So I am making a video game.....

[Ungnome]

VS Community is free for windows and will compile Aseprite. Granted I'm not 100% sure I like the workflow in it over Pixelorama. The biggest two upshots for Aseprite is their file format is directly supported by both Godot and Unity at this point and it has more available tutorials. Granted, you DO have to wait for the compile to finish if you opt not to pay for it...

 

[The Predaking]

I downloaded Pixelorama and I am playing around with it now that I am back from vacation.

Gamewise, I am still working on the first level. I got it laid out, put the camera on it, and zoomed in to the screen size I want.


So I need to do the following:

1. Create three generic enemies and give them two attack animations as well as a walking one.
2. Create a car sprite with the boss in the driver's seat.
3. Create the collectibles that the enemies drop, and set a counter for them on the on screen menu, which I need to create.
4. Recreate the main character artwork, make an idle, walking, and running animations, then create three different attacks for them.
5. Make a main menu.
6. Make some of the NPC characters.


Then I still have a few more tweaks like adding in the background artwork, making the game not let the camera move until all the on screen enemies are defeated, and recognizing that they have reached the end of the level and need to go back to the beginning.

 

[The Predaking]

I have got some more experience with Pixelroma and its pretty useful. I have made some in game collectible items as well as the finish item for the level.

I have got a basic main menu now.


So on my list:

1. Create three generic enemies and give them two attack animations as well as a walking one and a taking damage one.
2. Create a car sprite with the boss in the driver's seat.
4. Recreate the main character artwork, make an idle, walking, and running animations, then create three different attacks for them.
6. Make some of the NPC characters.
7. Add in the Background artwork.

 

[The Predaking]

So I recreated the main character artwork. I imported the png into pixelroma and used the eraser tool to remove the white background.

Next I will need to create the main character idle, walking, and running animations, then create three different attacks for them.

 

[The Predaking]

Last night I made some frames for the idle animation. I am going to try it out and see what I think of it later tonight.

 

[The Predaking]

So its a little weird looking, my idle animation that is. Any suggestions on how to make a good idle animation?

 

[LBD "Nytetrayn"]

Should probably look natural for the character.

 

[The Predaking]

Well, I revised it, and this is what I am going to work on doing tonight:

 

[The Predaking]

Ok, I tried it out, and I got to work on perfectly spacing the character out, but I like the idle movements. Once I get the spacing worked out, I will start working on the running animation.

 

[The Predaking]

So I am trying to decide on what to make my enemies look like.

Options:

Guy Fawkes Masked thugs

Stereotypical Nerd/geek

Robots.



Any suggestions or votes on the above?

 

[The Predaking]

Well, I am still having some trouble with the idle animation. My PNG is 3892 pixels wide. That contains all 12 frames of the idle animation. I made sure to space out each one to start 325 pixels from the last frame's start. They all look spread out evenly to me, yet when I add them into Gadot and make an animation, the character is still sliding backwards a noticeable amount and then resetting at the front. You don't see it when the character is moving, but when idling it's a problem.


I think the easiest solution is to split up the frames into their own PNG and import them that way. That way I can ensure that they are all at the same starting point in the animation.

Other than that, I like the way the hair and squatting looks in idle.

 

[The Predaking]

Ok, I got the idle done that way. I might just do it one frame at a time from now on, as it looks great. Need to get the walking animation done now.

 

[LBD "Nytetrayn"]

So I am trying to decide on what to make my enemies look like.

Options:

Guy Fawkes Masked thugs

Stereotypical Nerd/geek

Robots.



Any suggestions or votes on the above?

Could use a little more context...

 

[The Predaking]

Could use a little more context...

True.


Okay, this character is called Bits. He is a Retro gaming store mascot. In the game the store has its big grand opening, but the only games they have are shovelware and sports games because a reseller and his henchmen got to it first. So now you are chasing them down the street to get the games back. When you defeat an enemy, they drop a game. When you beat the boss, he drops a Nintendo switch and the level ends.

 

[LBD "Nytetrayn"]

At first, I was going to say the nerds/geeks, but upon thinking about it more, I say go with robots.

Because these scalpers basically use "bots" to help them gather up more than they should be able to get online, so using robots would feel like an extension of that, imo.

 

[The Predaking]

At first, I was going to say the nerds/geeks, but upon thinking about it more, I say go with robots.

Because these scalpers basically use "bots" to help them gather up more than they should be able to get online, so using robots would feel like an extension of that, imo.

I love that idea!

Scalper bots!

 

[Pocket]

Shame there's not a non-offensive way to carry the wordplay even further.

...Where did the term "scalping" even come from anyway?

 

[The Predaking]

As settlement on the American frontier continued, rail travel quickly grew in popularity. Men saw an opportunity to make quick cash by purchasing unused portions of railroad tickets to resell for profit. These traders in tickets came to be compared with collectors of scalps, and soon the term scalper was extended to include these ticket tradesmen as well.

Scalpers eventually expanded their domain of resale beyond railroad tickets. Today, we encounter offers to buy scalped tickets for just about every event imaginable.

I really don't think the term is offensive to most people today, however, associating them with something nefarious like an evil army of robots, I think is apt considering its origins.

 

[The Predaking]

I think I have my movement animation ready to try out, but I will have to clean it up and try it out tonight. I had to make some changes to the character design a bit.

On the left is the new design(I still need to do some work on that hand). I have given him a crotch area when moving. Previously he just had arms and legs sticking out of a Gameboy looking device, but that had to change for the running animation. Instead of thinking of the character like a robot or a creature with a skeletal structure, I decided to think of him as a living plastic creature that can adjust his form.