It works. It looks good. i don't know if i'd call it an improvement, since i didn't think there was anything wrong with the way he looked before, though.
I've managed to make a workable (not by any means decent) walk animation for up and down. Left and right still need to be worked on. Also, RPG Maker's being a bit finicky with uploading the sprite sheet. The down sprites (i.e. the first row of sprites) are fine, but the other ones have some issues with clipping. Aaaand, they're mixed up (left button brings up the up sprites, up button brings up the right sprites, right button brings up the left sprites). This probably has to do with the row order, but I'm not sure exactly how to fix it.
I've also written out the entirety of the first scene, and planned out most of the next one. Starting to figure out what's the Jester's deal.
I've come to accept that the original vision is to complex to be represented with my current art skills. Besides that, I grow tired of the Mako-Style hat-coat combo. It would still look cool, but it's too overdramatic, so to speak. Or, to use other terms, it's cool and tough-looking in the same way that wozzhisname from Gurren Lagann is. "Believe in me who believes in you" and all that. The Girl's supposed to be cool and tough-looking in the way that--Kamina, that's his name-- in the way that someone from the Wire or sommat looks. The kind of person that, while not out of place in the average high school, one wouldn't want to meet in an alleyway.
The white pixels at the end of her arms are supposed to be gloves or boxing tape.
I wonder how it would look with one more pixel to the middle grey stripe (back view, version with five grey stripes) at the bottom of that stripe. Also, maybe the same with the black stripes on either side of that middle black stripe.
I'm trying to imagine if it would make the hair look less even and thus more like it follows a curve of a head; or if it would cover the neck-meeting-head part too much.
I also wonder if on that same view if (another idea) you removed the bottom pixel from the outermost grey stripes and maybe did the same to the black stripes that are edgemost of the four black hair stripes. I wonder how that would look.
I understand that you're trying to give the impression of cornrows but it sorta looks like she's wearing some kind of helmet.
I know, right? I've been toying with it all weekend and I can't get it to not look like a helmet. I've kind of accepted it.
Tried to add some variety to the hair on the backsprite (is that what you're supposed to call it? I feel like there's this whole terminology for spritemaking that I'm lacking here). Also spontaneously decided to make the face narrow on the outer ones, just for kicks.
The first tier is Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic and Tactile. These are the types of damage that can be dealt. You could compare it to the differentiation between Blunt, Blade and Bow in Oblivion, or the differentiation between Attack and Special Attack in Pokemon. Tactile is the type dealt by any attack that involves physical contact, like the basic attack function. Auditory is dealt through yells, screams, lectures, monologues, whispered secrets and loud noises--generally deals the most damage. Visual is dealt when one sees something horrible--likely to cause stat debuffs. Kinesthetic involves forcing the target to hurt themselves, either through intimidation or force of personality--deals relatively little damage, but likely to inflict status effects and create/aggravate weaknesses to damage types/elements
The second tier is Pathos, Logos and Ethos. These form the elements. Pathos deals with emotions, Logos deals with logic and ethos deals with authority.
Alright, we have standing sprites in all directions for all playable characters. I have a couple of skills for each character. And I've finished the first scene, at least, as well as I can with the trial version.
Next step's level design, I suppose. The correct step should probably be to draw up some sprites, but I think I'm going to use the defaults for now. Level design, like spritework, isn't exactly one of my strong suits. Diving straight in with little preparation worked well enough for sprites. Might as well try it again.
Reduce hairline on backsprite so it matches up with the hair on the front sprite.
Consider removing the hands or relocating them to her sides.
Increase lightness of skintone.
Storyliner Notes: Seer
At this point, I'm questioning whether I've been doing her character wrong this entire time. I've been trying to fit her into the current story scheme and no matter what I do, she's thematically incompatible. A Seer knows too much, and the story relies on everyone knowing little to nothing about everything. Except the Jester, who knows slightly more than that.
I'm thinking of changing her to the Ghost, since she's visually inspired by Japanese horror culture already. There were already elements of that contaminating the Seer anyways. Better to throw out the Seer entirely and focus on her connection to the supernatural. Wouldn't have to change her moveset either. Might actually work better.
We've reached a consensus. The Seer is now The Eidolon, a Greek term that's a cross between a ghost and a doppelgaenger. She is, effectively, cosplaying as every Japanese horror trope that exists, has existed, or will exist in the future. Instead of being able to freak enemies out by telling their futures, she freaks them out by pretending to do stuff like, say, shoot blood out of her eyes or steal souls. It's one of those "Your Mind Makes It Real" sort of things.
I'm actually quite happy with her. The change also allows her to do more physical damage without it being out of character, which will balance out the early-game team.
While I have gotten significant progress in the making of School Theatre, it's become clear to me that merging my homemade graphics with existing tilesets will be...difficult. In addition, there's a lot that I need to learn about scripting. As such, I'm taking Mo's advice from days long past and I'm shelving School Theatre for now and I'll be working on a less obtrusively script-heavy game in order to hone my skills.
