Indie Dev - Blog Posts
Deer Fables: Beginnings & The Less You Know The Better
Two visual novel styled games I made last year and that are up on itch.io! Free to play ~
Been enjoying making food art for these games! Will make a post collecting the sandwich art soon, including some fun dancing sandwich gifs. If there's a way to incorporate food into any game, I'll always take it.
Here’s a few screenshots to show what the cooking game is like! You click and drag ingredients while the chef robot tells you what to do. The background in these is a color test version I did so it’s not quite final, and I’ll be updating the font and adding a robot sprite, but otherwise this is what it’ll look like.
Might not finish by the end of March, but we’ll see! If not, then I’ll keep working on it into April and get it done as soon as I can.
Fixin’ up some refreshments for a tea party
I’ve been drawing a bunch of fruits and herbs while @azaraih programs them with magic so you can drag & drop ingredients to the carafe and assemble these infused waters in our game. More kitchen fun to come!
@azaraih and I are back on our bullshit, and by bullshit I mean having a good time making games together again. Been a while since we’ve posted about game making!
Currently, we’re trying to make the smallest possible VN that still feels personally interesting for us to work on, and basically it’s turned into Awkward Lunch Conversations: The Game. Here are some sprites I’ve been making for one of the characters you can interact with in the game. Unnamed at the moment, but non-binary with they/them pronouns.
I’ll talk about the game more soon, but pretty much my thought process was “What are VNs great at? Character interactions like conversations. What’s a super small, limited character interaction you could do? Having lunch with one other person. How can I make this more interesting for me? What if you don’t actually remember who you’re meeting for lunch, and why.” And that’s pretty much how our game started. Current title is Lunch with J.
Thanks for reading!
Devlog blog
This is my blog for my game if you want to check out the devlogs.
https://www.tumblr.com/nocnocnal
some of my favourite assets i did for baker's panic with our team, gamebutter! our gamejam (haha get it) game made in 2 days for pixel jam 2024! 🍰🥧🍞
it was a lot of fun to work on with my team and we all had a good time doing so :]! learnt alot about the game dev pipeline and am surprised with what i was able to do with 10 mins per item :0!
🐟How I made Hook Line & Sniper's water physics 🐟
I always love dynamic pixel art effects, so with my game being highly fish-centric, I spent a lot of time making the water look just right.
First, our starting point: just a semi-transparent Polygon2D. It has several points across the top, which I can move around to make interesting shapes. Note that, unlike some more complicated fluid simulations, I won't be simulating tons of water particles throughout the body of water. I only care about the curve that makes up the top of the ocean.
At this point, we already have a bit of the pixel-art look, since the whole game is drawn to a lower resolution texture.
Next step: adding interaction. I essentially model each of the polygon's points as a spring. Each point has a velocity, and based on its distance from the resting height, I pull it back according to Hooke's law. To make it look like one connected body of water, each point gives a bit of its velocity to nearby points.
Now, whenever the player enters or exits the water, I apply an impulse to the nearest point, and that's enough for some fairly convincing water :D
Finally: polishing up the visuals. To greatly improve the look of the water, I put the whole thing through a shader. I gave the water a pixel-perfect outline by checking if the adjacent pixels are also water. I wanted the water to have a shallow color and a deeper color, which I achieved by checking if there's still water several pixels above the current pixel. (To make it look more natural, this depth test is very subtly randomized based on the pixel's position)
This shader gives me a ton of room for other neat effects. For example, in the final product you'll notice there's a nice splash effect. This is just a simple particle system, but since it goes through the same shader, it blends with the water perfectly.
Since the game has 5 worlds, the shader lets me easily swap out the water's color palette to make each one stand out.
I'm super happy with how world 2's sun reflection turned out, which makes very heavy use of procedural dithering.
Thanks for reading my ramble <3 The game is on Steam now if you want to see the water for yourself!
here's some music from a group project i've been workin on: angel insolvent! uploading here so i can share it with ppl while the last song i'm responsible for is gettin made for the bandcamp release
might do some more posts abt this!! did some cool shader work and music sync stuff as well :3
made a game jam game recently, check it out if u can ok? 👉👈
speedrun horse glider :3
the femtanyl goes robo!!!! :3 audio sync test for verse2 of the sprite animation!!! (a few ms are lost but thatll be fixed in engine) been a bit cuz of the burnout but have been supplementing w other projects and ready 2 get back to it!!! full time animators idk how yall do it so shoutouts to u
femtanyl.exe is loadin...
wip of the sprite animation for my femtanyl fan game :3
did some testing for my second project i'm hoping to do this summer: a femtanyl fan game!! took a crack at pixel art animation as like a character study and practice with the medium :3 asperite is v poggers,,.,.,.,.,.,. u can just compile it urself n get it 4 free!!
spinny !!!!!!!!!!
