mental distress. READ MORE
Some thoughts about how battles should probably begin with silly narrative scenes, and how maybe area rooms could look like isolated dioramas... READ MORE
I'm on a roll with this still-yet-unnamed project thing - or at least as much as I have been with anything lately - so again I've shirked other work to at least make some progress on it. Less than ideal, but better than wasting all my hours lost numbly scrolling through Reddit and half-watching YouTube videos I'll forget as soon as they're done. READ MORE
I did some stuff on this Belief Battles/Frayth thing this week: buildings and the interior areas they link to, and some concept designs for types of people you'd encounter. READ MORE
I've spent this week working on this side project I still haven't decided on a title for! The player can create their own character now. Also, what counts as inappropriate nudity?? READ MORE
Another busy week! Alpha Test 3 will start next week, if you're interested in volunteering to help with that! I also worked a little bit on the Belief side-project thing I started recently. READ MORE
I recently finished the Live A Live Remake... but barely understood its mechanics, as has been the case with pretty much all RPGs I've played in the past. Annoying! Tutorials are the norm for modern games, and here's an overwhelming barrage of images showing all of the tutorials Atonal Dreams includes to hopefully explain its mechanics in a more satisfying way. But are they too much?? Not clear enough?!? I'd value your input! READ MORE
I spent this week revising Atonal Dreams to use the new elements, and I had the most productivity with and confidence about the project I've had in a long time! READ MORE
Last week, I wrote about an idea I'd had for combining the elements and runes in Atonal Dreams, and how I'd been experimenting with a side project - essentially a remake of my old 'Belief' project from late 2019 - to get a feel for whether or not the change would work. I've spent this week working away at that project, so I want to talk about it a bit! READ MORE
WELL THIS WEEK I COULDN'T DO WORK BECAUSE MY DOG ATE ATONAL DREAMS AND-... Or no, gasp, I actually did get stuff done this week! I've been revising dialogue scenes based on tester feedback... though everything continues to take so damn long! READ MORE
I'm at the point with Atonal Dreams now where I can almost start the next round of alpha testing. I know I've been saying that for probably months, but while then it was on the horizon, now I'm standing on the doorstep. I've got badly burned out getting here, though, so I've also been recovering a bit by working on a side project, Mentales! READ MORE
I'm still going! Potion levels! Uncertainty about how to transition between the nightmare intro and Sprouting Isle, and how the world map should work! Chrono Cross remaster! READ MORE
I wasn't able to focus on Atonal Dreams this week, but I did make some maybe interesting progress on this side project, Mentales! Also, I've probably got COVID now. READ MORE
I've been writing some dialogue scenes this week! Also my new PC arrived! And a bit of a follow-up about the Ukraine war and the post I wrote about that recently. READ MORE
Atonal Dreams was meant as a short standalone prequel to a longer reimagining of the MARDEK story - itself a reworking of another project I'd started on earlier - which I intended to finish within six months to a year. It's been either about a year and a half, two years, or two years and four months since I started - depending on where the start is considered to be - and the finish line still seems distant. In this obnoxiously long, image-heavy post, I want to look back over the entire development journey, to see how the game has evolved each month. READ MORE
A (relatively) quick one this week! I've been working more on the music system, which involved making decisions about the 'intensity' system that alters the background music and adds multipliers to damage delivered. READ MORE
I'm still working away at stitching together the intro sections of Atonal Dreams, and also this week I started on a side project based on Alora Fane: Creation! READ MORE
I've made some decent progress this week towards FINALLY moving beyond the nightmare intro and combining that with the tutorial island I already mostly made months ago. I've changed a lot with the game's fundamental mechanics since I last worked with it though, so I'm having to clean up a whole lot of stuff to get it all working. Let's look at some screenshots! READ MORE
I've been very bad mentally these past few days! I want to distract myself by writing out another possible side project idea: a remake of sorts of Alora Fane: Creation, in which you can build your own little quests for others to play... READ MORE
I've almost finished the intro bit in Collie's Psychepelago!! Took long enough... I need to figure out exactly how it ends and ties to the beginning bits I had from before, though... READ MORE
I got back to work on Atonal Dreams this week, which has been... mixed. A slow, frustrating start, and then various obstacles got in the way, so I wasn't able to get as much done as I wanted (a recurring story, that). One big recurring obstacle was my computer being even laggier than usual, so I've been thinking yet again about replacing it! I'm clueless about hardware though... READ MORE
It's already September! How did THAT happen?? I've been working on Atonal Dreams for over a year... So much for the hope I could start and finish in 6 months like I did with Memody: Sindrel Song! READ MORE
I did a lot this week! I made two new monsters, came up with an idea - mementomes - that solves some uncertainties, and improved the Lore section! READ MORE
I mostly finished the intro I was working on, but it's not what I want it to be! I've come up with some revisions though which should make for a better world and story... READ MORE
I've almost finished the intro, but not quite! One thing I've yet to do is finalise a design for 'Splendid Savitr'. Also, I started playing Kingdom Hearts this week, which features more frustratingly aimless backtracking than I remember! READ MORE
