DevLog - SUPER JUICE

Amorous Amphibian

5/22/2022

Much of my time is now spent making new enemies and popping them into the game world. This one is able to cause the status ailment, "Distracted", with the use of crocodile tears. You'll get some of those tears when you defeat it, and can use them to craft an item that does the same thing to your opponent.

Refinements and Enemies

4/6/2022

Sorry to drop off the blog radar, everyone; the last couple months have been filled with creating new enemies for Alex to pummel and refining the gameplay. This game making thing almost feels like a full time job!
Here are a few sketches of impending critters to wet your whistle:

Small Victories

12/11/2021

Now that the bulk of the actual programming is done, the game has had me quite busy lately building environments, creatures and things. Notice the map in the lower right corner? And the blue dots? Yup! We have points of interest now. It's a small victory--but small victories add up.

Beta Battle System %100!

11/7/2021

The first version of the battle system (and, hopefully, final) is finished! This thrills me as I am now able to focus on the more artistic aspects of the game for a little bit.
*trigger victory dance

Battling It Out

9/24/2021

Just a quick game-making update here;
The battle system for Message in a Bottle is nearly complete! Building the game logic has been a major stumbling block for me. Now that I can see the finishing line, I am feeling thrilled to get back to the parts of the game I love, making the art and constructing the silly characters.

Recent Character Studies

8/28/2021

Watercolors on 140lbs Fabriano or Arches Cold Press Watercolor Paper. Paint brands used are an assortment. Brushes: Loew Cornell #10 Round and a 1/4 Dagger.

Here are some of the strange and silly characters that will make an appearance in the video game, Message in a Bottle. They range from Mexican wrestling cats to huge hermit crabs who carry Victorian cottages on their backs.

Scripting is not Art *

8/8/2021

I've got a lot of visual art creation under my belt. I mean a lot. Over twenty years of it! I didn't realize how much I'd miss the physical act of making art when I started putting together the nuts and bolts of the game systems about two months ago.

Scripting (coding) is the main tool used for making game logic (if this happens, then this happens (unless this is happening)). It's all very complicated and, to me at least, feels more like accounting than creating art.
I'm totally looking forward for this part of the process to be over!

*There are others who use code like a sculptor uses clay or stone. How I envy you.

Progress Report:
Message in a Bottle,
Game Demo 60% Complete,
Scripting 70% Complete!

Taking in the Scenery

7/28/2021

Game Demo 50%,
Overall Game 10%,
Unity , Terrain

The terrain for the demo portion of the game is 100% complete!
Ok, that's not completely correct. There is a term called "borrowed scenery" that I particularly like. Borrowed scenery, in the context of a video game, are areas that you can see in the background, but can't approach with the player character. Objects like far away buildings or city skylines can be borrowed scenery. In Message in a Bottle, borrowed scenery are things like distant mountains, islands and flying saucers.

Traditional or Visual Scripting? A (Not-So) Tough Decision.

7/15/2021

Game Demo 50% complete,
Game Overall 10%,
Unity, Bolt Visual Scripting

A few weeks ago I hit a road-block in game construction. I needed to add some actual functionality. Running around a pretty environment is great, but that alone doesn't make a game (Okay, there're some games where you only run).

My choices were to learn traditional scripting, or visual scripting. Here's the difference, as I see it:

Traditional scripting is like learning a new language, complete with new syntax, context and grammar. And you have to be so accurate. Every line has a function and every word on that line has to be spelled, cased and spaced correctly. Otherwise you have errors. Here is what it looks like:
"using System.Collections;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using UnityEngine;
using UnityEngine.SceneManagement;
public class menu : MonoBehaviour
{
public void PlayGame ()
{
SceneManager.LoadScene(SceneManager.GetActiveScene().buildIndex + 1);
}
public void QuitGame()
{
Debug.Log("Quit!");
Application.Quit();
}
}"
That was the first and only code I ever scripted. All it really says is when to load the game and when to exit.

Visual scripting, on the other hand seems to be perfectly made for people who have a visual arts background, like myself. Here's what it looks like:

This example does the same exact thing as the other example.
I put them together here so you can see the comparison, but keep in mind that you wouldn't put game start and game quit side by side as you see them here. They should be in separate bolt flow charts, attached to different UI or buttons.

Obviously I am biased toward Visual Scripting. If you're just starting out with coding and have no problem learning new languages, then you probably should give traditional scripting a go. Otherwise, I recommend visual scripting.