#please keep it reasonable tho! a few pixels here and there is all that's really needed

[jamiethebeeart]

Lineart by me! (extra info for colorists in og tags) I couldn't resist a dappled light variant on this. @green-with-envy-phandom-event

fun fact: this lineart originally had the actual lunch/picnic table ridges and then i realized that was too much, especially without access to the layers of lineart (personally, I would color the lineart for the table and then the support bars would be colored and the layer moved underneath the table top. I decided not to put colorists in a position to try to color it with one layer of lineart, but I did get quite far before making that decision)

[jazeswhbhaven]

Look ı knowwww this game is hentai but. Hear me out please. I cant do this anymore İT İS JUST TOO MUCH, look ı might fuck off if this game was pure hentai but there are good character designs and interesting personalities and dynamicsz so ı just cant piss of it is too catchy for me. BUT FOR SAKE OF GOD İT İS JUST TOO MUCH HORNY AND İT COULD BE MORE BAREABLE İF MC WASNT FUCKİNG SPİNELESS ı saw ur asmo selfie post and saw mcs saying keep fucking me is...very mc behaviour but it irrated me why? BECAUSE THİS BİTCH DOES THİS WİTH EVERY FUCKİNG PERSON dude you are way above keep fucking me okay? You are about to fuck every living thing on solar system please just have a red line. Ok i understand storys base concept was virgin and knowing nothing but in story wise THİS SHİT JUST KEEPS GOİNG WİTHOUT END AND MC İS SHOWİNG ME THAT THEY ARE NOTHİNG BUT A BRAİN MELTED SEX ADDİCT. İ swear im okay with sex but this game has soooo much potential and story but it is showing us end of the day this is a sex similator and nothing is changing end of the day there is no obvi relation or feelings towards mc besides few persons other than that it is always bonding with sex and horny and nothing more they are just 'living dildos' to mc mh yeah they show little bit of emotions here and there. But there is a reason why side stories and events are much more fun, because less horny and more characters acting like luving beings not everything revolves around long and white sprounting thing.

Nonetheless ı hope you say your opinion too i wann hear really. But long story short ı dont think sex is everything and relationships reveolvs around it. Sex is a helper and great thing in relationships not a hinderance or shameful thing, but ı cant help myself GET FUCKİNG SECOND HAND EMBARSSMENT when goddamn mc is on screen.

Hey anon, fair warning when it comes to asking my opinion so hopefully I convey myself properly... When it comes to MC and their behavior and mindset for this game, which it's very clear now that their personality is "i'm more horny in theory but when it comes time to utilize that i crash and burn and act like i've never seen dick in my life" and that's what makes me roll my eyes because it's like you're in Hell...you can be as unhinged as you wish please just do that cause everyone keeps saying so.

Now when it comes to the sex content in the game and the way it was advertised, I came in with the expectation that this would be pretty much sex, more sex, and basically more sex. I came here for demon pixel dick and whelp that's what I got. I personally would have liked more of a variety. Maybe devils that are submissive, switches, bratty tops, finally got a pillow prince with Belphie. just missing a damn threesome or something the five kings card was...anyway

But that's just me.

I tend to not bring IRL things (like me not even putting sex on the hierarchy of needs) to media I enjoy unless it's for joking purposes and me being unserious.

NOW I'm not saying plot/slice of life/wholesome content is boring, I pretty much enjoy that breath of fresh air when reading lore, seeing how the devils interact on a day to day basis with one another. At this point since it's been a year I want m o r e of that.

But at the end of the day...they're demons...beings not really meant to be wholesome or human like or behave like us at all. Any wholesome content is a plus, but I'm here once again to scratch an itch.

TLDR: I came to fuck demons. MC isn't fucking them how I would...which is a disappointment, but that's what I'm here for. Lore/Slice of Life content is nice tho and I do enjoy it.

[nicolebonnet]

🌻 a gif tutorial by: me! 🌻

i know there are so so many WONDERFUL tutorials out there, but i can’t say no to a very kind anon so!!!  here we go.  hopefully this is helpful for someone out there!  if anyone doesn’t do well with picture tutorials and would find it more helpful for me to do a video, i would also be happy to try that too!!

this is definitely not the fastest way to do it, i’m sure, just the way i’ve always done it and i’m bad at learning new things so ldkjfoiw also i’m using photoshop cc 2021 (tho this method should work for any version of photoshop i think) and i use video frames to layers to gif just as an fyi

step 1: get whatever media you’re giffing!  i use torrents and direct downloads.  that’s how i’ve always giffed, i’ve never tried capping so i can’t help with that.  sorry!

step 2: make clips of the scenes your fc is in!  i have a folder dedicated to the character the fc is playing and keep all my clips in there.  when i do movies, i typically only do about 12 clips at a time because it just feels less overwhelming for me.  when i do a show, i only clip one episode at a time for the same reason.  i use quicktime to clip, but i know some people use VLC and i’m sure there are other options out there to try, too!  again, this is just what i’ve always used so i’m comfortable with it and know how it works.

when i clip, i try to start the clip a few seconds before the scene my subject is in and a few seconds after just to make sure i’m getting every single frame.

step 3: import video frames to layers!  so once you have photoshop open, go to file > import > import video frames to layers

then go to your folder where you have all your clips saved and choose the one you want.  i took this one out of my trash because the rest of the gifs i have to do in this episode are in the dark and that was gonna be too annoying to me lkdjfkslofw so i’m just re-making one i already did a few days ago.  i’m giffing sofia carson and you can see that my clip starts on someone else’s face so i can make sure i have every frame of hers!

step 4: select the range for your gif!  just like with clipping, i try to get a few frames before and a few frames after of the fc i’m working on so that i don’t miss anything.  if you aren’t interested in giffing them in every single second (which is totally fine, i know a lot of people prefer not to!) then you don’t need to be as concerned with it

because i’m using a direct download, i’m not going to limit my frames to every 2.  it’ll be really fast and choppy.  if you screen recorded, i would suggest limited to every 2 frames and then going through and deleting each duplicate frame (when i giffed via screen recording, i found that every 6 frames or so was a duplicate).  this will make sure your gif is smooth and exactly the same as one made from a direct download.  it IS time consuming though, so i recommend doing a direct download/torrent if possible!  if you ever need help finding downloads or need something torrented and converted for you, please feel free to message me and i’ll be happy to help!!

step 5: delete the frames you don’t need!  this is the time to delete any extra frames at the beginning, end, and any duplicates

step 6: set your speed!  you can do this later if you want, but i like to do it as soon as all my extra frames are deleted.  my personal preference is typically .06 seconds for most of my gifs.  if they’re on the shorter side (under 35 frames), i’ll do .07-.09.  i know some people have very strong feelings on gif speed lskdfjpwe i do not.  it’s all about what feels best for you!  .06 is where i feel my gifs feel the best, but there are plenty of beautiful gifs that are slower or faster!

step 7: crop it!  as you can see above, i set my W x H ratio to 268px x 170px.  this is a size i really like, but you can make yours smaller or larger.  i do suggest using the W x H ratio setting to set it to your specific pixel measurements because it cuts out having to resize after cropping.

also, i have a few hundred frames in this one particular gif that i’m going to cut down in the next step.  however, i know that she remains pretty much in the same place throughout the frames which is why i’m cropping them all at once.  if it’s a gif where you get a few hundred frames that you’re going to turn into multiple gifs and the person moves around a lot, definitely only crop one gif at a time!

step 8: delete the frames you aren’t using!  everyone has a different way of deciding how many frames their gifs are.  for me, if they’re talking, i actually go and watch the segment i’m giffing to see what they’re saying, read their lips as i go through each frame, and crop it there.  it’s a little more time consuming i guess but i feel like it gives me the best results.  totally optional, though!  if the person is NOT talking, then i typically just try to make it between 60-80ish frames and base it on facial expressions or body language.  sometimes it’s more, sometimes it’s less!  again just comes down to what your preference is.

step 9: convert to timeline!  basically just press that lil highlighted button down there next to the “forever” and convert to timeline.  pretty self explanatory

step 10: sharpening!  this is where i use my sharpening action which is linked right here.  i’ve been using it for a while now and i really love it!  i’ve tried other sharpening actions since i made it and they just don’t make me as happy as this one lol

hit play on your action:

for my action, i get this popup twice and just hit “continue” and it keeps going through the steps with no problem

step 11: COLORING!!!  get your psd and slap it on!  i have different one base psd that i use for almost everything and will edit it to fit whatever scene/show/movie i’m working on.  i’ll also save different versions of it based on the media i’m giffing.  for example, the lighting on liv & maddie is SUUUUUPER different from the writing on pll: the perfectionists.  so i have a “liv” psd and a “loralie” (name of my char that i use sofia for, idk why i named the first psd after liv and not my char but whatever ldkfjsoi) psd.  same base, same layers, just different levels.  i also will often combine psds!  i’ll put my base down and then add layers from other psds or create new ones to fit whatever scene i have going!

step 12: save your gif!  go to file > export > save for web (legacy)...

people use different settings for saving their gifs, too.  these are my personal settings.  i really like them and feel they work for my gifs.  feel free to copy them or play around with your own settings!  just make sure it’s always on the 256 colors

step 13 (optional): preview!  i like to hit the preview button just to make sure i like my gif before i save it.  if i don’t like it (coloring looks off, too fast/too slow, feels like it cuts off in a weird place) i’ll hit cancel and undo everything until i’m back to wherever i need to fix it.

step 14: save your gif, yay!!  YOU DID IT!!!!  save that beautiful gif and feel so proud of yourself!!

step 15 (optional): if you’re making multiple gifs from the segment you imported, go back and cntrl/cmmnd + z everything until you’re back to having allllll the frames again.  delete the frames of the gif you just made (in this case, it would be 52) and start again from step 8!

i hope this made sense and was helpful for anyone!  please let me know if there’s anything you need clarification on!!