I spent this week working on the dark dream intro, though it's not finished yet! I also spent about a day fiddling around with a side project based on Belief - a game I worked on briefly a while back - for the fun of it. READ MORE
Last week, I talked about removing the vestigial resonars, and I've finalised that decision now. Since having neither a weapon or shield felt too empty, I've replaced the resonars with two new equippable items: an 'amulet' on the right hand for 'attacking', and a 'bracelet' on the left for bracing against incoming blows. I also designed two new monsters to replace the old skills! READ MORE
A long one this week! I've been thinking I should trim out some vestigial features to focus more on the monster-skills mechanic, plus some replies to things people said in comments on last week's post (since I can't reply to them all individually!). READ MORE
Another productive week! I'm almost at the point where I can update the game for a new test run; I just need to tidy up a few bugs and things now. I have some questions related to MARDEK and games dev in general that I'd like to hear your thoughts about this time! READ MORE
I hoped to have Atonal Dreams ready for alpha testing this week, though depression got in the way of that. I've almost got there though; just a few more tweaks. Also another album of non-game music, from the same time I composed the OST for MARDEK. READ MORE
I was hoping to have Atonal Dreams ready for some kind of alpha test by the end of this week, but frustratingly that's not happened yet because there's so much to do! Also, this week's Music Album contains music from Deliverance (and Fig Hunter and some old stuff)!!!1 READ MORE
I've mostly been doing cleanup/tweaks this week, polishing, trying to get the game to a point where I can show the early section to some alpha testers, but everything takes a long time! While tidying up some gameplay mechanics, I made a change to how the 'arousal' stat works, which I want to talk about here. Also, another music album! READ MORE
The main thing I want to show this week is a video of Atonal Dreams' intro bit in preparation for a maybe-soon demo, which I'd very much like to hear your thoughts about! I also added a minimap, and uploaded the OSTs of two Raider games as the Album of the Week. READ MORE
Well, we survived 2020 somehow! Or at least some of us did, myself surprisingly included. I've also been quite productive this year, so - as is my tradition - I shall look back on all the stuff I've made here! READ MORE
I've cleaned up the intro cutscene a (little) bit by adding or changing some structural stuff, plus I've planned the story as a series of dialogue scenes. Next I should write the script in its entirety, though what about the demo I keep teasing?!? READ MORE
I've spent the past couple of weeks looking into what the most sensible next steps might be, but it's still annoyingly unclear. Here's what I'm going to do next anyway, though. READ MORE
This week, I've rethought how magic works, and have added an additional form of progression. I think I'll stop fiddling around with the battle mechanics now and devote the next couple of weeks to figuring out how best to start getting some players involved! READ MORE
I've been adding some final features and tweaks to Atonal Dreams' battle system, with the intention of having something playable that I can show off to get some opinions about before proceeding. I'm not actually sure where to release that, though; I've seen a few conflicting things! READ MORE
I've done a lot of different things on Atonal Dreams this week! I've added weapon functionality for Pierce and Ossoum, I've started building the island the game takes place on, and I've composed music for all four playable characters. READ MORE
After weeks of wondering and planning, I feel I've got the ball rolling on Atonal Dreams now! I've made an info page and a roadmap to explain what the game is and when it might be finished, as well as some new systems that I just added this week! READ MORE
I'm trying to get to a point with... whatever this Divine Dreams prelude thing is going to be called where I can show off snazzy gifs of gameplay etc to generate interest in the project as I work towards completion. So this week, I've built an island tileset for Savitr and Collie to run around on, and animated their physical attacks so they can fight monsters. READ MORE
I've made 3D models for the two main characters of this still-unnamed shorter Divine Dreams RPG this week: Savitr, the Seraph paragon, and Collie, his (ridiculous) caninely-quirky Cherub apprentice. Quite a contrast! READ MORE
Yesterday's panic and despair transformed to creative excitement overnight, though I'm still not sure what to do next, if Divine Dreams as planned might not be financially viable. Here are some thoughts about some potential 'short' projects I could maybe release by the end of the year. READ MORE
I made a new monster model; here's a bit about the process! I've also continued implementing and refining the revised battle mechanics; here are four short battle videos showcasing my progress!! Also, should Mardek be a pink elf??? This is a long post!!!! READ MORE
I've been refining and implementing some of Divine Dreams' battle mechanics revisions that I presented in the previous post. Here's what I've got so far. READ MORE
This week, I added the beginnings of long-planned mechanical feature: something called 'concords', which represent the connections between pairs of characters, and which grant various benefits when developed. Also, I redesigned Deugan's weapon. READ MORE
This week, I've made the cave tileset more organic, added following allies and some changes to the combat mechanics, and I've been designing miasmon (which is what the monsters are called in this)! Also, a bit about my favourite Pokemon designs from all eight generations. READ MORE
I'm at the point in development now where the initial burst of enthusiasm has likely run its course, so productivity should be more gradual from now on. Most of the major features exist in some basic form, and my main goal now is assembling them into a working demo. READ MORE
Here's a brief review of what I achieved in January, a bit more about field mechanics, a model for Deugan, the conversation system, and some stuff about character progression (and menus). READ MORE
I've done quite a bit on the MARDEK Reimagining this past week! This time, I'll be talking about the title I've decided on, and a basic battle system I've planned and got working! READ MORE
I played MARDEK recently, and it was much better than I expected! I'm now a fan of the series again! Here's how my new feelings about it have influenced what I want to do with a remake. READ MORE
It seems I'm able to make executables of my old games! Gasp! This means they'll be more accessible even without Flash. I've made a list of all the old games that I feel might be worth 're-releasing', some more finished than others. I might even 'remaster' them a little bit, fixing some little details and removing no-longer-relevant stuff (eg sponsor branding). This means I might also be able to release the original MARDEK chapters on Steam, unaltered. (EDIT: I've added a poll to gauge which ones have any interest, so then I can know where to focus first.) READ MORE
Here's some revised concept stuff for my planned next game, Belief, in which a protagonist vaguely based on Mardek's mother is inseminated by an alien based on Rohoph. Fun for the whole family! READ MORE
I'm working on getting to the point with Belief where I can show a video of the gameplay. I'm not at that point yet, but here's what I've done so far. I'm wondering whether it might be best to make it a standalone game (rather than three chapters) at first, without connections to MARDEK, to see whether people are receptive to that before locking myself into something I might not finish, but there are still a lot of decisions to be made. READ MORE
Since I won't be able to make a completely faithful remaster of MARDEK, I'm wondering whether to try to make Belief instead, which is a completely different game, which was inspired by it but which isn't a remake as such. Here are some ideas for how concepts from MARDEK could be integrated into it; I'm curious how you feel about them. READ MORE
I spent a couple of days building a battle system mockup for a potential MARDEK reimagining... though there are many issues and uncertainties with it from a mechanical and conceptual perspective. Should I be returning to MARDEK at all? To what degree? There's a lot to work through. READ MORE
Today's the day I intended to release Memody: Sindrel Song, but there've been complications which mean I'll need to bump that forward a bit. I'm wondering what the best course forward here is! READ MORE
Here's another update, which addresses the biggest remaining issue - rewarding the player's performance - in the form of 30 clothing items, and the shrine where you can acquire or equip them. The game is likely in its final form now; I still need to fix a few bugs, but I've now finally finished all the major content! READ MORE
Finally! I've uploaded the latest version of this game for some final testing, to ensure everything works as it should and to resolve some lingering uncertainties. READ MORE
Here's an update to the Sindrel Song testing beta which includes some new mechanics, which emerged after engaging with feedback and discussions, and which I hope will address many of the difficulty concerns! READ MORE
I've FINALLY almost finished Sindrel Song! For real this time!! I'll probably start testing early next week, if I can get some final tweaks done over the weekend. Here's a video showing the game as it is now, plus some rambling about thoughts and concerns I've had while finishing it off. READ MORE
It bothers me that I'm having to worry about this game's story and characters being too repulsively depressing, when excessive, gory violence pervades media the majority go wild for... READ MORE
For the first time in ages and to my great surprise, I actually had a really productive past few days! I've been using what energy I've had to work on Sindrel Song, and I've got a lot closer to the finish line which has been on the horizon for far too long. Here, I want to show some screenshots of the 3D versions of the stages that I've finally made, while talking in detail about the techniques I've used and the things I've learned along the way. If you're interested in how games are made, that might appeal to you! READ MORE
Despite constant, irritating fatigue, and woes about my present and my future, I've been slowly working my way through writing dialogue for Sindrel Song... READ MORE
I've done quite a bit of work on Sindrel Song recently, but haven't talked about it properly in a while. So here I'll talk about aspects of the writing, and how I've attempted to make the multiple attempts required to complete each song satisfying rather than off-putting. READ MORE
Here's quite a bit of stuff I've been doing on Sindrel Song, including a couple of videos showing improved gameplay and the sheet music structure of playable songs I've been composing for it. READ MORE
Here's a post in which I describe my current project - Sindrel Song - including screenshots, a gameplay video, some music I composed for it, and some rambling about the story, how the main character is tied to MARDEK, in a roundabout way, and how this game will be set in the world of Alora Fane. READ MORE
This is a continuation of the story of my creative journey, which started with ∞ this post ∞. In this one, I talk about the first games that I made! READ MORE
After doing a whole lot of reflecting about the creative journey that I've been on over the years (which I briefly summarise here), I'm planning to return to Taming Dreams, but as a regularly-updating story told through 3D conversations rather than as a game. READ MORE
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