PixelpickleGames Dev Blog

Bones on Path - ICE

2012-02-01T14:37:00.001+11:00

While working on three separate contracts, I manage to use Softimage on all of them after successfully converting two studios to this great program.

Using ICE a lot as well, for many different purposes.

This is one of the simpler compounds I've created with it. After rigging and weighting a mesh then constraining those bones to a curve, I have basic control of overall position and spacing of the bones.

There's also a blend control from the original mesh shape to that deformed by the bone weight map and shape deforms

No doubt there's likely much smarter and cleaner ways of doing this. But this is an example of how easy it is to 'throw' something together while I still consider myself a newb using ICE.

No rest - 2012

2011-12-31T23:51:00.001+11:00

2011 turned out to be a busy year for Pixelpickle Games. Although no games were released, and one game in development was cancelled (Tiny Match Maker). Contract work stood it's ground, helping pay off debts from the lacklustre year before.

2012 is booked up with contract work. Which is great news as the animation side of Pixelpickle holds strong, it does mean however that the games development has been placed second class. The current Lylian title will feel the pinch as well as other titles now put on hold.
You see, Pixelpickle Games don't rely on Government funding or Angel investors, That's when development focuses on return on investment and release dates rather than quality gameplay. Our next major titles will be something to be reckoned with, will just take a little time. :)

Wish you the best for 2012 - even though the world is meant to end - I have a feeling it's going to be a great year.

Materials - Softimage - SSS with transparency

2011-11-17T17:07:00.001+11:00

I've recently had to create a character and wanted to use SubSurface Scattering on it. But it also needed some transparency. Here's the Render Tree:

This particular character is also quite small and resides in the ocean, so it needed a little outline highlighting which was created using Incidence and Scalar2Color.

Here's the little fella:

Leafy Sea Dragons aren't really this transparent in real life, but it's a specific request by the client to fit in with their presentation.

Scripting - Softimage - Similar Name Selector

2011-11-17T16:14:00.001+11:00

Here's a simple yet handy little Python script I created for Softimage.

Used to select all object with a similar name to the currently selected object.

si = Application

log = Application.LogMessage

oSel = Application.Selection

#select and split the selected object by its underscore '_'.

for sel in oSel:

n = sel.Name.split('_')

log (n[0])

#Use the selected object's first section and wild card '*' to select all similar named objects.

si.SelectObj(n[0]+'_*',"",True)

It is very limited but works well for my naming convention; all objects are named 'objectname_1', etc. It splits the selected object's name at the underscore '_' then choose all with a similar name before '_'. Simple as that!

Recent happenings

2011-11-02T22:48:00.001+11:00

Contract work! Lots of it.

Tiny MM development is still in action. The next Lylian title is currently moving forward about half the pace of a snail.
Two major contract jobs are in the works. One is work on the next World Expo Australian Pavilion in Sth Korea. And the other is an intro animation to an awesome independent online MMO game.

Busy busy, enough to quench my workaholic needs.

Tiny MatchMaker Dev - Game changer

2011-10-17T23:47:00.003+11:00

Tiny MM's game mechanic relies heavily on screen scrolling. The current state of the game has made some huge and positive changes to this. Now the scrolling is more important than ever but behaves very differently.

Before, the screen moved ever so slightly faster as time went by (speed increase depended on game mode). Now the screen speeds up then slows to a stop, offering various modes of gameplay. Hectic, then relaxing, shuffle and repeat.

Hard for you to have any idea on what I'm talking about, since you haven't seen the game in motion. But I'm excited I tells ye!

Here's a screen grab from the in game store.

Tiny MatchMaker Dev - IAP

2011-09-30T17:28:00.000+10:00

What's been happening on TinyMM? Well~. Almost ready to send out a new build to testers! The art is coming together wonderfully, the gameplay is 85% complete. Next up is the leader-board using Apple Game Center and a lovely shop and SQL Database.

Also on the cards - some development on Lylian "2" is long overdue. And so will certainly be looking into spending some time on that!

Tiny MatchMaker Dev - characters

2011-09-18T19:24:00.003+10:00

A few characters from Tiny MM.

Emo

Prep

Punk

These and their lady friends to be are a few of the characters you'll meet in Tiny MatchMaker.

Going Cupid Dev - Now called Tiny MatchMaker

2011-09-08T21:39:00.002+10:00

A new build of Pixelpickle's title formally known as Going Cupid is now being scrutinized between the devs (the two of us).
Below is a "work in progress" of the title logo and illustration.

Going Cupid Dev - Lunch Time Storyboard Scribble

2011-09-01T15:41:00.000+10:00

Lovely weather we're having here. Took the moment to draw up a little storyboard over lunch. I tend to be the only person that understands what's going on in these, however.

Going Cupid Dev - Concept art

2011-09-01T11:32:00.000+10:00

Concept of a Doid, by Val.

Journal of a Smart Phone Dev Rookie - 006 - Going Cupid Dev

2011-08-30T21:04:00.000+10:00

After some a lot of playtime on the last build of the game, it felt a little too involved, complicated on the players part. Didn't feel quite right, so we're trying out a slightly different genre style of mechanic.
The game has the same goal, but the feel will be quite different and will affect the overall gameplay quite a bit.
Looks and sounds more promising, and sticks it in the Sling Shot category.

Better use of the screen too!

Journal of a Smart Phone Dev Rookie - 005

2011-08-28T14:07:00.000+10:00

To ease into iOS development. Pixelpickle has been working on a (what was intended to be) simple game concept. Something with a basic mechanic and fun to jump into, hard to jump away from.
In Collaboration with Tickled Pink Games who is doing the 2d art, we have our prototype under way and getting into the thick of it.
Art is still in very early days but here's a screen shot!

As you can see, it's quite "Cupidy". It does have quite a spin on the story and mechanic however. :D

More Contracting Madness

2011-08-19T22:43:00.000+10:00

It's been a very hectic week this past week, working with the peeps over at Crystalised. They're making a game called Desert Zombie: Last Stand. Which is quite innovative for an iOS project. Great bunch of guys doing very long hours to bring their pet project to release.

Journal of a Smart Phone Dev Rookie - 004

2011-08-12T22:03:00.000+10:00

So far, everything has gone very smoothly, in regards to moving across to this mobile app adventure. There's a lot of help out there regarding using Xcode, a lot of it from Apple themselves.
Art style has been finalised and music is being produced. The prototype stage has past and we're now in proper development.
Feels good!

Journal of a Smart Phone Dev Rookie - 003

2011-08-10T12:27:00.001+10:00

With license and certificates in pocket, Pixelpickle is developing iPhone apps!
Using TestFlight to send builds out to developers and testers of the game. Although currently still stumbling with the device provisioning. They're added in Apple's device managing portal, but not so much in TestFlight. So will keep at that until it's sorted. Working fine on local devices though!

Edit: All sorted with TestFlight now. Builds are being sent to all the right devices.

Journal of a Smart Phone Dev Rookie - 002

2011-08-02T14:03:00.000+10:00

I got the call from apple saying everything is a go, so have ordered the IOS DEVELOPER PROGRAM and a Mac mini which should turn up in a few days (and keyboard for the all important cmd key).
Continuing to write up the design doc of the 'debut' app. A prototype has already been built and going through various tweaks and massive changes.

Journal of a Smart Phone Dev Rookie - 001

2011-07-30T14:14:00.001+10:00

I've finally come aboard the iPhone/iPad/Android developer scene. A few days ago I went to the apple site and filled out the application, and sent some requested information about Pixelpickle Games soon after.
I got an email this morning saying thanks for the information and to wait out, for further information.

As I wait I read up on Xcode, the limitations, hints and tips on iOS developing. I have probably clocked in 20 minutes of Mac OS use in my life (not including iPhone use), this it a big thing indeed.

A Mac hasn't been bought yet - I intend to buy a MacMini - waiting for the approval as a go ahead.

About a year ago a license to be an Android developer was purchased, but things tend to get a little busy around here and plans tend to get rescheduled a lot. People waiting for the next Lylian title would have gathered this by now.

I intend to post my failures and wins here among the regular Pixelpickle Games posts, about progress hereafter.

Lylian Fan Art Video!

2011-07-30T10:02:00.000+10:00

Came across this fan art-video for Lylian this morning. A lovely spin out! And made my day. :)

Shanghai World Expo 2010

2011-07-23T16:33:00.000+10:00

Back in 2009-early 2010, Pixelpickle animated the characters in the Australian Pavilion for the Shanghai world Expo 2010.
you can watch the whole thing here. It's divided into the live experience, the mechanics under the stage, and the presentation laid out across three giant screens.

Chromamedia created the Act2 presentation for ThinkOTS.

The Ultimate Tease

2011-07-22T21:29:00.000+10:00

Ashley Wood is currently showing off his works in Comicon. And along with it is a teaser for Popbot. It's short, simple, harsh, and awesome.

New tricks

2011-06-24T15:56:00.001+10:00

Finally I'm learning PHP and MySQL. At the same time, I'm spending more time learning Softimage's ICE node language which is pretty awesome in itself. I'm learning the latter because it's so open for creating effects, rigs, modelling, dynamics - and meshing it altogether - creating crowd simulations among many other things. Awesome stuff!
But that's for pre-rendered work; film, tv, not so much games. The PHP and MySql is to further development for Facebook games, of all things.

The other focus on the learning binge, is Unity3D (using Boo, since I'm a Python fan). Multimedia Fusion 2 Dev was used for the first Lylian title, and is being used for a current flash Game. Unity3D is the new Pixelpickle tool of choice because, the next Lylian title is 3D!

This is a vdeo of Lagoa, an ICE extension that's in Softimage. It's a little dated, but still cool.

I'm taking a little more time out from game development whilst learning all this - R&D - while I take on some more contracts, that help pay the bills. Hoping to come back with new skills before continuing on with the games.

Car Modelling

2011-06-13T23:07:00.000+10:00

A few late nights and a couple of weekends over the past few weeks have been spent modelling a car. A 1984 Holden Commodore VL. The deadline to get it done wasn't short, but I could easily spend another week adding more detail and cleaning it up. Overall I'm happy with it and hope the client will be too.

Indie games 6 pack

2011-06-04T12:07:00.003+10:00

I back home now (yay) after working interstate for the past three months. It was a lot of fun but glad to be back to get stuck into All things Pixelpickle. There's a heap stack to do!

Lylian Episode One: Paranoid Friendship, is part of an Indie game pack with five other games. The "Indie Games Summer Six Pack"! You can grab 6 great indie games for $10. Or $5 if you share the Facebook page (sometimes you just need to work a little).
There's a few tweaks happening with it over the weekend before the official release. And you've got around 14 days to grab a pack for yourself, and all those people you love.

Frozen Synapse released

2011-06-01T21:39:00.000+10:00

Pixelpickle Games was contracted by Mode7 to create the animation for their units in Frozen Synapse. Now it's been released and available for purchase on Steam.
It's a great game and I congratulate them for their successful release!
The website: http://www.frozensynapse.com/

New game calls for a special guest.

2011-05-07T20:49:00.000+10:00

So contract work has - as per usual - had right of way. And the majority of time spent at PixelPickle has been on client's work.
Every spare moment however, has been on the new design of Lylian "2" and development of some small web games. The Cupid one mentioned previously is one of those and it's coming along well.

Flash Game Dev'ing

2011-04-28T21:28:00.000+10:00

Currently working on a few small Flash games while flushing out the next Lylian title's design.
One of them is Cherub's Mass Matching (working title). A game of shooting arrows at unsuspecting males to draw the attention of the ladies. I don't think this has worked in real life for many a century (if ever), so I don't recommend trying it.

Cloudstreet has a release date

2011-04-27T13:43:00.000+10:00

Pixelpickle was contracted under Chromamedia, to help with the special effects in Cloudstreet: A 6 hour mini series scheduled to show on cable channel Showcase from the 22nd of May.
Various models, textures, rigs and animation were created for the show and it's exciting to finally be able to talk about it!

Watch the promo video here: http://showtime.com.au/cloudstreet/

POPBOT movie!

2011-03-29T10:05:00.000+11:00

I was introduced to POPBOT by a client I worked for in 2009-early 2010. Ever since then I've been very intrigued by the images I've seen and the small chunks of story I've been told. Now, the movie has been set to be made later this year and I'm very fortunate to be working on it. Not only that, but I get to work with a group of people I highly respect in the Australian film industry.

Very much looking forward to this!

Lylian Ep2 Prologue (Draft)

2011-03-25T14:15:00.003+11:00

Prologue:

If any normal child awoke to find her restraints untied and cell door ajar... OK any normal child shouldn’t be in such a position in the first place. A child that does deserve to be in that position however, would most likely try and make a run for it taking their possessed teddy bear with them. This is exactly what Lylian had done.
Any normal person would say Lylian deserved to undergo such treatment as that provided by the staff of Hacklaster hospital. Then again any normal person that knew what was really going on in that place would have petitioned for its closure.

