Some game development updates on “Drew and the Floating Labyrinth”.

First, realized that people have different input methods with computers. It’s one of the many reasons why computers are worse than consoles to develop for, because you have no idea what the gamer has with their computer rig, even if there is potential to make a better experience on PC than anywhere else. I’ve already had gamepad and keyboard+mouse+scrollwheel made, but also updated controls to work without the scroll wheel, best for people on laptops for example. I really should consider some form of touch controls too, just in case (but won’t until the very end). I probably won’t update the demos continuously with fixes like this, but we’ll see. Thankfully, Unity3D makes it really easy to update input methods: you can “define” a input button, then define several versions with the same name, each with its own real keyboard or gamepad button. Nice.

Also tried adding more color to Drew: her red hair.

Four Test Patterns for Drew’s Red Hair

Turns out it was more complicated than I thought to make a pattern that looked good, and takes a bit more time than I thought. Not just in Photoshop, but also with lighting considered in the game environment. Because of that, I’m not asking for an opinion this time on which of these patterns are better (although I’d be happy to hear your thoughts). For the record, I’m sticking with pattern 1, the last of the four I made.

Why such a strange pattern over a solid color? Wouldn’t that take more time? On the contrary, I’m making the pattern once, and copying it for each frame. Fun fact: to keep the texture in place in Photoshop, instead of copying a section and placing it where the hair is, it is better to duplicate the entire texture layer and erasing parts you don’t use (like “masking” it). The effect will look like the color stands still while Drew animates, inspired by the incredible art of the anime “Gankutsuou – The Count of Monte Cristo.” Initial tests look good, hope it works out at the end…