Shrimp noodles with fried vendace.

It's just once of those strange, strange combinations that you suddenly realize you desire.

[Edit]

Yeah, it happens right when I boot it up. The first time I tried to run it from the archive, but the problem persisted after unzipping. I only get to see the "Seasons" logo and the cursor (which is under the error message in that screenshot).

Edit: Running in compatibility mode did nothing.

I was so excited to play this, looks very unique. Think I saw a mock-up of it earlier somewhere.

^ Looks usable, if a bit chaotic. I bet architects wouldn't quite approve of the grid plan. I get the impression of a post-apocalyptic world.

If anything bothers me, it's those "sticks" extruding from buildings.

Just bought the Android version of Another World. Eager to check it out, I've got high expectations based on what I've heard.

I'm imagining some sort of "interactive sci-fi slice-of-life" without pre-defined goals. As in, you're just wandering around the futuristic environments (which already look delicious, by the way!) seeing people's lives develop around you. Maybe you'll help others with their individual problems and contribute to making the colony thrive through your career.

Hopefully you're inspired.

I'm keeping an eye on this. You've got some interesting ideas (particularly "search and survival") coupled with great visuals.

I don't think the 3D tools are even necessary here (although they do make the whole process easy). You could achieve something similar by gradually skewing the texture on the side and adding a shadow gradient.

Those generative patterns again.

And more. Now I basically have a generator generator, so the results are even more varied. (And anti-aliased!)

Those generative patterns again. I'm aiming to have a small demo to submit to Assembly 2012. Obviously it won't go very far with all the veterans participating, but it's more of a personal goal anyway.

After n iterations, I think I'm starting to hit perfection on the main algorithm. As in, I've got many interesting flower types and colour schemes, much control over the creation process, and "broken" flowers are a non-issue. There's also room for randomized variations in certain steps, but the patterns are based on recursion in a way that one slight tweak might create impossible flowers.

 
   
 
 

In Unity I found a thing called "audio.pitch", and I was going for more of a bassy underwater sound when you paused, but in testing it I noticed that "pitch" is their word for "speed".

That's not an Unity quirk, that's just how sound works. Longer waveforms produce lower frequencies.

Just don't get stuck in the loop of reinventing everything periodically.

So, you just make whatever you want and then play it to see if it fits? I'm also trying that, but not much success is coming this way. :p

Usually I either have a concept in mind or it pops up early in the process. It helps my creativity to limit myself to a small pond of mechanics in a given area and force myself to squeeze all the juice out of their combinations.

Geti, you're just starting out in 3D and you've already got such a distinctive style? That's pretty impressive.

That .gif reminds me that I want to see a full-length version of your latest Ludum Dare entry.

Bought Indie Game: The Movie on Steam.

There was only one thing I could think of while watching it.

-Metroidvanias have generally appealing level design. They are the few games that give me a genuine sense of exploration/discovery. I love the "layered" progression and reusability of areas.

-The Half-Life series and both Portals. I have to admit Valve has a consistently solid grasp of level design. Things like pacing, immersive environments, teaching mechanics using the level design itself, and integrating storytelling into the gameplay. The developer commentaries reaffirm my impression that they're obsessed about design.

-Jetpack. Yeah, that DOS game. I still keep making levels for it now and then, and it's stunning how much you can get out of the simple mechanics. Although I guess I'm not really talking about how good the pre-made levels are, but rather about how the limitations make it an ideal environment for designing levels.

I'm just about to finish Hitch Hiker's Guide 5, then it's Neuromancer time. Also some C & C++ programming books.

Level design, for me, relies mostly on playtesting. Drawing just helps organize my thoughts when I already know what I want to add.

Code:

def create_level():
    level = get_concept()

    while level.length < LONG_ENOUGH or level.size < BIG_ENOUGH:
        new_ideas = play(level)
        level.append(new_ideas)

    return level

So many drool-inducing screenshots again.