Visual Update

Right now i am working on the "Skeleton" of what will become Trish. the thing i can pose and draw over to keep proportions, and use as skeletons for other NPCs. I started with basic shapes, and now i am sculpting her form. In my mind she's going to be blonde haired, and i haven't decided on eye color.
So my question to you guys is: What do you think Trish should look like? Brown hair? Blonde? Should she have a light completion? Should i try for customization in this game, even if it takes a bunch longer?

Honestly, I've been avoiding customization so that i don't have to stay too long on the art aspect and i can move forward with the sound, then finally get in some real content and start to make the game into a real demo, and go from there

.What would you guys like to see? the game is downloadable for free via link in the shop page (before you go to the actual store) and while there isn't much there, I'd like to know where i should go from here when i am done with the new art assets.

Edit:
Here a picture i did just for fun. It's not representative of what's in the game, but it gives you an idea of where i am in my artistic skills (which is a huge improvement over when i started a few months back). Lots of room for improvement, but at least i am getting somewhere.

This is Trish, about to fight a lizard thing

On mediafire now

So despite my wishes, i went ahead and got a free version of the game up on mediafire so that you can have easy access to a free copy of the proof of concept. Please note there isn't much to look up, but shows off the basic engine. Over time I'll improve on the game until i have a "true" Demo.  Go to the bottom of the Store page and there is a link for the free download.

I'm still working on an ad free alternative, but this will do for now so you guys can at least see what i am working on.

Graphics Overhaul pt.1

So now, I've started with the "Graphics Overhaul" and I've decided to start with Trish (my current female protagonist) since i think she will be the most important. Currently i am using a model i found off the internet, and i have the issue of not knowing who the original artist is. According to the person who provided it, it is free to use commercially, but i still can't credit them, so i'll replace it to avoid issues, and because i don't believe in using Other's work without giving credit (except here, as a temp placeholder)

The other reason i need to work on Trish, is so i can work with her as "Parts", so that i can animate her more easily, which will make it easier to make cut scenes with her, and to get her to do all the things you expect a sprite to do (walking, swinging, and the like). right now i have set animations of the current model, and making that simple cut scene took up too much time, and doesn't look all that good since i had to cut up the model in Photoshop and reassemble it to make a pose.

Redesigned Trish should look far better, and she will save me time animating which means i can do more of them, and better quality in the same amount of time. Ihe other thing I'm doing is making her (and the rest of the game) higher resolution, to make things look better.
Once i have her done, I'll do some before and after images comparisons. I'm not sure of the model will look a lot better than the placeholder, but everything i do with it certainly will.

Now available!

Okay, so my simple proof-of-concept is on the interwebs finally. What held me up was looking for a means to distribute a free version of my game, which is not currently possible. I don't like using medifire or similar sites because they spam you with lots of ads and try to get you to download unwelcome programs.

Instead i am currently working on getting a download page that is ad-free that won't cost me more than a few bucks. If you have suggestions just let me know in the comments or email me (email below).

Right now, the game is available for sale, a $3 version and a $20 version.
 The 3 dollar version is a way to get the game as is and every new version that lets me pay for my upkeep costs, and gives me a few bucks to live off of.

The 20 dollar version includes getting your name into the credits, so everyone can see you were a supporter even when the game was largely unknown, and will help me put more hours into the game instead of working overtime, and might even let me hire and artist which means more work in less time, and better quality work all around!

I do have a free option, right now just email me dan@verpacunnus.com and you can have the proof of concept entirely free, and when i have a real demo, that will be available for free too. the full version of the game will be a 5 dollar purchase.

Later on, i would like to offer more incentives to help support me for this project (and future projects after that) so i can make the game bigger and better than currently planned.

Proof of Concept...

Working on having it for download later today... Currently working on the the "cover art" namely the Art for the splash screen and icon. I wanted to take some extra time on these things and try to work on my art a little bit, not only get get some practice in, but to also show that with time and effort, i can at least moderately improve the art i have in the proof of concept, especially if and when i can have more time to work on it.

I'll try to have it up and ready within the next few hours, but it looks like it won't actually be available until Sunday. I'm hoping though that showing off my modest (but tangible) improvements will be worth the delay.

Internet is back!

Earlier on i was complaining about internet being down in my main workspace, and boy was that a pain in the ass. But now it's back up, which means it will be easier for me take make updates and work on getting the framework up for Verpa Cunnus. By the weekend time, i should have my little proof of concept up and available. from there you'll have access to it as i make updates.

The first major update is going to be another pass at the current art objects, and a few new art assets. Unlike the ones in place now, I'll be taking more time to be able to have slightly better quality. I'm not a great artist, but i should make things look a bit less... crap than they do now.
I expect this to happen 1-2 weeks after i have a place to distribute my game. 

The next update will involve finding music and sound effects for the game, since right now, it's entirely silent. If you know any free places where i can get royalty free music, let me know. After that, i plan to divide my time between art assets, programming, and bug fixes fairly evenly. If i can get the resources, I'd like to get my friend in to help with the art, since that will really ramp up the quality, and speed up development.

I'll keep you guys up to date. For now i have some real work to do.

Proof of concept, and the next steps.

So, my proof of concept is done, and now it's time to take a break from the game development portion so i can get the game set up, and start generating some real interest in the game. It's nice to make it this far, and i'd like to make a little recap of the process so far:

First, I've always had an interest with video games. I love playing them, and i dare say i am naturally good with playing, understanding, and coming up with new game concepts. I always thought to myself "Boy, i could come up with great ideas, if only i could program and draw".

later on I've even tried to take classes for game design, sadly i took this course more seriously than the college or the other students (Playing games, and learning the basics of free tools that you could learn by watching a YouTube tutorial, which is what i am doing).

So, years later, with an interest in developing games, and now some financial issues, I've started developing Verpa Cunnus in my spare time. I've been working on it for the past 6 months... of course that doesn't mean i put 6 months worth of work into it, Because i have been working 84 hour weeks (getting paid 40 hours mind you) it's hard to be motivated to push forward on the game.

When i started the project, i knew almost nothing about programming and even less about any sort of art. Even now, it's a struggle. Over the months though, I've learned a great deal and have improved on my little game engine and now i have something functioning well enough to show off. The art aspect is lacking, but i think when i have more time to devote to doing the part (I've had to throw in cheap versions of what i could draw or use free source material to cover for the sake of having something to show off).

So here is what i have now:

the good:
Basic enemy ai (they follow you and damage you)
bare bones combat (equip a dagger, do damage with it)
Inventory system (which i am proud of)
fairly tight controls and a simple concept
dialog basically works

The bad:
graphics are laughable
animations are missing or lacking

The ugly:
my one "cutscene"has no substance. there is a little place holder animation just to prove the system works.

"Art" "style" needs improvement. Even when i get them looking better, they need more detail.
There also seems to be a stuttering issue that is inherent in the development program i am using, that i need to get over.

Where to go from here? well to start, i need to come up with a method which which i can show off my "proof of concept". While it isn't overly appealing in it's current state, i hope that people can see where i can take it from there. What i was able to put together was from my spare time out of my 84  hour work weeks, tired and drained mind, and with an hour a day or less to work on it over those 6 months.

I can only imagine what games i could develop if i were working on them full time! How i long to make that a reality, and Verpa Cunnus is the first step toward that goal. My hope is that i could generate some interest of some people who would want to see this game reach it's true potential, rather than remain a side project.