[meowchela]

Introduction to Salem (my deltarune oc)

because i really wanna post about her hsdgjshbdsfhj

info under the cut bc this is gonna be long as FUCK I have a lot to say about my daughter...please read it tho

first things first, her name is Salem and I first made her on my second run of deltarune when I decided to name my vessel properly (on my first run i made the vessel’s name my own since the instructions confused me a tad, haha.) 

this is what she looks like in-game.  here’s a sprite recreation of the above sprite cuz its kinda unclear (plus a pixel vers)

I didn’t flesh her out until may 2020 though, and since then she’s gone through all sortsa development. the first thing I did was try to make her design stand out from being a basic vessel while still keeping true to the nature of it, if that makes sense.

this is my first ever drawings of her- some minor things have changed as i’ve drawn her. here’s her current design!

as well as her sprite (plus the pixel vers)

she has a dark world form and a “beta” design (aka her in-game design just with a face) but I've shown enough designs for now.

Her backstory is that, after being discarded, she was saved and brought to life by Gaster. He acts as her father figure (she literally calls him father, since in a way he is bc bringing her to life and all that) and she holds him in very high regard. They live together in the void, however Salem can leave and I’m going to explain why in a bit.

Her purpose as a vessel is to house the player’s soul. That purpose was taken from her at the beginning of the game as we all know, and she’s determined to get it back by any means necessary. How she does this is she basically goes down to hometown and/or the dark world to antagonize/attack Kris to get the soul out of them. She hates them for this reason.

Of course, she’s more like a saturday morning cartoon villain than an actual threat to them. She tries her hardest but can never really get their soul. She keeps trying though. The only thing that could divert her from attempting to fulfill her purpose would have to be a genuine change of heart.

Personalitywise, She’s actually very proper and polite to people she’s not actively trying to steal the soul of. Gaster raised her with proper manners! Despite this, she’s also very sassy and not afraid to speak her mind. Also shes not above saying swear words because I think its funny lmao

Her powers are as follows:

Teleportation - Allows her to get to and from the void. she can teleport to places she knows, but not people, and she can teleport small items with her if she’s holding them but not other people, hence why Gaster can’t use her to escape.

Hovering - Salem can hover a few feet off the ground for a limited amount of time. It’s not exactly flight, since it’s loosely derived from Gaster’s ability to control his detached hands (technically a form of hovering). It’s more just so she can look intimidating and cool. Originally, she didn’t have this, but one day I sprite edited a pose that looked like she was hovering and decided it would be cool lmao

Gaster Blasters- Since they’re named after her dad, I figured I’d give them to her. However, I’ve been debating recently on whether to keep them or not, since I don’t want her being too similar to Sans power-wise and he’s the only place in the game we see them. It’s iffy for now, so we’ll see.

Fun facts!

She has a wrench she uses as her main weapon. I tend to forget this fact, but it’s very important. (If I do get rid of the blaster power, she’d use this as primarily, since right now she prefers to use the blasters as a ranged attack. That said she does love to bonk people w the wrench, namely Kris she hits them with it a lot)

Physically, she is the same age as the fun gang (Since I headcanon Kris, Susie, and Ralsei to be 17, she would be 17 as well, however if you headcanon them to be younger she’s essentially just aged to match them. At the very least her and Kris are always physically the same age.) Mentally, though, it’s kinda complicated. She’s as smart as her physical age in the sense she’s able to use logic and wit, however her knowledge of the world is less than a toddlers. If you asked her what something normal like, say, grass was, she would not know. She would be confused as fuck. She could best someone at chess but the second you ask her what a movie theatre is she becomes all questions

She’s naturally very curious. Maybe because she has so little knowledge of the world or maybe because she was raised by Gaster to have a scientific mind, but she just wants to know EVERYTHING about the world around her. When she’s not focused on antagonizing Kris and their friends all the time, she’s usually out exploring and studying things, trying to expand her knowledge.

Gaster forgot if he taught her how to read and write or not and at this point he’s too afraid to find out.

In truth, Gaster’s better at being a scientist than a dad. He tries to act fatherly towards Salem but most of the time ends up treating her more like a lab assistant. She doesn’t mind as long as he pays attention to her, but it’s still not exactly good for her development.

