Game Development Update – Animating From Scratch

It’s been several months since I wrote a proper update about my game development projects. That’s really what the purpose of this site is for, after all. So here’s an update.

I’ve been working for months on a new animation system for my next game. Unfortunately, not everything is working out smoothly…

My new 2D character in 3D... may not represent final gameplay.

My new 2D character in 3D… may not represent final gameplay.

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Who Says We Don’t Have Game Developers in Windsor?

Windsor, Ontario is known for a few things. Mostly car manufacturing and gambling at our hotspot city casino. If you live in Windsor, you probably work in one of these sectors. Windsor also has a vibrant comic book community that I hope continues to further define the city. Chances are these things define you if you live in the area for long.

Windsor also has a growing technology sector (well, the entire world does). Game developers still gravitate around Vancouver, Montreal or Vancouver to work in Canada, and living in Windsor I only knew of a couple other like-minded creatives in the area. Thankfully, directory website WEIG (Windsor-Essex Indie Games) and its related weekly meetup at Hackforge is helping bring this secluded community together. I’ll be giving a talk this month in May as its featured developer, the second of many more speakers to come.

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My Games During Black Friday + Unity3D Files For 3D Cel Animation

It’s that time of year. Black Friday eve, when North American shoppers all eagerly seek the best value for their dollar. Also, American Thanksgiving.

As expected, my two games “Unfinished – An Artist’s Lament” and “Drew and the Floating Labyrinth” are both on sale this year at only $1.94 on Steam. This sale lasts until December 1, although you can expect a certain “winter sale” to repeat these prices soon. If you don’t like Steam, both IndieGameStand and MacGameStore should have similar prices at similar times in the next week or so. This is my first time having games available on Steam during the infamous Winter Sale, I hope “Unfinished” will break its first milestone of 1,000 copies by next week.

More importantly, I’ve posted tutorial videos and given talks about my unusual technique of using 2D animation in 3D space, which I like to call “3D Cel Animation.” Many people have asked directly for the Unity3D files, and I finally got around to uploading them. You can find them on my GitHub account, which I now hope to update more often in the coming years. These files should work with Unity3D personal addition, v5.0 and higher, and contains the complex layout of perspective planes around an object with a script for the camera to determine which plane to make visible. You’ll have to do the drawings yourself, and I hope to see what other people come up with soon.

Look below to watch some of the old videos I put up to remind you of the process.

 

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Update v1.04 For “Unfinished – An Artist’s Lament”

Firstly, thanks in part to both Steam and the PWYW deal on IndieGameStand, “Unfinished – An Artist’s Lament” has broken even, recouping it’s development costs, only two months after its release date. Given that those development costs were solely for the soundtrack, perhaps that isn’t a huge feat. After the recent sale (ending in about 10 hours), I can say Steam has also sold over 600 copies of the game so far, which again is small but a good milestone for me (fingers-crossed for 1,000 sold by 2016). I sincerely thank all of you who bought the game, your support and encouragement has been kind. Anyway, I promised an update, and have finally released it. It doesn’t change much, but can still be significant to those who have already played it. The details of what is in the update (and what isn’t) can be seen below.

"Unfinished - An Artist's Lament" (v1.04): new GUI, collectables, and more

“Unfinished – An Artist’s Lament” (v1.04): new GUI, collectables, and more

 

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