After being ‘released’ by someone Lylian called Shady, she found herself in the thick of what she could only describe as an overly staffed mental institution run by not so stable adults of sorts. This is something she had already known of course but the usual medication she received subdued her interest in anything. However, a few doses had been skipped and the nurses were not on their usual schedule. Even the walls were riddled with unsettling characters she hadn’t noticed before that lived within the ventilation shafts.
This was a doomed place, and if you asked Lylian she would have said it’s a place of deception. Using a mental hospital front as a facade. Deep down underground is a mechanical metropolis, with the sole purpose to manufacture, something.

With her imagination barely capable of keeping to itself, Lylian rides an elevator through the limb of an angry nurse and her elevator shoe.

The direction of Lylian

2011-03-22T22:19:00.000+11:00

It's been a busy start of year, and future scheduled contracts hint that it's not going to slow down for some time. Having said that, I'm very keen to keep development of the next instalment of Lylian going. Along with various free little games that spawn from the mind of Lylian and her supporting characters.

There's a huge story that was only hinted upon in Lylian Ep 1, that needs to be dosed out in various chunks wherever possible - Dished out by any means possible.

The next instalment is a point'n'click adventure and here is why:
As mentioned in the past, combat is taking a back seat to story and puzzles. This style of adventure game would fit perfectly in this aspect.
Feedback has shown a lot of interest in this genre and I can't complain as I agree it would be something awesome of twisted awesomeness.

Point'n'Clickers have been making a comeback recently which is very exciting. Games like Back to the future, Secret of Monkey Island, Jolly Rover, Gemini Rue and plenty others have shown that the love is there.

As I'm currently working interstate, I don't have much on hand to prove progress and while I'm away from my main development machine I will keep refining the design.

I'm looking forward to showing some progress soon!

Why Being A Contractor Can Be A Good Thing

2011-03-09T21:06:00.000+11:00

There's a lot of pitfalls to being a contract developer in the games industry - no sick leave, no annual leave, do your own super, and constantly hunting down the next gig.

Working from home would certainly be one of the pluses. But sometimes, working on site in various large (and small) studios can give a wealth of great information and learning experiences where technology is concerned. When working from home it's easy to get set in one steady mindset on how you work and how things should be done.
I've temporarily moved interstate to work at a large company - SEGA - and finally got the opportunity today to work with some of their tech. It blew me away! I can't mention what it is but it does something I haven't really seen do well in any other game, so easily.

The games industry is slowly stepping in line with film, where contracting is the majority of resources. With so many studios closing down, and many small ones starting up, employing fulltime permanent workers is ever so slowly fading.

Having said all that, contracting is hard when you have a family depending on you. I guess I really need to get these next Lylian titles out.

New Year better then the Old Year

2011-02-16T23:53:00.000+11:00

2011 looks to be a very busy year, and yet a little foggy.
I've already spent two months contracted to create pixel art for a social web game. And it has been great fun!
Next month takes me interstate to Sydney to work on cinematic animations at Plastic Wax. Following that are various opportunities. I'm not sure how the path unfolds, all I know is it's a busy and potentially exciting one!

At the same time, I've been working - at a slow relaxing pace - on a Flash game. Which is coming together quite nicely.
New Lylian titles are being designed. While the next title in the series is in development, small casual games will be released here and there.

This is where I should post an accompanying picture, but... I promise to paste one in the next post.

Lylian: Episode 2... or is it? A debate on things to come

2011-02-05T13:31:00.000+11:00

Too early for a post mortem, this is more of an initial reflection of how Lylian episode 1 has gone after release. And how it will effect future games created within the Lylian world.

It's Feb 2011, Episode 1 of Lylian has been out for a few months now. Distributing directly from the game's site, GamersGate, GameArena and soon Direct2Drive. It can even be played in French, German and Spanish thanks to a few awesome volunteers.
Support from the community has been great with Twitter, Facebook and the Mailing list as well as being published in various printed magazines and lots of great online sites. Yet sales have been less than hoped for, so far nowhere near making any profit.
I was hoping to use the income from episode 1 to part fund episode 2. But that hasn't worked out and I'm doing extra freelance work to earn the cash. Which means development is slow again.
I only have myself to blame for the slow sales, of course. I tried a business model that offered a short gaming experience for a low price where people would prefer to pay a great deal more for a longer, more complete experience.

Episodic was chosen for a few reasons. As I developed the majority of the game on my own it would be at least 2 more years if I were to release the game as one whole experience. I believed I would need a break (and I so need one). Also, I wanted feedback from players to improve future episodes.

I got plenty of feedback! All of the feedback has been great whether from reviewers or players they've all been encouraging and invaluable. The story, ambiance and idea seems to be the winning factors. But the combat and genre let the game down to a degree and perhaps made it a little to niche.

Episode 2. I've been working on its current form for a while now, but I'm going to scrap it. Even though it has improved on the game-play; less combat, more puzzles. It's still the same graphics and limitations. It's still a side-scolling platformer that is choking the story. The game has had good reviews, but I want it to be so much better!
Currently, a story and dialogue is written up but I need to decide on the game platform. Adventure point'n'click? Third person action? Puzzle? Pixel art or 3d? These are what I'm trying to work out.
I'd like to ask what people would like to play, how would you envision Lylian best being played. Tell me some names of games as reference.
I'm considering making each episode a different genre, but have also considered removing the episodic aspect and creating a "full story" - one large game.

At the moment I'm taking a little break off Lylian while I decide on its future transformation. I'm making a little free to play Flash game with a very small development time, and loving it. :)

Please feel free to share your constructive thoughts, I'd really appreciate it. And, if you haven't bought the game yet, please feel free to do that also, it's worth the experience I've been told!

Website tissues

2011-01-27T22:07:00.003+11:00

The lyliangame website has been going down a bit over the last few days. Turns out the web provider is having server issues. But should be running smoothly again... soon.

Learning more stuff

2011-01-10T08:31:00.000+11:00

A friend has put me onto HTML5 and CSS. I should have learned CSS a long time ago but just can't let go of tables. lol
HTML5 does look great, I've been looking through lot of tutorials etc. Currently it works best on Chrome browser but is slowly being adopted on other browsers and most interestingly on Android.

Plenty of tutorials abound:
http://www.canvasdemos.com/type/tutorials/
http://www.html5rocks.com/tutorials/casestudies/entanglement.html
Just for starters. Interesting indeed~.

Lylian: Episode 1 Update

2011-01-07T00:43:00.000+11:00

A patch is now available for Lylian Episode One. It includes German, Spanish and French translation!
If you'd like to play the game in one of these languages grab the update here.

Please note: The update does reset any current saved game data.

