Last weekend was pretty intense. Since I had to splinter the Archangel Chapter project into two project : itself and the new Exequor USCA game, I decided it would be the ideal time to implement a new DLL/plugin system that was lingering in my mind for a while. And so Lib Shmoulette was born.
Shmoulette stems from two root words : Shmup and Oulette. Shmup is a generic word used to describe shoot-em-up games. A few weeks before Challengemania VII, in April 2000, Kulka uttered the historic sentence "Oulette, kin, feuni!", which roughly translates to "Oulette, you're feunished!". And ever since, the word "Oulette" has been associated with "feuni", or "feunished". Although Oulette ended up winning the match against Kulka, and so it was Kulka who ended up "feunished", the association remained in the collective minds of everyone in attendance, and soon after everyone on the planet. And so the library is called "Shmoulette", because it helps you feunish your shoot em up game.
So Shmoulette creates a DLL that you put in the game's folder. This allows for the creation of Shmoulette-plugins that will end up defining specific content for your shmup. So not only can you customize your shmup using the XML files provided but you can also add codes in the form of DLL plugins.
I will probably release Lib Shmoulette soon after the release of the first Shmoulette game. Cheers!
Friday, October 20, 2006
Friday, October 13, 2006
Day 273 : Plan B
I haven't posted as much lately, but things still went forward. I fixed up the editor and I introduced a few behaviors for some of the models I previously posted about.
Today it struck me. When this project started I had 2 plans, Plan A and Plan B. Plan A is what you've come to know as "The Archangel Chapter". Plan A had a rather tight set of requirements to stay in the realms of feasibility. One of those requirements was that I needed to secure the talents of a character designer, and a good one to boot. Because I can code, and I can design mecha and architecture, but a character designer is something I'm not, and probably never will be. The problem with "The Archangel Chapter" is that it relies heavily on the plot, which relies heavily on the characters. If the character design is not top-notch, then the plot rests on nothing, thus the game rests on nothing.
As much as I tried to convince myself to the contrary, "The Archangel Chapter" has no art director, and no character designer. For the past 9 months the project has rested solely on my shoulders. Although I had high hopes that a friend of mine could hold the position of art director, for the past four months since he's been officially on-board, the results have been next to non-existent. And since I started to design assets for the game a few weeks ago, that lack of result has become a real hindrance to the game's progress.
If I have no characters, then Plan A is just not possible. So as of this moment, "The Archangel Chapter" is on hiatus until I have a character designer.
Plan B is something a lot simpler, a lot more straightforward. Same gameplay, same engine. Different theme, simpler story, no characters to speak of. Something I can manage alone.
It sure won't be as imaginative, it sure won't be as fun to build and to play, and it sure as hell won't be as rewarding, but it's better to put something good out there in the world, than to NOT put out something great.
I wish I could've stayed the course, but I can't. This will remain the production blog of the new game. About 90% of the efforts deployed so far will be brought over to the new project, so very little has been lost. Stay tuned for the next best rail schmupp out there : "Exequor : Tales of the U.S.C.A." (http://exequor.com)
Today it struck me. When this project started I had 2 plans, Plan A and Plan B. Plan A is what you've come to know as "The Archangel Chapter". Plan A had a rather tight set of requirements to stay in the realms of feasibility. One of those requirements was that I needed to secure the talents of a character designer, and a good one to boot. Because I can code, and I can design mecha and architecture, but a character designer is something I'm not, and probably never will be. The problem with "The Archangel Chapter" is that it relies heavily on the plot, which relies heavily on the characters. If the character design is not top-notch, then the plot rests on nothing, thus the game rests on nothing.
As much as I tried to convince myself to the contrary, "The Archangel Chapter" has no art director, and no character designer. For the past 9 months the project has rested solely on my shoulders. Although I had high hopes that a friend of mine could hold the position of art director, for the past four months since he's been officially on-board, the results have been next to non-existent. And since I started to design assets for the game a few weeks ago, that lack of result has become a real hindrance to the game's progress.
If I have no characters, then Plan A is just not possible. So as of this moment, "The Archangel Chapter" is on hiatus until I have a character designer.
Plan B is something a lot simpler, a lot more straightforward. Same gameplay, same engine. Different theme, simpler story, no characters to speak of. Something I can manage alone.
It sure won't be as imaginative, it sure won't be as fun to build and to play, and it sure as hell won't be as rewarding, but it's better to put something good out there in the world, than to NOT put out something great.
I wish I could've stayed the course, but I can't. This will remain the production blog of the new game. About 90% of the efforts deployed so far will be brought over to the new project, so very little has been lost. Stay tuned for the next best rail schmupp out there : "Exequor : Tales of the U.S.C.A." (http://exequor.com)
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