It's June?!?

Goodness, it seems I've gone back to being a month between postings. :(

I could say I've been pretty busy with work, but as much as it's a valid excuse, I still feel like I've neglected the blog a bit. So, I'm going to try and go back to a more frequent (and regular!) schedule.

Since I've had almost no time to work on my projects, I spent a little time going through my notebooks and game dev papers to find something interesting to talk about. And I found a list of game ideas that I really want to create. I still found them interesting and motivating, so when I do get to finish TUAH and Starlight, one of these just may be the next on the list.

Ghost Hunter (needs a better title)
Genre:
Adventure, Puzzle, Single Character
Story:
Your close friend has inherited an ancient mansion, but it's come riddled with dangerous (and deadly!) ghosts. As a talented young ghost hunter, it's your job to get rid of the ghosts and send them to the Great Beyond. But is it really possible that one single mansion is the epicenter of so much ghostly activity? Or is there something more nefarious in the works?
Comments:
I wanted to create a game that has a smaller scope and a more limited setting. The entire game happens in the mansion and its immediate surrounding (garden, cemetery, stables, chapel). It's loosely based on the many awesome point-and-click adventures I've played over the years - and that's my favorite game genre.

Albeon: Marigold's Story
Genre:
Adventure, RPG
Story:
As the middle child of a family of 12, Marigold feels ignored and invisible to her family. After having a fight with her family, she makes a wish that she were the only child. The next morning, it comes true. But being an only child is not as great as Marigold thought, and she decides to go on a inter-dimensional quest to find her brothers and sisters.
Comments:
This is a light-hearted RPG that basically deals with family dynamics and the classic question of whether the grass is really greener on the other side. It appeals to me because it's not about saving the world (though that's also fun to do from time to time), and also because this game takes place in a very elaborate world that I created a long time ago. I've got another dozen ideas for games that happen in Albeon.

Oracle
Genre:
Adventure
Story:
In the 2649, it's illegal to be a fortune-teller or a psychic of any sort. When Cassie has a premonition that a horrible accident will destroy her school, she's torn between warning everyone and hiding her psychic talent. With the help of her childhood friend, Hayden, Cassie is going to have to make some hard choices.
Comments:
There are two things that are amazing about this idea. The first is that it's futuristic. And there's a lot of really interesting concepts I'm hoping to introduce in terms of society, technology and general futuristic life. The second is that there's a really awesome artist that's making the main character portraits for me.


Out of all of these, I think Oracle is the most likely to be the next in line. But I've still got little bits of inspiration poking me to make the other two projects, too.

Do you have any preferences?

Project to check out

Due to illness, I haven't been able to do a whole lot of work or a whole lot of updating. I'm doing better now, health-wise, but I'm still required to rest and take it easy for a short while longer. I have an appointment tomorrow, so I hope to have more information then (not to mention a better posting schedule).

In the mean time, I want to encourage you all to check out an awesome project by two of my friends:
X-Noir

I've known Volrath and Artbane for quite a while now, and they've always amazed me with their abilities when it comes to RPG Maker and game design in general. The things they do with writing and puzzles continue to blow me away. X-Noir also features custom art from Ronove, another close friend of whose artistic talents I'm totally jealous of.

Give X-Noir a try, and more importantly, give Volrath and Artbane some feedback. :)

Guide for getting your request filled

I get a lot of requests from people, and I'm often asked why some requests are filled and others not. So, here's your guide to getting a custom-created resource:

 - Make it yourself -

Even if it looks absolutely terrible, try making it yourself. Show that you're willing to spend time on making the resource you need. More times than not, an artist will help you improve your attempt or provide you with a better version.

 - Prioritize -

I often see request threads asking for 10 characters + faces + poses. You don't NEED 20 original and fully custom characters. Yes, it would be nice of you had a custom cast for your game, but it's not going to completely ruin your game if you don't get them right away.

Think about what's important. Your main character is someone that the player will see through the entire game. You should aim for a custom main character and you can make a request thread for that main character. The rest of your cast can be just a little less special.

