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TIGSource ForumsCommunityDevLogsPachakutiq - gratuitous 2D animation, with updated spelling
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Author Topic: Pachakutiq - gratuitous 2D animation, with updated spelling  (Read 46742 times)
TheArtistJiii
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« Reply #40 on: November 26, 2016, 02:33:58 PM »

This is a pretty interesting project, especially with the choice of hand drawn animations when you're a solo dev . You're an interesting individual. I read your patreon and your idea to subvert the current developer consumer business model. Thats pretty brave of you. I must say, though, how were you able to sustain yourself through the development of your last game? Also what are you using to build this game, also are you using box2d for physics?
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Pehesse
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« Reply #41 on: November 26, 2016, 05:19:34 PM »

This is a pretty interesting project, especially with the choice of hand drawn animations when you're a solo dev . You're an interesting individual. I read your patreon and your idea to subvert the current developer consumer business model. Thats pretty brave of you. I must say, though, how were you able to sustain yourself through the development of your last game? Also what are you using to build this game, also are you using box2d for physics?

Thanks a lot!

About my own situation: I'm on the french welfare system. I'm set-up as a self-entrepreneur, and since I'm below a certain revenue threshold (basically, the national poverty line), I have access to a monthly help (housing+undefined revenue) in exchange for a "project" - usually, in the form of job seeking, in my case, as negotiated with the related authorities, it's the developing of my "personal work plan" (ie: making games) until it pays off. Since I have very few expenses, I can make it work: I pay rent, housing and food bills, and since I have no car and no social life to speak of, 100% of my time and money goes towards making games (and admittedly, sometimes, buying them when I can)!

It's not really something I like to talk about as there's a societal stigma attached to this kind of situation, with the still vivid belief that welfare leads to slacking off. I also don't want my personal situation to change the way the audience views my work: I wish for them to support it on its own merits, not out of a sense of pity (or the opposite, and consider it unworthy because of how it's currently financed). But since you ask, and since my policy is honesty, well, there you go!

To build the game: I'm using Construct 2! I *love* this engine and its approach to visual programming. Most others I know of and have tried use visual programmation as a crutch to learn "actual" scripting, but I have repeatedly failed at learning actual programming syntax for a number of languages. Since my issue isn't with programming logic, but syntax itself, C2 allows me to develop intricate logic using visual scripting blocks, which is enough for me to get stuff moving around :-D

For physics: I'm pretty sure the "platform" behaviors I'm using as a base use box2D as *their* base - but I still tweak the values to have physics as close to "simpl(istic)" as I can.
Apart from that, I'm not using anything physics related, and in fact, I don't like using commonly referred to "physics" in modern games: I like my physics in platformers to be very rigid and deterministic, a very simple level of simulation that allows the players to identify a set of precise rules and play according to them (notably related to jump height, object weight, etc). There will be no "physics puzzles" or the likes in Pachacuti with imprecise physics-based movement!
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« Reply #42 on: November 26, 2016, 05:31:04 PM »

This is a pretty interesting project, especially with the choice of hand drawn animations when you're a solo dev . You're an interesting individual. I read your patreon and your idea to subvert the current developer consumer business model. Thats pretty brave of you. I must say, though, how were you able to sustain yourself through the development of your last game? Also what are you using to build this game, also are you using box2d for physics?

Thanks a lot!

About my own situation: I'm on the french welfare system. I'm set-up as a self-entrepreneur, and since I'm below a certain revenue threshold (basically, the national poverty line), I have access to a monthly help (housing+undefined revenue) in exchange for a "project" - usually, in the form of job seeking, in my case, as negotiated with the related authorities, it's the developing of my "personal work plan" (ie: making games) until it pays off. Since I have very few expenses, I can make it work: I pay rent, housing and food bills, and since I have no car and no social life to speak of, 100% of my time and money goes towards making games (and admittedly, sometimes, buying them when I can)!

It's not really something I like to talk about as there's a societal stigma attached to this kind of situation, with the still vivid belief that welfare leads to slacking off. I also don't want my personal situation to change the way the audience views my work: I wish for them to support it on its own merits, not out of a sense of pity (or the opposite, and consider it unworthy because of how it's currently financed). But since you ask, and since my policy is honesty, well, there you go!

To build the game: I'm using Construct 2! I *love* this engine and its approach to visual programming. Most others I know of and have tried use visual programmation as a crutch to learn "actual" scripting, but I have repeatedly failed at learning actual programming syntax for a number of languages. Since my issue isn't with programming logic, but syntax itself, C2 allows me to develop intricate logic using visual scripting blocks, which is enough for me to get stuff moving around :-D

For physics: I'm pretty sure the "platform" behaviors I'm using as a base use box2D as *their* base - but I still tweak the values to have physics as close to "simpl(istic)" as I can.
Apart from that, I'm not using anything physics related, and in fact, I don't like using commonly referred to "physics" in modern games: I like my physics in platformers to be very rigid and deterministic, a very simple level of simulation that allows the players to identify a set of precise rules and play according to them (notably related to jump height, object weight, etc). There will be no "physics puzzles" or the likes in Pachacuti with imprecise physics-based movement!


Thanks for your reply and honesty though i'm sorry for invading your financial situation...
I can honestly say if not for my life , i.e. parents, i'd currently be in your cicumstance, though im not sure how my government would feel about me wanting to make games.


 I'm honestly interested in construct 2. I was planning on using it in my next project perhaps, but i have a habit of coding what i don't need to for the purpose of experience. I'm glad that you're doing what you're doing and i hope you find great success in this project. I'll be following along. p.s. If you ever want to chat or if you bored, feel free to message me.
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Pehesse
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« Reply #43 on: November 26, 2016, 06:14:20 PM »



Thanks for your reply and honesty though i'm sorry for invading your financial situation...
I can honestly say if not for my life , i.e. parents, i'd currently be in your cicumstance, though im not sure how my government would feel about me wanting to make games.


 I'm honestly interested in construct 2. I was planning on using it in my next project perhaps, but i have a habit of coding what i don't need to for the purpose of experience. I'm glad that you're doing what you're doing and i hope you find great success in this project. I'll be following along. p.s. If you ever want to chat or if you bored, feel free to message me.

No worries at all :-)

Also, I hope I don't sound like I'm complaining: I realize I'm very lucky to be in this situation, and to be in a position where the system allows me to pursue in my efforts (or at least, doesn't care enough to make me stop). It's because of this unique situation that I aim to make full use of its possibilities, and develop alternative revenue systems: I might not get another chance, and in most other scenarios, I might not be in a situation to be able to afford to "wait until it pays off" - at least, as much as I can now. Of course, as soon as they change their minds, I'll be in trouble, but for now, I'd rather think about what I can do :-)

For C2: if you're interested, I really recommend trying it out to see for yourself! It's got a free version, and the basic license is very affordable and is what I used for 90% of the dev of Honey (I upgraded right at the end during a big sale, though it turns out it wasn't really needed - but I'm still holding on to it for the future :-D)

I'm glad you'll be following this! And thanks a lot for the chat offer! Though if you're concerned: really, I'm fine :-D I'm happy to do what I do, and if my work manages to make others share in the excitement, that's really all I ask!
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Pehesse
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« Reply #44 on: December 03, 2016, 12:15:04 AM »

This week: part 1 of the Warrior's combat moves, essentially the ground/static combos!











The combat uses a simple two button scheme (three with the throw, that acts as the universal cancel), one for Horizontal attacks and the other for Vertical (so inspired by the likes of Soul Calibur and Dynasty Warriors). The aim is to offer a simple and accessible system where simply mashing already produces satisfying results, while mix and matching buttons will produce more elaborate chains. There won't be any visible grading/combo system, as the point isn't to judge the player's performance.

All of the recovery animations are meant to add character, but are entirely skippable: their sole purpose is for the player to let play out whenever they feel like it, not to lock them out of their movement.

The combat's aim will also be to be a part of the Warrior's traversal abilities, as showcased with the Lunge finisher - for now, it's the only move that actually displaces her, but a number more are planned, notably those that will add vertical extension to her jumps, and they're what I'll tackle next!

Among other changes: I've reworked some of the acrobat's abilities, with the biggest one being the wall stick/vertical jump, which can now be chain indefinitely to gain vertical height, as it proves more fun that way. It'll be up to the level design to properly channel the potential of the move!
« Last Edit: December 03, 2016, 12:39:36 AM by Pehesse » Logged

jordanchin
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« Reply #45 on: December 05, 2016, 10:51:32 AM »

The moveset for the warrior looks great. I love that spin attack especially!
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Pehesse
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« Reply #46 on: December 06, 2016, 12:01:31 AM »

The moveset for the warrior looks great. I love that spin attack especially!

Thanks a lot, Jordan :-D Did you get the chance to try it out? It's at the usual adress, and you can perform the spin move using W-X-W-X-W!
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oldblood
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« Reply #47 on: December 06, 2016, 05:55:48 AM »

Realized I'd never commented on this devlog somehow! Just commenting to say I'm following, the animations are amazing as always.
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Pehesse
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« Reply #48 on: December 06, 2016, 07:29:08 AM »

Realized I'd never commented on this devlog somehow! Just commenting to say I'm following, the animations are amazing as always.

Oh, many thanks :-) You must've seen most/all of that already on Twitter, but at least, here it's all gathered in one easy-to-find place!
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Pehesse
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« Reply #49 on: December 10, 2016, 01:07:05 AM »

I've been resting to prevent an early burnout and to have enough stamina to last until the actual winter break, but there is still some new stuff this week!




As you can see, I'm starting to get displacement moves in, which expand the Warrior's traversal abilities (mainly while in the air). With her new spin jump, she can reach higher than before and can basically access what the Acrobat can with her level 2 jump. Level 3 heights are still out of her reach and it'll probably stay that way, but that way she feels more mobile than before!
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Pehesse
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« Reply #50 on: December 16, 2016, 09:20:23 PM »

Time for what will likely be the last update of the year!



Here are the last planned moves for the Warrior, giving her more air traversal capabilities. That makes both characters core moveset done, so I'll be focusing on tweaking them and their feel/responsiveness next until I hit the right balance.

There are still a number of animations missing, chief among them the transition animations, plus all one-off/emotional and narration stuff, but I'll leave those for a little later, and I'll start working on getting systems in! Here are a few to start:



Individual wall health! I've attached a wall "cover" to walls to mask the seams from the individual chunks that make them, and to allow for different representations of the wall as it breaks.



I've expanded the Acrobat's edgegrab: she can now grab edges with no climb space above (so you can't climb up, but you can still eject from the wall), and you can "create" edgegrab points by destroying continuous walls. How it works: I've attached a "wall chain" instance variable to each chunk that composes a wall to know what bits to move when a wall is destroyed, and I'm basically attaching those grabpoints to those wall chains. When attempting the edgegrab, I'll check if the wall is still standing (if it is, can't grab), or if it's not (whether the chunks are still visible, or have been destroyed after having been out of the playable area).

I've also started putting in a very early and placeholder-y version of the health representation system: as the character gets it, the background color changes until eventually night falls (for now it's an ugly hue of greyish blue, but the idea's there).

Lastly, I've put in the basics to allow "locked" camera scrolling along a defined axis, and to switch what is locked/what isn't on the fly, though there's no smooth transition yet when locking the state, so I still need to work on that. With use of checkpoints/markers, this should allow for some degree of camera manipulation during levels, in addition to having separate camera behaviors for individual levels (basically, complete vertical levels vs. complete horizontal levels vs. "free roaming" levels, and any combination of those three).

I'll be heading away for the winter break soon, but I'm hoping to get a few things done before the end of the week, hopefully I have more to share by then!
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Pehesse
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« Reply #51 on: December 19, 2016, 01:08:40 AM »

Hey all!

I'm winding down a bit this week, and instead, I'd like to do something different: I'm opening up my current WIP prototype so you can all access it and give me feedback on how it's working so far, both as a christmas occasion of sorts (it's the season, after all!) and as a way to make sure I have solid foundations before moving on.

I'll skip the caveats and disclaimers I made on Twitter as being on a dev-centric forum, I expect most of us here now what this kind of prototype is and entail!

If you want to try it for yourself, it's here: pehesse.fr/honey/pachapublic

It can be played using both gamepad and keyboard (though I strongly recommend a gamepad), and only requires you to access the web address as it's a HTML5 prototype, there's no installing required. The download is about 50Mb.

