tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13699118732358345812024-03-13T01:40:33.217+00:00Chunky PixelsRamblings from a retro gaming pixel artist working on PC, PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 and MSX games.sunteam_paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16028786819570268073noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1369911873235834581.post-70901774559736324542020-03-29T13:42:00.000+01:002020-03-30T15:21:40.657+01:00NextBASIC - How to display a sprite (ZX Spectrum Next quick and easy guide)You've just got your Next. You don't want to read through the large, very technical manual to get to the juicy bits...you just want to get right in there and put a hardware sprite on the screen. Here's how:<br />
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<h3>
<span style="color: orange;"><u>Preprep </u></span></h3>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>++SKIP THIS IF YOU KNOW HOW TO CREATE A DIRECTORY OR DON'T CARE++</i></span><br />
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First, go into the browser and make a new directory by pushing 'K'.<br />
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Name it <i>binthis</i> because I doubt you'll want to keep this test permanently.<br />
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Go into NextBASIC<br />
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type <span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">CD "binthis"</span></span><br />
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CD means 'Change Directory" and this is to make sure we save everything in here to keep things tidy.<br />
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<h3>
<span style="color: orange;"><u>Draw your sprite</u></span></h3>
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in NextBASIC type: <span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">.spredit mysprite.spr</span></span><br />
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<i>.spredit</i> invokes the sprite editor.<br />
<i>mysprite.spr</i> is the filename of your sprites (this doesn't actually create the file until you save it from the sprite editor. Also, don't put the name in quotes or it won't save).<br />
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The editor loads. Feel free to scribble over the top of the first sprite, or if you just want to get on with things, just hit <i>Shift-S</i> to save.<br />
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Exit the editor with <i>Symbol Shift and Space</i>.<br />
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<h3>
<span style="color: orange;"><u>Displaying the Sprite in NextBASIC</u></span></h3>
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Here's the meat of it.<br />
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<span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">10 BANK NEW spritey</span></span><br />
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This tells the Spectrum to reserve a bank in memory to load your sprite data into. "spritey" is just a variable name created with this command. <br />
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<span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">20 LOAD "mysprite.spr" BANK spritey,0,256</span></span><br />
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OK so this loads the sprite file into a memory bank. In this case, the one called <span style="color: yellow;">spritey</span>.<br />
The <span style="color: yellow;">0</span> is the where in the bank it loads the data - in this case 0 loads into the start of the bank.<br />
The <span style="color: yellow;">256 </span>is and amount of data to load. Each 16x16 sprite is 256 bytes. If you want to load in more than 1 sprite, just multiple the number by 256. We are loading just one.<br />
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<span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">30 SPRITE BANK spritey</span></span><br />
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This tells the Next to use the data in bank <span style="color: yellow;">spritey</span> for sprites.<br />
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<span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">40 SPRITE CLEAR: SPRITE PRINT 1</span></span><br />
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This clears the screen of any sprites that might be there from other programs, then it sets all sprites to visible. Setting the value to 0 makes all sprites invisible.<br />
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<span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">50 SPRITE 0,80,80,0,1</span></span><br />
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This is the command to draw a sprite onto the screen. The variables are:<br />
<span style="color: yellow;">0</span> (The number of the sprite...this is an identifier and has no bearing on what graphic is used)<br />
<span style="color: yellow;">80,80</span> (The x,y position of the sprite on screen)<br />
<span style="color: yellow;">0 </span>(The image/frame/pattern to use. This corresponds to the actual graphic data you saved in the sprite editor. We loaded one image. Images always start at 0. If we loaded 4 sprites, this number could be 0-3)<br />
<span style="color: yellow;">1</span> (This makes sure the sprite is visible)<br />
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<span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">RUN </span></span>the program.<br />
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That's it, simple as that.<br />
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Feel free to save this example with <span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">SAVE "spritetest.bas"</span></span> (use .bas as an easy identifier for basic programs).<br />
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Also feel free to go back into the browser and erase the whole folder with 'E'.<br />
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*Note. It's good practice to have the command <span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">BANK spritey CLEAR</span></span> at an exit point in your program, otherwise if you keep running it, the Next will keep allocating new areas and you'll get at Out of Memory error. <br />
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<br />sunteam_paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16028786819570268073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1369911873235834581.post-72287476337986537672018-11-30T10:49:00.003+00:002018-11-30T10:50:02.871+00:00Grelox: Adding FluffProgress continues at a slow but steady pace:<br />
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All levels are built.<br />
All levels are populated.<br />
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Here's a bit of extended gameplay from one of the first levels (each area consists of 2 selectable levels, both of which must be completed to progress).<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i9.ytimg.com/vi/EKOY8m2hWoA/default.jpg?sqp=CKyphOAF&rs=AOn4CLDWawcMK2cniGlGC7D7xAuecdB6xg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EKOY8m2hWoA?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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<br />
I am currently adding 'fluff' elements to the levels. These are basically background features like cobwebs, hanging vines, stalagmites, crumbling rocks...non essential but little visual touches that add to the atmosphere.<br />
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One thing I have abandoned are boss levels. I went through various concepts for these. The first was just a fixed screen with standard gameplay and a big nasty to kill.<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cpZ6WA1hOBs/XAEVUAh1wnI/AAAAAAAADwo/e1KBm7k3tmgoPpnkYS_AQ2WbSLnjB9f7ACLcBGAs/s1600/BLOG-boss1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="541" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cpZ6WA1hOBs/XAEVUAh1wnI/AAAAAAAADwo/e1KBm7k3tmgoPpnkYS_AQ2WbSLnjB9f7ACLcBGAs/s320/BLOG-boss1.jpg" width="283" /></a></div>
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Next, I was thinking of a 3D into-the-screen section (like the tunnel sequence in Konami's ALIENS coin-op).<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-J8RsSq-PLns/XAEVYK77GBI/AAAAAAAADws/ZKxnqcugccoYFXm5Vj680gOWf8IKRHe8QCLcBGAs/s1600/BLOG-boss2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="552" data-original-width="481" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-J8RsSq-PLns/XAEVYK77GBI/AAAAAAAADws/ZKxnqcugccoYFXm5Vj680gOWf8IKRHe8QCLcBGAs/s320/BLOG-boss2.jpg" width="278" /></a></div>
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But in the end it was starting no feel like feature creep, and also would extend development time too much. With the current 7 levels, the game already feels like a good length and making it too long would just cause player fatigue. So boss battles are ditched. Maybe in a sequel?<br />
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The main thing left on the 'to do' list is the ending and the music. It does feel like the last stretch is ahead, so a release next year is looking almost definite now.sunteam_paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16028786819570268073noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1369911873235834581.post-4537735770149701352018-07-18T18:24:00.000+01:002018-07-18T18:25:26.075+01:00Grelox: Populating LevelsI've had a burst of activity on Grelox in the last week.<br />
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Levels 1-3 are now fully mapped, level 4 is part way through the mapping stage. The tileset for level 5 is complete, so I need to work out the overall structure of the level before starting to map it out.<br />
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The main progress has been enemies - I've coded a new bunch of enemies and have now populated the first 3 levels entirely. This gives me the first real glimpse of how the game truly plays and it's now a matter or balancing.<br />
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Difficulty is a hard thing to judge, especially when you're the author of a game. But for the most part I can see where the especially challenging (or potentially unfair) bits are, and also get a feel of how many hit points the player should have. I've still not locked down the overall structure...my current plans are to have each level quite challenging, but also implement an autosave feature meaning you don't have to wade through the same stages every time you play.<br />
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This is a fair option if I can add a sufficiently large number of levels to stop the game feeling too short. If not, I may have to return to the more traditional style, but maybe with a lot (or even infinite) continues with every play. Limiting continues is only something I would do with an overall easier game, but it does make the balance a lot harder to reach.<br />
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Alternatively, I could just add levels of difficulty based on player health. That may be the best route, although I have considered a hard setting that has additional enemies, for those who really want to push themselves.<br />
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Another thing I implemented is a simple player death animation which pushes you back to the map screen. I have come across a bug on occasion which I'm not sure if I've fixed, so it may be time soon to get external playtesters. There's also a minor jumping bug that happens rarely, but is easily reproducible. This one has me a bit stumped. Bugs like this are especially difficult when you're someone like me who isn't really a dedicated programmer, but I'm sure it will all sort itself out in the end.sunteam_paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16028786819570268073noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1369911873235834581.post-86777822477899686672018-04-29T10:35:00.002+01:002018-04-29T10:38:19.394+01:00Grelox: New level artThe last few weeks have been about sorting out a lot of the old graphics for use in the game. I've got various versions of tiles from all the platform switching we did (first it was going to be NES style on PC, then it was for MSX, now back to PC but more Master System style).<br />
