HAS SCIENCE GONE TOO FAR? WHICH ONE IS REAL???
I got the walking AI pretty much wrapped up, and I figured the best way to test it was to drop a buuuunch of clones into one room and see what happened. Which resulted in a lot of giggling on my part.
Working on enemy AI for the first time.
Accidentally made a clone that wanders the entire map.
What does it want? Where is it going? Is it hungry? IS IT SENTIENT??
Mini-update!
Posted on December 23, 2017
Hey all! Quick textish update for y’all. I’ve had the last few days off work and have been working away at The Waking Cloak quite a lot! Pieces are falling into place, and it’s beginning to feel like an actual game.
Here’s what’s been completed:
- Finished roll attack animations and added roll attacks into the game (I’m still tweaking these and fixing bugs)
- Implemented better collision (from a prototype I have; last time I talked about fixing collision, it was in the prototype)
- Fixed collisions with NPCs
- Fixed a weird movement bug with the sword attack
- Dialogue now triggers again, and using a better method (you can’t talk to NPCs while facing away from them anymore, lol)
- Fixed tall grass (for one, it would cause the brief screen pause whenever you hit the grass, even if i was cut, and for two, I accidentally made it solid while updating the collision… both have been fixed)
- Worked on sketching up puzzles and initial dungeon design for one of the items
- Updated the title screen some more and worked on animating a cloak for it
My laptop died, so I went old-school and sketched out ideas. I actually liked doing things this way!
Continued. Started figuring out how the early parts of a dungeon might work!
Animated cloak WIP! Gotta start by sketching out the basic lines. This has been a major learning process, but we’re getting there.
MAN it feels good to be back. Here’s my roll attack animations for #TheWakingCloak. :D
Essentially it’s the first several frames of the roll, the last few frames of the attack, with some transitional animation frames in between. This is what you get when you hit the attack button while rolling–the area of damage ends up being bigger, and I’ll probably set it up to do extra damage (maybe 1.5). I haven’t “eased” the animation yet, but I’ll get to that during programming.
“I do not approve of this shabby compartment,” is the first thing Roderek was heard to have said when boarding the refugee ship. It’s not certain whether his wrinkled nose is a feature he was born with, or if it’s just something that’s become permanently a part of his face after making disgusted expressions all the time.
He never calls anyone by name or even by respectful titles. Usually it’s “boy” or “little girl”… regardless of age. Roderek’s opinion on everything is always heard, and his way is always the best way. Don’t tell him of your woes, because he’ll either one-up you or utter terrible phrases such as, “Why not get a real job instead?”
I drew a completely different sprite for this guy, decided it didn’t fit (but I’d still use it later), saved it, and then started over. You’ll see that other guy someday!
It’s kind of unfortunate that I wasn’t able to create a making-of GIF for Roderek, since he changed so much. He was originally shorter, with a much bigger head. Maybe appropriate to his character, but it didn’t look very good! He also wore red clothes which my I realized (almost too late) were a ripoff of Ziddo’s original clothes: red with a white belt and white diagonal middle.
So I fixed his Roderek’s head, but it took a long time before I was happy with his clothing. I experimented with different vests (which his old arms [curse arms!] kept covering up). Making him one pixel taller and redrawing his body helped a lot. Got a bit fancier with his clothes too. The wide stride was not on purpose, but I like how it makes him look overly confident. :)
Seni and Bipso call her Mom, but Lyda is also the best (and possibly only) baker on the island. Her blazberry pies are to die for, and she has baked often for King Ogwarther XV and his father before him.
Little known fact: when Lyda was younger, she was a bit of an adventurer herself! She used to roam parts of the island (though not the mountainous northern region, nor the depths of the forest, of course), and has even visited the Turtle Tribe on occasion. Her husband is a bit of a timid sort, and they tend to clash on how much freedom to give their children.
Does the old sprite look familiar? It’s the same as for Firula!
When I originally started remaking the sprite for Firula, I ended up going in a couple different directions–the young diva and the kindly mother. The mother sprite didn’t go particularly well at first, so I saved it away and finished up Firula.
I only made a couple tweaks, though, to the new mother sprite before Lyda emerged. I’d already been toying around with another sprite and ended up making a head I liked, but didn’t fit that character. I replaced Lyda’s head with that one, fixed the arms (as ususal), ironed out some kinks with the dress, and voilà!
Careful you don’t plunge to your death! That edge is dangerous.
I’m pretty happy about getting bottomless pits in the game. They’re great obstacles for you guys to overcome, and another tool in my belt for creating interesting and varied puzzles!
It’s my birthday, yay! :D
Featuring a cake so large that Tav ate a new dungeon into it. This has affected him.
He’s not mentioned in any folktale or legend, unlike Vanth, but recent reports tell of a new, menacing figure accompanying the apparent return of the witch. General Charun commands an army of monsters without a single word. What will you do if you are unlucky enough to meet him?
Here’s a special edition NPC reveal! Turns out this guy is the most complicated NPC I’ve drawn (go figure, since he’s also four times as large as the rest).
My initial mental image didn’t work out in the slightest (as you’ll see below in the process gif, lol). I was thinking something like General Onox from Oracle of Seasons to parallel Vanth being loosely based off Veran from Oracle of Ages. I flailed around quite a bit with the design, attempting quite a few helmet styles, and took some stabs at a body design at the same size as Vanth, before throwing him at my little brother and begging for help.
My brother was a big help on this one. He had some great suggestions–change the color, make him bigger, don’t make him look like a power ranger or an 80′s cartoon character with the spikes on his shoulders.
I lucked out quite a bit on the arms (arms are hard), and since I was having immense trouble with the legs (which you’ll also see in the process gif), I went back to a bit of the General Onox design and did the leg/trenchcoat/armor/thingies. It seems to have worked out. :)
The promised process gif! Sorry about the lopsidedness at the beginning:
Oh, and a bonus from our critique session:
How to help an artist:
Posted on September 12, 2017
Ditch the like button
No, seriously. If you don’t have money to help out an artist financially, the second best thing is to reblog all the things you like. While liking it does tell the artist that “hey I really like this!” It does jack shit because the only ones who will see that are me and you.
Why do you think there are so SO many posts made by people that are literally summed down to “please reblog my artwork I need the notes!”? Because no one reblogs artwork. Unless you’re a ridiculously popular blog with thousands of followers, you’ll only end up getting 1 or no reblogs.
SO HELP OUT ARTISTS AND PLEASE REBLOG OUR ART, BECAUSE WE REALLY NEED THE VIEWS ;V;)/
Friendly reminder. Reblog it if u dig it :)
^^^^^Allllll of this 👏👏👏
Hey this goes for fanfic writers on tumblr too!!!
I have a habit of reblogging original tumblr art, not because I want to help out the artist, but because I LIKE THE ART. But, ( a big but) I post my own art too, and if it gets ONE HEART I smile…..and that smile is priceless.
A lot of stuff I hit the heart, partially to say I like it or understand, but if it’s really good, I hit the reblog because advertising is better than nothing else…
And sometimes, like in @theartofmichaelwhelan’s case, you already know his work, just maybe didn’t realize it….
Yes, this…and it goes for all creators who put quality out there.
True story regarding our history as a Tumblr blog
I started this page 4 years ago. Despite Michael’s name recognition and existing base of followers on the website, it took a couple years to grow an audience organically here. A huge chunk of our 13k followers came when one of our posts was spotlighted on the Tumblr radar—I believe it was PEGASUS IN FLIGHT.
It happened randomly, probably thanks to a reblog hitting the right person’s feed at just the right time. Within 24 hours Tumblr featured Michael as a top artist on the platform and we were off to the races.
Because we found a receptive audience here, we create content specifically for this platform and blog here everyday. And I can tell you, Michael does pay attention to not just the messages we receive but all of the engagement on our page. It means a lot even to an artist of his stature.
So imagine what that kind of exposure does for an artist just starting their career? The truth is we all need an audience to engage and respond to the work we create.
Likes are great. Reblogs mean the world.
This is really important. I don’t like asking for reblogs/etc., but it helps so much more than you realize! Please, if you like what you see for The Waking Cloak, consider reblogging!
A huge thank you to those who already do. It really gets the word out. :)
(And don’t forget to do the same for artists and other devs you like!)