Bytesize Adventures

This past week has been interesting. Playing some puzzle games I had a sudden realisation about one of the core mechanics in my game. I’ve yet to implement it but I’m hoping that it will enhance the basic gameplay mechanics and allow me to finally focus on the RPG side.

I realise I’m being rather vague but that’s just because everything is in such a high state of flux. As soon as things have a clearer direction, I’ll begin to share some details about what you actually do in the game.

The majority of my time this week has been spent on a first-pass at some of the artwork. This has also meant listening to lots of indie game soundtracks since I find these good inspiration without being too distracting. (I’ve mainly been listening to the Binding of Isaac and Portal 2 soundtracks). keep reading…

By Chris | Posted in: Development Diary | Tags: art, graphics, PPRPG, weekly update
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After nearly 6 months of effort which has seen us produce a solid plan, create a design doc, produce wireframes and workflow, create initial artwork and a moodboard, develop the App, and complete a full beta testing process; Coffee Cellar is finally ready for submission to the App store!

But the story, and my guide, is not quite over. My App still won’t see the light of day for another 2-4 weeks. My next focus is on marketing. In my next post I’ll discuss what my marketing efforts entail. After that we really will be “done” (for now) and will get to see how successful the App is in the App store – this will culminate in a numbers post, a postmortem, and a project wrap-up.

For now though, lets bask in the satisfaction of completing a project. This post will focus on the final artwork. keep reading…

By Chris | Posted in: App Development, Design, Development Diary | Tags: App, app design, art, artwork, coffee app, inkscape
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There was a time when anyone who asked me “What will you be in life?” received the rather confident and totally serious answer “I’ll be an Artist”. I studied Art at college you see. In fact I recently stumbled across some photos of my old college artwork, including a rather disturbing 6 foot tall crucifix! (Photographs of said artwork are embedded below; more for nostalgia than anything) Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting that I made a mistake or even that I was particularly good at Art – it’s just that I was so certain.

Somewhere along the line fate intervened and I ended up in software development. Whilst i’m certainly out of practice, my creative streak has never really left me. However, I now find myself increasingly frustrated that skills I once possessed have become dulled. “Get to the point” I hear you cry. Ok, scroll on past the pictures… keep reading…

By Chris | Posted in: Design, Tangents | Tags: art, nostalgia, sketchbook project
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Here’s some early artwork for my next game due this Christmas. All of this art is by ClintonMc. We’ll continue to release more pieces of art right up until the game’s release in early December. If you want to keep up on the latest then follow me on twitter here and ClintonMc here.

keep reading…

By Chris | Posted in: Development Diary | Tags: art, christmas, pixel art
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Here are some early art assets for my next game. These don’t represent the final look and hopefully they don’t give too much away. I created them using Inkscape and my Wacom graphics tablet. More to follow in the coming weeks.

By Chris | Posted in: Development Diary | Tags: art, game two, graphics, inkscape, new game, wacom
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