In it's place, I'm now working on...Izzet Theatre! Yes, everybody's favorite guild from Magic The Gathering's Ravnica (at least, it should be your favorite guild -judges you silently-) is now going to be the focus of it's own RPG Maker game, taking place after the events of Dragon's Maze. When a run-of-the-mill Izzet Guildmage gets tangled up in a Planeswalker's conspiracy, who knows what the end will be?!
And we'll be featuring character designs from Game Character Hub. That's right, ladies: we're relying on pre-made graphics so that a demo might actually be possible before the summer ends!
Everything for Izzet is either going to be outright stolen or based on existing sprites and slightly manipulated to meet my means. Pretty much all of Naya was just proper choice of sprite overlays. All I did was alter the colors to fit my means (which, while not exactly easy, isn't comparable to the difficulty of my old work).
I am learning more about character proportions, which will be useful whenever I get back to School Theatre.
So, I'm trying to figure out whether I'm going to try and revamp the battle system.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with MTG and are following this, well, first of all, I thank you for putting up with this. Anyway, in the Magic universe, all spells (except for the occasional 0-cost creature like Orinthopter) are powered by mana, which is drawn from the appropriate land-source (green mana from forests, black mana from swamps, etc.). Magic players, in the context of the game, are planeswalkers who are able to siphon mana from across multiple planes of existence. However, Elkas and Natya aren't uber-powerful planeswalkers. They're just a regular mage and his goblin assistant, and there's not a lot of information on how mana works for the hoi polloi.
There's also the fact that I want to try and incorporate the five different colors of mana, which is difficult because RPG Maker only has two variables that I could possibly use for them.
I have an idea that's kind of based on the DnD sorcerer. Each turn, you add a level counter to each actor on their turn, and the number of level counters dictates what spells they can cast. If Elkas has two counters, for example, he can just cast Lightning Bolt and Unsummon. If he has seven counters, he can cast stuff like Inferno and Time Reversal. And the spells you have and the number of times you can cast them is based on your level, and you can use certain spells to screw with the opponent's counters or recast spells that you've already exhausted.
Of course, I have no idea how to code any of that.
This is honestly the only thing I want to deliberate on with this game.
It may just be a trial game that I'm using to hone my skills, with graphics scooped out of a can and whatnot, but it's a trial game about Magic the Gathering, and it appears to be the only one of its kind, so I have to 'try' and make it as good as possible without putting special effort into it
Remember back in the 50s when they'd record like Elvis singing YOU AIN'T NOTHIN BUT A HOUND DOG and then they'd turn the record over and reverse it and it was all NYERP NYERP NYERP NYERP NYERP and people were all like, "That is actually the voice of Satan coming from that song."
I like this idea. I like it a lot. Presumably each character would have their own individual spell bank, in this case? I don't know why I'm calling it a bank; it just sounds right.
Or never mind, I completely misinterpreted. Herp derp
I like this idea. I like it a lot. Presumably each character would have their own individual spell bank, in this case? I don't know why I'm calling it a bank; it just sounds right.
Spell bank it is then. And yes, essentially.
They'd technically be specific spell banks for each class, but with 10 different guilds to pick characters from, I doubt I'm going to do repeats.
More people have said that and been killed than there are thorium decay products.
There should be procedurally generated mazes, trap chests, death by teleporting inside walls, thieves that can steal vital story items and permanently disappear with them, wrong choices that will stop the game from advancing, boss enemies that can wipe out the player/party with a single action, insta-death spells, enemies that replicate themselves, invisible passages, fake walls, and absolutely no save points of any kind. :3
More people have said that and been killed than there are thorium decay products.
ah, for good measure, include identical intersections with rotating tiles, and dark floors with minefields that only have a narrow, invisible path through them! :D
Remember back in the 50s when they'd record like Elvis singing YOU AIN'T NOTHIN BUT A HOUND DOG and then they'd turn the record over and reverse it and it was all NYERP NYERP NYERP NYERP NYERP and people were all like, "That is actually the voice of Satan coming from that song."
I get the feeling that this is a reference to several games, and more than one of them are Shin Megami Tenseis.
Comments
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
I like the clothes on this one.
ON
The front view looks slightly weird, the skin-showing part looks a bit like an electric plug. The back view is fine.
On
The front view is good, and the back view is okay.
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
I'm trying to imagine if it would make the hair look less even and thus more like it follows a curve of a head; or if it would cover the neck-meeting-head part too much.
I also wonder if on that same view if (another idea) you removed the bottom pixel from the outermost grey stripes and maybe did the same to the black stripes that are edgemost of the four black hair stripes. I wonder how that would look.
It's just, the hair line looks even and straight.
I understand that you're trying to give the impression of cornrows but it sorta looks like she's wearing some kind of helmet.
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead