Star Child Dev Log #17
Jay Ingle - lead developer, designer, and artist:
Sometimes I wonder what this devlog should be about. Is this a bullet-point list of what I have spent my work hours doing this week? Do I really want to tell you everything? There needs to be surprises!
Sometimes I feel like talking about broader issues in independent game development. How do you learn to code? What tools do you use?
Sometimes I want to talk about more personal things. Motivation, inspiration, work ethic.
I did a lot of things this week. I spent time working on automatically adjusting particle effect colors for new environments. I created some lava for you to fall into. I created an enemy that rises up out of the lava and spits at you. I also added the ability to switch the music to the next song by hitting a hotkey, for me and the playtesters as well. I also installed a Godot plugin, called G.U.I.D.E., which handles input. Remapping keybinds in Godot can be a massive pain, and G.U.I.D.E. does a great job at providing a much simpler framework. It also has full documentation, as well as several video tutorials on Youtube, created by the developer. Highly recommended.
This week, I studied a lot. If you are looking for the best overall pixel art course that I have found online, check out Pixel Art Master Course on Udemy. It's very thorough and helpful. I spent time reading a game design book called Level Up! by Scott Rogers. It is very good at breaking down all of the details of game design. I read Beginning Game Development with Godot (2021). I did not learn much. I am not THAT much of a beginner. I also read some of a French comic book called "The Obscure Cities" and the mysteries in the stories are very much inspiring my subversive creativity.
Here are some tools I use for game development. The Godot game engine. Very nice, open-source, constantly being updated, and learning resources are abundant. Pyxel Edit. This is the best tool for creating tilesets, period. It is not as fully-featured as Aseprite, lacking powerful features such as custom brushes, but for simple pixel art, tilesets, and animation, it is extremely useful.
Now how is my personal game development journey going, for me? Well, I am motivated. This is my dream job, since I was a little kid, and I have a huge drive to create worlds, craft stories, and provide unique experiences to players. I want to create games that are infused with my own personal creativity.
Once upon a time, I watched Twin Peaks season 3. I thought it was the single most uniquely creative visual project I have ever seen. Everything single moment of the show was pulled from the depths of David Lynch's creative mind. And I was ashamed. Why am I not putting ALL of my creativity into everything that I am doing with my life? I remember this moment, and I continue to work to release the unique vision that I have inside.
Sometimes I wonder what this devlog should be about. Is this a bullet-point list of what I have spent my work hours doing this week? Do I really want to tell you everything? There needs to be surprises!
Sometimes I feel like talking about broader issues in independent game development. How do you learn to code? What tools do you use?
Sometimes I want to talk about more personal things. Motivation, inspiration, work ethic.
I did a lot of things this week. I spent time working on automatically adjusting particle effect colors for new environments. I created some lava for you to fall into. I created an enemy that rises up out of the lava and spits at you. I also added the ability to switch the music to the next song by hitting a hotkey, for me and the playtesters as well. I also installed a Godot plugin, called G.U.I.D.E., which handles input. Remapping keybinds in Godot can be a massive pain, and G.U.I.D.E. does a great job at providing a much simpler framework. It also has full documentation, as well as several video tutorials on Youtube, created by the developer. Highly recommended.
This week, I studied a lot. If you are looking for the best overall pixel art course that I have found online, check out Pixel Art Master Course on Udemy. It's very thorough and helpful. I spent time reading a game design book called Level Up! by Scott Rogers. It is very good at breaking down all of the details of game design. I read Beginning Game Development with Godot (2021). I did not learn much. I am not THAT much of a beginner. I also read some of a French comic book called "The Obscure Cities" and the mysteries in the stories are very much inspiring my subversive creativity.
Here are some tools I use for game development. The Godot game engine. Very nice, open-source, constantly being updated, and learning resources are abundant. Pyxel Edit. This is the best tool for creating tilesets, period. It is not as fully-featured as Aseprite, lacking powerful features such as custom brushes, but for simple pixel art, tilesets, and animation, it is extremely useful.
Now how is my personal game development journey going, for me? Well, I am motivated. This is my dream job, since I was a little kid, and I have a huge drive to create worlds, craft stories, and provide unique experiences to players. I want to create games that are infused with my own personal creativity.
Once upon a time, I watched Twin Peaks season 3. I thought it was the single most uniquely creative visual project I have ever seen. Everything single moment of the show was pulled from the depths of David Lynch's creative mind. And I was ashamed. Why am I not putting ALL of my creativity into everything that I am doing with my life? I remember this moment, and I continue to work to release the unique vision that I have inside.