HOT GAMEDEVS DON'T GATEKEEP
Inspired by this post by @midwinterhunt, here's a compilation of all the game dev resources I have come across, most of which I use fairly frequently. Most of these are free, some are paid but fairly cheap. Feel free to add your own resources. ✌️
Important reminder: When using basically any works or programs someone else created in your games, make sure you thoroughly understand the licenses and terms it has been shared with. If you don't know what the terms are, reach out to the resource and ask. Don't be lazy about this; it's not only dishonest but it can come back to bite you.
Engines
Unity - Best suited for mobile and multi-platform.
Unreal - Tailored for shooters and high-fidelity experiences.
PICO-8 - Virtual console for simple games
Godot - Open source and free!
GameMaker - Good for 2D games
Bitsy - Great little engine for making simple games and experiences
Construct - Never used but have heard nice things
Scratch - If you've never coded before, this is the best place to start. Great for young devs and those who want to get their feet wet.
Adventure Game Studio - Best suited for adventure games
RPG Maker - Best suited for top-down classic JRPG style games
Twine - Text-centric games like Interactive Fiction
Assets
OpenGameArt - Many assets, various licenses, and plenty of CC0 content.
Unity Store - For Unity only. Some free.
Unreal Store - For Unreal only. Some free.
Godot Asset Library
Jean Moreno's Toon Effects - Some of the best effects available on the Unity store. Unity only but I've used them in basically every project.
Steamworks.net C# Wrapper For Unity - Unity only C# wrapper for integrating Steam compatibility to your game
Itch.io - Plenty of free art assets and game dev resources
Kenney - Kenney makes tons of open-source assets for devs to use.
Art
Mixamo - Generates rigs for your humanoid models and lets you apply a library of free humanoid animations to them. Super helpful for prototyping. Adobe.
Blender - Free, open source and fully featured 3D program.
XNormal - Free offline normal map generator
Normal Map Online - Free online normal map generator
Crocotile - Cheap tool for building 3D models from sprite sheets
MagicaVoxel - Free voxel modelling tool
Piskel - Free online sprite drawing tool
Aesprite - Paid sprite drawing tool
TurboSquid - Not always great quality, but can be good source of free placeholders.
Textures.com - Limited texture downloads per day but free for personal use.
Pexels - Free stock photo resource. Most are free for commercial use. Check licenses.
Clipstudio - Good for illustration or graphic design. One time payment.
GIMP - Image editing program a-la Photoshop. Free.
Audio
Audacity - Free and fully-featured DAW/audio editor.
sfx.me - Free 8-bit synth-style sound effect generator for games.
CastingCallClub - Easy forum to find amateur voice talent for your project (p.s.: you should pay them).
FreeSound.org - Free sounds, searchable by license. A go-to for my audio needs.
Incompetech - Royalty-free music by Kevin McLeod.
Scott Buckley Music - Royalty free with conditions. Generally more on the cinematic side of things but very good stuff!
SoundCloud - 'Search -> By Track -> Filter: Use Commercially' leads to songs posted with allowance of commercial use. Always reach out to the artist to understand their terms and confirm that it's okay to use with your project.
Project Planning
Keymailer - Handy for mailing keys to influencers (don't expect a lot of traction unless you're paying for some of the features though).
Trello - Kanban board. Great for organizing tasks, managing bugs, etc. Free.
Notion - Private text and wiki page editor. Good for project organization, note taking, and fleshing out ideas. Free.
Obsidian - Alternative to Notion, with similar features.
Miro - Free whiteboard for organizing thoughts, images, brainstorming, etc.
Wave - Free Bookkeeping site. Great for keeping finances organized.
WIP of the chibi sprite!! Gonna work on the mascot of the game first :p hopefully I can get a fake trailer animated once this is done !!
Concept for a game I’ve been sitting on for a while, crossposted from TikTok. I’m very passionate about it and more updates will come soon! Some demo animations and placeholder art will probably be next
Mockup for a little tower defense game I may or may not make, It'll be pretty slow-paced and only have 10 waves that'll be pretty easy
Today is literally the perfect day for trans eggs, y'all Share your trans eggs TODAY!!!!!!!!
GUYS I FINALLY FINISHED THE UPDATE (DIDN'T MAKE A NEW CHAPTER, BUT ADDED A LOT OF STUFF TO THE GAME IN ITS CURRENT STATUS! :D) AND IT'S ON SALE FOR FREE UNTIL 2024 SO GRAB IT WHILE YOU STILL CAN Funny and lore-heavy SPOILER image under the cut!
Guys he's gonna be nice during December2023; I promise. (This is false.)
Let him in; he's brought You something nice. (Don't let him in. He's just holding a neatly-wrapped box with nothing inside.)
He just wants to be your friend. (Questionable. Need more evidence. Perhaps true?)