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Recolouring doesn't take an awful lot of time, but shuffling everything into individual level tilesets is more difficult. I want to have a nice variety of visuals with no two levels looking the same, so each area needs specific styles i.e. pillar/wall type, platform type, ground type. It's hard not to overdo things and allocate too many different tiles out of worry that it might all look samey, but in practice, you really don't need that much to be effective.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">(Music is a WIP by Arkhan, written way back for the initial Win version)</span></div>
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The second area has had basic mapping completed, with most of the foreground tiles in place. I'm currently placing all the background wall tiles which is a less exciting job. I've decided that it would be easier to sort out the bulk of the backgrounds and mapping before I go back to the enemies. At least then my focus is on one thing at a time.sunteam_paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16028786819570268073noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1369911873235834581.post-80304099263573668182018-03-22T19:15:00.000+00:002018-03-22T19:15:03.846+00:00Grelox: Flies!Over the last few days I've been adding some minor enemies to test. There are small orbs that float about randomly and some lightbulb-shaped things that just go up and down for the moment. I might keep a few of these simpler enemies in as easy fodder. The lightbulbs currently have high hitpoints, perhaps this is a good way to tempt the player to risk just running under them rather than stand and hack away.<br />
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I've also implemented some spiky floor and ceiling runners.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EPy9DXxUx0g/WrP-qDjpaWI/AAAAAAAAB8w/PpoBFY0VUlcxdlCzHYPKdHBX_FL9umo_wCLcBGAs/s1600/Spikes.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="170" data-original-width="396" height="137" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EPy9DXxUx0g/WrP-qDjpaWI/AAAAAAAAB8w/PpoBFY0VUlcxdlCzHYPKdHBX_FL9umo_wCLcBGAs/s320/Spikes.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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I think it's important to have a selection of non-destroyable hazards like this to mix things up, allowing timing to be involved, especially if they are running across a terminal location while you are trying to hack it.<br />
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Speaking of terminals, the original idea was to have 4 terminals per room that have to be hacked to unlock the door (representative of the 4 numbers per room in Zillion). But I decided that this might be a bit tiresome, so I'm dropping it to 3. As I was looking through the maps, there was always one terminal that was easily redundant anyway - 3 is enough to ensure the player needs to explore the entire room before exiting.<br />
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The last thing I added are pods. These won't actually appear in the first level as they are visually out of place, and more fitting in the darker, more cave like areas. They can be stepped on (possible strategic advantage?) until burst, where they release a swarm of angry flies. I was planning to have small flies only, but I accidentally drew the first one way too big and liked it enough to keep it.<br />
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<br />sunteam_paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16028786819570268073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1369911873235834581.post-87386559430213507962018-03-18T10:35:00.000+00:002018-03-18T10:36:02.607+00:00Grelox: Creating explosions and animating Space SharksDrawing an interesting explosions take a bit of forethought. Most are just blobs of red, orange and yellow but I wanted something a bit different for the bigger enemies.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BS-ZPoIv0Tk/Wq4-ajtOKrI/AAAAAAAAB4o/b8ojBccJISksBfalnaGQVp_D2bhXct5XACLcBGAs/s1600/Explosion.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="307" data-original-width="392" height="250" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BS-ZPoIv0Tk/Wq4-ajtOKrI/AAAAAAAAB4o/b8ojBccJISksBfalnaGQVp_D2bhXct5XACLcBGAs/s320/Explosion.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Firstly, I sketched out something very roughly. I've always liked the enemy explosions in <a href="https://youtu.be/BAJs-D8hjKA?t=1m24s" target="_blank">Shadow Dancer</a> on the Mega Drive, so I took that 'pillar of flame' look as the central idea, but surrounded it with chunks of standard exploding bits.<br />
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The circle in the centre was just for positioning, but when it came to the second pass, where I drew everything neater and clearer in one colour, I kinda liked it as it could represent some concentration of energy, or a small black hole or somesuch. The wispyness also reminds me of the <a href="http://yokai.com/onibi/" target="_blank">Onibi Yokai</a> which appeals to me.<br />
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The colouring was pretty simple. The red surround with blue interior should contrast against most background art. It's only a few frames, but they are over so quickly that the effect works well enough.<br />
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I've also updated the 'hit enemy' flash with some animation, changing the colour to pink to match the player sprite and not clash with the explosions.<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8Uu8_7fZz4Y/Wq5AGv92_xI/AAAAAAAAB40/m6Qe6v4DoKc17dW3svhAbGy-fBPMEcoEwCLcBGAs/s1600/sharks.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="94" data-original-width="410" height="72" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8Uu8_7fZz4Y/Wq5AGv92_xI/AAAAAAAAB40/m6Qe6v4DoKc17dW3svhAbGy-fBPMEcoEwCLcBGAs/s320/sharks.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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The Space Sharks now have a walking animation, rather than sliding around. This was constructed with my usual method - I draw out everything in monochrome first. I find this is pretty important as it allows you to refine the look and positions because once you've shaded the whole set it's a royal pain to fix (saying that I did adjust a few minor areas after the fact).<br />
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All in all, they look nice and smooth. I maybe could have put more wobble in some areas, but I'm trying not to go too over the top with animation frames as I want to keep the feel of a certain era of gaming.<br />
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<br />sunteam_paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16028786819570268073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1369911873235834581.post-49713514073041838492018-03-17T16:17:00.000+00:002018-03-18T10:19:16.020+00:00Grelox, PC Engine and other plans for 2018Here's the latest on my various projects, it's been a long time since the last update but hopefully I'll get into the habit of more regular updates.<br />
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<b>Inferno</b> is done and out, physical copies are due in the <a href="http://www.aetherbyte.com/" target="_blank">Aetherbyte</a> store very soon. Some have already been dispatched to Beep.<br />
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<b>Grelox</b> is a continuing saga of changes, cancellations and delays ever since it started out as something called Apothecary for the PC Engine. But I'm back working on it now for Windows. Programming is an annoying distraction for me because I enjoy the graphics, game and level design much more. However, the main gameplay elements are all in place so the bulk of the heavy lifting is sorted. Tasks now involve coming up with all the enemies & hazards, mapping everything and converting a lot of the MSX style art into the new Master System style that I'm using. Here's one of the recoloured baddies.<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FN5OtlQA3i4/Wq0-jXp3AGI/AAAAAAAAB4M/Mb5W2g4BNUIsGPQc9nFi64tHUOgMBs46QCLcBGAs/s1600/Baddie2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="90" data-original-width="90" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FN5OtlQA3i4/Wq0-jXp3AGI/AAAAAAAAB4M/Mb5W2g4BNUIsGPQc9nFi64tHUOgMBs46QCLcBGAs/s1600/Baddie2.png" /></a></div>
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I'm also in the early stages of another<b> PC Engine related book</b>. Not a second volume of Pixellence or PC Engine Gamer, but something more personal and unique. Details currently secret but I'll plod on with this as time allows. Ideally I'd like to have it released before the end of the year but it all depends on how things go.<br />
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We're between projects now at <b>Aetherbyte</b>. Of course we have plans (too many), but I cant reveal them. But to throw you a bone, here's a drawing of something.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GCIT36lErXI/Wq0-oJbO30I/AAAAAAAAB4Q/eD8bnIZbndIBRM04coI22qSwL5IYi7UXwCLcBGAs/s1600/Toadbear.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="314" data-original-width="314" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GCIT36lErXI/Wq0-oJbO30I/AAAAAAAAB4Q/eD8bnIZbndIBRM04coI22qSwL5IYi7UXwCLcBGAs/s1600/Toadbear.png" /></a></div>
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Finally, I've got a new freshly styled issue of <b>ZX Spectrum Gamer</b> 90% complete and ready to go. This will be a special issue, containing an exclusive brand new game called <b>Aeon</b>. The game is split over several tapes and tells a story with the aid of illustrated cut scenes (well, lots of loading screens tied together but you get the idea). It was quite an ambitious project for me (being 4 games and lots of pictures) but I think it worked out well considering my rudimentary knowledge of AGD. I'm just waiting for the 128k music and it's good to go.<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pdAxqamdc2Y/Wq0_DoKSIYI/AAAAAAAAB4U/_hrCxpS79igbKKTnUdNFBkGNGbLKgyDewCLcBGAs/s1600/aeonnn.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="192" data-original-width="256" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pdAxqamdc2Y/Wq0_DoKSIYI/AAAAAAAAB4U/_hrCxpS79igbKKTnUdNFBkGNGbLKgyDewCLcBGAs/s1600/aeonnn.png" /></a></div>
<br />sunteam_paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16028786819570268073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1369911873235834581.post-71411913456483916142016-02-03T19:36:00.000+00:002016-02-03T19:36:51.398+00:00The State of Things 20162015 was a very quiet year in terms of my game dev projects, but 2016 looks to be busy time, so I thought it would be handy to lay out where everything stands.<br /><br /><b>Inferno (MSX)</b><br />Inferno is getting closer to completion. I've arted up all the sprites and am just mapping the final level. We then need to sort out an end boss of sorts and the whole thing will be good to go. This is our priority at the moment before we leap into any future projects.<br /><br /><b>Apothecary (PC Engine)</b><br />Cancelled. For ever.<br /><br /><b>Grelox (Windows)</b><br />Apothecary has been consumed by Grelox and they are now going to co-exist like some glorious retro-filled Brundlefly. Grelox is going to be ace and is next in line after Inferno is finished, with one exception.