I headcanon Gaster is ambiguously related to the skelebros, so by extension Salem is related to them as well. He’s told her to respect them. (She gets along with Papyrus, but Sans gets on her nerves sometimes.)

I think I’ve rambled on enough. There’s still so much more to cover but this is all of the basic info and then some. Thank you for reading this far, and if you have any questions or comments about her PLEASE feel free to shoot me an ask about it. 

[jellojolteon]

Hi! I know you get a lot of asks on the grey long Ay but I was curious about something. How are some of the main characters supposed to get Akumatized. Eg. Nino wanted Adrien to have a birthday party but that didn't happen because Gabe was being a jerk, or Alya when she got Akumatized because she wanted to find out LB secret identity. I know this might be too much to ask but I'll ask anyway. Could you make a master list of how the Champions were made in this AU? (pt. 1)

No, no worries! Every ask I get makes my day! In fact you made my dreams from last night come true by filling my inbox haha ;u;

So as a basic pretense, the champions still come about the same way; the folks who get made into Champions are still upset about something when Greyling reaches them, but it’s the handling thereafter that makes the difference between what Hawkmoth does and what Greyling does. I can still make a master list for you of people who have been akumatized up to S1 (sorry if I miss anyone lol), but there are only a handful of changes. 

As for Chloe? An excellent question. I think it’s complicated because she’s still Adrien’s oldest friend and now she’s indirectly doing him a huge favor, but he is also much quicker to wake up to the bully she’d become since he see what she’s like when he “isn’t watching”. 

Unfortunately for this end of the story I’m more interested in the interactions between the main three, so it’s likely that a lot of this, if I can get this big ol thing off the ground, won’t make the actual cut.

(See below cut- numbering is not indicative of order, but if order is important I’ll mention it. Also note that this may change in the final go, if I get there.)

1. Stoneheart - This is LB’s first fight against Tux and while the theory of it is the same, Greyling does not exist yet to bring Stoneheart to life. Marinette encourages Ivan much the same way as she does in canon and he and Mylene still get together.

2.  Stormy Weather - We’ll go with this one as Greyling’s first Champion. Aurore loses the weathergirl competition, but Adrien tells her that if it’s recognition she’s looking for, he might be able to help. Help he does.

3. Mister Pigeon - Ramier gets chastised by the police for feeding the pigeons. Adrien consoles him (somewhat regrettably considering his allergy) and tells him that pigeons are not inherently bad, and that a good way to show how honorable and invaluable pigeons can be might be for Ramier to help enlist them to fight Tux. This champion marks the beginning of Mari’s internship.

4. Lady Wifi - Alya snoops in Chloe’s locker, she pitches a fit, gets suspended. Greyling comes to her explaining that he knows her intent was innocent, and that if she really wants to show everyone she’s the bigger person, perhaps she can help him fight Tux today. Alya is of course like “oh fuck, I’m communing with my homegirl’s crush” and wholeheartedly agrees. Things look dire, and hers is the first instance of possession we see. I’m going to (unoriginally) henceforth call this special “ability” the Butterfly Effect.

5. The Bubbler - Mari introduces Adrien to Nino and Alya via video chat. Adrien is super excited to have friends and both Nino and Alya want to meet him. Adrien’s birthday is soon and Nino suggests a party. Gabe never yells at him directly but Nino finds out from Adrien that it’s a no and gets upset on Adrien’s behalf. Greyling suggests later, when Tux attacks, that it’s no birthday but hoo boy would Adrien think it great if Nino helped fight one particularly nasty adult. It might help get all those negative vibes out.

6. Copycat - This one might ultimately not happen in the AU, just because the pretense is so intertwined with the canon dynamics.

7. Kung Food - This is the first time LB witnesses and must repair a cataclysm death. Mari is lucky that her Uncle is in town to help her through the experience. Greyling reasons with Kung Food in Chinese (which is much better pronounced than in the show) that the cooking competition isn’t the end of the world, and that he’ll help him get another chance to prove himself in a fair environment.

8. Darkblade - not sure where this one falls, but when D’Argencourt loses the mayoral election, Greyling explains that maybe he can help show Paris true nobility by standing up to another person who has usurped the peace.

9. Vanisher - Greyling catches Sabrina at a low point when Chloe is snubbing her. He points out that there are many many unsung heroes throughout history but if it would help her, he might be able to arrange something that would get her recognized in the form of assisting LB.

10. Antibug - Here’s a fun one! This one doesn’t go super hot but I think this is where Chloe develops a little bit. Greyling tells Chloe that if she really wants to make a good impression on LB, maybe getting in the way isn’t the answer. But what if she was a champion instead? Chloe is too bitter to be working alongside LB at the moment, but things eventually turn out ok, even if it involves Tux getting the upper hand for a bit there.

