boundless-ut

[boundless-ut]

[boundless-ut]

Notice 📢

As my health has failed to improve, and I've missed last week's update, I don't want to leave those waiting hanging. While this isn't a complete hiatus, I will not be able to keep up with the previous update pace I had set. As such, for the time being, weekend updates will be put on pause.

I don't have an estimation for when the next update may be at the time. For now I am focusing on trying to rest and recover. Thank you to everyone for your interest and support. I hope to have something exciting for you when updates resume.

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Hello all! There is unfortunately no update this week as I've been feeling quite poorly for some time and haven't been able to make as much progress as I would like. I'm trying to take it a bit easy to see if I'll get any better, but my health has been quite stubborn this time.

If this continues, I may end up taking a small hiatus. If it comes down to it, I'll be sure to announce it. Fingers crossed I'll be alright after a bit of rest!

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Weekend Update 🔥

Text only again unfortunately. A few bugs have come up during development that I hadn't caught before, and some seemingly spontaneously, so this week was spent putting out fires. It's a good reminder to make frequent back-ups of the project.

In other news, the Antagonist Art Poll has concluded! The winning choice was 🤖, which is an antagonist who has not been revealed yet! (...at least not visually)

Hopefully you'll all be able to meet this antagonist next week :)!

🔖 BlueSky || Main Blog || Questions? (Love to hear feedback!) || Never miss an announcement, join the announcement discord!

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Weekend Update 🃏

Text only, as I predicted, but not for the reasons I thought! I did make some good progress this week with the card system, but a lot of it is code based so there's not much different visually. The card system deals with lots of textures and loading. I've been doing some research into how Godot handles loading assets to try and come up with a system that hopefully won't blow up anyone's computer.

I will be focusing on art for next week so I can have something fun for you guys to look at. I'll be posting a poll for everyone to partake in shortly to decide something :)

🔖 BlueSky || Main Blog || Questions? (Love to hear feedback!) || Never miss an announcement, join the announcement discord!

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Weekend Update 📢 Menu & Card System Updates

For a while, the look and feel of the existing menu kind of bothered me. As Boundless develops and the UI settles on a specific style, some elements will need to be updated.

Alongside that, the Card System is being developed. The ability to keep track of cards, card states, card types, and being able to sort cards are being developed.

I'm not doing very well health wise, so there may only be a text update next week 🙇‍♂️

🔖 BlueSky || Main Blog || Questions? (Love to hear feedback!)

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Weekend Update🎴

Cards have been updated! (L - Old, R - New)

Cards are your way of recording information about the world around you. As such, there are various ways you'll be able to obtain them. Talk to people and analyze your foes as you travel around in the Lorian plane and fill up your collection. Who knows, something good might happen if you gather them all. Being especially thorough against powerful foes will even grant you special rainbow holographic cards!

(Cards were planned to have elemental icons based on certain attributes of the featured character. As Boundless's world developed, there was enough nuance that such a system would either be too condensed to gain any meaningful information from, or too varied to be useful either way. Ultimately, I decided to scrap it. The star system has remained, showing you just how powerful the featured entity is, ranging from 0 to 5 stars!)

🔖 BlueSky || Main Blog || Questions? (Love to hear feedback!) || Help support development by reblogging and sharing with friends ✨

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Weekend Update 📢

Lots of background work got done this week, so it'll be a bit text heavy!

I'm doing some work on the dialogue system to support mini-bubbles for all the little mutterings some characters will have. I showed it off a bit in the Codee reveal update, speech bubbles are programmed with special tags that can toggle a character's emotions at specific points in a line. Mini-bubbles will help to make characters more expressive as well.

In other news, Metals have gotten a visual update! (Top: New, Bottom: Old. L->R: 1, 5, 20, 100)

A custom alphabet and writing system has also been completed! You'll start seeing this on shop fronts and signs and other text containing elements. Keep an eye out for it! Let's see who can decode it :)!

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This week, let's get some news out for the community, starting with the results of the raffle engagement poll!

That is terrible! I'm honestly surprised, because the raffle was mentioned on each weekend update post leading up to the deadline (You guys are reading those, right...? Right...? 🥺 They post every Sunday at 8PM UTC, in case you didn't know!)

Some resolutions for this are to make sure you've got notifications on for this blog (follow it too!), but to make extra sure you don't miss out on any future events, I created an announcements only discord! You can't chat here since I don't have the means to moderate a space like that, but if you want announcements straight to the closest thing everyone's got to an internet inbox, that's the place to be!

On top of that, Boundless also now has a straw.page! It's another way to leave anonymous messages / doodles if you feel like it. Once the carrd is updated, it'll be a bit redundant, and there's always the option of the tumblr inbox or marshmallow for sending messages.

📢 Branding Announcement

New logo alert!

To make Boundless stand out as its own thing a bit more, I gave the logo a little redesign! It's different, but not too different. This, along with some other branding updates will be pushed to the blog and other websites in the coming weeks, so keep an eye out for that! It'll also replace the logo in the overlay in weekend update videos, so you'll be seeing it around pretty soon!

As always, thank you to everyone for continuing to stay up to date with this project! I hope to have more and exciting news for everyone next week!

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Let's Talk About Codee!

Codee is your partner who will join you as you adventure across the Lorian plane in Boundless: The Lost Scripts! He is a mysterious little boy with a connection to the strange scripts that have appeared across the land.

You'll get to know him and learn more about him in game, but I'd like to take a moment to discuss him as a character. Just like Boundless, and specifically Boundless: The Lost Scripts, Codee is a character that has seen significant changes throughout the years. Codee as a concept was created around the time that PRA became Boundless and was one of the first changes made to patch over the story gaps created by the separation of PRA from PR.

Those of you who have been around since the comic days / saw the posters in the secret room in SPR may remember the old title design:

If that didn't make it obvious enough, Scriptliss was supposed to be your partner in The Lost Scripts. TLS originated as an idea for a PR2.5, which aimed to introduce bosses and flesh out the story told in PR2. It eventually evolved into its own thing, becoming a story that still took place in between PR2 and SPR, but was something that had its own story instead of simply being a redo of an existing one. Thus, PRA:TLS was formed, which would have featured Point (the old protagonist) and Scriptliss adventuring through the 'Dreaming World', a mirror dimension to the 'Waking World' which was where PR2/SPR took place. You can read the unfinished comic to get an idea of how things were going to go.

I can discuss more about PRA:TLS's original storyline once Boundless: The Lost Scripts is more complete, but for now I'll have to hold off since it would be spoilers.

As the title suggests, though, even at this point, the story featured mysterious scripts scattered across the land which our heroes would journey to collect. As far as I can remember this was purely based on the 'script' part in Scriptliss's name, as he actually isn't associated with scripts or coding in PR canon (the mistakes are just magical crumpled paper balls after all...)

But, back to the point at hand, Codee. When the split occurred, suddenly, there was no partner! At this point, the framework of The Lost Script's storyline was established. There was a villain named Error and his henchmen using the scripts for their own nefarious goals. With the code element well established, I decided to lean into it and create a code based partner!

And thus, Viro was born! These are some of the very first drawings of the character that would eventually become Codee, all the way back in 2018. Originally named Viro (Virtual Hero) the name would almost immediately switch to Codee, which was a name being considered simultaneously.

(Yellow use to be the frightened color! Now it's the joyful one. The new frightened color is purple.)

The scarf and the color changing gimmick have been around from the very start, but as you can see, Codee has gone through quite a bit of development from his early days.

Just like with Page, I aimed to make his design more original but was still keeping to the same general elements of his design: A striped shirt, black pants, big scarf, and a tuft of hair. This is the design he had all the way back in the Unity phase of development, and the one that would have been known this entire time had tumblr not rejected the gif I planned to use for his reveal. Boundless would continue to develop, and it wouldn't be for another three years until his design would receive another major update.

(Look at the size of that noggin...)

In 2021, he achieved a critical development point: The Action Pajamas. I wanted to make him seem less like an ordinary (albeit color changing) boy and more like something that seemed otherworldly and out of place at first glance. He still kept his color changing gimmick, but it was planned that whenever he'd use his special powers, golden accents would appear on his clothes. I liked the blue and gold so much I ended up just making the gold bits a constant part of his design in the end.

(These were drawn on an ipad! I didn't realize I had the canvas rotated...which is why some of them are at an angle, whoops!)

Wanting to push his design further and make him something even more special, I wanted to make him cuter and give him a motif. Specifically, a bug motif! In case it wasn't clear yet, Codee's design is actually based on a firefly! This decision will hopefully make more sense once more details are revealed.

I played around with his proportions and his design, trying to give his action pajamas more of a space suit vibe along the way. After a bit more refinement, Codee ended up with the design you see today!

He's come far from his initial design, but at the same time, his original essence is still there, now fully reborn into something new and original the way the series has been as well.

Touching back upon his role in Boundless compared to the original partner role in PRA; despite filling the same role Codee is not meant to be nor is he written in the way I would have written Scriptliss for PRA (yes, I'd be willing to discuss my approach to Scriptliss's character as I remember it, but later!). His characterization as well as his relationship with Page is completely different than it would have been between Point and Scriptliss in the original draft of PRA. Codee is no Scriptliss, sure, but he is an original being that allowed me to create an even richer and more involved story not just for him but for Boundless as a whole. I can safely say Boundless far exceeds the story and world I could have ever created for PRA while working under the original series' limitations. Codee is dearly beloved by me, and I hope everyone will come to love him as well once you get to know him!

Thank you for reading this far, and as always, if you have comments or questions, the inbox is always open!

[boundless-ut]

Weekend Monday Update! 🎊

Today's the day! Here's your first look at your adventuring partner for Boundless: The Lost Scripts!

🔖 BlueSky || Main Blog || Questions? (Love to hear feedback!) || Music by Peritune (Looking for composers!)

Meet Codee! A little boy with a strange connection to the mysterious scripts that appeared across the land. You'll journey together to recover these lost scripts and uncover the evil plot threatening to destroy reality as you know it! Do your best, heroes!

Here's a closer look at your partner! He's just as mysterious as the scripts themselves. When feeling strong emotions, the gem on his front changes colors depending on his mood.

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Weekend Update 📢

Weekend Update...is not ready yet! This week's update will come out tomorrow at the same time (~8PM UTC), showing off your partner for Boundless: The Lost Scripts as well as Page's new redesign.

Stay tuned!

[boundless-ut]

Coming soon...

🔖 BlueSky || Main Blog || Questions? (Love to hear feedback!)

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Weekend Update 🎭 Character Redesigns!

This next update was a bit too ambitious to complete within a week! I could show some stuff off now, but it feels like an important enough update that I'd like to do it properly.

I won't leave everyone completely in the dark about what's cooking though. Progress is being made, I assure you. Everyone will get to meet the mysterious person behind the blue speech bubble soon, and Page's updated design will be ready to debut as well!

🔖 BlueSky || Main Blog || Questions? (Love to hear feedback!)

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📢 Weekend Update

Working through another bout of shaky health, a lot was done this week but none of it is in a state ready to be showcased.

In case you missed it, a ton of information was dropped this week regarding Boundless's development as well as some character development! Boundless as a concept has been in development for over a decade at this point, so there are a lot of changes that have taken place. You can read about Candlevera and take a look back on Page as a concept and character.

Questions are always appreciated, and the inbox is always open. For those who don't have a tumblr or who want to make sure they stay extra anonymous, you can always ask questions via the Marshmallow page!

And one last thing...

Get stick bugged

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From Marshmallow: Have you released any games before Boundless?

Yesn't.

It kind of slips my mind that Super Paper Roblox would count, since I was part of the development team for that game.

I also made a few tiny games for school coursework, once because it was actually a course for game development, and a few times because the assignment was open ended, and we could make anything we wanted. I can't show any without revealing more personal information than I'm comfortable with, though 🙇‍♂️

But beyond that, Boundless has been my main focus and life's work. I do have another game in development (DePTHS oF GRieF) but progress halted on it after the project file broke. I do plan on returning to it eventually, though!

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Here's a question I've got after reading the previous one, how much has Page changed throughout the years of development? Or has he stayed mostly the same?

Thanks for the question!

Page has seen some big changes that may not be obvious because the same general design has been used with a few modifications here and there.

(These are from 2016...old art...nooo...)

Page was always created to be a character, but in the very early days (still in the Paper Roblox Adventure era), the concept of Page only being a visual stand-in for the player in a very direct sense was considered. This was inspired by the fact that in the main Paper Roblox games, there isn't an actual player avatar, and instead you play as your own robloxian throughout.

Still during the PRA era, Page eventually started becoming an actual character rather than just a stand-in design. That isn't to say I'd be against a player envisioning themselves as Page, but in this case, instead of Page being the player, the player is Page, the same way you become Mario, or Sonic, or Frisk (putting the R back in RPG).

At this point, though, development had moved off of Roblox and onto Unity.

Considering that Page's design was intended to be a robloxian, even though it isn't one exactly, I felt that Page needed a bit of an update.

And so Page 2.0 was created! Now Page had things like fingers and feet instead of little nubs. Now, personally, I don't think there's anything necessarily wrong with this design. I think it's just fine. But it's just fine. In terms of character design, it's not really anything spectacular, is it? It's very plain, very generic. Anyone could accidentally create a character that looked like Page. A blank face, a white jumper, a red bandana, black shoes...

Insert Page 3.0! If there's anything that can improve a character design, it's a charm point! To try and make Page more obviously Page, I added a little notch to the bandana. (Actually, since Page will mostly be facing the other way during gameplay, I am going to switch which side it's on in the future)

But that's all design talk. What about Page as a person? Well, as Page developed beyond being a nameless, faceless, anonymous stand in for the actual player, Page also developed as a character. I meant it when I said Page had big baby energy. Page as a character is someone good hearted, perhaps still a bit naive, but who believes in the inherent goodness of people; the sort of person who can make friends anywhere, and values friendship and family. That isn't to say Page is a pushover, as you'll see in Boundless: The Lost Scripts! But, to embody the energy of a good-natured little hero, there is once again another slight redesign in the cards for Page, which will hopefully be revealed soon alongside your partner for the game :)!