<br /><br /><b>Saber Rider and the Star Sherrifs (PC Engine)</b><br />Once we have all the relevant details sorted out with Saber Bossman, this is going to be developed either alongside or as priority over Grelox next. We're still waiting for clarification on certain things I think but it's going to be an interesting project to work on. Even with the graphics drawn for the other 'primary' versions, the whole lot will have to be redrawn from scratch to fit the tile sizes and limitations of the PCE, so chances are this will feel like its own unique game. And of course it will be the best version...<br />sunteam_paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16028786819570268073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1369911873235834581.post-39506016699168967942014-08-06T09:31:00.000+01:002014-08-06T09:31:02.941+01:00Second Wind - Apothecary for PC Engine lives againBack in February, I <a href="http://chunkypixels.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/death-of-pc-engine-game.html" target="_blank">posted</a> about the cancellation of my PC Engine action/adventure/puzzle game Apothecary. <br /><br />Naturally, some of the PC Engine/TG-16 community was disappointed at a homebrew title getting canned, so I posted a challenge to programmers out there to get a working game engine up and running if they wanted to see the project live again. Orion, the man behind <a href="http://onorisoft.free.fr/retro.htm" target="_blank">Ultimate Rally Club</a> and many other retro projects has since been into contact with me and began work on getting some basic sprite movement and maps together.<br />
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<br /><br />Well, we've now got to a point where I feel that both Orion and myself are committed to finishing the game and as such, I have been hard at work mapping out the rooms with the final tile artwork. While the game was originally planned as a HuCARD, it will now be a CD, but aside from that there will likely be no major changes to the original concept. <br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NeufGz_yNdY/U-HnZ2TkD5I/AAAAAAAAAW4/m9lsTFcr-BQ/s1600/Apothecary+strip1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NeufGz_yNdY/U-HnZ2TkD5I/AAAAAAAAAW4/m9lsTFcr-BQ/s1600/Apothecary+strip1.jpg" height="82" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />More information will be revealed as development proceeds.sunteam_paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16028786819570268073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1369911873235834581.post-75440571158845169312014-08-02T12:38:00.001+01:002014-08-02T12:39:31.250+01:00Atlantean Trailer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's been a few years, but Atlantean is finally finished. Here's the full release trailer. The game will be available to purchase from www.aetherbyte.com hopefully in the next week or two. It takes a lot of effort to build these cards and 3D print the boxes.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/ds_uMKIDmBM" width="560"></iframe>sunteam_paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16028786819570268073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1369911873235834581.post-61882472203443741222014-05-31T09:46:00.000+01:002014-05-31T09:46:36.731+01:00How Big Is It?Although the main gameplay of Grelox has been decided, I'm currently standing at a fork in the road and have to make a choice. When Grelox was originally conceived (as Apothecary) the aim was to make it suitable for short development and also to fit in PC Engine rom space. Now, we have a little more freedom, there are choices to be made.<br /><br />The size of the game map is tied in to one of two styles. The first (original) style was a game where you played, learned the map, learned the puzzles, hit Game Over and started again. Each time you'd get a bit better, know where to go and what to do to progress. The Zillion model. The second style is where you have save points and progress just by getting a bit further each time you play, without having to repeat the puzzles or areas each time. The Metroid model.<br /><br />There's something to be said for each model. Zillion-style is more traditional and can mean a tighter, more challenging game with a smaller game map (as it has to be practical to complete the game in one session once you know what you're doing). Metroid-style means satisfaction by constant progression, more of an adventure feel but requires a much larger game map as you don't get the 'replay' value of a die-and-start-again Zillion style. Another aspect of the Metroid model is that it seems fairer to most skill levels, less repetitive and easier to balance.<br /><br />I'm currently considering doubling the game map (to over 200 screens) and choosing the save-driven Metroid style. What do you think?sunteam_paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16028786819570268073noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1369911873235834581.post-63170149808144796492014-03-04T19:12:00.000+00:002014-03-04T19:12:40.493+00:00Graphics and GravityOne the the first things that happens when you start a new game is that you form a mental image of what it's going to look like. Obviously, the plan for Grelox was a straight out retro design, but nailing down the details can be a difficult, and ongoing process.<br /><br />For starters, what kind of retro do you go for? C64? NES? PC Engine? Super Nintendo? Arcades of the late 80s? The choices are many and varied, and you are constantly re-evaluating the details. When you pick a specific look, it's very easy to accidentally make the graphics 'too good' for that look. Use too many colours, too much shading and you end up with something disjointed and uneven. <br /><br />Yesterday I came across a minor crisis. After quickly mapping out some of the 'organic' area, I went back to draw in some background detail. The vision was to make the backdrops subtle but effective, so I set about making a nice rocky wall with cracks that you can see through to distant caverns. But despite it beginning to take shape, something was making me feel uncomfortable about it, and I think it's all down to emotion.