11. Horrificator - Mylene is scared and Greyling explains that sometimes it takes some help to face your fears. I’ll help you face down the scariest monster in all of Paris, and I assure you that you��ll always be able to face your fears after that. This one is also a bit of a shaky one but it works out ok because as she grows bigger, Tux gets more frightened by her.

12. Timebreaker - another that I’m not sure happens? I feel like time travel is a bit of a slippery slope in this AU for some reason.

13. Princess Fragrance - After Chloe belittles Rose, Greyling compliments her heart and says that helping him fight tux might be a good way to prove Chloe wrong. (Aside: I can’t imagine a lot of these kids would normally have the sense to take down a murderer. But Ladybug hasn’t lost anyone yet and the trust they put in her to keep them safe is immense)

14. Reflekta - You might see that showing Chloe what a good person looks like is a pretty common thread here. Greyling gets good at convincing people that Chloe is wrong and that fighting Tux with the things she demeans about them is a great way to prove it. She slowly learns.

15. Evillustrator - Nath wants a date with Mari, and also for Chloe to Not. This one doesn’t go well.

16. The Puppeteer - This is where Greyling figures out that Tux is his dad. In his rage, he makes a very bad decision to send out Manon after Tux. Granted she’s not doing anything directly but still. Ladybug deadpans him a look through Puppeteer and he has an ‘oh shit’ moment. He pulls her out and goes for Simon Says instead.

17. Simon Says - Adrien isn’t quite ready to let go of his petty yet and this is just as much for himself as it is for Simon. Nooroo and Adrien have an important talk about choosing champions after this battle is over.

18. Heartbreaker - Much of the same spiel about proving Chloe wrong, though I don’t know how his powers could be of threat to Tux. Not sure if this one makes the cut.

19. Rogercop - After getting fired, Greyling hits Roger with the whole “If you really want to serve and protect, boy could I really use your help.” After Roger’s proven bravery against Tux, he regains his job. There are probably more long-winded effects of this in the au but I’ll have to get there before I figure it all out.

20. Animan - When Kim insults Otis’s prized panther, Greyling suggests that maybe a catfight is exactly the kind of shakeup Tux needs, and it would certainly prove Kim’s ridiculous comments wrong. As for Alya and Nino getting together? I can still see them getting locked in the exhibit for their own safety.

21. The Gamer - Mari and Adrien kick ass in a gamer tournament, and Max gets upset because he’s overthrown by someone he’s never even met. Adrien just has a lot of time to play video games when he’s shut in, y’know? But Adrien realizes he may have gone a little too hard and requests Max’s help defeating Tux. He fluffs Max’s confidence by pointing out what a skilled and analytical fighter he is. Ladybug could use someone like that (instead of someone who sits from afar… hm…) in her fights against Tux.

22. Guitar Hero (pffff oops) - “Hey Jagged Stone, you know what would absolutely skyrocket your popularity? Riding around Paris on a DRAGON while blasting a cat man with SOUND WAVES. Does that sound like some killer album art to you? It sure does to me. Also I’ll throw in glowy tentacle hair as a bonus, I’m a big fan of your work actually.”

23. Pixelator - Greyling says, “Hey, man, maybe let the guy have some space, y’know? Being famous is stressful. Here, if you really want to be like him though, help me fight this guy.” Please don’t ask me how that works Greyling just gets real good at his job at some point.

24. The Mime - Fred’s meddling understudy tricks him into missing a performance, but Greyling sees an opportunity for the most kickass show of Fred’s career. He’s not wrong.

25. The Pharaoh - unfortunately, another one I’m not sure happens? Remnants of this ep might be involved though, with Jalil helping LB uncover some of the history of the miraculouses. Looks like the Kubdels get off easy in this story haha

26. Volpina - Lila’s compulsive lying gets her into a sticky situation (probably actually not with LB tho) and Greyling tells her that maybe he can give her a true story about herself worth telling. Greyling has been itching to get out for a few attacks now and this is where he finally gets the opportunity to go out. He just has a bad feeling about things and goes out to check. As I mention in the comic about their first “meeting”, Greyling’s intuition is correct and he saves LB from a nasty head injury as she passes out on top of a building from a previous wound. This also incidentally marks, for the most part, the end of Greyling’s use of others to fight. He still brings a few out (maybe I’ll get to integrate some from S2?) but this pretty neatly ties up most of the pre-outside timeline.

Sorry this got so long, but thanks again for the ask, @randomstar365! I hope this is a satisfactory answer. 

[builtinadaygames]

Games on itch: what I played this month

Hi, my name is Kevin Beissel.  I make game projects under the name ‘builtinaday’ and lurk on Twitter @builtinadayKB.

