So far, even the village is getting *huge*, trying to fit in additions, while staying fairly true to the original look & feel is getting mildly humorous in some ways.
Now, please note- I'm not complaining, I'm actually gettin one heck of a kick out of it! things are progressing well for the demo, and I feel that I really can get it out in the
next couple of weeks. I'm trying to get in 2-5 hours a night on it (which can be hard when cooking, cleaning, a 10 hour work day, some time with the missus, and sleep
come in to play), but it's going to be worth it :-)
Getting the village to demo quality is also bringing out some obvious design flaws-
*I've realized I forgot to make a 'end cap' for some of the forest pieces
*some of the forest pieces' scaling has gotten off
*I need some smaller, more dramatic curves for the forest ;-)
*Some textures and bits need rework badly, but it should be fast to do
**This is noted by finding out that some of my textures are not 'power of 2' textures according to the engine,
which requires some touch up, etc. to be done.
*I'm likely going to be adding alot (over time) of 'accessory' pieces
--Examples are: carved names on trees, small grave markers, tools and things that characters would use
for their claimed profession, items like wagon wheels, oddball flowers, pots, pans, books, flower
pots, bags of flour, corn, potatoes, etc., barrels of apples, grain, etc..
*Planned pieces not going to be seen in demo: Forest/tree detail pieces
Tree/Forest path detail pieces*
forest ruins
alot of interactive objects/ interactive components
swimming
ledge crawling
crouching/hiding
inventory system (for the most part, will be in there partially)
most all items
Anywhere much outside of K. Village
Now - be warned, this is a rant of sorts...
It's kinda crazy looking at the amount of hours I've put in thus far on it, avg. of 1-2 hours a day 5 days a week, and then 3-8 hours a day on the weekends-
realizing I've put over 500 hours into this beast easily- and it's still just working on getting the components fully working... It's crazy, absolutely crazy.
Now, this is the point where many an sane(r) person, or artist even- would throw in the towel. Call it quits.
But, it's actually made me *more* dedicated, and determined.
Why?
Because I'm making a game that I want to play, adding things that I want to see, utilizing the infamously 'bad idea' of taking ideas from the communities. It may
not be for everyone when it's done- I actually expect many will slam it. But, that's not the point.
The point, at the end of the day- is building the toolset to build the game to let others try the game, and then to give them the toolset- by doing so, it proves the
toolset principles- for better or ill. It's a social experiment of sorts- as well as one heck of a portfolio piece for those involved. Hopefully this proves that a person
or 3 can build a decent game- that the ideas fostered by the community can be in turn returned to them, and that with luck- many more things can be fashioned
from it... It's also an experiment to see if 1-3 people can do what a major studio claims takes multiples of ten or a hundred more to make.
In so many ways- it's a test for me.. A test of wills, of spirit, of determination... And I don't intend to fail. I have yet to fail at a project I've tackled. It's that pure dumb
determination- and a bit of luck.
Now, is this aimed at anyone? No. I just don't want people to get discouraged that this is taking 'so long'.. Everything aside from concept art, the motion capture,
a littttttttle bit of programming (not counting the raw engine itself) and a chunk of texturesis being done by hand, from scratch by 1 person- me... And that takes a
lot of time.
Think about it- every, single, little, item has to be made in 3d, UVmapped (usually), exported, checked for errors, scaled, checked for errors, textured, checked
for errors, organized (in theory) and finally put in-game.... Then it's got to have attributes programmed in- how much does it weigh, is it able to be walked-thru,
can it be picked up, does it float, is it driveable, is it affected by sunlight, other lights, cast a shadow, have a predefined shadow, does it move- if so, in what direction(s),
what speed, can it be jumped on, does it make sounds when any of the above happen, is it flammable, shootable, etc, etc, etc....
It's no joke.
Just have some patience with me guys- and keep up the feedback and comments, I'll respond, and always value them.
~ZeldaKnack
