Here's to you a sneak-a-peek on how the HUD could look like...
Monday, July 25, 2011
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Keep running, X!
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Work in progress...
Just a few lines, to make you know that R.A.I.N. is still under development, even if this blog is not often updated.
Our "pixel artist" is now busy with PhD thesis and, as you may know, pixel art *is* time consuming. He is thinking about a way to create fast graphic prototypes, instead of drawing sketches in pixel art from scratch each time.
I'm currently refactoring the level editor because it looks too much like spaghetti-code right now and because I made some (really) bad decisions in the past which in turn make hard adding new features, like zooming for example.
Finally, our main developer is having fun with the cool stuff, like testing new gameplay styles, adding graphic effects (like swings) and making the game fun to play.
Generally we talk a lot about this game and there is always a huge amount of brainstorming about gameplay, but we are just not at the point where we can begin planning plot twists or testing RPG elements and skill trees.
While you are waiting for this great game to be delivered, you could take a look the the huge Steampunk exhibition at the Museum of the History of Science, University of Oxford. Since I assume that if you are reading this, you are at least a great steampunk fan :)
Our "pixel artist" is now busy with PhD thesis and, as you may know, pixel art *is* time consuming. He is thinking about a way to create fast graphic prototypes, instead of drawing sketches in pixel art from scratch each time.
I'm currently refactoring the level editor because it looks too much like spaghetti-code right now and because I made some (really) bad decisions in the past which in turn make hard adding new features, like zooming for example.
Finally, our main developer is having fun with the cool stuff, like testing new gameplay styles, adding graphic effects (like swings) and making the game fun to play.
Generally we talk a lot about this game and there is always a huge amount of brainstorming about gameplay, but we are just not at the point where we can begin planning plot twists or testing RPG elements and skill trees.
While you are waiting for this great game to be delivered, you could take a look the the huge Steampunk exhibition at the Museum of the History of Science, University of Oxford. Since I assume that if you are reading this, you are at least a great steampunk fan :)
Saturday, September 19, 2009
...a tale of sulfur, mercury and salt...
Long have the secrets of Alchemy been kept shut.
But one arises again to claim the scepter of Hermes.
Three solely, Guardians of the Rain, stand against...
But one arises again to claim the scepter of Hermes.
Three solely, Guardians of the Rain, stand against...
G.S.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
It's raining...
This is my first post in this blog, so i should present myself. I'm 3px, I'm involved in the code development of the project and currently i'm the lead programmer of the game engine. The other components of the RAIN developing team are HappyEmi that is in charge of the levels editor programming and is working with audio too (see previous post) and GS that is the pixel artist of the group.
I take this occasion to post here a short low resolution video of what's current development. As you could see both player and enemies animations are not refined. Also the weapon power and game's items are to be defined. So take this video as a simple introduction on what the game could be.
What do you think of the rain effect during game?
In the next posts we'll introduce the main characters, the story , enemies and what else we want to realease on the game.
See you.
I take this occasion to post here a short low resolution video of what's current development. As you could see both player and enemies animations are not refined. Also the weapon power and game's items are to be defined. So take this video as a simple introduction on what the game could be.
What do you think of the rain effect during game?
In the next posts we'll introduce the main characters, the story , enemies and what else we want to realease on the game.
See you.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
About music and sound
One of the most neglected part in amateur videogame development is sound. Well, sound and music actually.
You start thinking about gameplay, about how the game looks, but generally you don't care a lot about music and sound at beginning.
We could have begun our development without implementing the music and sound module, but at last we figured out that was not the right thing to do.
So we downloaded a midi from the Internet, just to have something to listen while testing. Of course that file won't be present when we'll upload the first downloadable tarball but at least we do not have to test a mute videogame.
As for sound effects we did something different. They need to be fired for certain events, like while picking up powerups, while dying, while slashing a sword and they must be of the right length. Too long sounds are bad because, for example, they are still playing when the action is completed; for our game I guessed we needed something like one second in length sound effects.
We could have downloaded them from the Internet as well but we chose a different solution: to create them by our own.
I'm quite proud of this because this is by far my greatest contribution to the game itself: I recorded the actually used sound effects.
How did I accomplish that? Well basically I took my mic. and started making some funny noises with my mouth. Now, if I had been a skilled beatbox player the sound effects would have been almost "final" and ready to be included in a release. Unfortunately, even if the low quality mic acted as a gorgeous filter, those effects are very far from being appreciated by a wider audience. Nonetheless, I still hope we can leave them as unlockable or as some kind of easter egg :-)
You start thinking about gameplay, about how the game looks, but generally you don't care a lot about music and sound at beginning.
We could have begun our development without implementing the music and sound module, but at last we figured out that was not the right thing to do.
So we downloaded a midi from the Internet, just to have something to listen while testing. Of course that file won't be present when we'll upload the first downloadable tarball but at least we do not have to test a mute videogame.
As for sound effects we did something different. They need to be fired for certain events, like while picking up powerups, while dying, while slashing a sword and they must be of the right length. Too long sounds are bad because, for example, they are still playing when the action is completed; for our game I guessed we needed something like one second in length sound effects.
We could have downloaded them from the Internet as well but we chose a different solution: to create them by our own.
I'm quite proud of this because this is by far my greatest contribution to the game itself: I recorded the actually used sound effects.
How did I accomplish that? Well basically I took my mic. and started making some funny noises with my mouth. Now, if I had been a skilled beatbox player the sound effects would have been almost "final" and ready to be included in a release. Unfortunately, even if the low quality mic acted as a gorgeous filter, those effects are very far from being appreciated by a wider audience. Nonetheless, I still hope we can leave them as unlockable or as some kind of easter egg :-)
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Welcome
Hi and welcome to RAIN development blog.
Let's start from the beginning: what is RAIN? Well it's basically an old-school steampunk platform game, currently in pre-pre-pre-alpha development stage.
It will feature:
We are also developing a map editor. It will be part of the distribution and will allow players to create their own levels and stories.
Current dependencies are:
Let's start from the beginning: what is RAIN? Well it's basically an old-school steampunk platform game, currently in pre-pre-pre-alpha development stage.
It will feature:
- Classic 2D scrolling platform game.
- Steampunk theme.
- Different playable characters, each one coming with a different skill tree and ability set.
- A few RPG elements, just to allow players to customize their gameplay.
We are also developing a map editor. It will be part of the distribution and will allow players to create their own levels and stories.
Current dependencies are:
- Python 2.5
- pygame (any version should work)
- wxPython (used by the editor)
- numpy
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