The purpose of this post is to cover some of the free games on itch.io, from a developer and fan perspective.  I'd like to make it a recurring series, maybe a monthly breakdown but who knows.  Like Douglas Adams said, the best part of deadlines is the great WHOOSHING sound they make while flying by.

Before we get to the games, I just want to clarify why I'm doing this and what I hope it accomplishes.  So here's the what, why and how:

The WHAT

Discuss free games available on itch.io

I've got a list of profiles to check out, but please send along any recommendations.

There are no restrictions on genres.  The whole point of this is to be curious and ask questions.  So no dumb rules like "No walking sims" or "No puzzle platformers", which would prolly eliminate half of the available games anyways.

The WHY

I want to become a better developer and playing experimental/small/art/trash games could help.

Getting an audience is hard and getting constructive feedback is even harder.  I can't help the devs covered in these posts with the former but maybe I can with the latter.

The HOW

There is no rating system.

There is no alter ego here, these are not 'angry' reviews.

These aren't even really reviews.

The goal is to focus on the design choices that were made and discuss the reasoning behind them.

I don't really care about being right, I don't really care about sounding smart ("Yeah, no shit" the reader grumbles), I don't really care about agreeing with you. I'm more interested in looking at the hierarchy of ideas (to borrow a phrase) that form game design.  By working at the ends and working in the middle we can find out more about it, right?

Enough with the formalities, let's get started.

Profile: Steven Miller (@stevenjmiller37, steven-miller.itch.io, 30 projects available)

Game: Calor

Genre/Style: Strategy, base building and combat modes

Strategy games are tall orders, especially as jam submissions, but Calor has plenty of good things going on.  The visuals are charming, the two game modes are fun, and it has some of that 'one more turn' gameplay you want in a good strategy game.

It sort of reminds me of FTL and X-Com, except it's also nothing like those games.  I still caught echoes of them, like an eerie trumpet call over a lost battlefield.  Except there's no sound in space, or so I've heard.

Hey, what spins faster: the planet in Calor or Hunter Thompson in his grave after I just mangled his 'eerie trumpet' line?

The base building mode revolves around placing resources (farms, solar panels, factories) on sections of a planet.  Every turn the planet rotates, and the direction can be changed with wind turbines.  Part of the planet has sunlight and resource tiles produce plus-1 per turn in sunlight.  Sun spots pop up every 7 or 8 turns and will destroy any resource on a tile or damage the player, but a warning message pops up when the sun spot is three turns away.

Enemies can't damage tiles but can attack the player.  It's better to move onto the enemy's tile and initiate combat, especially if the tile contains a resource.  Letting the enemy move onto your tile has a combat penalty.

The combat mode has two parts to consider: a top section with three bars that contain the enemy's attack and shield points and a bottom section laid out like a hex-style grid.  The grid has three starting nodes on the left and three ending nodes on the right with bonus nodes in the middle.  You can choose whether to use a shield node or an attack node during your turn, but not both.

If the top section has a shield in any bar, connecting to the corresponding ending node reduces your attack points.  So you have to plan paths that pick up as many bonus nodes as possible and avoid ending on a penalized node.

Both modes are good and it would be cool to see them expanded on.  There's a few things I'm curious about though, like the attack only/shield only choice you have to make in combat.

If you start a fight with low health, the enemy will prolly wipe you out with one attack.  So I suppose the design incentivizes you to keep moving away from the enemy until your health is refilled during the base building mode, then turn around and engage.  I just wish there was away to use both a shield node and an attack node on the same turn.  I know upgrade systems can be tricky and usually avoid them in my projects, but this ability would be a great addition.

Forgive me if there is this ability, but I'm pretty sure there isn't.

And I gotta ask: if you can't combine the abilities, then what's the point of including a shield option at all?  If you're low on health to start, using the shield just creates an endless loop of defensive turns.  Does health regenerate between turns in combat or only outside of combat?  Could I block the enemy's attack enough times until I'm healed and then switch to attack nodes?  What am I missing here?

I know that sounds negative, but I swear it's just curiosity.  Calor is fun to play and also gave me some challenging design questions to consider.  There are plenty of games that fail to do either of those things.

Game: Capture Horizon

Genre/Style: Puzzle platformer, side-scroller

This is a puzzle platformer that requires you to manipulate the level by taking photos of it and arranging them to form a path to the exit.  I played Camera Obscura on Steam, which uses a simiilar idea, and it's a cool concept.  I like that it relies on spatial design/reasoning skills, instead of using oblique hints to solve unfair challenges based on muddy logic/lazy rulesets.

The photo taking/placing mechanic is easy to understand.  You can't take a new photo while on an existing one and you can have up to three at a time.  It seems simple but I quickly became stumped, especially on levels five and six.