This point is especially important when it comes to tiles. If I see a request for “sci-fi tileset”, I don't consider doing it. Not because the request is boring, but because a full tileset is months of work and there's no guarantee you'll even be working on that game anymore.

Instead, ask for something that's really essential. For example, one of the requests I filled was for a large standing radio/jukebox. It was only one tile, but it was important to the user's game. I had no problems filling that request.

 - Use placeholders -

One of the things that a lot of artists don't like to see/hear is “Please help me! I can't continue my game without this!!!”

Well, actually, yes you can. And you should. Your game development shouldn't be dependent on whether an artist is feeling generous or inspired at this particular time. Music and visual resources are things that you can replace with relative ease. But things like events, database or general game progression aren't.

Don't use a lack of custom art as an excuse to slack off. Keep working on your game.

 - Settle for less -

It would, of course, be fantastic if you had the best artists on the net making your custom resources. But it's very rare that they'll actually have time to do so. And you also have to remember that regardless of who is making your resource, their efforts are using time and energy. Even if the result is not perfect, please make sure you thank anyone that attempted to help.

What artists hate to see is “No offense, but that's not good enough.” It makes you look like an entitled jerk, and it potentially damages any relationship you had with the artist that tried to help. Thing is, people get better with practice. Maybe a few months down the line, that artist that helped you will see you using their resource and remake it into something better. I've done this several times, myself.

And lower your standards. Really. If the resource looks okay or it can be modified to look okay, use it.

 - Be willing to pay -

Paying for a resource is not a guarantee that you'll get it filled, but it could very well be the deciding factor. Saying that you are willing to pay for a resource is saying that you know the artist's time is valuable, and that you respect that.

But what do you do when you don't have money to spend on a resource? Well, try to find a way to make some. Here are a few possible sources of income:

• Day Temp jobs through a temp agency. These types of jobs are extremely short-term (think a few hours of work) and they don't pay much. However, they would give you just enough cash to pay an artist for their resource.
• Giving blood/plasma. If you're old enough, you can donate about once per month. Not only are you getting money to pay for your resource, but you're helping save someone's life.
• Save money from birthdays/holidays.
• Find a chore or small job you can do for your parents/neighbors/friends/etc and have them pay you: mowing grass, raking the yard, snow shoveling, cleaning bathroom, washing windows, babysitting, etc.
• Find websites like Fiverr, where people pay you for performing, art, marketing, etc.

 - Be an active member of the community -

I cannot stress this one enough. Artists are much more likely to help people who are friends, acquaintances and generally more helpful to the community. No matter how attractive your request is, it's very rare that an artist will pick you over their friend.

If you just come in, make a request thread and never post anything but “bump”, you're basically saying that you have no interest in anyone except for what service they can provide for you. This is just a huge turn-off.

A quote

“When ego is siphoned off creativity, when creativity becomes one more thing we do, like the laundry, then it takes far less time to do it. Much of our desire for creative time has to do with our trying to coax ourselves into being in the right mood to create. We want to “feel like it,” and when we don’t, or don’t quickly, we think the solution is more time. Actually, the solution is less attention to the vagaries of mood. In short, creativity needs to become something daily, doable, and nonnegotiable, something as quotidian as breathing.
When we make a special occasion out of our art, we rob ourselves of the time we actually have. When we make a ceremony out of the right paper, the right noise level, the right pen and precise circumstance, we are actually creating many false conditions that make our art not more possible but more impossible. “I can’t think when it’s noisy” or “when the kids are home” or “when the phone’s going off.” We may not like thinking under those conditions, but we can think under them and we owe it to ourselves to learn that we can. By making our creativity nonnegotiable, we do it a little every day no matter what our mood and no matter what our judgement of our work. What we are after is the gut-level knowledge that our creativity is both doable and portable.
… The less precious we are about how and when we do our work, the more precious it can be to us. We are like parents who take their infant everywhere. The child learns to thrive in many environments, and so, too, can our brainchild, art.”

- Julia Cameron, The Sound of Paper

A very inspiring quote sent to me by a dear friend. I think this is something I need to reflect on.