<br /><br />There are several core concepts to the feel of the game, but one of them is that I want it to stir up the memories of playing those vast, multi-screen arcade adventures on the ZX Spectrum. Comparing the look of the map with and without the background texture, there is something almost pure about the empty blackness that is very evocative of that era (while the art itself remains more advanced in style). So I had a chat with Andrew and we decided, for the moment at least, that this is the way we'll head. For me, that memory of old 8-bit games gives me a strong wash of nostalgia, and I hope that others may find this the case too.<br /><br />Of course, everything is subject to change.<br /><br />On the programming front, Andrew is still beavering away at finishing Atlantean for PCE Engine / TG-16. But I can show you the very first little buds of what will eventually become Grelox. It's not pretty and it doesn't work right, but this is what the birth of a game engine looks like. Jumping is extremely wonky at this stage, but Andrew has the idea of reversing gravity to produce a better jumping/falling system. You never know, reverse-gravity rooms may even be workable in the game, don't you just love those?<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FHe9t9FBPBE/UxYlcY-zpPI/AAAAAAAAAUk/WJSq3DrvscM/s1600/Grelox-testroom1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FHe9t9FBPBE/UxYlcY-zpPI/AAAAAAAAAUk/WJSq3DrvscM/s1600/Grelox-testroom1.jpg" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />sunteam_paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16028786819570268073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1369911873235834581.post-56653683423454640972014-02-22T11:26:00.001+00:002014-07-06T16:55:18.380+01:00Death of a PC Engine GameIt's always a really hard decision to close the door on something that you've spent an awful lot of time with - any project you work on seeps into everything you do as in the back of your mind, you're always trying to plan game mechanics, plot details, how things will look or clever puzzles to include. It becomes part of your everyday routine, not to mention the evenings spent sitting in front of a monitor mapping or drawing tiles and sprites worthy of inclusion.<br />
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After 2 years of planning, Apothecary for PC Engine is no more.<br />
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Apothecary was the forerunner to what Grelox will become - an arcade adventure using item puzzles as a form of game progression. It was always simpler than Grelox, as I designed it with my mind firmly on making it as easy to program as possible without sacrificing too much gameplay (and so there was no attacking, only dodging, no bosses and no scrolling!).<br />
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So why is it being put to sleep? It's all a case of timescales. From inception, Atlantean (our almost-finished PC Engine project) will be coming in at about 3 years development time, and that's for a simple Defender style shooter. Apothecary has already been in development for 2 years, and that's without a single line of code being written. It was due to be started after completion of our 'Jungle Hunt' and 'Joust' projects, which means it probably wouldn't see the light of day for a long time. PC Engine development is fun and exciting, but it's also very, very hard and slow. With just 2 people working on a game as ambitious as this, it's just depressing to think about. <br />
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That's why once day I realised that pursuing Apothecary any further was going to be more hassle than it's worth (i.e. I'd probably be dead from old age before it gets finished). While the plot, puzzles and other elements will be lost, at the very least I can salvage some of the map layouts and don't be surprised if a few of the background tiles turn up in Grelox, which promises to be a much faster development period due to the tools we have at our disposal.<br />
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So here I present a collection of images for Apothecary, the PC Engine game that never was.<br />
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A sample of proposed cover art and potential advert/poster design:<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-elAxsF97zeA/UwiHkPXopmI/AAAAAAAAATI/kg0Ijx34IfQ/s1600/Apothecary-cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-elAxsF97zeA/UwiHkPXopmI/AAAAAAAAATI/kg0Ijx34IfQ/s1600/Apothecary-cover.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UjqP8u4w-Zg/UwiHmQ9DFpI/AAAAAAAAATQ/aR2eYrTS0f4/s1600/Apothecary-poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UjqP8u4w-Zg/UwiHmQ9DFpI/AAAAAAAAATQ/aR2eYrTS0f4/s1600/Apothecary-poster.jpg" height="400" width="284" /></a></div>
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Animation for our main character, Amirella. She's a bit nudey because the game was planned as a sister project to Inferno, which had a slightly nudey man in it.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SPaG2aYPFwo/UwiHuGJWlOI/AAAAAAAAATY/36mxjXxKku4/s1600/Apothecary-walking-animation.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SPaG2aYPFwo/UwiHuGJWlOI/AAAAAAAAATY/36mxjXxKku4/s1600/Apothecary-walking-animation.gif" /></a></div>
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Game screen mockups:<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--jVzLoUphi0/UwiIS5pjPkI/AAAAAAAAATo/bZECLa5QbeM/s1600/Apothecary-screen1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--jVzLoUphi0/UwiIS5pjPkI/AAAAAAAAATo/bZECLa5QbeM/s1600/Apothecary-screen1.png" /></a></div>
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An early concept for the Title Screen:<br />
