a study based on the work of heripantomorrow. this was an exercise in learning blender skills including generating IK bones, a facerig and eye tracking.
got to participate in an IRL game showcase... showed off two games - a peripheral game where you use a can filled with a microcontroller to complete microgames, and a fairy raising sim.
the cangame was interesting to make. had never made a peripheral game or programmed anything like a microcontroller before, so needing to learn all of the intricacies and then figure out how to connect the data to godot was an exceptional challenge to undertake in one week. thankfully, a friend handled the electrical component and another created many of the microgames, so was free to focus on writing the interface between the microcontroller and the computer. this really was the value of the "game a week" format to just experiment and learn a new skillset in something had never really thought to try before. dont really have any interest in doing another game in this style, but can see the appeal and utility of device programming more broadly.
the fairy game was probably more straightforward... it was a good chance to learn to create real AI for game characters and see how they develop due to player interaction. really would like to make something complex based on the simple principles guiding this game. it was also socially interesting to see how players gravitated towards punishing the fairy or rewarding her depending on their own mood. by the end of the showcase she had developed into a wonderful angel (therefore had been heavily punished).
doing a "real" showcase was interesting too. somehow it makes the game feel more tangible actually seeing others interact with it, even if the number of players was much less than the download amount for any 773tk game on itch.io. would definitely like to distribute things more physically if possible, am considering a lot throwing together a "demo disc" of various prototypes, art, renders, music tracks and selling it at an event perhaps. its certainly given a lot of fuel to finish ongoing projects....
things have been very difficult lately... wondering if the storm will ever subside...
finally completed updating this website... 2 years to the day of the last refactor! that feels somehow auspicious...
this site is now built using aya, a static site generator. previous versions of this site were created manually, which was very useful for learning the fundamentals of webdev but has become more of a timesink for simple blog updates. everything is now essentially automated which makes updating this space more appealing long-term. however as a consequence of this automation, if you subscribed to the old rss feed please take the time to update to the new feed.
am not really sure if its worth porting past blog entries into this new format. on one hand it has been a request every refactor that there are things readers would rather not be lost, but on the other hand really do believe in the passing of things into memory as an important part of their life. really don't believe in the concept of a static and eternal archived presence.
have been participating in a friend's 6 week "game a week" challenge which is currently in week 4, meaning there are currently 3 secret 773tk games. its been an excellent experience where my skills have been tested extremely, ive made new friends, and have been able to learn new skills which i wouldnt have gotten around to learning otherwise. ive been considering cleaning the entries a little after the fact and compiling them into something, but at least one of them may make that unfeasible.
things in this space are still a work in progress to some degree, for instance am trying to develop a gallery which actually feels good to use, but at least for now am happy for this site to be live.