Systems resetting

2010-12-27T12:46:00.002+11:00

Christmas has past - always a sigh of relief - and the new year is just up ahead.
2011 is starting off to be a busy one. Lylian Ep one still has an update to come out, which includes various translations and a few more distributors signed up to sell through.
Still looking into ports or a wrapper for the game onto Mac and possibly Linux. It's tricky to find something because the game is sold for so little, and it's expensive to port over.

A contract job starts early January, where I'll be creating a bunch of pixel art (I'm quite excited as it's a nice change from 3d animation and I'd like to broaden my services to mobile games). There's also a few other little contract that'll pop up here and there too which I'm excited about.
Lylian episode two will be worked on inbetween contract jobs as I need to pay the bills, keep the family fed and afford any specific contracting hiring on the game.
Also, episode 2 has a lot more in it compared to the first one, and changes made. So it's going to take a bit of work. :)

There's also a collaborative project I'm working on with a developer friend in Finland, looking forward to that coming together!

Thanks to everyone that has bought the the first episode, and those who will be buying. :D

Happy Happy...!

2010-12-23T23:03:00.000+11:00

Hope you all enjoy your holidays (if you get'em). And wish you a great 2011!

Translations almost done. And Episode 2 coming along

2010-12-17T12:14:00.000+11:00

An update for episode one will be out soon. It includes translations to Spanish, German and French!

Also, Episode Two is in progress. A balance shift in combat and puzzles will be evident, including some changes to the combat itself. This reflects feedback from Episode One and also the story's development. Exciting stuff!
No date can be made of its release at this time.

In other news... Flick Buddies!

2010-12-15T13:28:00.000+11:00

A good mate of mine has released his first game for the iPhone/iPad today. Looks pretty fun and I'll be giving it a good run at the first opportunity. :)

http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/flick-buddies/id405424038?mt=8

Lylian: The Demo (part 3)

2010-12-10T16:18:00.000+11:00

A demo is now available!

So if you've been waiting for a demo to test, you can grab it directly from the Shop. And soon from Gamers Gate and Game Arena.

Lylian: The Demo (part 2)

2010-12-10T11:55:00.002+11:00

After spending a week on the demo level and having a few people playtest it. I've come to the conclusion that it's too confusing for the player whether they've played episode One or not.

The people that haven't played the game, and played the demo are confused with the changing areas (I wanted to play it out almost like a dream sequence crossed with a movie teaser). They're expecting the game to be the same and feel unsure about it.

The people that have played the game are confused because they're expecting something to happen at certain points, but something else happens instead. So it's hard to get into the mood of the game because they're constantly being yanked from all sides.

So, I'm dropping the special demo level and shall just offer the first few sections of episode one instead. This way no-one shall be confused, and people know precisely what to expect when they buy the game. :)
I am glad I gave it a go though, seemed like a great idea in my mind.

For those waiting for the demo before deciding to buy the game, it shouldn't be too far away now!

Lylian: The Demo (part 1)

2010-12-05T23:09:00.000+11:00

I'm working on the special demo level for Lylian. It's a demo of the game, but a level specific to the demo (you like how I said the same thing, different but essentially the same?).
I've been trying to find a way to make it interesting for people that have already played Lylian Ep1, as well as for people who haven't experienced the game yet. So I've ended up making it a hint of things to come in the next episode. Emphasizing 'hint'.

The demo still has a ways to go, and is effecting development time of the next episode. But I think it'd be worth it in many ways. :)

The Missing Intro/outro animations Fix

2010-12-05T09:29:00.001+11:00

If you can't see the intro and outro animations in the game (blank screen but can hear music), which is happening on certain video cards. Please send me an email purchase@lyliangame.com and I'll arrange a new download for you with the fix. I wasn't able to create a small patch for this fix unfortunately.
Remember to add in your email the order number and where you purchased the game from so I can give you the correct link.

If you purchased directly from the Lylangame site (which is handled through Fastsprings) and want the fix faster, you can download again from there with your download link.

Please let me know through the above email if you still have trouble. :)

A tour of the Pixelpickle Games studio

2010-12-04T11:59:00.000+11:00

Welcome to the offices of Pixelpickle Games.

Here we have the development area, where most of design, through to release and marketing of the games happen. [notice the mirrored wall used to enhance the size of the environment]

And this is the security system currently in place.

Well, that pretty much wraps it up.

Thanks for visiting!

Lylian released! And an ATI hardware bug found.

2010-12-01T00:09:00.002+11:00

Lylian is now out on the internets. And can be purchased for a measly $4.99US.

It's available for purchase at http://shop.lyliangame.com

Also at GamerGate where there's a Christmas special going on:
http://www.gamersgate.com/DD-LYLIANE1/lylian-episode-one-paranoid-friendship

And Bigpond GameArena for the Australian crowd. :)
http://www.gamearena.com.au/shop/games/title/lylian-episode-one-paranoid-friendship/index.php

A bug has been found and is currently being worked on:
Some uses who have ATI graphics cards can't see the intro animation, although the rest of the game works fine.
So if you've purchased the game and can't see the intro, I know what the problem is and a fix will be available within a few days!

Viral rocks!

2010-11-25T22:42:00.001+11:00

I'm seeing a lot of amazing support out there after the recent trailer, and really appreciating it!

The funny thing I'm seeing is people saying 'budget' and 'team'. Little do they know most of the game is developed by one person and the budget is whatever I can scrape together to get some specific jobs done from a very select couple of contractors.

Here's a few links of awesomeness:
http://www.gametrailers.com/game/lylian/13797
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2010/11/25/you-do-have-to-be-mad-to-live-there-lylian/
http://www.world-gaming.com/pc-news/pc-gaming/1853-lylian-intro-trailer-and-gameplay-video.html

Not to mention the awesome 'Likers' on facebook and tweets on twitter. A big thanks to everyone that's been passing on the links and spreading the word.

I still have a goal of releasing the game by end of this month. I've been living on 4 hours sleep per night lately... negatives haven't kicked in yet but I've noticed the alcohol is more effective.

Lylian: Episode 1 Intro and game-play video is released

2010-11-23T14:05:00.000+11:00

After a long few weeks the intro animation is complete. And a few days are spare to put the final touches on the game.

Here's the latest video with intro and some raw game-play footage.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7AbrMxQVQM

A slow process

2010-11-15T10:22:00.000+11:00

Began the slow process of rendering last night. 3 seconds of animation in 7 hours completed so far. Looking good although there are a few frames that will need redoing. Some issues just can't be seen until they're rendered.

This is a test frame of intro shot03.

The computers won't be turned off for the next 7 days or so I'd imagine.

Supporting role

2010-11-05T21:45:00.002+11:00

When Lylian gets a hold of the spotlight, she doesn't let go. Well I guess she is the main star but there is a supporting cast.

