I forgot to mention it here, but I posted a video tutorial some weeks ago about how exactly I make 2D animation in 3D games, such as in “Drew and the Floating Labyrinth.”
I didn’t think this tutorial was necessary, but some people have asked for one, so I planned to make one for some time now. Sorry it took so long.
Also, I apologize for my quiet and stammering voice, I never was a good public speaker.
Warning: I am a indie game developer and an artist by hobby only. Therefore, your requirements may differ depending on usage.
No doubt you’ve seen many reviews and previews of the Microsoft Surface Pro 3 tablet, which Microsoft claims to be the “true” laptop killer (which they’ve said for versions 2 and 1 as well). I’ve been tempted to buy one… who wouldn’t be interested in a tablet that can do everything your computer can? I remember making fun of the original iPad as a oversized-iPhone, only to realize that the larger touchscreen was the perfect device for note-taking and digital sketching. As an artist-wannabe, that meant something. But the only issues with the iPad were that it didn’t have USB connections, and that the OS itself was different (therefore, not compatible with any software I need to use). In fact, given the iPad’s relatively affordable price, I wouldn’t be surprised if Apple ditches the iMac one day for a “professional” iPad to appeal to more consumers.
So the Surface Pro seemed like a great thing. It was a professional tablet with full Windows OS, and unlike most other tablet-PC’s, it came with a pen stylus and a decent processor and other specs, making it a true replacement hardware-wise for your PC. I was torn between the Surface Pro 1 (nice price), Surface Pro 2 (Wacom-pen with latest improvements to tablet), or the new Surface Pro 3 (even more new improvements). I eventually took advantage of Microsoft’s student offer and got a i3-Surface Pro 3 for about $700 (plus tax). Here are my thoughts after a few weeks.
As I stand here at midnight at the top of the Seattle Space Needle, looking out at the beautiful city, abuzz with concerts, performers, and geeks, I think about all the crazy stuff that’s happened.
“Drew and the Floating Labyrinth” ended it’s Kickstarter as a failure, earning even less than “James – Journey of Existence” did, by both backers and pledge amount (although the pledge amount was almost matched), which I may never fully understand.
I’m happy to announce that “Drew and the Floating Labyrinth,” my hand-drawn 3D puzzle platformer, is just about complete.
And you didn’t think I could do it! Well… ok, I didn’t think I could do it. I said months ago that this would be finished in August 2014. I hoped to get it done a few weeks ago, but even now, it looks likely to get released just before September.
It’s been a long time since I did a blog post. Which, really, is how it should be, I made way too many posts before. Again, this is because I am very busy finishing “Drew and the Floating Labyrinth,” which I planned for completion in August (next month).
It’s been a bit over 30 days since the hand-drawn 3D puzzle platformer has been on Steam Greenlight. It’s made some progress, although the biggest jumps it makes to the top 100 games comes every two weeks when Steam greenlight’s a giant batch of games. It’s nice to get those popular games, some of which have been there for a long time, out of the way, but it’s not exactly how I hoped to get my game passed. And I’m still confused as to exactly how Steam compares games to be in the “top 100,” as I expect it isn’t just number of visitors or number of “up” votes. Anywho, if you haven’t yet given the page a look, progress has slowed to a crawl, and I’d appreciate a visitor and a vote, either yes or no: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=268645572
