Got some sweet backgrounds finished this week. First one is the near-background for the graveyard within the Yokai Forest. The second one is a much nicer looking near-background of the Yokai Village
They were both really fun to work on! I might spend some time refining the pine trees in the village background though, something looks a little strange about them.
Other than working on backgrounds, I spend a TON of time working on pausing mechanics. Something so simple ended up being so tough. At this point, I'm starting to think my specialty is leaning more into pixel art than coding...which is weird considering my software engineering degree.
Anyways, thanks for reading. If you've gotten this far, then I'll go ahead and let you know that I'm planning on creating a release trailer soon! Keep a look out for that and spread the word <3
"Watch your footing." Estinien warned, as Mizuki jumped up to join him on an outcropping.
"It's hardly dangerous at this height." Mizuki replied, looking around at the eerie crimson moon, "didn't know you cared-"
"I'm not overly concerned-" Estinien stopped "your husband is though." Mizuki was silent. Who knew Estinien was a linkpearl addict.
"Did you not think to inform Aymeric of your journey?" he asked,
"Well no..I mean I did..to a degree." she replied. "it would cause him great worry if he knew I was traversing through the void to some unknown moon to face down some crazy voidsent bent on taking over our world."
"Sounds like a typical day for you." Estinien mused "he sounded quite upset you didn't tell him everything."
"I didn't want to worry him.."
"And if you didn't come back?"
"I came back last time..." Mizuki mumbled "besides..it's not like last time where I wandered through the edges of the universe alone." she retorted. Estinien snorted a laugh.
"I suppose so.. this time you have me and our sorceress to make sure you get back in one piece." Estinien looked down at her with a teasing grin "you should trust in Aymeric a bit more, he is your husband after all."
"When did you become an expert in lovv-" Mizuki let out a shrill cry as she slipped off the rock, having forgotten what she was standing on and rolled face first down the slope of it. "Not a word out of you!" she shouted up at Estinien who was peering over the edge with a grin on his face.
Kind, smart, artistic, creative, and passionate on my hyper fixations and interests, but very weird, has anger issues, and sometimes doesn't think before acting
Has a lot of weird fictional crushes
I swear too much
Complains too much
Mostly complains about Helluva Boss and Hazbin Hotel and Vizziepop on here
Bunny god you are so cute soon bunny catch haruki in they arms and brings him to the lounger where junpei is completely surrounded by the others who are glaring at him
Junpei: H-Hey, guys... Um... We don't have to get all serious, y'know?
*You notice another cat by the door. This time, a brown one. It sits up and stretches, and you see a moon pattern on its chest, as well as Mizuki's crimson eyes.*
these are under a readmore! listed by character and card name as stated on the aikatsu wikia’s cardlists! (yes some cards have an * in the title due to the words technicly being slurs, i didn’t name the cards)
ICHIGO
sweet chocolate
kimono of the spring flowers peach
brilliant gothic
appeal of a frill dress
heart catch
little white bird by the waters
pisces of mermaid
the bear swimming ring
ribbon ribbon summer
the witch & the magic mirror
if its a dress then definitely
new swallowtail
the witch with a red ribbon
speaking of alphine medows
waku waku koh-haku
white cosmos
east and west pink
sugary pink
fancy gift
radiance of the blossom
special sweet
memories are in the future
playful kunai throwing
AOI
prism star
sweet chocolate
kimono of the spring flowers blue
light of the sun blue
intellectual gothic
heading for the party
have some black tea
exact timer
magic of the beautiful snow
shutter chance
i am that girls number one fan
welcome to the house of sweets
the rainbow that stiches across the sky
cool chemsitry
messenger from the future
even the warpping needs to be brillant
blue santa
present of the holy night
east and west blue
radiance of the comet
star of tears
futuristic siegfried
three twinkle
graceful lady
looking up at the stars
cosmo night
RAN
night of ageha
blue rose under the moonlight
rock style
kimono of the spring flowers purple
secret message
light of the sun purple
glossy gothic
purple ageha
enjoy summer festival
romantic elegant
its because we are rivals
austere as usual
math teacher of exact accuracy
unforgettable memories
purple santa
heart of japan purple
radiance of the iris
five twinkle
beautiful figure
noble amaranth
healing cushion
jewlery night
leo's shooting stars
leo's shooting stars +
OTOME
rainbow alice
orange of happiness
sweet chocolate
pinky fruits
feelings above the clouds
fluffy chic
together with the dolphins
potepo-tan at the summer festival
new stylish theif
forgetful santa-san
happy tree
shiny santa
snowman
heart of japan - pop
east and west pop
radiance of the canary yellow
popping star
mascot character pajama
tinder night
fluffy seal
YURIKA
elegant smile
resident of the bird cage
tone of black & red
kimono of the spring flowers dark blue
elegant noble
pure white queen
colorful cake
surprise present
gothic santa
mint noel
heart of japan - dark
east and west dark
retro gothic
suggested gothic
two twinkle
the lad's dream and mind's darkness
charming star
SAKURA
guide of fairytales
girl of the spring garden
sweet chocolate
lime candy
polka dot puririn
heart of japan - sakura
east and west sakura
as fate unfolds
gorgeous daughter of flowers
pillow for cupping
the ogiri's master of ceremony
the one in bloom is the smiling flower
KAEDE
pop magic
magical ribbon
charm of the monotone
to the colorful pop
addicitive cake
relaxation delivered
cookie stars
heart of japan - yamabuki
east and west yamabuki
my heart is for you
surprise chocolate
glowing star of the night
circus usher
enjoy movie
midnight tv
SEIRA
la la la porter
chance catch
union rock
ball of memories
brave charmont
happy top spinning
rockish sword dance
stone charm
bohemian who weaves the wind
bohemian earth
matte mint green
navy indian
glittering bijoux
MARIA
maiden of ribbons
airy painter
the alps flower
flower country
the beach & shells
flora snow
fluttering alice
paris daisy
SHION
dreaming alice
heading towards the future dreams
ufo skirt
blue candy
stripe puririn
dignified umbrella spinning
leave the program to me
MIZUKI
secret queen
adult like tulie
casual elegant
her walking poise is that of a lily
the off time spent with everyone
heart of japan moon
moonlit nights marine blue
sparkling glossy
bouquet of my blessing
six twinkle
amethyst goddess
sparkling moon
printing moon
my new goal
MIKURU
happy greet
surf girl
devil paint
honey valentine
let's go to the beach
sweet scent of the beach
coconut scented night
in search of wreath materials
fluffy penguin
poppin penguin
NOEL
white angely
MICHELLE
lively coord
HIKARI
purple elegant
shining swallowtail
AKARI
lets sing a show
sweet chocolate
five court musicians crimson
heart of thrill
princess peach
heading towards the sky
dream skip
scarecrows dream
pink pop girl
sky dress
akari sunshine +
obento-san of my dreams
natural reindeer
dreaming red
radiance of the cherry
four twinkle
my favorite plush toy
lets make a snowman
SUMIRE
blue noblesse
sumire colored tale
sweet chocolate
five court musicians blue
mysterious magic user
mischievous witch
magical painter
bell that glows in the night sky
quiet sound of the ocean
morning glory that blooms in the night
dress that delivered the wish
purple cat sith
sumire gelato+
both scholar & warrior
violet santa
navy noel
the glistening flute
radiance of the aquar
little devil punkish
gothic prince
tiny bit of happiness
suport for me
rockin' gothic
special tea
HINAKI
sweet chocolate
merry of the three court ladies
three court ladies yellow
princess yellow
king of hearts
king of pop
negative check
pop craftsman
precious contents
new discovery...?
im feeling fantasy
devil tulie
hinaki twister
ai-katsu yo-ru-shi-ku
orange santa
white fairy
surprise is on the bonus add-on
lively drum roll
warm coord
vivid march
pretzels of love
poppin green
seven colored vivid
special flavor found only in the night
MADOKA
five court musicians peach
ski ski
sweet skip
lovely magician
lovely dress
a preemption spring color coord
princess cute pastel
lion's feelings
angely pink
girl in my dreams
fluffy rabbit
with my favorite mug
sweet night
daylight pastel
innocently sweet
RIN
dignified of the three court ladies
three court ladies blue
gentle mad hatter
the mad hatter who likes to dance
just like the lightning
blik's wish
blue star dancing on stage
special move rice pepper punch
princess's bodygaurd
stars that spread across the sky
my bursting BPM
cool jade
steam doll
JURI
passion of the three court ladies
three court ladies scarlet
passionate century
positive check
cant wait for summer
the girl of the sun
modern monotone
goodnight to flamenco
jurius caesar salad
jurius caesar salad+
hot blooded teacher's yell
passion red
a passionate winter
eight twinkle
i love you juri
passion rose
key to skincare
delicioso night
passionate idol activities
wandering bodygaurd
modernly dressed up
straight rose
RISA
little devil
tune of the five court musicians flute
five court musicians wisteria
playful little devil
sexy devil
the memories from the potatoes
radiance of the raspberry
chasing the admiration
glamor of the lame ribbon
admired stage
milky devil
NONO
tune of the five court musicians kotsuzumi
five court musicians plum
little devil
naughty little devil
cutie devil
dont miss out on the potatoes
KOKONE
caramelize
a hundred mark smile
i love sweets
the worlds center
winters cheerful dress
exciting dolphin
clover i finally found
retro modern girl
first shrine visit here
japanese retro flower
NINA
freely strechable
stylish monster
honey honey bee
candy girl will give you
supporting you
decided high touch
original little devil
rockin pumpkin
deilviery from the bottom of my heart
cutie little devil
holy love
lives on sleepless nights
new year sunrise
rockingly vivid
YUME
pink step
my crowning tv show
two bonds
marchen santa
present thats a cake
active girl
so many delicious foods
ROLA (laura for those who dont spell her name as rola)
blue step
the thing like usual
reason for passing
lets go shopping
confident bat girl
the north and southern cross
blue roses of courage
ice punkish
AKO
melon step
yellow santa
ring throwing that i won't let go of
MAHIRU
lavender step
china heroine
memories of our playtime
lets it it! onee-chan
winter visits
orchid of elegance
glossy jasmine
g*psy dancer
YOZORA
japan heroine
star appears
romance christmas
feminine style even in winter
TSUBASA
checkered activities in the morning
YUZU
canary santa
aiming at
KOHARU
tip toeing a little bit
refreshing ori*ntal
healing wink
ethic ballarina
beautiful roth flowers
HIME
my suggested tv show
chances to shine
girly christmas
while waiting for santa
cosmetic dress
fairy awaiting spring
Hey professional game dev/ full stack corpo dev here. The trick to overcoming code block is to give yourself one very small coding task a day. For instance adding that one variable you know you will need or even making and naming an empty class you are going to work on later. The important thing is to not stop even if it’s one small step! Good luck!
I actually really like this! I never really thought about working on code that way, but I think making a daily effort would make a big difference. I'll give an update on how this goes in next week's post!
Sorry this reply/post is so late, I only just discovered how to reply to these.
This week I've been working on a lot of non-gameplay related items. A lot of that includes sprite work and background art, but I've also been working on menus, music, and the title screen. I also spent a lot of time getting things ready on Itch.io, YouTube, and other sites. (Creating a presence with a game and getting noticed is hard work!)
In the end, art related tasks ended up taking most of my time this week. I wish there was a way to speed it up, but I don't think that's happening unless I discover some kind of art breakthrough or something. Here are some trees that will be used as part of the area map for the Yokai Forest.
If you want to see some gameplay, I uploaded a video that showcases the first level. There isn't any sound or music though, still working on learning how that stuff works in GameMaker 2.
youtube
Until next week! Here's hoping that I get more work completed on the gameplay side of things. Those posts are always more fun to make (Not that this one wasn't).
This was a week of optimizations for my game, and I did something that I don't think very many games have ever done, especially platformers...
I have removed contact damage from the game.
I know, pretty crazy right? Literally every platformer that I could think of has it. Something just feels off about it though. Like, if an enemy is jumping over you through the air and its foot just happens to touch your character, how is that supposed to do any damage???
Instead of contact damage, I opted for very quick sudden attacks that an enemy can do when you get too close to them as shown below:
But yeah. I think contact damage might be a little overrated or at least an old mechanic that doesn't really need to stick around, but what y'all think?
Something else that I am very happy and excited about is completing NPC dialog! I know that I showcased the basics of it last week, but this week I got dialog branches working. Now you can say yes, no, or whatever else appears in those two small boxes
That's all for now. The weeks are starting to blend together in terms of game development. I might need to start taking notes on what I've worked on or something.
Stage design has been going very good! A big part of stage design is hazards, so I've been working on adding some dangers that the player will have to be careful to avoid. Along with the variety of spiky plants that the player will need to dodge, now there are haunted torches and curse graves!
The haunted torches will spit out a cursed wisp that acts differently depending on the torch that spawns it. A simple torch will shoot out a high speed wisp in the direction of the player. If the torch is fancy though, the wisp will track and chase down the player.
The cursed grave is a hazard that indirectly effects the player. It prevents Mizuki's teleport from working when she is close to it, forcing the player to rely on the base movement mechanics.
Along with stage design and designing stage hazards, I've been getting some testing done and fixing bug and tweaking controls as needed. After all, feedback from player's is the most valuable feedback you can get!
I've also been making more backgrounds, so check out my previous post for a nice scenic pixel background :)
This week has been alright for game development. Lots of art, lots of polishing code, and lots of being exhausted after my full-time job. Some of that code polish has resulted in a whole new dialog system!
I'm very pleased with the improvements I made. The objects that create the dialog are MUCH easier to work with, are more flexible, and is much simpler. Having some very nice character sprites (courtesy of @kiwi-comics) definitely adds to overall feel of the dialog too. There are actual characters to talk to, and Mizuki isn't just a bunch of pixels!
A lot of work has also gone towards the Yokai village.
Figuring out how to add a little forest and yokai flair to traditional Japanese houses has been a fun challenge. When the village is complete, I'll have a whole showcase for it.
Anyways, I find myself kind of laughing at the fact that I thought I would have my steam page up a couple weeks ago. The amount of work, information, and other stuff that I've had to create and upload has been way more than I was expecting. So, the Steam page will have to wait for now while I get everything ready for it.
Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy the art/pixel art! See ya next week.