Here's another hires character. This was the other character that Harsh Borah created for the cinematics. I've just finished touching it up and preparing it for animation.

Still plenty to do; the game itself is ready and waiting, but this is something I was looking forward to getting into.

Pre-order opportunity closing 3rd November

2010-11-02T13:19:00.000+11:00

A chance to purchase Episode One of Lylian ends on the 3rd of November.

'nuff said!

Cinematics are Go!

2010-10-31T01:32:00.000+11:00

I started on these intro and outro animations earlier this year. But left them sitting idle until the majority of the game was complete.
Well the majority of the game is complete now and I'm pretty excited to get these cinematic animations going. Because I've made some changes in the game, the outro animation will be quite different to how I first planned it to play out.
So in this instance putting it off was a good thing!

The animations will be very minimal in characters and props, I'll be using a model of Lylian and another character that I contracted a friend - Harsh Borah - to model and texture some time ago.
I need to keep it simple, so I don't get carried away and spend months on it and create slow rendering times. If I stick to the plan, it should only take a couple of weeks tops.

Supporting Thanks!

2010-10-28T10:43:00.001+11:00

As also mentioned on the facebook page. I just want to give a big thanks for you all that have supported the development of Lylian so far. It means a lot and helps me stay motivated!
Also, a big heads up to those that have thrown in a few dollars of their hard earned cash into the pre-order. I'll be using that money to help advertise the game and spread the word that it's almost complete!

Pre-Order Lylian: Episode One!

2010-10-25T10:38:00.000+11:00

The 1st Episode is almost at a release worthy stage. And to help give me that last burst of motivation; I've set up a pre-order that's available here: http://shop.lyliangame.com . Pre-ordering gives you 40% off the price on release which I must say is a pretty good deal, AND you get to play the game a few days before it officially releases!

The time is right, to decide.

2010-10-22T14:05:00.000+11:00

I need to decide which of these should be the cover art for Lylian: Episode One.

end cycle

2010-10-19T11:35:00.000+11:00

After much self debate, Lylian has been entered into the Independent Games Festival. Last year it was entered as one section of the game with a lot of things missing. This year it's an almost complete game (only missing some sounds, Intro/Outro anims and a few little bugs). It can be played from start to end with all its trappings.

I use IGF as a deadline; to make sure the game is where I hoped it to be at by a certain time.

It's not quite finished yet, with the above mentioned things to be added but it's sooo close to being done. I'm just too tired to be excited at the moment but at least I can relax for this moment.
I haven't had time to play a game this year. My PS3 is finally fixed but now it just taunts me. When Lylian is released I'll certainly be taking some time off development, and get a life! My oldest daughter wants to get back into Little Big Planet. But there's so many games that have come out this year (and last) I still need to play.

Reports are coming back

2010-10-15T23:03:00.000+11:00

A Lylian build has been doing the rounds. A few play testers getting a run at the game, the great news is there's only been minor bugs reported and playing smoothly on all tested systems. well I'm chuffed.

This means focus is mainly on completing the remainder of the game... the fun stuff like sound effects, graphic effects and last minute UI. Oh, and the intro and outro animations... and I still haven't finalised the 'box art'.

Chin waggin'

2010-09-29T11:26:00.000+10:00

Three involuntary playtesters have had a go of the game over the past three days (if you intend on visiting us, expect to be forced in front of the test machine). Things are looking good! Still missing a few important assets but nothing vital.

To the proofreader and translators, I'll have that build to you soon. I've actually added a couple of extra lines and after the in-house playtests I've found a few minor areas need to be tweaked.

Font selecting! Man this is hard; trying to find good fonts that are both easy to read and fit in with the game, without looking cheesy. Took me the whole night last night to semi-settle on a few.

IGF, not sure I'll be entering it this year. I'll wait until the last vital hours before I decide, I think. So many other places $100 can be of good use.

Considering taking pre-orders for the game after a few people now have asked for it. It will either be through PayPal or FastSpring.com if I can find a moment to get that sorted. Pre-orders will offer a lower price.

A patient lot!

2010-09-20T10:37:00.000+10:00

According to the recent poll, some people don't mind waiting longer for the episode release. Which is great. I did promise my fiancée that I'll get it completed very soon though, so that "I can have a life again!"

There's also a few distributors lined up (they've been patient too). The game is forming quickly now. A few important elements missing still but day by day it's getting closer to a finished product.

Left to complete:

A few more effects
More sound effects
A couple more ambient tracks
Intro and outro animations
Cut scene images
Tutorial section
Figment effects
Two more Figment enemy variations
A scripted gameplay scene
Global stats
Bug fixes

OK, that does look like a lot, I know! But most have already been started.

Finally, my bottom is numb from all this sitting down!

Gaining interest

2010-09-07T10:19:00.000+10:00

The recent Teaser trailer and press release have created some interest for Lylian.

http://www.world-gaming.com/pc-news/pc-gaming/1065-lylian-by-pixelpickle-games.html

http://videogamecowboys.com/?p=50

http://beefjack.com/news/asylum-chick-teaser-for-upcoming-indie-pc-game-lylian/

Great!

Now I just need to finish up today's contract work, then get back onto finishing up Lylian!

Teaser trailer almost finished

2010-09-01T21:14:00.000+10:00

I just need to do a few effects, line up a little sound and overall tidy up.

For now, here are a few test renders of it:

She stares at me

2010-08-30T14:27:00.000+10:00

Getting closer to release, it's time to start making a few teaser animations. The first one is being animated specifically as a very short... short, about 20-30 seconds. Won't be seen in game at all and won't really have anything of the game in there. I've been looking forward to this day!

So has she...

Time to animate.

The roller coaster of development

2010-08-23T23:43:00.000+10:00

A chunk of contract work has come on again, which is very nice. As usual it has slowed Lylian development down too. But I'm still managing to get work done on it.

I was hoping to be on music and sound effects by now. But still doing the remaining props that are needed.
There are a few things I'm not happy with in the game that will have to remain, fonts for example. Not as polished looking as I'd like when going into full screen mode.

So, play test has been pushed back a little. I won't start sending it out until at least the major sound and effects are finalised.

Time to sleep now.

Ramping up production

2010-08-11T18:51:00.000+10:00

Getting closer to the deadline, which is somewhere in September and there's still a lot to do.
It seems the more that gets done, there's more that needs doing.
By the end of this week, the game will be playable from start to finish. From this point on effects, remaining sound and music need to be created and implemented.
There's a major game play feature that still needs a lot of polish too. And then there's the intro and outro animations which initially were planned to be quite detailed with props and lighting. Are now re-storyboarded (is that a word?) to be very simplistic and as it turns out should create a better mood. Then it can do the final rounds of game testing.

