So a couple things have happened since my last update! I posted a very very barebones draft of the final game, just getting general movement down, setting up a basic scene with some new assets, and lightly playing with some shaders and texture mapping stuff.
While all that sounds pretty cool, it's not the most fun experience, nor is it generally very cohesive or directional. On top of that, the dialogue system is still really in its infancy and the HTML version has some weird glitches in the geometry (most notably the bend of the back of the coat during the main walk/run cycle). BUT it's still progress.
Oh, and in order to make it easily shareable, I switched the controls over from a regular gamepad to WASD + arrow keys, so its a little clunky.
You can play it here:
Things I am happy with: the rug texture! normal mapping, tone, animations.
Things that need work: better keyboard controls, responsive dialogue, interact-able elements, and some more unique texturing.
Since the upload, I've done some very small edits to the game, the biggest change being just some post-processing work. I've added some color grading, slight motion blur, and other minor tweaks which I feel really help it look better and feel more engaging.
Going forward, it's important to keep my inspirations in mind. So, I've listed some of them below.
Games:
• Super Mario 64: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vT3AaQ77ges
• The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvmMygmDSX4
• Paper Mario: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wQzSVIwYZI
• Luigi's Mansion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bWePif7psc
• Tales of Symphonia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2N0Mb9h5e4I
• Okami: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2G8y-8QM-pQ
While there are plenty of other games I really enjoy and remember fondly, I feel that these influence me the most when it comes to tone and gameplay focus. All of them are a little grim, but viewed through a colorful lens (with the exception of Super Mario 64, maybe). They're also full of complex NPC interaction and are overall a little shorter than other games in the same genre or series.
Animated Works:
• Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gr6GbKciNCY
• Santa Claus is Comin' to Town: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iU957dn3CR8&feature=youtu.be
These two movies are extremely influential to me specifically in regards to the current project. The iconography, the coloring, the content of the stories themselves, and the way the characters move are all things I'm thinking about pretty consistently. I really adore the subtle darkness in an otherwise extremely positive set of stories and I think its really fascinating that they even demonstrate a mindfulness of the flipside of the North Pole's production practices. Misfit Toys exploring their purpose in the word-- chefs kiss, bravo.
Also, I made a couple new animated works for Drift Off: