clockworkcrowdevlog-blog

[clockworkcrowdevlog-blog]

I am not dead. Life had to have a bit of a reshuffle, and my project was needing one. More on that in a bit. Still, I should be back up and running shortly.

[clockworkcrowdevlog-blog]

Another week

another late blog post. let’s get started shall we.

find something to do socially (ish, had to help the house hold and be sociable with them)

continue to work on music

meditate

exercise

portions

continue on the Udemy course

Yeah, hanging out with the landlady and kin wasn’t exactly my idea of a good time, but still I say it counts. (yes I’m antisocial, deal with it) as for the big project 

fix controller gain/loss bug (10 days)

implement a new enemy (7 days)

finish maceguy’s sprites.(10 days)

finish title menu ( 7 days)

finish art on level gimmicks. ( 4 days)

make some music. (21 days)

modify BG art for second half of level (10 days)

design level (10 days)

re-tool level art ( 7 days)

polish title screen ( 7 days)

polish other aspects (time remaining)

yup got them both done for a whooping 54 days of slack in the project right now. Though I will say, I think Level design is going to the first (and hopefully only) wrench in the plan, as I see it taking longer than a week, potentially all 10 days of the allotted time chewing into the slack a bit. Still pretty awesome, It means I might have time to add in some cut content if all goes well! 

Now on to this week’s goals.

find something to do socially

continue to work on music

meditate

exercise

portions

continue on the Udemy course

alright, everybody, peace!

[clockworkcrowdevlog-blog]

I forgot to do the THING

so coming to you, straight from a day late, is Phil. Time to check in 

find something to do socially

finish title menu (it’s a when not an if at this point)

work on Gimmick art…. potentially finish that too

meditate

exercise

portions

continue on the Udemy course (wrote unity last week)

save $100

so once again social issues, I’ll figure out a good thing for me to meet new people with one of these days. just gotta keep trying. anyway As you can seek I finished both the tittle screen and the gimmick art, which means my plan looks a bit like this 

fix controller gain/loss bug (10 days)

implement a new enemy (7 days)

finish maceguy’s sprites.(10 days)

finish title menu ( 7 days)

finish art on level gimmicks. ( 4 days)

make some music. (21 days)

modify BG art for second half of level (10 days)

design level (10 days)

re-tool level art ( 7 days)

polish title screen ( 7 days)

polish other aspects (time remaining)

with a whopping 28 days of slack.... and I was able to create one of the  songs of the four that I require for my Demo this weekend, and retool another. so that leaves the tutorial level (I got something started but it’s meh), and the boss theme. so expect more slack to be added to the project total.

find something to do socially

continue to work on music

meditate

exercise

portions

continue on the Udemy course

[clockworkcrowdevlog-blog]

Nose to the Grind Stone

Welcome back everybody. Let’s check in 

continue to attend UU church or go to a club/group.

get maceguys sprites done if possible (it’d be great if I could add more slack to this project. (But now I don’t like his boss fight... ugh)

keep meditating

keep exercising

keep small portions

begin Udemy course of full-stack development.

can’t save (now on two week paycheck)

yup I sacrificed social interaction to push maceguy’s sprites out the door what’s new I really need to find a place I enjoy hanging out at. as for my Demo plan that’ means 

fix controller gain/loss bug (10 days)

implement a new enemy (7 days)

finish maceguy’s sprites.(10 days)

finish title menu ( 7 days)

finish art on level gimmicks. ( 4 days)

make some music. (21 days)

modify BG art for second half of level (10 days)

design level (10 days)

re-tool level art ( 7 days)

polish title screen ( 7 days)

polish other aspects (time remaining)

with 22 days of slack so far. with only working on it 1 and 1/2 days the title menu is coming along good. It looks rather basic but that’s fine for now.next up on the docket is re-implementing and streamlining the keybinding system I had developed previously in GMS(1) , then I add a simple check to see If the player wants to play the tutorial (which will do nothing right as of this moment) So looking forward to next week, the plan is:

find something to do socially

finish title menu (it’s a when not an if at this point)

work on Gimmick art.... potentially finish that too

meditate

exercise

portions

continue on the unity course

save $100

(P.S.: for those who might be wondering. I use Gimmick as a loose term for interactive objects specific to levels. A term I borrow from the Sonic fan game community I used to lurk frequent often)

[clockworkcrowdevlog-blog]

Back to the Grind

Alright first things first. 

go back to UU church or find other club/activity. 

plot out plan for 90 day demo push (decided 100 day rush would be more manageable)

begin implementing plan

keep meditating.

keep exercising

watch food portions.

save ~$50  (this goal disappeared for a while because I lost $200+ there and had to recover)

With that out of the way, I can say that I really like the plan I’ve got for the first demo of Clockwork Crow now. So much Imma show it to you. here comes another list.

fix controller gain/loss bug (10 days)

implement a new enemy (7 days)

finish maceguy’s sprites.(10 days)

finish title menu ( 7 days)

finish art on level gimmicks. ( 4 days)

make some music. (21 days)

modify BG art for second half of level (10 days)

design level (10 days)

re-tool level art ( 7 days)

polish title screen ( 7 days)

polish other aspects (time remaining)

this plan was to be implemented today but I had some free time this weekend so... now

fix controller gain/loss bug (10 days)

implement a new enemy (7 days)

finish maceguy’s sprites.(10 days)

finish title menu ( 7 days)

finish art on level gimmicks. ( 4 days)

make some music. (21 days)

modify BG art for second half of level (10 days)

design level (10 days)

re-tool level art ( 7 days)

polish title screen ( 7 days)

polish other aspects (time remaining)

I’ve got about 17 days of slack now. starting out on this plan. MOMENTUM! Let’s hope I can keep it up with the holidays of candy, food, and sweets looming on the horizon. anyway. now on to this weeks plan.

continue to attend UU church or go to a club/group.

get maceguys sprites done if possible (it’d be great if I could add more slack to this project.

keep meditating 

keep exercising

keep small portions

begin Udemy course of full-stack development.

can’t save (now on two week paycheck)

[clockworkcrowdevlog-blog]

Mission Accomplished

So yeah. I totally posted my JS game to GITHub this weekend; here it is.

(this pic doesn’t show the HUD fully implement yet)

now to review last weeks goals and look ahead toward October

go back to UU church next weekend.

FInish up JS Game.

brainstorm on Clockwork Crow stuff to do next week.*

keep meditating 

keep exercising

watch food portions.

So I was at work today and was thinking about how I am sick and tired of JS and normal programming right now, and just wanted to dive into my GMS game. I realized that might not be a bad idea. since I dedicated a full week to just the JS game, I think it’s only fair to take a week off from my learning JS and other languages and create a game plan for getting Clockwork Crow’s Demo out by the end of the year .that’s 90 days guys. I think with the right plan it can be done and if not the end of this year, by the end of January 2019. (that’s 121 days)

As for my weight, 255 lbs which is what I was aiming for. woot woot!

So I guess this weeks goals look like this.

go back to UU church or find other club/activity.

plot out plan for 90 demo push

begin implementing plan

keep meditating.

keep exercising

watch food portions.

save ~$50  (this goal disappeared for a while because I lost $200+ there and had to recover)

"Failing to plan is planning to fail,"

-Alan Lakein

[clockworkcrowdevlog-blog]

Another Week

another report. Now lets begin

Alright Let’s start with last weeks goals this time.

do more research on Clubs, or, failing that attend a UU church nearby on Sunday.

create a non-commitment, non-story post

Finish Maceguy’s run cycle!

Swap the JS game’s art for more Halloween/Spooky aesthetic

keep meditating.

keep exercise regimen

watch food portions

hey, would you look at that, Pretty good I think. So this week ends with me putting the JS game up on Github so I plan on switching it up, concentrating everything on my JS game this week to get it polished to a point I’m willing to cut it off, and start on my Udemy Course. Speaking of my JS game. 

everything but the main character, like I said. and while, I did finish Mace-face’s (Idk maybe a better nickname for him:?) run animation, I didn’t have the time to set it up as a nice animated GIF for you guys. I will say it probably is the second most complicated run cycle in the game (right after the players) and was definitely a learning experience. 

go back to UU church next weekend. 

FInish up JS Game.

Finish player art

re-work level end

finish HUD

implement and create audio

Additional stuff/Later Additions

Implement multiple levels

implement overworld

Implement Boss

Implement more enemies

brainstorm on Clockwork Crow stuff to do next week.

keep meditating 

keep exercising

watch food portions.

It always seems impossible until it’s done.

--Nelson Mandela

[clockworkcrowdevlog-blog]

A Piece of her Mind

Alright,So, I should get around to explaining what Clockwork Crow is in more detail, gameplay-wise.

It’s an action platformer with weapon/load-out customization mechanics.  I intended the game to be a mix of Megaman X physics, (wall jump, “dash/slide”) a bit of Bionic Commando (everything’s better with a grappling hook) and a weapon system not unlike Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows, which I wanna show today. 

What you see here is the WIP pause menu,  It’s still a bit simple UI wise. still as you can see, There is 3 different parts that effect your bullets. The top one being the actual base shot as shown. (don’t mind the typo’s) 

The other two, Charge and Barrel, alter secondary effects adding elemental effects or altering the lifespan, damage, or range.

The previous menu selection. (rapid + charge + sawed-off)

Flame + orbit + split

Beam + normal + Super Size

I do feel like maybe I’m playing the Inspiration a bit to close to the original, So I wonder what you guys think on that? Oh and don’t worry these aren’t the only 5 I intend to implement, just the ones that I plan on using in the demo.

[clockworkcrowdevlog-blog]

Down With the Sickness

Ooh-AH-AH-AH-AH! *shot* but in all seriousness, I hit the ever present roadblock of getting sick this week and, needless to say I stumbled. So where to begin.

Unlike my plan, Maceguy’s run cycle is still not done. It is nearly complete. just a bit more shading and it’ll be ready. and as for the JS game, I got some of the trade out done but not everything, though I’m really proud of the autotile system working as intended. I’m going to assume we have some sort of exception for illness, so I don’t think I owe any due. (BTL isn’t responding right now, Will update if she thinks differently)

so as for last week’s goals it looks a bit like this.

do more research on Clubs, or, failing that attend a UU church nearby on Sunday. (Was sick. I refuse to infect more people if I’m feeling miserable.)

create another non-commitment post (I swear it will be the last character one)

Finish up Maceguy’s run cycle. Work on Jump and other moves (As I said, wasn’t able to because of the way I was feeling the last half of the week.)

Get all objects up to spooky aesthetic in JS, (Same as above)

keep meditating  (Surprisingly)

up exercise regimen  (even more surprising. I managed this on Wednesday before I got sick, and still went on a walk on Saturday, which probably wasn't the best idea)

3.5 mile walk or greater

15 burpees

15 pushups.

watch food portions.

So as for this week’s goals It’s looking pretty similar

   do more research on Clubs, or, failing that attend a UU church nearby on Sunday. 

create a non-commitment, non-story post

Finish Maceguy’s run cycle!

Swap the JS game’s art for more Halloween/Spooky aesthetic

keep meditating.

keep exercise regimen

start running (4+ mile walks take around one a half hours which I can’t afford.)

did so today... manage 0.5 run without stopping by end of week.

watch food portions

The secret to getting ahead is getting started

- Mark Twain

[clockworkcrowdevlog-blog]

A bunch of Bolts

Last set of Characters I promise

Huginn

Head of Security 

When constructing her mechanized army Iva knew she would need a leader. A warrior, built for battle, and for that purpose, Huginn was born.  Hard-boiled and stubborn this robot does his best to talk sense into some of Ivanka’s more outlandish plans.

Muninn

Head of Intelligence

Every good army needs it’s espionage division, and Iva’s is no different. Heading it up is the elegant Muginn. Built as a sister to Huginn, Mu is built for stealth, capable of full active camo, along with hard light projections allowing her to disguise herself as almost anything, or anyone. She’s taken an almost motherly tone with Ivanka as of late. Doing her best to soften the young genius’s shell.

Edgar, Allen, and Poe 

the sass, the brass, and the A-

Originally built as recon drones, only one of these sentient raven’s, Allen (pictured middle), was up to snuff. The others where relegated to keeping their leader company. They consider it glorified babysitting. She considers it comic relief. 

Well There you have it. All of the Characters I feel like would be shown in the manual if this game had one. Now on to more gameplay based posts later this month. 

[clockworkcrowdevlog-blog]

Back in the Saddle

Well another week another report.  Happy to say I managed to tackle this week head on and knock it out of the park. So, shall we get started? 

Starting with CC (Clockwork Crow, when I don’t feel like typing) I’m... still on Maceguy’s run animation.. but I don’t feel like that’s a bad thing, I mean... look 

It’s a bit of a beautiful disaster honestly.It became far more unwieldy as I worked on it, but I like the way it’s shaping up. (and if it looks choppy that’s the GIF. in GMS2 it works fine.)

As for my JS game. I’ve decided to push back my deadline to September 29th instead, mostly so I have enough time to finish adding in assets to the-

-animation system I have running! (also cause it’s gonna be Halloween  themed so, giving myself the entire month of September to get the spooky look before October rolls around.)

as for last weeks goals 

do research on Clubs in area by Friday 

done but none on Meetup looked appealing

create the previously planned non-commitment post.

Continue to work on Mace Guy’s Sprites

hunt for, and squash as many bugs as can be found in JS game

there weren’t that many, as I think the biggest stinker was trashed when I re-tooled the collision handling system. Will keep my eyes peeled for more

completing that. Replace Developer art. Look into making Animation System.)

working on it. The Goomba’s Spiders are fully animated.

up meditations to daily

up exercise regime

2.5 mile walk

10 burpee’s

and this weeks goals?

do more research on Clubs, or, failing that attend a UU church nearby on Sunday.

create another non-commitment post (I swear it will be the last character one)

Finish up Maceguy’s run cycle. Work on Jump and other moves (these will be 3 frame loops max so Should take a lot less time.)

Get all objects up to spooky asthetic in JS, Start on Player character’s animation system. (her’s wll be a bit more complicated)

keep meditating

up exercise regimen 

3.5 mile walk or greater

15 burpees

15 pushups.

watch food portions.

“What you can do, or dream you can, begin it, Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it”

 -  Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

[clockworkcrowdevlog-blog]

Swimming With the Fishes

hey, would you look at that. Finally got my second set of these done. Now to introduce The Posidean’s!

Nythra 

heir apparent 

Sent on this mission by her aging father, The child princess, Nythra, is the one leading the Posidean’s Attack on earth. Spoiled, cruel and ruthless Nythra will stop at nothing to achieve her ends. Nythra is intent on claiming this planet, if only to prove her worth to her father.

Gatth

the warlord

(pronounced Ga-tath) At Nythra’s right hand is one of the posidean’s best military leaders, Warlord Gatth, A master of strategy and tactics as well as a formidable warrior to boot, Gatth has lead Posidean’s to countless victories, but will Earth be his first defeat?

Gnan

the innocent prince

(pronounced Gaan) Son of the famous imperial Warlord Gatth, Gnan was quickly betrothed to the young princess to help secure power and loyalty. This puts the rather pacifistic boy at odds with both his betrothed, Nythra, and his father. Seeing this, his father brought him on this campaign to see if he can toughen him up while he’s here. Only time will tell.

Well that’s it for the Posideans. Before you ask, all of their names were generated by the Kaiju name Generator on Seventh sanctum. Go check them out if need help coming up with stuff, or to just want to mess around.

Now that these three are out of the way. I can finally grind some gears.and move on to the next set.... yeah it’s Ivanka’s robots (yes they deserve a separate page)

[clockworkcrowdevlog-blog]

Checking in and Checking out

Oh, boy. Well I missed a bit this week, as did BetweenTwoLights, and it stings. Seems both of us had gotten too comfortable with this and mentally check out near the end of the week. Soo.. I guess Rafael get’s idk $5 bucks this week. (this also means I spend $10 on his opponent, cause no way I’m helping him more than his opponent) Regardless, no use crying over spilled milk.

First and foremost, while I did work on the Boss animations, I’d say I went a bit too far on the animation. Specifically the Idle.

and what’s worse is the walk cycle is shaping up to be even more complicated, still It is a boss So I guess the extra time does give it a nice look. Maybe too nice? Ready? FIGHT!!

next I barely implemented the end state for the JS game yesterday. Speaking of which, I decided that by September the 15th, I’m committing what I have to Github and starting on the Full Stack Dev Udemy Course. The next two weeks is bug squashing and polishing.

As for the two things I missed out on. I promised you guys a non-commitment based post, and it’s still not up. Secondly, I still haven’t research clubs to join in the area.

so last week looks like this 

Work on Mace Guy’s sprites 

create win condition for JS game (as well as the other small nitpicks I brought up)

do research on Clubs in area by Friday

save money (approx $50)

meditate

maintain exercise regimen

create the previously planned non-commitment post.

So, It looks like this week is going to be something like 

do research on Clubs in area by Friday

create the previously planned non-commitment post.

Continue to work on Mace Guy’s Sprites 

hunt for, and squash as many bugs as can be found in JS game

completing that. Replace Developer art. Look into making Animation System.)

up meditations to daily

up exercise regime

wrapping this up. I very much hope I do better this week, and I have all the confidence that myself, BetweenTwoLights and anyone else who might have stumbled in there goals recently can brush themselves off and go right back into it.

[clockworkcrowdevlog-blog]

Obligatory Commitment Joke.

I won’t be doing that anymore, just-.. no. 

Now with this check in, I found out the hard way how many sprites a boss takes. Sooo- I think finishing up his looks is first on the chopping block as far as game Dev Goals. by the way Here’s a preview of the Idle sprite.  Buff Fishman go!!!

now as for how things are going in Not-Mario land-

I may have left out a despawn mechanism for the fireballs, but I can now die which is nice (and was the task this week). Also I need to strip Not-Mario of his fire flower after he takes damage, but that’s not what this blog post is about.

I’m thinking I’m getting close to wrapping my Not-Mario JS game up. So don’t be surprised when I post a Github link sometime soon.

Beyond that, I took a spill on my bicycle this week and scrapped the crap out of my knee (what am I five?) so I’ve taken up walking instead (at least till it heals)

now looking at last weeks goals I guess that looks like this

Finish up the Sunset Skylines Mid-boss

once done clean up/ create art assets for boss and gimmicks that are still somewhat Developer art. (kinda, found roadblock)

create lose condition in JS game

talk to people more/join a club

save money (approx $50)

meditate at least 5x this week

continue to up exercise regimen

create a non-commitment based post. (yeah an hour before this one went up)

So moving on from last week this week should look a bit like this 

Work on Mace Guy’s sprites (I’m not gonna be that optimistic and say I will be done cause... yeah

if by some miracle that comes to be, work on the train and Maceball Gimmicks

create win condition for JS game (as well as the other small nitpicks I brought up)

do research on Clubs in area by Friday

save money (approx $50)

meditate 

maintain exercise regimen

create the previously planned non-commitment post.

[clockworkcrowdevlog-blog]

So I’m trying to make songs for this game, and I want feedback. I’ll admit, this was made a while ago, and I think it’s a little thin, but I also think it has potential.

[clockworkcrowdevlog-blog]

Committing to Excellence

mSounds like my old High School motto. Still, not a bad thing to strive for, So, around halfway through last week I checked my weight again, and I was actually down 2 lbs! Soooo.... I’m gonna switch weight checks till the end of the month. but beyond that. I managed everything, plus some. 

This week I was able to get the mini-boss up and running, though-

-He’s, *ahem* a bit unrefined at the moment, but “Maceguy” as he will be known until I come up with a better name for him, is *almost* fully functional ( I still want to add a desperation move, but his basic cycles are down)

My other pet project is coming along nicely. It’s a simple programmer art Mario Clone made in JavaScript and HTML5.  I was able to implement the power-up object, the item-box, and the coin into the game.  I am learning to hate “This.variable”  

My workout and meditation’s got thrown off this week, but I just shuffled them around and it all worked out in the end, and I totally put out a post that didn’t have anything to do with this project of ours! So yah! here’s a link if you missed it. 

Now, What about this week. well here’s the game plan.

Finish up the Sunset Skylines Mid-boss

once done clean up/ create art assets for boss and gimmicks that are still somewhat Developer art. (these don’t have to be fully fleshed out release art, but It shouldn’t stand out like it does right now.

create lose condition in JS game (right now not-mario can have his health go below 0 as well as fall into bottomless pits and the game doesn’t reset)

talk to people more/join a club

save money (approx $50)

meditate at least 5x this week 

continue to up exercise regimen

create a non-commitment based post.

Have fun y’all (oh no my Texan is showing) and good luck on what ever y’all are working on this week too. 

EDIT: this week’s my birthday week so I may have gone a bit soft on the goals. Friday btw.

[clockworkcrowdevlog-blog]

To Err is Human

to forgive Divine. but I’m just having fun with the title, This week I’m introducing you to the “Humans” of this story. Human’s being used very loosely. now to begin

Ivanka Vronin

The Clockwork Crow

The “hero” of our story, a prodigious eleven year old genius hell-bent on world domination. Her obsession with the Family Corvidae makes it’s way into her machines, theming everything from robots and mechs, to her own outfits. When faced with Earth’s imminent invasion, she decides no ones muscling in on her turf, and joins the fray. 

Valerie Thorne

Valence, the hope of the future 

Valerie is a young superhuman capable of speeds, as Ivanka puts it, “a significant fraction of the speed of light”. After a run in with the worlds most famous super, she dedicates her life to fighting crime in the name of justice. Her most common enemy, and fierce rival? 

The Clockwork Crow

Prof. Weston Daskalov

Retired Villain 

Prof. Daskalov was once one of the few Supervillains to nearly succeed. Time and again only thwarted by his greatest rival.  He wasn’t motivated by greed, or power, he claims, only revenge. But those days are long gone. Retiring his villain persona, Daskalov has spent the rest of his time teaching. Along side mentoring a child he found on the streets, begging her not to follow in his footsteps.

Magnum Glory 

Honor, Truth and Justice 

The most powerful, and famous, superhuman in the world. The example that all of heroes are measured up to. Magnum Glory. His crowning achievement was when he defeated the diabolical Ego-fist for the last time. Now he spends his days showing younger heroes how it’s done; especially his protege, a young speedster.

I’m glad I did this, It really helped me pin done some of these characters a bit more. The ones that are going to take a bit more work are next weeks crew, and I will say. It’s gonna be a bit fishy *shot with harpoon*