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dimple-angel · 4 years

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Being Creative on a Budget

I don’t really know how to start this off without sounding holier-than-thou or well-informed. The last thing I want to do is steer someone in the wrong direction with misinformation, and I definitely don’t want to get anyone’s hopes up. I guess I’ll start with a disclaimer. I’m not an expert in any of the things I’m about to suggest. These products work for me, and by default I hope it works for everyone else! With that out of the way, let’s get started.

It’s hard to be creative. It’s especially hard if you’re a creative with no income of your own and stuck in a financial bind (thanks Ms. Rona). Lucky enough for myself, I’m a writer so I don’t have to spend too much on different software to achieve the best product. However, as I’m leaning towards film and visual storytelling, writing on a Word Document isn’t really doing it for me. And all that software I would have liked to have to go into the realm that is visual and digital storytelling is really expensive and for professionals. So, even if I bought it, I would have zero clue how to use it. With some digging though, I finally found all of my favorite instruments and tools that can help the writer, the artists, or any other creative in general (hopefully) to achieve your best vision.

1. OneDrive

I know this seems very corporate, but hear me out! This is must have for any creative or anyone who does a lot of work on their computer and doesn’t have enough space to handle it. OneDrive is a digital flash-drive that can save documents, PDFs, photos, and videos. Anything digital, OneDrive can save it. The best thing about it, you can access OneDrive anywhere. Your phone, your desktop, your laptop, anywhere! I’ve been using OneDrive for about two or three years now, and I’ve loved it ever since, it’s so easy to use and a lifesaver! And, best of all, you get a lot of space for free! Again, I’ve been using OneDrive for two or three years, and I’ve imported maybe four years of documents from my earlier writing days onto it. So, no more deleting things off your laptop. OneDrive keeps it all safe! If you don’t like OneDrive, then a second recommendation I suggest is Google Drive.

2. Microsoft Word

I know, another corporate app, we’re gonna get to the good stuff soon I promise! Everyone knows what Microsoft Word is, so I won’t go on for too long. Microsoft Word is an advanced version of Google Docs. You can do so much more, and both the mobile and desktop version of this app is easy to use! And you don’t even have to download it onto your computer (though with some sacrifices of some of the features). If you want a more professional look to your documents, then I definitely suggest using Microsoft Word!

3. StoryBoarder

I am in love with this software. And, spoiler alert, it’s free! I recently just learned how to do a storyboard, so if you’re a newbie, it might be kind of challenging. But, once you gain some basic knowledge (or play around with the controls), it’s a really fun and easy-to-use software! Best of all, I can’t draw. Like actually, I have zero talent in the art department. That’s what makes this software so great! It has a “shot generator” that uses 3D models for artistic reference. With the models, you can give them realistic proportions and there are “stock” poses. You can make a video of these models, so you don’t have to be amazing at art to use this software. I’ve already made two projects with StoryBoarder! I’m really love it and I would suggest it to anybody who is interested in film, animation, or any other visual art. The downside to the shot generator is their lacking of actual 3D objects. There’s a way to import more 3D objects, but it’s pretty complicated by the looks of it. But, if that’s not a big deal to you, StoryBoarder is the perfect beginner’s software.

3. Canva

I feel like everybody knows what Canva is, but if you’re a newbie then consider this the gold mine to book cover creation! Even Wattpad recommends you use it. This website is user-friendly and has many options to choose from. And if you get the premium account, you can get even more! You can make GIFs, posters, stickers, merchandise, book covers, logos, movie covers, Instagram posts/stories, Facebook posts, flyers, and the options are almost endless! If you’re new to Wattpad or any other writing website, or even YouTube! I definitely recommend this app to you!

4. Beautiful Audio Editor

Beautiful Audio Editor isn’t one of the best audio software, but I still recommend it if you’re a newbie with sound design. I used this software in my Digital Storytelling Class at school, and most of the control are easy to play around with to get a general idea of your project’s sound design. I use it all the time when I’m using StoryBoarder just for a rough draft of the (eventual) final product. I prefer this over Audacity, which is what a lot of people prefer, because of it’s easy to use interface.

That’s it! That’s all my favorite websites/software I use to stay creative. Now obviously, some of these apps may not work for everyone, and that’s ok! This is just what I use without spending any money whatsoever that generally gets the job done. Thanks for reading and keep improving those beautiful brains!

-Dimpled-Angel

#writers #storyboard #music #i'm poor #film #newbie #anime #notsponsored #life hacks

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megaconfusedartnoob-blog · 7 years

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Cool Free Programs

Hey there, I’m starting off my page with some hopefully useful info. All of these recommended programs are completely free (except for reaper and newer versions asprite) enjoy!

3d/modeling programs

blender-3D modeling, animation (2d and 3d), texturing, video editing, photo compositing, motion tracking etc. its a very diverse free program, it can however, be hard to grasp due to the steep learning curve.

Just a week of regular use (around 2 hours a day) helped me be familiar with the ui and functions tho

https://www.blender.org/

Magica voxel- make 3-d pixel art with many robust tools for the job. does rendering and can export voxels to blender or any 3d program

not yet finished program

https://ephtracy.github.io/

mesh lab-useful for converting 3d meshes, reducing mesh count,cleaning up mesh etc

http://www.meshlab.net/

sculptris- a light sculpting program similar to zbrush

http://pixologic.com/sculptris/

Art/image manipulation

gimp-complex image editing suite similar to photoshop, although it is less user friendly, but still has most of its features, plus more!

https://www.gimp.org/

inkscape- robust vector drawing program, ui a bit messy/beginner unfriendly like gimp

https://www.gimp.org/

bedibang paint pro-in my opinion the best free art program, it's simple,and has basic editing tools and features (layers), simple brush editor and decent ui

https://medibangpaint.com/en/pc/

fire alpaca- similar to medibang (made by same people) simpilar and a bit more basic but more lightweight. can some animation with decent results

http://firealpaca.com/

Sumo paint - online paint program and photo editor with basic features and layers, very useful for qiuck use

https://www.sumopaint.com/home/

Krita- good painting program but better for animation (has animation mode) has a robust

https://krita.org/en/

drawpile- decent painting program with layers and basic functions and allows multiple people to draw on the same canvas via internet.

https://drawpile.net/

asprite- older version is free but i prefer this to the newer paid program. very robust pixel art tools and pixel animation with onion skin, layers etc

https://www.aseprite.org/older-versions/

2-d animation

opentoons- advanced animation program used by studio ghibli in the past. Not very beginner friendly

https://opentoonz.github.io/e/

Krita, fire alpaca ,asprite-see art/image manipulation

Video editing

hit film express 4- similar to adobe aftereffects and a fully fledged editing program comparable to sony vegas, need to share via social media to get it recently however

https://hitfilm.com/express

Davinci resolve- a more technical image editing program, dont have much experience with it

https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/

Blender- it can do simple vidio manipulation, compositing etc. Link to youtube turial here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjTn8GsRk48

Audio manipulation

Levelator- a quick compressor and normaliser that you drag your audio file on top of on your desktop and the application poops out all normalized

http://www.conversationsnetwork.org/levelator

audacity- basic recording and audio editing program with normalization, noise reduction bass boost and lots more. very lightweight as well

http://www.audacityteam.org/

reaper- professional audio and music software, free for personal use

https://www.reaper.fm/

Alternatives to mircrosoft office

libre office/ wps office- similar in ui and function to Microsoft word but there are occasional ads

Simple music production

lmms- basic music production and tools

https://lmms.io/download/#windows

sunvox- node based auto generating music software, pretty unique in making some funky tools, works on almost anything (linux, rasberrypi, android, ios etc)

http://www.warmplace.ru/soft/sunvox/

Famitracker- basic 8-bit music production, great for Indy 2-d retro games

http://famitracker.com/

miscellaneous software

obs- screen/video recording software. can be used for streaming and YouTube

https://obsproject.com/

Godot- mostly 2-d game engine. Great for beginners at programming

https://godotengine.org/

Insane bump-gimp plugin- produces bump , speculator, ambient occlusion maps and more for images for use in game and animation development

http://registry.gimp.org/node/28117

If anyone wants to add to the list, i would love some recommendations. Also feel free to comment on any false and improper info I put down, thanks.

if no-one ever finds this and it becomes just a fart in the wind, at least it'll be a nice heavy, ok smelling fart.

#art #free program #blender #video editing #music production #free art programs #animation #cool free software #digital art

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thedivinefish · 5 years

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TGIWednesday... and having a Full moon hangover

TGIWednesday News

Ok, is it just me or was the weekend crazy followed by most of this week? Lol Well keep the faith and regardless of the season, the temperature or your location, know that things can and will improve. I like Jordan Peterson the Canadian Psychologist who agrees with the Buddhist that all of life is suffering. However, it is our mission as metaphysicians to alleviate our suffering, the suffering of others at every turn and to lead a good and helpful life whenever possible. Everyone has it in them to be violent or benevolent and kind, so for goodness sakes, instead of living life as if nothing matters, live your life as if each breath and act of kindness is miraculous! Last week out of the blue I had a Magnolia Warbler Bird constantly flying in to my bedroom window. My brother always visits me via birds and birds are of spirit. Enjoy each moment and our visit here on this Earth plane.

TGIWednesday Download

~ FULL MOON HANGOVER ~

Today I will release this past full moon’s hangover and negative affects that I may feel today. I believe, think, know and feel that each day is a clean slate and an opportunity to renew, refresh and rebirth. I am ready, willing and able to move forward with grace and ease. And I know when, where, how and why to allow spirit to guide me and show me the simple way I am asking in all languages and throughout all time lines and so it is.

From the Fish Box

Q&A With Jimmy Q) "Thanks again for all of the information during our session today. I am still working through all of the videos that came with the Quantum Conversation package. I will probably also take your course, believing that it would be a great addition to my healing practice. However, I am still a bit unclear about the "clear", "unclear" and running forward process." - D.G. A) "Yes those concepts are explained in the book and of course in the course -that's a bit much to do it in 15 minutes when I've written eight books on it LOL I know you'll be feeling better." - Jimmy

FREE Weekly LIVE Healings and Messages

NEXT THURS. SEPT. 26th - YOU WEALTH REVOLUTION

I am THRILLED to have been invited to be a guest speaker on the Darius Barazandeh - You Wealth Revolution telesummit NEXT THURSDAY on September 26th!

I know now that this interview will be like none other and that there is a new level of healing coming with MLF and more talk about switches! ... you don't want to miss it! REGISTER HERE NOW and get lots of free welcome gifts too!

Tuesday at 11am EDT - ANGELS HEALING & LIGHT SHOW This Tuesday September 24th at 11am EDT I will be the special guest on the Angels and Healing Light Show with the lovely Laura Romeiro of our Goldylocks Productions radio family. Call in for a free reading at (323) 870-3791 or tune in here online. Every Tuesday at 9pm EDT - JIMMY MACK HEALING SHOW Join me and my guests weekly on Tuesdays at 9pm ET/ 6pm PT Call in LIVE (713)-955-0594 It's your chance to get FREE intuitive messages on my weekly radio show. My guests are some of the best psychic readers & intuitive healers on the planet! Tune in every Tuesday night LIVE or just catch the replay & YOU will receive changes & healings just by listening!

To listen online, click the date links below:

Listen here to yesterday's replay: Guest: Susan Kennard Spiritual Scientist, Intuitive Therapist, EFT Master Practitioner & Trainer, Meta Health, Theta Adv DNA, 5D Angelic Healing, Mindfulness Trainer, Founder Sparkle to Success

Listen here SEPTEMBER 24th Guest: Rev Debbie Dienstbier Transmedium, communications with your loved ones in spirit. Profound messages from an experienced psychic medium and healer. Visit Facebook page UPCOMING GUESTS FOR OCTOBER

October 1st – Psychic Joanne Leo Angel card readings and numerology, readings from the heart. www.psychicjoanneleo.com

October 8th – Laura Romiero Will be my guest and she is an awesome angel communicator and reader. https://www.angelsandhealinglight.com/about

October 15th – Mark Hernandez Mark Hernandez is a Holistic Practitioner as well as a certified Body Code and Emotion Code Practitioner (Dr. Bradley Nelson). Mark has intuitive gifts and extensive training in reading subtle energy fields of people and animals, and identifying/releasing energies that can lock into place in our bodies. www.peopleandpetsenergetics.com

October 22 – Sandra Sullivan A gifted Psychic and Tarot Card Reader -http://www.crystalvisionsbooks.com/sandra-sullivan-2/

October 29th – Rev Debbie Dienstbier Our resident Trans Medium communicating with your loved ones in spirit. https://www.facebook.com/Wings-of-Grace-Spiritual-Center-875388225837766/

Check out TheJimmyMackHealingShow.com for a full listing & all replays!

Live In-Person Appearances

EVERY FRIDAY at KODAWARI YOGA STUDIOS TAMPA

Tampa folks come see me on FRIDAYs - I'm scheduling 15 and 30 minute appointments at Kodawari Yoga Studios from 10am-2pm. Call Kodawari's front desk directly to schedule (813) 773-4017 and pay at the concierge desk... 15 minutes 33$ or 30 minutes 65$. 3965 Henderson Blvd Suite C Tampa (813) 773-4017 http://www.kodawariyoga.com/ Book on Friday September 20th September 27th October 4th October 11th October 18th October 25th

Go deep sea "fishing" with Jimmy!

Level 1 is open to ANYONE at anytime!

"Jimmy's My Liquid Fish Change Made Simple program is AMAZING!!! He gives you not only videos so you can see the changes within people, but also the books he's written as well! On top of that he's provided all the links and visuals you need so ANY type of learner can do it!! I appreciated having it to download in a PDF so I can go back to it any time, plus the books and ACTUAL healing sessions so you see, know and understand the whole process even better!!Highly recommend to ANYONE looking to change and make not only their life... but everyone's around them better as well!!" - E.J. / Florida

The Certificate of Mastery Program includes 2 best-selling ebooks and 2 clearing audios plus written & video instructions, AND one-on-one time with Jimmy ALL for about the cost of a single 1-hr session! This online course is for anyone who is familiar with OR new to "fishing" and is ready to dive into the deep end & get results that are beyond the ordinary! It includes The Tackle Box & Spiritual Healing Techniques ebooks PLUS 2 MP3s "Clearing Dark Energies" & "Increasing Your Intuition" to help clear, strengthen and prepare your energy field for optimal “fishing” results. This is a work-at-your-own-pace curriculum that will TEACH & CLEAR you at the same time! In under 2wks you will be finished with the program and ready to fish on your own with greater results! Level II offers Practitioner Certification for those who qualify.

LEARN MORE HERE

Receive 24/7 Daily Prayers From Jimmy

I will dial into you daily in the wee hours and make certain that you are a CLEAR YES, UNCLEAR to NO and RUNNING FORWARD before you start your day. You will send me a list of the members of your immediate household, and yes even pets, and I will add them to my daily prayers. I will arise daily before you are even awake to start my prayers and also run my intelligent computer software 24/7 deleting the negative and increasing the strength of the positive creating a higher probability of outcomes for you and the family. Each comes with a one-time email analysis print out via the intelligent healing software that I use on your behalf. Most clients have had amazing results and outcomes and I get emails of thanks each and every week!

Choose 7 days @$33 Choose 14 days @$66 Choose 30 days @$99

**Can't See The Full Email? Click Here to View Online**

Fish Food

The Daily Bread To Feed The Fish

Tell The Fish: 365 Daily Inspirations & Affirmations

SEPTEMBER 18th - "Today I will not live in a forgone conclusion. I will expect the impossible and remain open to the improbable. I will be open to greater possibilities of magic and mysticism. I will ask openly to the universe for guidance and outcomes that would impress me."

For those who aren't familiar, here's the list of the MyBeliefWorks™ audio library. Find a topic that addresses your issue(s), click on the link to read more. We had a lot of help downloading & channeling these over the years & they keep getting better.