The dialogue is still going through revisions, then it can be crossed over for proofreading. When it gets to that point, I'll be a happy camper!
From that point it'll be sent around to the awesome people that have offered to translate the game. I'm thinking the game will be released in English only first, then updates will become available with each translation that's completed. This will give the translators time to go through all the text at their own pace.

FreePlay this weekend. I've bought a ticket and hope to catch up with a few other Independent devs there. Should be interesting!

End Boss mechanics

2010-07-31T11:15:00.001+10:00

I'm making headway on the Boss level and its mechanics, and have come to a crossroad. The most memorable bosses in games have a pattern they follow with slight deviation depending on what the player is doing around them.
This is because the player likes to learn and get a feel of what the enemy is going to do next. So through trial and error, they eventually defeat the Boss through repetition.

Another way is still with a set list of motions, but in a more random order (and better AI?). This is usually more challenging, but I'm not sure if it is more rewarding.
The animations usually offer some anticipation to give you a quick hint of what's going to happen next, which keeps you on your toes!

The battle goes through stages, so there will be three separate patterned attack sequences. And because of these stages, I can only imagine a random like mechanic to become frustrating as the variations multiply.

So, I'm leaning towards the pattern like mechanic. I don't intend the player to keep dying until they get it right however. As I don't want it to be too difficult for this first episode, it just needs to be fun!

Nothing to do with Lylian!

2010-07-29T20:04:00.001+10:00

Once in a while I get to do something out of the ordinary for my work. Here I've modeled (still in progress) and rigged up a steam train. I had some fun rigging the wheel components.

EDIT: I've removed this video from Youtube, to keep the channel focused on games development.

Should dialogue progress automatically?

2010-07-28T22:08:00.000+10:00

At the moment, I have dialogue popping up and progressing automatically. So one character speaks, then maybe six seconds later the dialogue changes to another character's line. I also have it so you can skip through each one by hitting enter or the mouse button.

But I'm wondering if it should all progress manually. so a line of dialogue stays open indefinitely until the player clicks to progress forward.

There are certain times when the dialogue pops up during battle. I guess keeping that automated would be important. Just in areas where there is a gap in the action would require user input.

Any thoughts?

Spreading the Pixelpickle love

2010-07-18T10:33:00.001+10:00

While working on a few animations for a client's project today, it made me think of how many projects out there have a little pixelpickle animated love in them. So I counted them out, and divided them into Indie and mainstream:

Indie - 11
Mainstream - 10

I'm happy with that...so far!

Great thing about freelancing is you get to work on the widest variety of projects. Even the different methods of workflow make it interesting. Always keeps me on my toes and forces me to try things differently.

progress report: Lylian

2010-07-14T22:32:00.000+10:00

All is coming together nicely. Infact the further I get, the more the game pulls itself together.

Got a bit of extra contract work coming up, so trying to get as much done on Lylian as possible now. Still have September locked in for release (but we've all heard that before).

Early September will be the next playtest, and translation into various languages should begin around then too. A special thanks to all that put their hands up for translating to their preferred language.

Marketing the game has fallen by the wayside, and I feel very annoyed about that. A little unsettling thinking the game is going to be released and not everyone and their dog/cat will hear about it.
On that note, I'm hoping to get a cinematic out, to post on gametrailers and the like.

It's getting late... best get back into it!

Getting with the times

2010-06-27T14:41:00.000+10:00

Lylian has been built using a 2d engine, running on software rendering (all on the cpu) since it's beginnings. Now it's time to bring it up to speed, making use of Direct3D9 to let the graphics card take some of the weight.

It'll only take a night to make the changes, and will be well worth it; offering smoother gameplay on a wider range of user computers. Also open up to a better selection of screen effects - which is quite important for the final sections of the game.

What remains of development:

A final couple of areas to be completed
A Boss battle's mechanics
Playtesting!
Copyedit and proofread of dialogue
Translation (although can become available after release)
Remaining sound effects and music
Playtesting!
A whole buch of bug fixing (assumption)

Like a Bullet train...

2010-06-22T21:54:00.000+10:00

...Super fast and quite punctual.
At least, that's how development of Lylian has been recently. The new goal for Episode one's release is end of September/early October. And this one is pretty important for various reasons.

A high amount of contract work utterly destroyed the previous release date. Things have been quiet since and a lot has been done. Still a fair bit to go though but as more content is made, the faster the levels come together. And only One more major enemy mechanic needs to be worked on.

So, two months as of now to complete the game, then the final month for bug squishing, dialogue proofreading and translation.

Hmm, it's not really leaving any room for the fmv though. I'll take that as a challange!

Might be about now I should become a coffee drinker.

Progress on today's HUD goal

2010-06-11T15:30:00.000+10:00

It's coming together swimmingly. Keeping the original idea in mind and fancying it up a tad. Next up is to redo the stat bars that indicate the aura and stamina.

Design a HUD day

2010-06-11T09:20:00.000+10:00

Today, is design the final 'Head Up Display' day. The experimental version:

It needs a revamp. Although it looks kind of cool (in my mind) it is hard to read the info and the flaming aura effect is draining small but precious processing power.
The aim is to try and keep some of the uniqueness of the old one, but make it easier to read so the player doesn't need to sit through a detailed tutorial on it.
I'll post the updates at the end of the day!

Can't afford... to blink!

2010-05-05T19:32:00.000+10:00

It's May already... sheesh. OK Lylian won't be released end of May/early June as I had originally thought. Contract work keeps cranking through and I don't think it's going to stop anytime soon. I'm booked up to my clavicles!

I haven't worked on Lylian (much) over the past few weeks and it'll be at least another week before I can hoe into it again.
I'll certainly be hiring a small fulltime team for the next episodes as this is just crazy sauce!

Plan B is now in action!

Bits and stuff

2010-04-13T10:57:00.001+10:00

The final comic page is finished, Aaron did a great job on them and we'll hopefully work together in the future on Lylian and other projects!

Once again development on Lylian has slowed down due to incoming contract work. Infact this may be the busiest year for Pixelpickle Games. There's still hope that Lylian's first episode will be out by early June, but the release date is getting fuzzier each week.

Anywho, back to work!

I call Foul! On myself

2010-03-19T11:27:00.001+11:00

So the release of the little flash game called Hacklaster Mow-Down has come and gone rather quickly. I created it to advertise lyliangame.com and also to put something on the Lylian minigames page.
It has done it's job in creating some interest in Lylian, and that's awesome. But I was wrong in my thinking while I set out to make Mow-Down.
I set aside a weekend (turned out a week by the time the scoreboard was working correctly) to get the game out.
I thought that's all it needed, simple game mechanic, using optimized versions of pre-existing art and audio borrowed from Lylian.
But I didn't take into account testing and balancing; which completely failed the game.