If you have any thoughts to share regarding your experience, I'll be eagerly looking forward to them: if they're positive, I'll know I'm on the right track and be able to move forward with more confidence, if they're not, I'll have a solid to-do list of things to fix and work on to start 2017 with! So I'm really counting on your feedback, even if you feel you don't have anything meaningful to share!

Thanks in advance, and I hope you'll enjoy this very, very, very early prototype!
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TheArtistJiii
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« Reply #52 on: December 20, 2016, 10:15:50 PM »

I tried out your prototype and the controls took some time to get used to, but after jumping around for several minutes, i'd say you are on the right track, though if i must say, i'm not sure i understand your decision to make the charge jump down+e. There were times i would feel the need to charge jump, so i would run back and just do the three jump wind up(though that entails nailing a certain timing.)Often i would time it poorly and end up biffing the move, so i halt my parkouring spree at the wall, and hit the down+e to jump as high as possible to get to the ledge. My point is, wouldn't it suit the traversal of the game, to be able to charge super jump while running instead of having to do the three jump combo?

Also a side note. I'm not sure if this is an intended ability or not, but when i'm the warrior i can do semi-infinite air cancels using the s-attack button and float almost forever until i backup into a wall/ledge. Which is pretty fun in of itself to be honest.

But So far so good. I can't wait to see what becomes of this project.Also any thoughts on adding an air cancel move to the runner?
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Pehesse
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« Reply #53 on: December 20, 2016, 11:21:41 PM »

I tried out your prototype and the controls took some time to get used to, but after jumping around for several minutes, i'd say you are on the right track, though if i must say, i'm not sure i understand your decision to make the charge jump down+e. There were times i would feel the need to charge jump, so i would run back and just do the three jump wind up(though that entails nailing a certain timing.)Often i would time it poorly and end up biffing the move, so i halt my parkouring spree at the wall, and hit the down+e to jump as high as possible to get to the ledge. My point is, wouldn't it suit the traversal of the game, to be able to charge super jump while running instead of having to do the three jump combo?

Also a side note. I'm not sure if this is an intended ability or not, but when i'm the warrior i can do semi-infinite air cancels using the s-attack button and float almost forever until i backup into a wall/ledge. Which is pretty fun in of itself to be honest.

But So far so good. I can't wait to see what becomes of this project.Also any thoughts on adding an air cancel move to the runner?

Thank you so much for your thoughts!! I'll take all of that under careful consideration!

In detail:
-about keyboard key bindings: I have to admit I'm designing this game around controller first and foremost - keyboard is a necessity, but I fear there won't be any key combination that will feel as comfortable as what works for gamepad (and I simply can't translate the acrobat's analog movement without losing something in the process). Down+"Glide" is the best I could figure for keyboard for now (using ESDF not to have trouble with international layouts, though that is subject to change and will be remappable either way). Do you have other key combinations in mind that would feel more natural or easier to access?

-for charging, the intent was not to have it as an always accessible move and to be able to get to the third jump at any time (otherwise, why not make it immediately accessible *all* the time?), nor for it to be needed all the time, either, to be honest. If you need/want to go straight to it, then you sacrifice momentum and stop for a second - it's the "balance cost", mainly in style as you can jump in place as you noticed yourself so it's not too big of a mechanics penalty, but it looks goofy and takes (slight) time. I'd like to reach a place where players consider their moves either in terms of efficiency, or aesthetics, and chain them together in a way that "looks" right, or gets them the fastest time - and I felt allowing the triple jump in place to reach third height was a good "failing" cost scenario: you don't chain them in a visually cool looking motion, and it takes slightly longer than charging (or getting the flow right in the first place), but it's still possible and works out in the end!

-regarding platforming in general: the LD in this prototype isn't actually fully representative of actual ingame LD, since it requires all (basic) tricks in quick succession to navigate - while that'll happen in later levels, I'd like that learning to be more organic and happen over the course of the earlier levels, so you won't need to do exact triple jumps followed by wall climbing at the very start. This should help in learning timings and eventually develop the skill to do so fluidly - and if not, there'll be alternative pathways to go around differently, often as the Warrior. I'm mainly making sure here it's *possible* to chain those moves in tight quarter situations without getting stuck everywhere :-D

-still, having said all that, I'll consider and try the "charge" while moving, or something close to it, see if it leads to anything interesting!

-for the infinite warrior air cancels: ah, I thought I had timed it so it wasn't infinitely possible, but I guess I wasn't using keys fast enough :-D I don't want to limit the cancel ability or increase the windup to the throw, so I'll have to find another way to limit that "floating" ability, as it's supposed to be slightly there, but not infinitely so. But as you say: it's also fun, and if it could be used as a fun traversal alternative... I might also consider keeping it in! I'll also add a cancel via the "block" move, so we'll have to see how that affects this infinite floating scenario.

-Air cancel move for the Acrobat: why not? It's not something I had thought about since she doesn't really have any offensive moves she needs to cancel out of (when doing any kind of serious fighting, it'll likely be preferable to simply switch to the warrior most of the time, even in mid-air - I'm trying to always get a balance of "aesthetics/time efficiency") - but if it can feel more fun and more controllable, I can definitely look into it!

Took notes on all of this and will look into it after the winter break, thanks again :-)
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« Reply #54 on: December 24, 2016, 04:27:52 AM »

Gosh, it must be an insane amount of work to make the transitions of all these animations!
I played the prototype, and I can say you're getting there. It's definitely a game to be played on a joypad, and not on the keyboard.
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Pehesse
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« Reply #55 on: January 02, 2017, 05:02:35 AM »

Gosh, it must be an insane amount of work to make the transitions of all these animations!
I played the prototype, and I can say you're getting there. It's definitely a game to be played on a joypad, and not on the keyboard.

Sorry for the late reply, I was away for the winter break, but thanks a lot! I definitely agree: the gamepad feels much more natural for now! I'll keep trying to get the keyboard right, but no matter what, I'm fairly sure something will be lost in translation. Still, there's stuff I have to try out, and now that I'm back, I'll get right to it :-)
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« Reply #56 on: January 03, 2017, 09:06:37 AM »

Your game looks rad! It's astounding how many animations you have!!!

I'm excited to see where it goes :D
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Pehesse
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« Reply #57 on: January 03, 2017, 09:09:05 AM »

Your game looks rad! It's astounding how many animations you have!!!

I'm excited to see where it goes :D

Haha, looks like we're crossposting into each other's thread at the same time :-D
Thanks a lot! I'm gaining confidence in my anims, but my game systems still have a long way to go before they're where they need to be, and judging from your gifs, you most likely havemore than a thing or two to teach me on that end, so you might expect a few questions eventually :-)
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« Reply #58 on: January 04, 2017, 12:00:14 PM »

Still far from saturday, but I'm excited by today's progress, so here are a few previews!





So far, I've been working to address the main points of feedback from the public prototype access during the winter break, and to start adding more complex platforming behaviors.

As far as fixes from feedback, the main changes are:
-the warrior can now use block to cancel any attack move
-regrettably, the warrior can't infinitely float up using throws anymore!
-the acrobat can roll to cancel any attack move
-the acrobat can now charge her jump while running to jump straight to the max height
-both will now auto-crouch when entering a low ceiling area, and auto-exit crouch if "down" isn't held
Along with a number of animation wrong transitions and other fixes!

For the latest (today's) additions, they're related to moving and collapsing platforms. Moving platforms are simple enough using the "Sine" behavior, but collapsing stuff is a little more involved to correctly detect when it's available to step on or not - I'm using a "fade out" to determine when a platform is available to stand on or not, which in turns allows to determine when to respawn the platforms. Each collapsable platform can be individually set to collapse as chunks, complete platforms, their reset timer, etc... should be pretty handy!

Lastly, it's also possible to edgegrab, and climb/wall rebound from both of those (moving and collapsing platforms)! I'll have to test a lot more to see if new issues appear because of the new conditions. I'm excited at the developing level design possibilities, though!

I've attempted a "tightrope" system based on Snackycactus's own posts - the character related logic works so far (can only walk on it, fall off otherwise), but I'm having trouble making the physics work correctly to have it visibly react to the character's presence (swing for the Acrobat, snap for the Warrior), so that'll take a little longer.
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« Reply #59 on: January 04, 2017, 12:59:15 PM »

Just wow!
Wonderful animations, really a work of art.
Looking forward to see how the game will look like!
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Moony Baboon | @maiscrudo
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