Abundance Abuse Addiction Body Scan: Head to Toe Daily GPS Reset Dark Energies/Fears Decision Making Diet & Exercise Education & Learning Family & Relatives The Gold Coin Healing Physical Body Healing Mental Stress Holiday Stress

Increasing Intuition IRS & Tax Time Love & Romance Money Mindset Moving Forward Pain Relief Pet Healing Sales & Success Sex Sleep Traveling w/Ease Work & Career Weight Loss Youth & Vitality

TGIFunny

Forward

Jimmy Mack 727.678.0557 EST | Appointments Skype: Jimmy.Mack55 Clearwater Florida USA Book a 15 minute session Book a 30 minute session Book a 60 minute session Transformational Healing of Body, Mind & Spirit, People, Places, Pets & Situations! Download the My Liquid Fish® Starter Kit (*Updated May 2019) Audio MP3 Downloads and books to improve your life! Get Certified in My Liquid Fish® Change Made Simple® Watch Free Videos on YouTube Weekly Radio Show Archives Shop for Supplements http://www.jimmymackhealingshop.com www.jimmymackhealing.com Copyright ©1998-2019 All Rights Reserved

-------------------------------------------------- TGIW newsletter managed by: Sandy Bidinger Digital Marketing Specialist at SMBeConnected Solutions www.smbeconnected.com

Stay connected!

Our mailing address is: Clearwater Florida 33756 USA

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divinefishingtips · 5 years

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TGIWednesday... and having a Full moon hangover

TGIWednesday News

TGIWednesday Download

~ FULL MOON HANGOVER ~

From the Fish Box

FREE Weekly LIVE Healings and Messages

NEXT THURS. SEPT. 26th - YOU WEALTH REVOLUTION

I am THRILLED to have been invited to be a guest speaker on the Darius Barazandeh - You Wealth Revolution telesummit NEXT THURSDAY on September 26th!

To listen online, click the date links below:

October 1st – Psychic Joanne Leo Angel card readings and numerology, readings from the heart. www.psychicjoanneleo.com

October 8th – Laura Romiero Will be my guest and she is an awesome angel communicator and reader. https://www.angelsandhealinglight.com/about

October 22 – Sandra Sullivan A gifted Psychic and Tarot Card Reader -http://www.crystalvisionsbooks.com/sandra-sullivan-2/

October 29th – Rev Debbie Dienstbier Our resident Trans Medium communicating with your loved ones in spirit. https://www.facebook.com/Wings-of-Grace-Spiritual-Center-875388225837766/

Check out TheJimmyMackHealingShow.com for a full listing & all replays!

Live In-Person Appearances

EVERY FRIDAY at KODAWARI YOGA STUDIOS TAMPA

Go deep sea "fishing" with Jimmy!

Level 1 is open to ANYONE at anytime!

LEARN MORE HERE

Receive 24/7 Daily Prayers From Jimmy

Choose 7 days @$33 Choose 14 days @$66 Choose 30 days @$99

**Can't See The Full Email? Click Here to View Online**

Fish Food

The Daily Bread To Feed The Fish

Tell The Fish: 365 Daily Inspirations & Affirmations

Increasing Intuition IRS & Tax Time Love & Romance Money Mindset Moving Forward Pain Relief Pet Healing Sales & Success Sex Sleep Traveling w/Ease Work & Career Weight Loss Youth & Vitality

TGIFunny

Forward

-------------------------------------------------- TGIW newsletter managed by: Sandy Bidinger Digital Marketing Specialist at SMBeConnected Solutions www.smbeconnected.com

Stay connected!

Our mailing address is: Clearwater Florida 33756 USA

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365dailyaffirmations · 5 years

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TGIWednesday... and having a Full moon hangover

TGIWednesday News

TGIWednesday Download

~ FULL MOON HANGOVER ~

From the Fish Box

FREE Weekly LIVE Healings and Messages

NEXT THURS. SEPT. 26th - YOU WEALTH REVOLUTION

I am THRILLED to have been invited to be a guest speaker on the Darius Barazandeh - You Wealth Revolution telesummit NEXT THURSDAY on September 26th!