I'm not much of a flash gamer myself and didn't take into account how saturated the market is, nor how serious it could be.

The game hasn't done awfully bad, it's averaging 2.5 - 3 out of 5 in portal ratings. But honestly I wish I could bury it now and move on. It's kind of leaving a sick taste in my mouth as I think "why did I release that?"

If I had put a month into the game, it could be a whole different story; it could have very well done... well! More enemies, stage tweaks and whatnot. But that would mean less time for the main project, and I wouldn't have felt good about that.

One thing it has made me feel good about, is when I jump in and have a play of Lylian, I feel very relieved it's a vastly better game, and the multitude of extra time put into it really shows. Well, it's pretty silly for me to even compare the two.

These things you learn from, right?

Minigame page now actually has a minigame on it!

2010-03-17T15:06:00.000+11:00

I haven't officially announced this yet though as there's still a little tweaking to be done on the flash game. but it's up and playable!. It's also available in facebook form for those who'd like to compare their scores with their facebook buddies. Both are linked to the global highscore, but friends can also have their own private list.

This is an attempt to try and make a little money on the side to fund Lylian. and so I'm considering putting up a few project wonderful adds on the minigames page to gain a little more cash and hoping people don't think it'll degrade the quality of the site.
I know not a lot of money is made from these advertising sources. But $1 a day could help. page views are climbing for the lyliangame.com page, so it may be viable.

And now here's a picture, because pictures are cool.

A weekend for a minigame

2010-03-09T18:07:00.000+11:00

I spent the weekend working on a little free minigame... just a casual thing, to add to the minigames page. It's complete! But not yet uploaded. Currently Working on hi-score tables and database... stuff. I'm hoping to have it up within the next day, so I can hook back into Lylian.

As you can see, it borrows art and sound assets from Lylian which is why I've been able to put it together so fast. I was considering creating fresh art for it, but that would have easily dragged it out another couple of weeks that I can't afford.
Still, it should be a fun short burst of gaming!

Out and about the game dev

2010-03-06T10:10:00.000+11:00

The game is... Progressing!
The Lylian shop is... Filling!
The Minigames section is... Still Empty!

I do have a lovely concept to show for a character that won't be seen until a later episode. Conceptualised by Aaron Alexovich.

He'll also be starring in a later comic page.

Hacklaster Mentalwear

2010-02-24T10:19:00.000+11:00

Lylian gets vectorised and stuck on some t-shirts along with Bob.
This is what I've been doing when I have access to a computer, but not my own (to work on the game).
At the moment t-shirts are all the shop has to offer, but it's goal is to offer much more; like the game, for example.

Comic Bliss

2010-02-17T11:15:00.000+11:00

Old news is the lyliangame.com website is up. New news is a new comic page has been added on it!

Shirt designs are almost ready to place as something in the currently empty pit called the 'Shop'.

And a major contract job is almost complete, leaving room for much anticapated development ground covering for the actual game.

Ideas Challange... T-shirt up for grabs!

2010-02-11T12:34:00.000+11:00

The official Lylian site will be up very soon, honestly... within a few days!
Among other things, a shop will be in it. I don't want the shop to be empty on opening day, that would just be nuts!

Eventually the game will be sold in said shop, but that's not finished yet. So I have a couple of T shirts I'll be putting up for consuming. But I need more so have set up a challange:

Idea Challenge
If you wore a garment that had ridiculously long, possibly heavily starched sleeves; what useful things could you do with these?

If I love your idea I'll create a design based on it, and you'll get a free tee!

You can either comment here, or email to lylian at pixelpickle dot com with "ridiculously long sleeves idea" as the subject heading.
You don't need to draw any pictures, just tell the idea in a few words and it might trigger some dark twisted portion in my own mind (possibly hasn't been used for a while) to think up the design.

Brain, reset

2010-02-02T10:17:00.000+11:00

Came home from a weeks work in Shanghai yesterday. During the flight home I had a few great ideas to implement into the game. By the time I got home I realised they weren't that great, must have been the high altitude.

I've cancelled a contract job in March (Gave the client plenty of good notice of course and they were very understanding) to work on Lylian fulltime for that month.

Minor report follows:

Website is still being developed, looking good.
New level essets being created
A lot of bugs fixed
New characters being designed

I haven't spent much time on the multiplayer aspect of the game which is seperate from the story mode, single player game. And have been wondering how important it really is. Hate to have spent so much time on something that may not be enjoyed by many. I'm a fan of coop games, but they're not much fun if it's difficult to find coop buddies to play with. For the time being it's still on the schedule.

New milestone set

2010-01-21T09:35:00.000+11:00

Contract work is never ending. Of course that's not a bad thing but it does impede on development time. However Lylian is coming together well.
I've set a new milestone which is end of March. I was actually hoping to have the game in Beta by then but January has been very busy, and February is looking to be quite nuts as well.

I've also decided that an area in the story wasn't working too well, so some backtracking is in order.

Can't set the release date just yet, as it's all depending on outside influences. But it will be released before June, it has to be!

IGF Feedback

2010-01-08T09:31:00.000+11:00

Lylian didn't make it to the finals of the IGF competition. Seems there were a few bugs that I missed, and a prominent gameplay issue. But it was a good experience in any case, and they provided me with the judges feedback:

"The theming and storyline makes up for a very interesting game. I got lots of the same feelings as when playing the big money horror games, with a nice twist of humor that worked as a nice counterpoint to the morbid theme."

"The aura indicator should be taught to the players a bit better, I was pretty confused about how it worked initially."

"The pace of the game was just right for me."

"The character animation got stuck on my Win 7 machine occasionally, forcing me to quit the game."
---

"Although the problem may be simply that the game was too hard...Important lesson on the importance of easy difficulty at game start."

"Also, I would prefer moving with arrow keys..."
---

"- Great character design
- I do love the idea of swinging straitjacket arms as weapon. Pretty sure that hasn't been done before
- If American McGee's Alice were a sidescroller? (That's a good thing)
- Not enough depth in combat for me -- leaves me cold
- Needs copyedit
- Really impressed by the animation"
---

"I liked the moody atmosphere and thought at first that there would be equally quirky mechanics. When it became clear that it was just a basic slap and run right mechanic, I was disappointed. The way the story was told interested me, though, and the imagination mechanic that is introduced at the very end had promise."
--- ---

Lessons learned here is I've got to make the game a lot easier at the start, which is easy to do.
There's a few bugs that escaped me, I'll need to test on more machines.
The combat mechanic issues are understandable, as I've already planned a few things for that.