Please ḑ̴̨̨̬̲̮͕̂ͅò̴̺̞̱̈́̿̇͌̿̄́̏̚͘n̷̡̛̖͍̞̯̳̘̯̒̆̈́̆̆͋͐̇́̃̕͜͜͝͝͝ͅ'̷̲̻̥̳̘͙͎͓̱̞͓̻̪̼͗t̸̨̨̛̳̙͚̻̞̹̼̖̝͓͍̞͛̀̂̍͜͠͝͝ ̴̨̨̣̭̃̈͌͑͜ĝ̶̡̧̬̹̘̦̝̗͙̰̘͇̜̝̐́̈͑̄̊̀͆͠ǒ̵̥͎̭̩̣̰̔̋̇̿̕ͅ ̸̠̼̳͈͉͈̏̍͒͐͝ͅi̴͂͗̈̉̉͛͆̍͜͝͝ǹ̷͚̠̉͘͝t̸̥͙̭̰̠̤̝͎̫͕̙̅̂̈͛̈̂͒̊̀͘̕͜͝o̶̰̱̣̝̐́̎̾̔̍́̈́̋̀͆͜͝͠ ̴̨̨̘͙̺̫̗̳̭̻̣͉̮͈̽̅̈͋͐͒̈́͠͠ͅt̵̜̭̔͊͑͐̍͊̊́̎̕͠͝͠ĥ̴͖̦̓͂͌̀̄́́̉̑̉̐ḛ̶̫͚̙̟̪̜̩̪͓͛̈́͊͆ ̴̡̧̬͈̞̖̻̦̱̫̙͌͛̏̉͐͒̈̆͛̓͘͠f̴̛̱̩̤̲͉̈̈́̅͆͒̂͠o̴͍͖̮̘̤̟͍̍̂͂̔͌͊͂͂͑͛͊̌̊͘͝ͅr̶̼͓͖̺̺̪̪̯̗̘̝̱̘̱̯͂̍͒̒̈̑͋ę̵͚͙̱̹̘̬̦̗̳̖͚̀̊̒͆͆̏̉̈̿͛͘̚͘̚͜͝s̸͓͇͇͚̊̋͌́͊̍̀͒͒̃̚͝͝t̵̞̘͖͑̒͑̓̊̇͒͗̄ ̸̣̑̈́̅͆̚ͅa̶̧̰͇̯͓̰͎͚̲̠̺̮̙̎̒͒͌̀̎̾̈͌͒͝͝t̷͎͓̻͎̱͎̏̉̃̂̀͐ ̴̡̡̧̥̮̙̭̣͎͓̞̲̜̹͔͂̐̔̀͊̾̊̽̕̚̚ņ̶̡̻̓̐i̵̘̭͓͎͙͇̦̠͙͂̈̀̑́̓̚͝g̸̼̟̜̝͎̯̭̫̘̝̈̉̿̃̅͊̈́ḩ̵̟͈̦̺̘̠͙̜̺̣̫͊̓͌͊͑̐̑̆͌̈̕t̷̛͔͕͓̳͓̩͙̦͗̈́̋̈̿̎̎͠.̶̡̛̱̜̣͔̺͙͍̗̥̣̅͒̈́̅̀̅̎̓̋̏̑̕͜
First post about my game, I should probably talk about its general themes and stuff...
Nah. I'm talking about the main characters first.
Apologies for my poor drawing skills. As much I want to be both, I'm just a programmer, not an artist.
First, Cook (They/Them).
They're the player character and currently my favorite design so far.
Cook is a sweet and caring person, but their enduring vow of silence makes it difficult for people to see that.
They have trouble regulating their volume, either being too quiet or too loud. To solve the problem, they decided that silence was preferred.
Cook was a chef (recently quit) and uses their resulting skills in combat. Think, Tank/Healer with a focus on regenerative skills over outright healing.
Cook's design is based heavily on my own personal tastes, but I did go through a couple of variations with a beard and thick eyebrows. It looked weird, and I didn't like how it framed their face.
Next, Jet (he/him)
Jet is the second member of the party and is much older than his cohorts.
He's the type of guy that can't hide his feelings. You know what he's feeling because he makes it obvious.
Jet, during the events of the game, is going through a messy divorce with his wife. He still loves her, but he knows that the spark is gone and that they're both going to he unhappy together.
Jet is a freelance powerwasher and runs the business out of his and Cook's apartment. He uses his pressure washer in combat. His purpose is as a glass cannon/status magician.
While drawing Jet for the first time, I honestly just drew a caricature of my dad. Then I moved the slider from "big, confident mf" to "wet cat energy."
Finally, Martha and Roger (she/her and he/him respectively)
Martha and Roger are a duo that can't really be talked about separately. They're the third and final addition to the team.
Martha is a younger woman who used to not take anything seriously. After she learned about Roger and her boyfriend dumped her, she matured a lot and is currently trying to get good enough work to ensure that Roger is taken care of properly while she's away.
She has trouble grappling with her position as a mother. On one hand, she always wanted to be a mom, and she honestly thought that her ex-boyfriend would end up her husband. On the other hand, she isn't ready for any of the responsibilities and is terrified that she's a failure.
Roger is a baby and does baby things. He has trouble being separate from Martha and loves being in the baby carrier that she usually has him in.
Together, they work as a support/item oriented character.
Fun fact: Roger is named after my grandfather.
As a group, they all lean on each other for support despite the depressing world they live in.
...?
(Tune in tomorrow at 8PM GMT)