To listen online, click the date links below:

October 1st – Psychic Joanne Leo Angel card readings and numerology, readings from the heart. www.psychicjoanneleo.com

October 8th – Laura Romiero Will be my guest and she is an awesome angel communicator and reader. https://www.angelsandhealinglight.com/about

October 22 – Sandra Sullivan A gifted Psychic and Tarot Card Reader -http://www.crystalvisionsbooks.com/sandra-sullivan-2/

October 29th – Rev Debbie Dienstbier Our resident Trans Medium communicating with your loved ones in spirit. https://www.facebook.com/Wings-of-Grace-Spiritual-Center-875388225837766/

Check out TheJimmyMackHealingShow.com for a full listing & all replays!

Live In-Person Appearances

EVERY FRIDAY at KODAWARI YOGA STUDIOS TAMPA

Go deep sea "fishing" with Jimmy!

Level 1 is open to ANYONE at anytime!

LEARN MORE HERE

Receive 24/7 Daily Prayers From Jimmy

Choose 7 days @$33 Choose 14 days @$66 Choose 30 days @$99

**Can't See The Full Email? Click Here to View Online**

Fish Food

The Daily Bread To Feed The Fish

Tell The Fish: 365 Daily Inspirations & Affirmations

Increasing Intuition IRS & Tax Time Love & Romance Money Mindset Moving Forward Pain Relief Pet Healing Sales & Success Sex Sleep Traveling w/Ease Work & Career Weight Loss Youth & Vitality

TGIFunny

Forward

-------------------------------------------------- TGIW newsletter managed by: Sandy Bidinger Digital Marketing Specialist at SMBeConnected Solutions www.smbeconnected.com

Stay connected!

Our mailing address is: Clearwater Florida 33756 USA

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advancedthetapractitioner · 5 years

Text

TGIWednesday... and having a Full moon hangover

TGIWednesday News

TGIWednesday Download

~ FULL MOON HANGOVER ~

From the Fish Box

FREE Weekly LIVE Healings and Messages

NEXT THURS. SEPT. 26th - YOU WEALTH REVOLUTION

I am THRILLED to have been invited to be a guest speaker on the Darius Barazandeh - You Wealth Revolution telesummit NEXT THURSDAY on September 26th!

To listen online, click the date links below:

October 1st – Psychic Joanne Leo Angel card readings and numerology, readings from the heart. www.psychicjoanneleo.com

October 8th – Laura Romiero Will be my guest and she is an awesome angel communicator and reader. https://www.angelsandhealinglight.com/about

October 22 – Sandra Sullivan A gifted Psychic and Tarot Card Reader -http://www.crystalvisionsbooks.com/sandra-sullivan-2/

October 29th – Rev Debbie Dienstbier Our resident Trans Medium communicating with your loved ones in spirit. https://www.facebook.com/Wings-of-Grace-Spiritual-Center-875388225837766/

Check out TheJimmyMackHealingShow.com for a full listing & all replays!

Live In-Person Appearances

EVERY FRIDAY at KODAWARI YOGA STUDIOS TAMPA

Go deep sea "fishing" with Jimmy!

Level 1 is open to ANYONE at anytime!

LEARN MORE HERE

Receive 24/7 Daily Prayers From Jimmy

Choose 7 days @$33 Choose 14 days @$66 Choose 30 days @$99

**Can't See The Full Email? Click Here to View Online**

Fish Food

The Daily Bread To Feed The Fish

Tell The Fish: 365 Daily Inspirations & Affirmations

Increasing Intuition IRS & Tax Time Love & Romance Money Mindset Moving Forward Pain Relief Pet Healing Sales & Success Sex Sleep Traveling w/Ease Work & Career Weight Loss Youth & Vitality

TGIFunny

Forward

-------------------------------------------------- TGIW newsletter managed by: Sandy Bidinger Digital Marketing Specialist at SMBeConnected Solutions www.smbeconnected.com

Stay connected!

Our mailing address is: Clearwater Florida 33756 USA

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edamame-reviews-blog · 7 years

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Our interview with the Groo Gadgets Team, The creators of Spiraloid

Are you – just like us – captivated by Spiraloid? A dizzyingly beautiful 3D adventure… If so today we’ve got an interview you simply can’t miss!

If you’d like to check out our review of Spiraloid, you can also do that here.

Today we’d like to share with you our interview with the Groo Gadgets Team, the developer of Spiraloid!

Before we start, we’d like to thank the Groo Gadgets Team for participating in our interview, and for spending some of his valuable time answering our questions. Thanks!

Now without any further ado, our interview begins.

The Interview

Ok first up, why did you decide to make Spiraloid?

I’ve been learning the art of game development for over 10 years and have started (and stopped) development on around 10 games. Since I’ve always been a “team of one” I had to whittle down the grandiose ideas into something that I knew I could complete on my own.

In early 2016 I put my foot down and said to myself “I have to FINALLY finish a game!” so I started researching and playing casual games from the likes of Boombit and Ketchapp. I found a game called Spike Dash which was quite fun but ultimately a bit boring.

It’s a 2D game where the player is a cube that rotates around a circle. Spikes start popping up so the player taps the screen to perform a single jump. I started thinking how I could take such a simple concept and put my own “twist” on it.

The eureka moment came when I had the idea to extrude that gameplay idea into 3D and when I thought of a spiral (or more accurately a helix) everything just came together quite quickly. A prototype was playable within 2 days, from then I knew this would be the first game I would finally finish!

Here comes the obvious next question, how on earth did you manage to create such immersive 3D graphics? (To be completely honest, Spiraloid looks so good, it almost looks wrong on a mobile device!)

Thank you so much for your praise! My professional background has been in 3D animation and motion graphics for film and TV so my strength has always been my design skills.

I really admire games like Monument Valley and Chameleon Run for their simple yet beautiful low poly style. The best thing about low poly graphics is that not only do they look amazing if done well but they are also much quicker to produce than more textured 3D games.

My tool of choice is a free 3D software package called Blender. I have used other commercial software packages before but none of them struck a chord with me like Blender has, especially since most other packages cost around $3,000 or more! Almost all of the 3D elements in Spiraloid have no textures at all, the colours are embedded into the 3D models by a technique called “Vertex Colouring”.

To be honest creating the graphics was the easiest aspect of creating Spiraloid. It would take me an average of one and a half days to create a new level from scratch which I did find surprising myself. You will be happy to know I have many more levels planned including an underwater level with giant whales that swim by the spiral and an outer space level where you travel through space stations and asteroids. The best is yet to come! 😃

The next question is a little less obvious.

At first, Spiraloid seems like it is going to turn out to be an impossible game, but as you progress throughout the game, you’ll soon realize that Spiraloid is hard, but still very achievable.

How did you manage difficult levels when developing Spiraloid?

It’s great that you’ve raised this point since balancing the difficulty has been a real challenge. When I watch people play I can see them struggle with the difficulty, they don’t jump quick enough to avoid spikes or they don’t time their double jumps properly. Soon after I got the prototype working I had the idea that the player should jump to the beat of the soundtrack so I designed the game around that mechanic.

You can still play the game without audio but if you can tap your foot to the beat of a song you should be able to tap your screen to the beat of the game! Each music track in Spiraloid has exactly the same tempo: 120 BPM so the speed of the gameplay never changes, even when the whole world starts to spin. I have designed the game so that most spikes and obstacles need to be jumped on the second beat (typically when you hear a snare hit in the music). To help the player I have also made the hitbox of the spikes much smaller than the spikes themselves so there is a slight margin for error when you jump a spike and when you land on the other side.

Even with all the tweaks I made to help the player, I find that most people struggle to get a score of 10 (for the record my wife has an average score of around 500 on each level). As you have pointed out with a little practice and some trial and error you can master the game and play for many minutes if you follow the beat and observe the spike patterns. Once you have mastered the first two levels (Amethyst and Silicon) you will find the challenge ramps up significantly when you first play the Obsidian level (fun fact: Obsidian is my tribute to the brilliant TV show Stranger Things!). Instead of spikes that pop up, you encounter mines that float up and down to the beat. Where spikes are always below you mines can be above or below you and explode on contact. This is where upgrading the shield power-up is vital so you can learn how to navigate mines without exploding!