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<br />sunteam_paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16028786819570268073noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1369911873235834581.post-23630636765132056922014-02-15T09:25:00.000+00:002014-02-15T09:25:00.290+00:00What's in a name?So where did the name Grelox come from? Well it has a long history. Back when I was at school (around 1988/9 perhaps) a group of friends and myself decided to make a fanzine reviewing video games (mostly imports). These were the days where you had to physically photocopy actual paper and staple it together to pass around information.<br /><br />Well I can't remember us ever finishing a single issue, or if it even got past the initial planning stage, but we did come up with a name: Grelox. It stood for Games Reviewed Every Lunar Occidental Xenith (which despite the fact we had to spell Zenith wrong, means every month. At least we thought it did, you might have to ask an astronomer to confirm).<br /><br />More recently, when Grelox began to be discussed, it was a combination of various games, mixing in another of our projects (called Apothecary). So for a while we were referring to it as 'Apothezilliontroid', 'Zillipothecaroid' 'Metrionecaryvania' as so on. This was beginning to get hard to type, so I decided to codename it Grelox as that just popped into my head. The name stuck.<br /><br />So Grelox has quite a long history as a name. I'm glad it's finally getting used for something.sunteam_paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16028786819570268073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1369911873235834581.post-58665479027009119792014-01-23T22:12:00.000+00:002014-01-23T22:13:53.297+00:00Chasing (well, designing) AmyYes folks, our main character is called Amy and she's a girl. <br />
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The sprite design has gone through a long history. For most of its life, it was intended for use in a PC Engine game and began as the concept sprite below.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-G0tDEgZ4IvU/UuGSri-8NEI/AAAAAAAAARU/twqhfsfh8hs/s1600/Sprite+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-G0tDEgZ4IvU/UuGSri-8NEI/AAAAAAAAARU/twqhfsfh8hs/s1600/Sprite+1.png" /></a></div>
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Then followed a bit of animation testing.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cTKXoqvTIJk/UuGS1bjIExI/AAAAAAAAARc/c_m0QMIbFGc/s1600/Sprite+2.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cTKXoqvTIJk/UuGS1bjIExI/AAAAAAAAARc/c_m0QMIbFGc/s1600/Sprite+2.gif" /></a></div>
I then spent some time completely re-imagining her in a cute style, to
match the feel of the Bonk/PC Genjin sprite on the TG-16/PC Engine. This
one I'm still quite happy with, maybe I can use her someday.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dRmEyEZOmHQ/UuGS1dDW-0I/AAAAAAAAARg/pGmkSWHj6ns/s1600/Sprite+3.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dRmEyEZOmHQ/UuGS1dDW-0I/AAAAAAAAARg/pGmkSWHj6ns/s1600/Sprite+3.gif" /></a></div>
When Grelox finally became a real 'thing' I forgot the old Amy and tried
some experiments that didn't get very far. You can see from the roughs
below that I was trying to get some kind of helmet design that was
unusual and unique, but it just wasn't working. <br />
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So, as I should have done to start with, I sketched out a proper concept
for her suit, which drew heavily from the old Amy with some cyberpunk
influences. <br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KDRKcG_NV-0/UuGS2I2Z2pI/AAAAAAAAAR0/YcT5SV2mQVo/s1600/Sprite+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KDRKcG_NV-0/UuGS2I2Z2pI/AAAAAAAAAR0/YcT5SV2mQVo/s1600/Sprite+5.jpg" /></a></div>
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This led to a taller sprite which just didn't look right. So I
squished her down and somehow it all clicked into place. Amy was born. <br />
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<br />sunteam_paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16028786819570268073noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1369911873235834581.post-54284980412043652952014-01-18T18:13:00.000+00:002014-01-18T18:13:18.317+00:00Grelox - The LogoI both like and hate designing logos. The end result can be quite rewarding, but too often you spend hours just scrolling through pages of fonts looking for something that jumps out at you. Which is what happened with Grelox, and by the end I was bored and no nearer to discovering that truly perfect font.<br />
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So I gave up and decided to draw it out manually. In my head I wanted the logo to harken back to the 80s, much as the game itself does. I had a look at some Heavy Metal album covers for inspiration and also always had something like Robocop on my mind, as I love that classic look. So, not being too skilled at curves, I drew out some straight edged lettering in Illustrator, then took it into Photoshop for some time consuming work, all to make it look intentionally dated.<br />
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What I ended up with was a nice bevelled logo that looked straight out of a 1980's Spectrum game advert. And with some consultation with Andrew on colour variations, we finally settled on the deep purple and pink, matching our main character's outfit perfectly.<br />
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So here it is:<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eZqlIoKxw7w/UtrEAhuX9zI/AAAAAAAAAQ0/_zZt4HBnt7w/s1600/Grelox+Logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eZqlIoKxw7w/UtrEAhuX9zI/AAAAAAAAAQ0/_zZt4HBnt7w/s1600/Grelox+Logo.png" /></a></div>