So I'm quite happy with this feedback. They're things that in the grand scheme of it all; are quite minor!

Another year to try and get it right!

2010-01-01T00:58:00.000+11:00

Cinematic progress - Facial morph targets

2009-12-31T01:08:00.000+11:00

Basic set of morph targets created for Lylian's cinematic character. All the important expressions and eyelid blinks ready.

There's no dialogue in the intro anim, so phonemes aren't required. A few more expression are on the list though.

Illustrative Figments

2009-12-29T19:32:00.000+11:00

An illustration representing a figment concept.

Cogs are a turnin'

2009-12-15T19:59:00.000+11:00

It took me a few days to get back up to speed, on where I left off in October. Many hours staring at the screen wondering why I did something, only to go "ahhhhh I see" some time later.

The Lylian website is still in layout mode, and I'll be excited to see it uploaded. The first bunch of comics are complete and ready for website openage as well... and they look awesome thanks to Aaron Alexovich's awesome talents.

Intro animation is slowly coming together; no animation started yet, but characters and assets are forming.

Timetrap released Emberwind

2009-12-09T08:16:00.000+11:00

The guys at Timetrap have released their game, Emberwind. Which is great news indeed... because now everyone can start playing it!

Give the demo a go then buy the thing if you likey!

Back into it

2009-12-03T10:01:00.000+11:00

I took a long overdue month off development in November. Now that's passed I can get back into it. First up is a few contract jobs that need finishing and then cracking back into Lylian!

Was nice to have a little break to clear the brain matter. Now just want to get it done!

Lylian Localisation

2009-11-17T22:19:00.000+11:00

From the start of development, I have prepared Lylian to be localised into various languages.
Now the question is what languages would be the most beneficial. It's expensive to localise from English so can only choose ones that will be most requested.

If you have a preferred language, feel free to let me know via the comments.
My current wish list is as follows (in no particular order):

Spanish
French
Russian
Swedish
German
Finnish
Polish

Edit: Italian, Portuguese

Official Lylian Game page, in progress

2009-11-11T10:55:00.000+11:00

Not too much going on over at lyliangame.com at the moment. Although it does its job in showing important information (gameplay footage!).

I have been working on the layout on content for it though. A quick rundown on interesting things to come are:

A monthly comic page! - very short stories of characters within Hacklaster hospital.
Minigames! - Well, one mini game to start with.
Chronicles of Bob! - Lylian's sidekick, Bob has his own story to tell.

But I have promised my Fiancee that November is a non development month, 2 weeks down, 2 weeks to go. And also trying to complete the game, so I'm not going to set any dates for when things are going to be done. :D

Buried among the contestants

2009-11-03T14:53:00.000+11:00

Among a total of 306 entries for the 12th annual IGF main competition. Lylian resides:
http://www.igf.com/php-bin/entry2010.php?id=140.

Looks to be a lot of awesome games competing!

Cinematic intro Shhteaming along

2009-10-27T10:08:00.000+11:00

The cinematic version of Lylian's model is complete. The rigging is curently being worked on and a bunch of her face expression targets will be started next.

The intro is short, but vital to giving a quick lead in to the story behind the game.
There will be little cut scenes too, but very short as to not distract the player from the game play too much.
I thought this would be better than have a too much dialogue to read... and, I like animating.

One week until imminent Doomage

2009-10-24T15:03:00.000+11:00

Only one week left for Milestone.

Bugs keep popping up but no critical ones.

Doesn't help that I decided to go back over and tweak a lot of the sound effects.

Still a few other sounds to add.

Going to need to leave a few things out for this deadline unfortunately. But they'll still go in afterwards.

And there's a few things that still need to be decided on.

Entering IGF is still possible, but not 100% likely.

A small snippet of the opening story, of Lylian.

2009-10-20T17:52:00.000+11:00

Chapter1

It only took 20 minutes for her life to utterly turn to crap. It was crap before, but then it became utter crap.

Lylian never got along too well with her family, they saw her behaviour as somewhat, peculiar. To the point where they felt she was mentally unstable and within 20 minutes they had her in the car with bags already packed, and checked into the Hacklaster hospital.

Hacklaster was the place you would hear stories about, but would never know anyone that actually ventured inside. It was the place for crazy people, a hospital for the mentally unsound.

Lylian woke up to a clack, the door to her cell was slightly ajar and she could hear a patter of footsteps trailing off down the hallway.

“Odd”, she murmured as she looked down to find the restraints on her straight jacket unfastened.

Carefully, Lylian peered out into the children’s ward hallway. No nurses were present.

“Odd”, she said aloud and the patient from the next room started banging against the wall which startled Lylian. The shock subsided to a craving…for jam filled donuts. She looked to the far side of her room where an empty donut box lay. Her stomach rumbled.

“Need to get me some jammy goodness”, with this as all the motivation she needed, she entered the hallway in search for a good feed.

Lylian didn’t just like jam filled donuts, no, she lived on them. You would say her lust for them was just a sweet tooth or a phase, but to watch her suck the juices from a jam filled treat and leave the dough so withered and unappetising is enough to make your neck hair stand on end. Her father was convinced it was an act of vampirism. The power she would draw from one donut was the most peculiar of all, the energy and agility she would gain is far from a little sugar rush.

She would usually think twice about venturing out in the halls without nurses care. Even though the doors to the other patients’ rooms were always locked and the only way into the next ward was with a security key. The hallway felt creepy with the sounds of moaning and the hall itself seemed to twist and turn as she walked through it. Her hunger felt stronger with each clunky step of her beloved boots. Boots she would leave on even while sleeping, afraid that someone may come to steal them from her.

Lylian Gamplay Video... Here!

2009-10-19T11:17:00.000+11:00

It's been a long time coming. But the first video for Lylian is here. Well, at lyliangame.com.

Touchy input

2009-10-10T10:30:00.000+11:00

With the recent playtest, there came some issues with background apps picking up multiple key presses as hotkeys, which interfered with game play.

Window's Sticky keys is a common one (when pressing shift 5 times quickly). And Google desktop's 2x Ctrl key for its google search shortcut.

These can be changed by the use of course. But I'm sure uses don't really want to remap or switch off things that they probably hadn't worried about before playing this game.

I've also had to take into account that German, french, Russian keyboards for example have certain keys in different places. So, I've remapped the keys to the fps style WASD & Space. This seems to be the best solution for now.

Later down the track I'll create a key mapping screen, but it's not that high on the list right now.

See how this goes in the next playtest.