Monsters in the Forest

Slightly revised lizard spaceship

Firing its weapon downward, with cargo bay doors open. I was thinking the weapon would basically launch heavy-metal projectiles downward and cause damage on the ground of a planet via force of gravity. It fits with the slightly brutal and unsubtle style of the lizards so far, I think.

Time for another lizard spaceship concept

I vaguely remember the spaceship from the movie "Aliens" looking quite a lot like this but whatever, it's a good look. At least, I like it more than my last design.

evnironment for the Crab

I'll have to go through photoshop to revise it T_T

the colors look too blend in and mix together

- the crabs live under the water.

- their houses are build under the tree ( in the root )

My Stuff

So far i have 2 landscapes (which sucks) and 2 creatures

Here are the landscapes

This one is a lab in the middle of the forest next to a cliff which works as a mine. Inside there are genetic experiements and robots that may attack the main character.

(there could be something in the mine too, or not, its just there to look nice.)

Also i made it so the gates are locked and the way to get into the lab is by taking a beaten path behind the bushes. Hope you can see it

This was is like an abandoned building on top of a tree, im not sure what its for, but if anyone gets any ideas i would like to hear it

This is a lizard foot soldier i made, he is very basic with only a gun as a weapon. He could be a common creature or something, noting too special about him

 Finally heres the robot I made. the one that "looks like clank" i think anyways. So far i gave him cannons for hands which is main source of attacking and in his "mouth" area i also gave him a cannon. he has a cokpit where the lizard man can ride and shoot people. 

On his back, the gun and his foot there are tube like things filled with liquid which i was thinking could be used as a power source, and the way to defeat him is to take them all out. After that the lizard man will pop out or something and start attacking you.  Just an idea of course

This is all i got so far. :] opinions and constructive critisim plox x]

Two things I'm working on almost simultaneously (So both are works in progress)...

This is the antagonist and it's a work in progress atm. He has a dragon helmet that can fire a beam of energy. I plan to give him a bladed weapon, so that's what that thing jutting out is going to be.

Questions? Comments? Possible names for this char?

This is the scene I'm currently working on. (Photoshop paintbrushes ftw)

It's basically the scene he finds the weapon.

To anyone doing the environments for the mask people: have any idea what the main characters clothing should be colored? Above is sort of a filler.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions?

I'mma keep working....and it's about time for our meeting. :D

Group meeting?

Anybody up for an online group meeting tonight?

7:00pm-ish?

Oh, and if people have some free time tomorrow we could possibly do an offline meeting.

Lizard spaceship concept

The idea here is that the lizard people are constantly at war and constantly remodeling their ship to adapt to new military adventures, hence the cobbled-together silhouette. Additionally, I posited that the lizards would be the type to fight amongst themselves, so the ship is arranged to quell mutinies by its lesser crewmen. If we decide on a different sort of culture for the lizards I will change the look of their ship as well. The guns are just placeholder generic laser guns until we decide what exactly the lizards are armed with. Honestly I'm not terrifically satisfied with my work here so I might give it another shot later tonight.

Attention...

ATTN:

To those who don't frequent this blog:

Please check the blog more. 

(or give updates)

Don't check the blog, but need to have questions answered? Oho! Post a question or questions and you will get responses!

Need suggestions? Feedback? Assistance? Ask!

Just finished something and are wondering what to do next? Ask!

Haven't been working on your project lately? That's not even funny. Get to work....NOW!  ಠ_ಠ 

Weapon capabilites discovered early in the game

(Wow, the coloring came out weird because it's in CYMK. The cannonfire is supposed to be bright orange and the color I had used for the cannon's transformation was blue)

These are techniques that are learned early in the game.

One is projectile, the other is melee.

More advanced techniques will be learned later on. I will sketch out two examples later and post them.

If you're creating a game scene that requires action, you can use these as reference. :D

Questions? Comments? Suggestions?

Anway, continue working...FOR GREAT JUSTICE!

GRAH! (Still in progress)

Okay! I'm really sorry. I've been working on other things and almost forgot about the lizard. lawl.

You know what? I'm just going to finish this one up then take it all the way; refine it.

Any suggestions/comments related to armor is fine. I can't really affort to change the body structure drastically. IF that is neccessary, Alexa's design would be fine. 

So...I'll just keep working.

Some scans- Lizard aircraft and Crab trooper alternate

I also attempted a lizard environment sketch but it wasn't really scanning properly and was nothing to write home about anyhow.

Notes on the crabmen: The size of the pincer would increase with rank. The roman numerals on the chest armor are just placeholders: they could be decorated in any way we see fit. I didn't quite think through what the crabmen's faces would look like underneath the face masks: probably they'd have crab-like mouthparts.
Notes on the lizard aircraft: The cockpit is probably where I'm least satisfied with this. The windows are supposed to look vaguely eye-like. The scaled portion represents the craft's "neck" and can maybe made to swivel around/stretch and contract to respond to threats on the ground. It's not pictured in the sketch, but the craft would probably deploy lizardmen via a ramp at the back, sort of like the V-22 Osprey. Note that this isn't really a spaceship, more of a tactical transport: I'll design a spacefaring lizard ship soon, probably once Kyle's designs for the lizards come online.

ooookay

I'm going to post the lizardman tomorrow....sometime before noon. Preferrably before 10am.

Then I'm going to work on the antagonist, then spiritual guide, crab guy, then uhhhh.....maybe an enemy or two. Then a scene or two. Oh yeah, finish the weapon capabilities.

After those, I'll refine my work for presentation. 

(ﾟДﾟ;≡;ﾟДﾟ)

How's everyone's work coming along?

┐('～`；)┌

 

Crabmen! (Working draft)

Introducing the crabmen!

I based the torso off of Jocelyn's model.

Suggestions/comments appreciated....

Assistance and update!

If anyone currently working on environments is looking for something else to do, I'd appreciate if someone would take care of some of the crab people design. Just let me know and perhaps we can collaborate on the design. Otherwise I'm just going to have to cram it in. I plan to work all day on designs this saturday. :P

Along with the all the other things I'm working on, I'm going to try to make a scene in the game. I want to create a scene,  that might be found in the game for the sake of presentation.

If anyone else would like to make a scene, I'll be posting all character designs I'm currently working on saturday.

When I say scene I mean like an illustration of a scene or even in the game. 

Sunday I'll do refining.

I'll try to pull off: 

Discovery of the weapon.

Hmm....if I have have enough energy tomorrow, I can possibly get a more finished Lizardman and Crabmen design for people to work with. However if anything it'll be a bit easier for me to post a lizardman since I already have a working draft for that. I don't have a solid draft for the crabmen yet. 

.__.

Anyway that's just an update. 

I wish everyone could be online at once for a discusion....or at least bother to check this blog a bit more often (no offense to the ones who already frequent this place)

(╬ ಠ益ಠ)

Notes from Tuesday March 24th

I'm disappionted that not everyone was able to show up, but here are some notes that I took. If everyone had attended, it would have been a breeze to accomplish the things I listed the other day.

Anyway, here are some notes that I took. We mostly discussed the storyline, as well as some design issues:

Game will most likely be rated T….or M if we really don’t want any limits.

Established points:

PROTAGONIST GOAL: Wants to get lizardmen off his planet because they’re hostile invaders and are taking over the planet one nation (unbeknownst to the hero’s town). Wants to find out why they’re here(on his planet).

ANTAGONIST GOAL: Just conquer the planet.

 

Hero’s town is invaded by lizard people.

Lizard people cause a ruckus.

Lizards capture the town and they occupy it shortly after the battle. 

Hero flees town when lizard people start attacking.

The night after the battle/occupation, hero finds the weapon which fell from the sky that night.

The Mask people’s reaction to him warding off the lizard men: they encourage him to leave for fear of starting more conflict.

[Something happens here!]

Hero meets crab people at a settlement.

Hero infiltrates a settlement with a platoon of crab people. Crab people are hostile. They attack. **

Crab leader recognizes the hero’s weapon, as the crab leader remembers fighting the lion people with comrades. Tells hero a secret about the weapon. Weapon level up.

Hero continues on voyage

[Something happens here; To be continued!]

 

Established character qualities:

Guards in mask town have intimidate.

Description of mask people’s society: It’s a theocracy. Small but tough. Isolated society? Generally peaceful.

Antagonist is a lizard commander

 

 

 

 

Qualities that need to be established:

Masks change qualities of the character in some way. (or rather the importance of masks in the game if any)

Weapon rejects all others who try to use it.

 

Established environment qualities:

Hero’s town is in a dense forest.

Crabmen live in or near a body of water of some kind.

 

Suggested themes for levels and areas:

Ancient city

City ruins (like, a recently destroyed city)

Sewer

Aquatic/shoreline

Reptile fortress

 

Gameplay:

Game may feature a targeting system.

Weapon will feature multiple modes and attacks.

Weapon will gain skills as player progresses through game.

Possibility of multiplayer (if there are other playable characters in the story mode)

Varying levels of difficulty after completing initial playthrough.

Due to the nature of the more sentient enemies, the AI will provide a good challenge.

Possibly a basic destructible environment.

[End....]

[....For now]

Online discussion tomorrow evening.

How about we start around 7:30pm?

Spiritual guide!

Okay. We need ideas for a spiritual guide for the hero! 

Make suggestions please!

Preferrably not a talking [animated] mask or a fairy. ;)

____________________________________________________________

We will be having an online discussion sometime soon. I will also upload things we discussed tonight either on this blog, or during our online meeting.

Online meeting will most likely be thursday evening. Until then, keep going on your designs.

BTW We really need a group discussion next time. ;D

Today

Hopefully most us will be here at 6:00 or so.

Things that we really need to go over (in no particular order):

-Rundown of the story. Tying up loose ends of the storyline. It's vital that we have a conclusion, and a good portion of a "road of trials." 

-Rundown of characters including enemies, bosses, etc. We need to get these done. (if you decide you would really like to take charge in designing something, you must follow through with the completion. No exceptions.)

-Discuss gameplay.

-Rundown of environments and possibly level design (for the sake of presentation we should at least have one level + gameplay mock-up to show.)

-Color schemes (for everything that currently doesn't) Specific color guidelines would benefit everyone. If everyone has Photoshop handy with them (on their laptop) perhaps we can make swatches so it can save us some time so we can be on our way to wrapping up our work at a somewhat quicker pace. 

-Turning drafts into a finished work. 

-Current progress of the project overall.

-What we need to do to get this done. (Everything discussed at this portion must be followed through and be on-time or ahead of time. No exceptions). If we need to make due dates for every specific work, design, etc. then so shall it be. 

-Our next meeting time (important!). 

___________________________________________________________

A general attendance policy:

Due to the fact that we just ended spring break, we should increase our meetings either online or offline. If we schedule an online meeting, it is recommended that you attend so you won't miss any information. From now on, if for any reason you will not be able to participate in a scheduled discussion or if you will only have a very limited amount of time during that discussion, please notify at least one groupmember 6-12 hours in advance. If you don't show up without letting anyone know in advance, it gives us the impression that the completion of this project isn't high on your list of priorities and you'll be the one asking what happened.

If you weren't able to attend a meeting or left a meeting early and you missed info that applies to your task, the information will be relayed to you by one or more group member.

________________________________________

Hope to see you at 6:00pm or so (which is just an hour away lol).

 

Lizard Design Silhouettes

I feel like I'm not able to explain the silhouette thing well enough in words, so I decided to illustrate it (>_> shoulda thought of it earlier)

The first three are the silhouettes we got, the last is a professional's work I grabbed at random (just to demonstrate that these are real issues that professionals consider while designing). None of ours are reading wonderfully, exactly, but I don't think it's going to far in saying that the 2nd from the right looks pretty mad : o.

Upright triangles look more powerful, spikey shapes look unfriendly (shark teeth are scarier looking  than horse teeth), round shapes look cute and friendly (think Kirby), flowing shapes look feminine and sometimes fast (lines of sports cars).

All shapes carry a feeling. Looking at the professional's silhouette, the form is clear, while it's also apparent that he used a triangle for the overall form, with little spike-y bits jutting out everywhere (arrows, tattered loincloth, fingers). 

Still hoping for more art.

Still hoping for more art from peoples. Obviously, there's not the worst rush, as we have a week still, but it worries me that not everyone met, even minimally, the Friday deadline that was set.

I know everyone is really busy, but it would be awesome if we could refine what we have before next week : O

OMFG SUPER IMPORTANT!!!

Att the time Fund of GA will be this week we will be meeting and settleing things at the north campus in the library.

Hey Alexa

Hey Alexa, i had some ideas for landscapes Tell me what you think :]

1. Maybe a city IN the mountain, or is the mountain. Like the center of the mountain is the city, and the top and bottom is still the mountain. Like the Mesas in Arizona

2. This isn't much of an idea, more of a thought. Because we are doing a lot of this in space should we design all the planets?

3. I was thinking, a castle in the sky, for maybe a dungeon or something.

Game Art Discussion!?

Perhaps we could have a game art discussion later tonight or tomorrow?

(22/03/09)EDIT: Game Art discussion will be today. Late afternoon or early evening.

EDIT: Well, the discussion didn't work out. We need everyone to participate.

However, next time we will be having a discussion no matter what. If you miss the next discussion, then we will have to relay information to you whenever you're available. 

More angry lizard guy

I did a quick draw over of the basic lizard guy to make him a bit less cute (though I love the original with all my heart).  I tried to get some of those pangolin scales in there

Here's what I got for the main character's hometown/village/forest thing. I tried to incorporate what we've got so far. The verticals are like roman columns. I'm thinking the lights are either windows or the equivalent of street lights. 

If this town was in a war, it wouldn't be too defensible, so I'm thinking this place has stayed safe because it is hidden and remote.

 

I'm not sure if the mood is working, so tell me if you think it should be different (and why? XD)

The look of the lizard antagonist. (Scrapped!)

Okay, I did this relatively fast. Here's a design for the basic look of the antagonist. He's a commander. 

I'll make a full-body drawing next. That is, if this look is alright...

Otherwise I'll try another look.

Thoughts?

o_o

Lizardman Re-design (Scrapped. Now working on original model)

I did this relatively quickly.

Thoughts?

._.

Scratch this, but I'll use the lighting unless you guys hate it : 3

This was a shanty town I was working on originally as the main character's home town. I'm gonna keep the lighting and mood, but use Jung's tree hanging idea and Kyle's Roman-ish style from the main character.

Landscape

heres an idea of the "home village" of the mask people

If you cant tell what the image is, i placed the town at the edge of a forest with the houses on the ground, roots and hanging from the branches.

Basic Lizardman (Now scrapped. In the process of redesigning it)

Basic Lizardman (with some sort of rifle)

This is a working draft of a basic lizardman. In order to make it more like the paper model, I'm going to make the armor a bit pointed and sorta cone-shaped.

I'm having some trouble coming up with firearm weapons that a lizardman would wield, but I'll come up with something neat for the sake of this draft. If anyone would like to help design firearm weaponry for any of the races, feel free to do so. :D 

I'm accepting feedback and suggestions as I continue with this drawing.

 

Main Character (Work in progress!) ಠ_ಠ

Main Character (currently nameless)

(For some reason it's not letting me post the image any larger)

This is the main character with the weapon. This is a draft/work-in-progress so feedback and suggestions are appreciated. I'm currently working on the outfit and I'm still trying new looks. For the mask, I just drew that in as a filler, if anyone would like to design masks, feel free to do so. :D

I imagine the mask people to be somewhat short in stature, but strong for their size.

I could possibly work on a female main character depending on how we develop the story...

I'm planning to crank out some more characters that could be found in various parts of the game, which may include enemies or bosses.

Once again, this is still a work in progress and I am up for suggestions/feedback.

:D

Crab spaceship concepts

You may discuss which works best.

Discussion tomorrow!

There will be a discussion tomorrow (18/03/09) at 5:00pm or so. Attend, or I'll send my ninjas after you. :D  

UPDATE:

Well, John and I were the only ones online at 5:00pm today. Perhaps there was a miscommunication?

This time, let's have everyone post when they would like the next discussion to be. :D

If you suggest a discussion time and plan to attend, please follow through on it. :D

Oh yeah, off-topic: I just need to confirm this, but we don't have game art class next week, right? 

Outline for a story (just backstory +)

Okay, I've made a rough outline for a story, or the backstory + intro to a story. No body or conclusion yet, which leaves it open to anything. 

Intro:

On the mask people’s planet, there were a people who lived a relatively peaceful life

Crab men created a colony 2 years ago.

The mask people allow them to colonize, as long as they don’t cause a ruckus to them, or damage their resources

They got into some trouble with a Lizard-like race over trade agreements. ( or something else)

The lizard people decide to invade because the crab people provoked.

The conflict is putting the masked people’s lives in jeopardy.

5 years of intense fighting have gone between the lizard and crab people.

The mask people are trying to cope and defend themselves. The crab people are starting to break their agreements and have been seeking shelter in the mask people’s cities, bringing the fight to their doorstep.

The story begins here:

one night, in the middle of a meteor shower, an object falls from the sky outside of a town that is currently under threat of being attacked.

A young man of the masked people finds it.

It’s a relatively big object, yet somewhat light, has an alien language written on it (not from the crab people or lizard people).

The next day, his town happens to be stormed by the lizard people who are search their homes relentlessly.

The weapon is used to fend off the lizard people.

Enough damage is done to them to want to pull out of the city. They leave with the intent of returning.

The young man with weapon gets mixed reactions from the public, the authorities confiscate the weapon so it can be examined and potentially be useful for their own military.

The young man doesn’t appreciate them taking the weapon he found.

Needs to get it back because he’s the only one who can use it, (yet he still doesn’t know all the weapon's capabilities yet)

(To be continued)

Lets begin

Sorry I haven't been on but i have some personal business i had to attend to. 

First off i think we should throw out the idea of the racing game, personally i hate them, unless you are wacking each other with something, like a shell, or random powers. Anyways i think adventure style is the way to go. With the story we have as an alt. SOOO here is my idea~

[Story]

In a far off star system, a war between, the crab, lizard, and lion races, waged on for the last gas giant (for fuel, and power) The lion people, in a desperate attempt to win the war in one blow developed a weapon in secret in another star system. During development, they created a key, which was needed to link the power to the system.

During the transport, the ship carrying the weapon was hit by a powerful solar wind which caused the ship to malfunction and exploded and the weapon was released, and fell onto the planet. The people living there, saw the crash, and went to investigate. Thinking that the object that fell was a gift from the gods, they called the place "holy grounds" and the key "sacred". Unbeknownst to them the weapon gave off strong radiation, which mutated the area with monsters, and phantoms. The people around the area developed powers, or discovered powerful skills in magic. 

But with great power comes great war :], so a war soon broke out between the people, which resulted a split into three nation. War waged on for a long time, and as a last ditch effort for peace, the three nation decreed that they will slip the "sacred" object into three pieces, and that the "holy gounds" will be fenced in. [They wanted to do this because this is were all the misfortune started] 

The lion kingdom was obliterated, and with it, the knowledge about the weapon. But after time passed the information surfaced. and the two remaining nations went after the weapon thinking that it will allow them to win the war. 

Unfortunetly, they know the other knows of the weapon, so they send in 1 person to search for the object, as to not let suspision grow, also they were not allowed to bring any power weapons, just in case they accidently shot the weapon and distroyed it, or set it off. 

[Game Play]

~Character choice~

Lizard

Crab

(the intro is still the same, and so is the storyline, expect how they get here - different ships-)

Characters will start off with nothing, only fist, and kicks, etc. Eventually they will purchase wepons from the natives. Staves, swords, etc. 

[Skills]

Skills can be obtained though books, people, or events

[growth]

Growth can be obtained though lvling (growth is stats basically)

[GAME PLAY]

(will be listed in order of game time)

Mission 1. Find information about the weapon

Mission 2. Find the Weapon/ holy lands

Mission 3. Break into "holy lands"

Mission 4. Defeat rival

[you fail to defeat the rival, because a powerful monster interupts the battle]

Misson 5. Gather information about the "holy lands"

 Mission 6. Go to first town. 

Misson 7. Get information.

~you must learn that the piece of the key is being held at the "Hole In Hell"

Misson 8. Go to "Hole in Hell"

People who protect the hole appear, you must defeat them

Misson 9. Find the Key piece

Misson 10. Go to next area

Misson 11. Gather information

You discover the piece is atop of a trophy for a competition.

Mission. 12 Enter competition

Mission 13. Defeat monsters. 

Mission 14. Get the trophy

Mission 15. Get the key piece

Mission 16. Kill enemy

Mission 17. Get to next town. 

Mission 18. Gather information

You find out that the key fragment is atop the kings crown. 

Mission 19 Get into the palace

Misson 20 get to the king

Mission 21 Assassinate the king.

Mission 22 Get they key fragment

You discover that the piece is a fake!

Mission 23 Get out of the castle

Mission 24. Find a disguise

Mission 25. Find out more information

You discover that the king has another prized item, a clay mask.

Mission 26. Find location of the mask.

Its somewhere in the castle

Mission 27. Get into the castle though the sewers.

Mission 28. Find the location of the mask undetected.

The mask is behind the king's throne, a clue from a fake mask pointing in that direction leads you there. 

Mission 29. enter the room behind the throne

You are now located in an ancient city, it is very moist, so there are gigantic mushrooms growing everywhere.

Mission 30 Find the mask

You find the mask in a tower 

Mission 31. Get to the Holy Lands

Mission 32 Defeat each of the "power houses" for each nation that blocks your path

Mission 33 Navigate though to the weapon

Mission 34 Enter the weapon, and start up the machine

Your rival apears

Mission 35 Kill the rival

Mission 36 Launch the weapon and take the thing back to your nation.

[end of game play]

~heres what happends next. the weapon is broken, first of all, there is a large crack in it, and power leaks from the weapon. Also the system is damaged, so when you try to fly, it fires at the destination you want to go. But the weapon is so strong it moves  little and it shoots the gas giant that you are fighting for, the planet explodes, and distroys the entire star system.

[Tada IRONY]

Thats my idea for a game

If you have any comments, or questions list them below and ill answer asap

PS. Please ignore the bad spelling

Spring Break!

Hooray! We're now on spring break, which means we have to start cracking down on this project and we should start soon.

We need to have a discussion(one of many, perhaps) because we will be needing to make a lot of changes; a complete overhaul. I concept that we had was pretty good, but it was more of a short story, cinematic piece, than a game.

So let's make an awesome game. :)

For the discussion, we could have it online via an instant messenger (it's one of the quickest ways to chat long distance besides making phone calls) or, we could actually meet up somewhere have the discussion as a group in person.

This blog is great for relaying information to everyone, but for a discussion we should probably go with something that's a bit more quick-paced.

So, instant messenger-wise it seems Jung and Jocelyn are more familiar with MSN, John is more familiar with AIM (I think. Please correct me if I'm wrong), and I'm not sure what messenger(if any) you use, Alexa (I'm sorry).

So it seems there is a split between 2 instant messenger clients and we will have to meet up in one of them. I'll go with whatever anyone wants to use. I'm more accustomed to AIM, but recently got a Windows Live account so I'm just starting to get the hang of the layout, functions, etc.

In our last official online discussion(about a week ago), Jung, Jocelyn, and I met up on MSN to talk about the project.

I suggest we have a discussion soon.

So leave comments here suggesting discussion times as well as how you would like it to be held (online or in-person).

It will be one of many. The sooner the better.

-Kyle

Idea

Hey guys, here are some ideas i have :]

1. Maybe a racing game to get the weapon?
2. Maybe the story we have is an alt. ending in case we come up with a "non deadly" ending
- Looking at the idea above, and the ending we have, we can come up with a story were the three race to get the weapon, but the thing is, because the moon has been shattered, and maybe solar flares and winds, they need to dodge in order to advance. Also if that is too boreing, maybe there were aliens living on the moon which the player needs to defeat.

-The character choice is any [lion/lizard/crab] and depending on the character, and how well the player does, the ending is different.

[ i think that the good ending should be "the planet blowing up", and the bad ending should be the planet shoots a cannon and kills them all or something]

[just an idea]

Rock and Roll

Let's ROCK THIS PROJECT~!