Got Wood?

This one took a long time. So far each of the other sprites I've been doing have been only one or two bits moving but this had so many, and the perspective wasn't playing nice.

Hopefully it looks good in Stencyl. The saw dust... rrrrgh the sawdust. Well at least now I get to focus on a giant steampunk spider. And I'm totally okay with that.

Surprise! Bonus Frames

Just an addition to my storyboard;

With these additions, I would consider my storyboard to be a good map of my ideas. I can tell a lot of shots I get on the day will be improvised based on the situations and environments we are placed in, but some sequences like the photography one I will definitely try to capture.

The Chopping Block

It was the interim today for 243 and based on feedback from the tutor our game needs to get intimate with a blade of sorts and cut down to something achievable within the time frame we have left. Talking individually with them post-presentation indicated that it would be better if we were able to produce a shorter and far more polished game with one level and everything functioning, rather than a longer game with numerous moderate quality levels. Personally I prefer the suggested path as it means we can bring in one of the bosses. Given we have three weeks until the beta is required then I should have plenty of time to get the boss illustrated and animated and if Andrew nails the code for the obstacles then it would only be a short step to get the boss's AI functioning. The specifications of our game have been cut down to the following;
One level; Deforestation
Obstacles:
- buzz saws
- log
- hole
- single arm boss cameo
- double arm boss cameo
Environment:
- background panes
- lanes
Boss: Spider
- tracking saw arm
- piston stomp
- projectile saw
- heat up lane
Mask:
- earth style (temporary invulnerability)
Music:
- war drums remix
Sound Effects:
- lots
Menu:
- cut-down stage map (start game and settings)
Cheers facebook.
Yes, it's disappointing we won't be able to incorporate all our original ideas into the final game but we were told this was going to happen so here we are.

An Interview With Rosie

Here are frames to my storyboard for my interview with Rosie;

Considering my style of interview is going to be a "day in the life of..." it's quite hard to plan exactly what is going to happen. These more or less show techniques I plan on using. The technique that comes to mind the most often when I visualise this project is a lot of B-roll with voice-overs. I like the idea that the interview may give the audience a glimpse into Rosie's mind and having her disembodied voice talking to them directly could suggest they are being presented with her thoughts directly.

Bring the Beat

Well I've found a kickass potential soundtrack for our game;
https://soundcloud.com/achmadfauzisahri1/logaritmo-war-drums-phunk
Something like this has the pacing as well as tribal war drums we envisioned with some awesome techno thrown in there as well.
I've also managed to embed a couple of images into the stained glass aesthetic since Chris was able to put up some environment art.

It will be cool to see some of this stuff implemented in Stencyl.

A Proposal I Suppose

I intend to interview my high school friend Rosie Remmerswaal who studies design at Toi Whakaari. She is a very creative person and I find the work that she produces and the lifestyle she leads to be very interesting. He studies at Toi Whakaari have given her some unique experience and the communities she is part of help build a creative world around her.

The style of the interview would be like a video diary with the occasional studio based sequence. I will employ a lot of on-site shooting and make no attempts to hide the presence of the camera. I may even go so far as to allow my voice to be heard asking questions to get dynamic real-time reactions from Rosie. As the interview is a peek into her life as a Design Student and a resident of Wellington I want to employ close-ups and focus pulls to emphasise this. Most of the shots will take place during the day but the last shots would be either near dusk or at night. I will use After Effects to alter some shots (specifically the credits and any introductory screens/shots I choose to employ). I also intend on utilizing stop motion for some B-roll sequences from design models she has made.

Its video diary style would mean that there is no definitive end for the interview’s narrative. Instead the structure would be as follows; exposition of the threads I want to interview Rosie about, the development of these threads, followed by the staggered conclusions. I hope to be able to weave these threads together throughout the interview but if this seems too sporadic I’ll make sure to have back-up footage that links the threads through interview questions.

My Wrist is Trying to Tell Me Something

It keeps clicking. An injury I sustained in the weekend has prevented me from accomplishing as much as I'd hoped I would by today so I only have some refined hole obstacle sprites to show tonight.

These were originally just black trapeziums but I went around their edges with some smoky photoshop brushes to give them this 'ink-well' look that is universal enough that they could be used in any of the levels. Chris and I also discussed today the potential to drop the engine/gas level from the game entirely (cutting it down to four levels) and bringing the electricity level to the sky in a storm cloud. We want the game to be polished and looking good so shaving of bits from the game, although disappointing, seems like a necessary step if we are going to complete this in the time we have.