The platforming is OK, but it leads to many cheap deaths.  Most levels have two sections you need to reach; the first is relatively easy and the second is much harder.  The harder section requires a lot of trial and error, due to both photo placement and jumping issues, which means you have to redo the easy section a lot of times which is tedious.

Traditional difficulty progression states that a level should have an ascending scale of difficulty, not a descending scale.  But for short, self-contained levels like this, inverting that formula might have worked well.

And since we are here to inquire within about everything and not here to disparage, let's consider some alternative solutions to this problem:

New speed setting:  I hate when people suggest new settings for traversal speeds in my own work, because there is usually a bunch of connected factors to consider/change that they aren't aware of.  What sounds like a small tweak is actually a much larger change.

So, even tho I hate being THAT GUY, I too often found myself running right off of a platform or, even worse, jumping way too early to compensate for the fast movement.  A walk/run control setup might have fit nicely.

Change the jump mechanic:  Something like the style of jumping used in Gunpoint would have made the platforming simpler, but much more satisfying.  For those who don't know, the Gunpoint-style allows the player to activate a jumping stance, adjust the height/distance of the jump and then confirm or cancel the jump.

This style would eliminate most of the frustrating trial and error sections.  You could place a photo and test whether your jump could reach it, instead of placing a photo and jumping one pixel short and having to retry the whole level.

What helpful advice, huh?  "Ripoff a more popular game to make your own work seem better" is just about the most lazy advice you could give an artist.  And yet here I am, handing out shopworn cliches faster than Michiko Kakutani.  So where the hell is my goddamn Pulitzer?

Game: Entropy

Genre/Style: Roguelike, 8-bit isometric view

Lately I've been seeking out games that put a strong emphasis on combat, like "Superhot" or "Deadbolt".  Roguelikes usually have a heavy emphasis on combat and Entropy certainly does.

You have a fast-moving, low-damage ranged shot that repeats quickly but you can charge up a power shot.  The charged shot literally turns you into a bullet, and can be used offesnsively or defensively.  You could knock out a powerful enemy or escape from a crowd by firing to a safe spot.  You can also use the charge shot for traversal, usually shooting across gaps filled with spikes.

If I could transform into anything, I'd transform into a machine that could make ANYTHING.  I would make anything then transform back into myself and enjoy whatever (or whoever) I just made.  That might seem like an awfully large loophole, a loophole so large you could drive a Pagani Zonda thru it.  A carbon-fiber supercar loaded with guns, cash, and women (or MEN) you made in your ANYTHING machine.

But what are you?  A lawyer?  I don't remember making any of those in that ANYTHING machine.

Or you could turn into a bullet.  That is also a pretty cool thing to do.

The character movement speeds are nicely balanced.  Strafing a lone enemy is fun and juggling large crowds is intuitive.  Some enemies felt like bullet sponges, but I wasn't using the charge shot enough.  Moving around till I had space and time to get it off made those enemies easier to deal with.  The enemy design is good too, with variations in size/speed/strength that feel balanced.  They have a nice spectral, eerie look to them.

The game also opens with a short cutscene.  My favorite part was the "standing" animations.  All the characters constantly bounce up and down, which is fun to watch.  I love this choice.  Animations more sophisticated than this aren't really the point of LD jams and if they stood still that would be boring, so it's a nicely off beat decision.

The one minor problem I had was the reticle color.  It's green, which would be fine except some levels have patches of grass that make it hard to track the reticle.  Otherwise, the game has the color palette nicely split up between player, enemy and enviromental assets.

Remember:  Split up the colors, but don't split up your pants!  Why do people breath in when trying to squeeze into jeans?  If you breath out you get thinner, or at least that's what my bitchy mother-in-law keeps telling me.  I get it, Joan!  Also, get Entropy and shoot stuff.

Profile: Tooth and Claw (Dan McGrath, @daninfiction, toothandclaw.itch.io, 24 projects available)

Game: Valley of the Moon

Genre/Style: Walking sim, puzzle

You are supposed to collect four relics to reactivate your ship and leave the planet.  Despite the walking sim label, there's a couple of nice platforming sections too.  But the real point of this type of game is to create a distinct atmosphere, a space worth getting lost in.

Of all the games in this post, this is the one that gave me the purest moment, or at least the type of moment you can really only get with a videogame.  The game starts up and I see a nearby building with a large door.  Since its a puzzle game and I've just started, I assumed the door was locked.  But I went over anyways, intent on asking one of the fundamental questions videogames can offer: "Can I do that?"

Turns out, I could do that.  The door popped open, and I got a little thrill out of it.  Seems silly maybe, that something so simple could feel that rewarding, but it did.

Inside the building is one of the relics and another nicely put together moment.  You climb the final step and see a platform with a relic on it, and a giant orange moon lined up right above it.  The symmetry of the relic and moon is really nice and its a striking visual moment.

The only question I would ask is about the ending:  Why not try something wild or unexpected, something totally abstract or bizarre?

I don't mean this as a criticism, because it's quite good and I'm glad I played it, it's just a question.

If you've played other walking sims all the way through, like "Dear Esther" for example, then you know how a surprising and offbeat ending can really resonate with the right type of players.  I happen to really like the way that "Esther" ends, and can more strongly recall that odd, poetic moment better than I can recall some of the other supposedly famous moments in recent games.

A unique and challenging ending can make a lasting impression on the player and, whether they loved or hated it, that player will remember your work.

So, in the case of this game, why not do something more eccentric?  Like when you take off and leave this peaceful planet behind you end up crashing onto an uninhabitable, hostile planet?  Or you take off and safely land on a new planet, only to find out its exactly like the one you left?  Is that too 'Twilight Zone' for you?

Or maybe you take off and turn into a freaking Star Child?  Then the Star Child grows up and becomes Galactus?

Anyways, that's what happens when you leave the audience hanging.  They start out reasonable enough and end up arguing about Galactus and his big, dumb headgear.

The point being: not every game needs a meaningful or profound or abstract ending, but some do.

Game: Zealot

Genre/Style: FPS, looks like a 90s shareware game

Other Info: made in 3 days

This is a dope throwback to shareware-era FPS games.  Zealot is like a resurrected title from this era, with glorious visuals and punishing combat.

There was a wider range of titles than most people remember, mainly because the iconic titles of the time (DOOM, HEXEN) loom so large.  I was flipping thru an old PC game magazine (prolly circa 1995) and there was pages and pages of ads for obscure shareware titles, some looking totally generic and others beyond bizarre.  I prolly spent more time looking at those ads recently than I did when those games came out.  Sorry, marketing geniuses!

There was also an article about how advanced stats would become important in sports.  Something about how coaches, players, fans, journalists and gamblers would be interested in new ways to analyze performance and predict outcomes.  Who would have thought?  You know besides Paul Allen and his 300-foot yact and his investment stake in STATS LLC.  Also, fuck Paul Allen, fuck his yact, fuck his Dorsia reservations, and fuck me while we're at it.

But don't fuck Zealot!  Do play Zealot, it's quite fun.  You run and jump around on a floating platform blowing up various types of demons.  You play until you die.  My best time was 74.67176 seconds.  It was much more fun once I realized I could hold down the attack button to autofire, which seems obvious but hey, if you're so smart how about you come over and unclog this drain?  I've tried nothing man, and I'm all out of ideas.

Thankfully Dan McGrath isn't out of ideas, tho!  And Zealot is a pretty good idea.  I've never had a bad idea.  I've had great ideas that turned out horribly wrong, but never any BAD ideas.  I've also stolen ideas/entire jokes from 30 Rock, but Dan McGrath hasn't yet!

Profile: Trasevol Dog (@TRASEVOL_DOG, trasevol-dog.itch.io, 24 projects available)

Game: Blast Flock

Genre/Style: similar to Luftrausers, but more colorful

This is the profile to check out if you like games with bright color palettes and visuals that really pop off the screen.  It helps that the gameplay is excellent, too.

And hey, people who care soooo much about what engine a dev uses: this game wasn't made with Unity, so try to find something else to complain about.

Blast Flock is a variation on Luftrausers, which is an OK game.  I really wanted to like Luftrausers, but whenever I play it I'm always left with the same two questions:  Where is the rest of the game and how come it isn't more fun?

Luftrausers felt like it was all about keeping your multiplier at 20 which feels like a chore, like an uncreative grind.  I was more interested in finding fun and interesting ways to attack enemies, especially since it had such great body/weapon/engine variety.  It felt like they incentivized creative approaches, but instead only rewarded you for following a narrow path.

Well, Blast Flock doesn't have more content, but it certainly is more fun.  The controls are intuitive and allow for a lot of experimentation.  Your group of ships always flies towards the reticle, with fire and boost mapped to lmb/rmb.  You can shoot down enemies and save them as they fall, expanding your group.

Building your squadron up and tearing thru a huge group of enemies at top speed with guns blazing feels so great.  Whipping the mouse around the screen and creating total chaos also feels great, like orchestrating your own bullet hell symphony.

Or you could conduct a symphony of the night.  But how the hell am I supposed to read music in the dark?  My conductor baton glows in the dark, but I don't want people to know that.  It only does that in case I drop it during a performance and have to find it on the ground real quick.  Symphony of the night?  How about a 'symphony of the comfortable recliner' instead?  Or ‘symphony of the better jokes’?

Thanks for reading!  If you liked this then maybe check out my itch profile, too.