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And you can see a bigger version on the Grelox page on Aetherbyte <a href="http://aetherbyte.com/aetherbyte-Grelox.html" target="_blank">HERE</a> where I think it looks a bit nicer.sunteam_paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16028786819570268073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1369911873235834581.post-38415672808285014192014-01-10T19:57:00.000+00:002014-01-10T19:57:21.438+00:00The Road to GreloxThe genesis of Grelox was in early 2011 when I wanted to do a Metroidvania style game for the PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16. Like most people, I found Super Metroid and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night truly influential when they were released and they still mark a pinnacle of a certain type of game design. However, it soon became apparent that this would be quite a difficult and lengthy project, especially given the very limited time that homebrew developers have to spend (and on top of that there were many other games that were already waiting in the queue to be made). <br /><br />While programming on other projects was underway, I began messing around with some sci-fi based graphics for fun, which eventually led on to a more straightforward platformer design. I envisioned a futuristic Bonk's Adventure/PC Genjin where, as well as completing levels in a linear fashion, you could have several optional goals (like the Mario-esque collecting 5 red coins or finding particularly tricky hidden objects buried in the maps). It would also involve levels having multiple paths - one normal and one a real challenge. All this was considered to increase replay value and longevity. This idea sat stewing for some time.<br /><br />After going back and playing some old 8-bit titles like Draconus, I went back to my Metroidvania idea, but with the focus on a designing a game for a short development period. This project, which for the moment must remain secret, had a more dark, fantasy tone - meant as a companion to Aetherbyte's MSX platformer Inferno. Without compromising fun, I had to look at this from the programming standpoint. Cutting out things like attacks, complex enemy AI and even scrolling could mean cutting the development time significantly. But development on old hardware can be painfully slow, and even so it could be another few years before we could get our teeth into this game.<br /><br />With Andrew learning the ropes in Unity, we decided it was worth leapfrogging the project over to the PC - taking the best core elements from the game design (such as the puzzle system), the original sci-fi theme and adding more action and adventure. The flexibility of PC development means that we can still create a retro themed action adventure, but we can now do it quicker and with more flair and deliver a far more compelling finished game. I'm really excited for our plans.<br /><br />LATEST DEVELOPMENT STATUS: Basic mapping is pretty much done. Working on art for the initial rooms. I plan make simple, block-layout maps for most of the rooms so we can have something to test the room design before dropping in finished graphics.sunteam_paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16028786819570268073noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1369911873235834581.post-8496623812266005312014-01-06T21:11:00.000+00:002014-01-06T21:14:17.271+00:00Grelox - Initial Gameplay DetailsSo let's get down to it and give you some details of what kind of game to expect. I think it can be best summed up with the following screenshots:<br />
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So what this boils down to is a classic-style action adventure (with some puzzles to be solved). Gameplay will take place on a large map, with each screen representing a room to be navigated and explored. The game is not linear, but will require you to seek out both new and old rooms to complete your tasks. There will be items to pick up and use, as well as a variety of power-ups that may help you access new areas.<br />
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That's all I'm willing to give away for now - I'm currently working on the master map for the game and trying to pin down the best locations for items, bosses and power-ups.<br />
<br />sunteam_paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16028786819570268073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1369911873235834581.post-3581091624388364422014-01-04T18:08:00.000+00:002014-01-04T18:08:27.478+00:00Grelox!For the first entry in this blog, I felt it best to start off with a new announcement. <br /><br />At Aetherbyte, we are beginning work on a new project. Although much of our current and previous work revolves around creating new software for old hardware, we've also decided to create new software for new hardware that just looks like new software for old hardware, if you get my meaning...<br /><br />If not, don't worry. All it means is that we are working on a retro-styled game for the PC. The game is called<b> Grelox</b> and through this blog I hope to share insights on the development from the early stages to completion. I am primarily drawing the art, writing the story, designing the maps and gameplay - the programming, music, sounds and further design will be done by Aetherbyte's founder, Andrew (AKA Arkhan).<br /><br />Grelox is an arcade-adventure and is in the very early stages of design (in some respects - from another point of view it has been in planning for years, but more on that later) but hopefully soon I will be able to share more details of gameplay and some initial graphics. It's being programmed in Unity which offers us greater flexibility than we are used to and also means progress should be a lot faster than our other projects.<br /><br />If you want to keep up to date with news, subscribe to this blog or follow me on Twitter (@sunteam) or Facebook where I will post new blog entries as they become available.<br /><br />In the meantime, welcome to the blog and here's a preview of Grelox's main sprite to get things started.<br />
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<br />sunteam_paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16028786819570268073noreply@blogger.com1