Meh, haven't been around much as of late. But I won't give alx the satisfaction of using "I'm going to go lie down now" as yet another epitaph. Kind of hard finding time for internet escapism when school kicks in, what with courses like assembly language and data structures eating up large portions of my brain. For once I don't have a lot to say. So as a happy consolation I'll entertain the whole three of you that will read this with screen shots from the game I'm working on for school:
Answers to questions that I know will be asked:
Did you really make this, and if so are you on your own on this one?
It's a group project, and I've been designated level design guy, so it was me that crafted the map. And for once I actually ended up with a relatively talented group of lads. I only have to threaten swift death on a bi-weekly basis.
Why are you the level designer?
Because as a group we're a little weak in the graphics department and I agreed to fill in for whatever was necessary. I'm new to this sort of thing and as such it's far from perfect. On the plus side it's the digital equivalent of playing in a sandbox and as such is very good for my ego. (I've found myself screaming at my computer "Bow to my will electronic slave" every time something looks just right.)
Why does everything look like it belongs in Tribes?
Because we're using the same game engine. I'll admit it, I paid for a license for the Torque Game Engine. It's what the ****is being taught to and it's well-coded and stable, which is nice because I've had to deal with some weird stuff while dealing with open source engines. Also they included the source code for the engine. The engine is written in C++, the language I'm most familiar with, and as such I am quite capable of altering it to suit my needs. Which as part of the license I'm allowed to do. Though, for now I'll let things more or less be. I'm actually getting graded for what I produce and accordingly I need it to be running smoothly. On the other hand that's why the Computer Gods gave us DVD burners, so we'll see.
What can you tell us about this game?
At present it's some sort of nameless RPG set on an island, (I'm lazy and don't feel like building up an entire planet of material, besides I only have fifteen weeks to work on this). It's your basic sword and sorcery fare. I know, highly original, but a game such as this has some merits. For one we don't have to be as thorough with collision detection as we would in an action game; ala DMC, pallete swaps for enemies and equipment are pretty standard, even among the industry and pretty much anyone can figure it out. Basically RPGs allow for some shortcuts, not that I'm wanting to put out anything half-assed, it's just that realistically (even with Google Groups) getting together and exchanging our work is difficult. It was more important for us to a complete game at the end of the semester rather than a gimmicky one. That and at the onset of this project we sat down and talked about the kinds of games we all like, to get ideas, and RPG was something we all agreed on.
What's up with the blue guy in all the shots?
He's a place-holder for the player controlled character. I like to include him in screenshots because it provides a sense of scale. And while I'm at it, the red lines near the mountain area marks the edge of the world.
What sort of software are you using?
Torque comes with it's own editors so I'm using those for the landscape stuff. But for interior stuff and environmental objects; trees, bushes, severed hands... I'm using Blender, its an open source alternative to 3DS Max. It's a little intimidating at first but with a little experimentation it isn't insurmountable. And besides, it's well documented online. If you're interested at all in 3D graphics you should give it a Google.
...and to think I said that I didn't have a lot to say. Whatever, I'll post more updates when and if I feel like it. Until then, take care my faceless internet phantasms.
-Chet
Comments
No epitath?
Well, I can just say you're off playing god, building worlds and all that stuff.Interesting. So, the textures were premade? Still, looks nice.
I'm probably not one of the three people you were expecting, was I?
Haha, I'm loving the self-reflexive interview. In the second pic though, the mountains look ridiculously treacherous, and by that I mean skinny and spiky anything but sturdy.
Games sounds/looks pretty sweet though.
@ Alx- I guess my presence is somehow intrinsically connected with the Guild... spooky. Yeah, the textures I used were pre-made, they came with the engine and look well enough. If I need more there's always my trusty camera and GIMP to the rescue.
@ Vaton- you think can anticipate my thoughts? A dangerous assumption indeed. *harumph, harumph* Relatively speaking this game engine is not so bad. It's pretty robust and can handle a few tweaks. The other ones I worked with were open-source, now I'm a big fan of that sort of thing, but only if it's well documented. The problem I had with those engines is that programmer types tend to assume that others, especially other programmers, know what the hell they're talking about. Lord only knows what they were thinking when they coded some of the messes I've seen. Children, if you're going to program, comment your code. Also a basic grasp of the English language would be nice.
@ Vici- wouldn't you know that I was good at talking to myself. As for the mountains, believe it or not the little blue man in the shots can actually climb those; the default settings allow him to do so. Going to have to fix that at some point.
@ Vici- totally, he needs a fan-club. We could call it... wait for it... The Blue Man Group.
And that reference reminds me of Arrested Development more than anything else.
@ Vici- That would imply cleverness on my part.
These pictures you have, are they.....from the other side?
skine99