Now for some extra geeky questions. What programming language and or software did you use when making Spiraloid?

Since I have a background in design I had very little experience with programming. I started making games in the early 2000’s with a program called Blitz Basic. While I never completed any games it did give me a good grounding in the basics of programming.

When the first iPhone was released I knew I had to get on board and start developing mobile games. That’s when I discovered Unity 3D and have been using it ever since. At first, it was daunting since I had never used the C# scripting language before and I was determined to create games on my own. I then found a tool which would be the best asset I have ever downloaded for Unity; PlayMaker. PlayMaker is a visual scripting tool that lets you program visually with nodes.

Instead of writing your own code it uses code snippets called “actions”. The actions are simple functions like moving 3D objects, detecting button presses, etc. Since I already had an intermediate understanding of programming the learning curve was very shallow and I had prototypes up and running within days.

If anyone reading this has been dreaming of getting into game development but doesn’t know where to start I would highly recommend a combination of Unity and PlayMaker. I should mention that I wouldn’t have been able to complete the game without the help of assets from the Unity’s Asset Store. When I had the idea to sync the game to the music the first thing I did was search the Asset Store and I found a brilliant tool called Koreographer by Sonic Bloom. Not only did it do exactly what I wanted but it also included PlayMaker actions so I had it running in my game within a couple of hours.

Ok, here is a difficult question. What was the hardest problem you needed to overcome when developing Spiraloid?

Well, I can start by telling you that the easiest part was creating the gameplay itself, once I knew what I needed to do I just did it with next to no real issues. The hardest part was integrating all the systems that needed to be in there to form a fully functional game.

Implementing things like language localization, in-app purchases, leaderboards, etc was a real challenge and completely broke the game a few times. The lesson I have learned is to start implementing those systems soon after a good prototype is working.

There isn’t all that much text in the game but since I added localization after I had all the menus in the game it was very time consuming to set everything up to work with multiple languages. Other than those issues it has been a reasonably smooth experience. I started prototyping around May 2016 in my spare time then I went full time from October to the start of January this year so for just one person it has been a reasonably quick process.

Last question. Where do you get your inspiration or ideas from?

I play a lot of games! I have all the current consoles and I download and play around 3 games every week from the App Store. I do tend to gravitate to obscure indie titles since they usually are in line with the kind of games I like to make.

I am mainly inspired by games that bring new ideas or fresh takes on tried and tested gameplay mechanics; this inspires me to come up with my own ideas that push the boundaries. I knew from the first prototype that Spiraloid would be a visual feast so I started doing research on visuals made for electronic dance music.

One of my inspirations has been the work of Beeple (Mike Winkelmann), the visuals he creates in sync with EDM are amazing. I also have a Pinterest board that contains loads of images I have found on the web that have inspired me to create the visuals in Spiraloid.

A few words to Spiraloid fans on Edamame Reviews.

I have a couple of projects in the works but haven’t locked anything in yet. One thing that I can tell you is that I plan to team up with another developer for my next game, solo game development is REALLY time-consuming since I have to do every single aspect of the game myself.

Before I start anything new I have to prepare the Android version for release which should be out soon. Another thing I have considered with Spiraloid is creating a version for VR. I actually spent a lot of time in the early stages of development creating a version of Spiraloid for Google Daydream and Gear VR. Can you imagine what Spiraloid feels like in VR when the world starts to spin? I can tell you a strong stomach is highly recommended😃

Lastly a few words on how you feel about Edamame Reviews and our service.

I’ve been following Edamame via Twitter for a while now and more often than not click through to read the reviews. I really enjoy the articles and interviews as I always like getting an insight into the minds of fellow developers, I hope your readers find this interview insightful as well!

There are a lot of gaming sites out there but not so many mobile-only gaming sites, this site fills the void very nicely indeed!

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Thanks for the incredibly detailed interview! Want to give Spiraloid a try? The download link is just below😉

Let us know what you thought in the comments section below and as always thanks for following edamame.club

Interview with the Groo Gadgets Team, The creators of Spiraloid Our interview with the Groo Gadgets Team, The creators of Spiraloid

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