Old Home Labyrinth

So about two days ago I finally decided on a title for my 3D side project.  It was originally going to be titled "Elspeth's Garden: Old Home" to show that it's another stand-alone installation in my universe.  Then later it was shortened to "Elspeth's Old Home", then after realizing the whole structure of the game was just one big exploration set, I finally settled with a title with 'Labyrinth' in it.

Lots of green.

Lol, that's not from my game!  That's from Tri-Ace's upcoming "Beyond the Labyrinth", an upcoming 3DS dungeon crawler.  As you can see very clearly, I love Japanese games!  I've been inspecting the 3DS at stores -- not gonna buy it yet, but as soon as this game ships (in English, I hope), I'll buy one -- my first Nintendo purchase ever.  (I've played SNES, Gameboy, N64, etc only at the neighbors')

In case you're still interested in my game, here are screenshots:

Needs more bloom.

The implementation is still a mess, though.  In any case, this game, since it's being made in Unity, will be available for Windows / Mac desktop at the very least.  I'll decide later on whether it's worth it to shell out for iOS and Android.

Why I Decided to Hire a Writer

I'm sorry that I haven't posted any videos lately, but rest assured art is coming along more quickly now.  I am reluctant to post pictures because even though this is my first commercial game, I'm still working within a limited art budget and I'm scared to create a "once you've seen one, you've seen them all" impression.  The game is still expensive art-wise because I'm using 3D models -- I took that path so that I can have lots of prerendered animations in all isometric camera perspectives.  Then later I can reuse the 3D models for other purposes.  I know many people prefer pixel-art and let me assure you that I believe genuine pixelart takes a lot of painstaking talent.  On the other hand I'm just going with a general painted-approach, which like 3D models is cheaper in the long run.  But do not discount my artists since they are crafting a look I genuinely adore and which reminds me of early PlayStation era games which combined a hybrid approach to handpainting and 3D models.  If the current indie scene is dictated by those who grew up on SNES games, I'm among the few venturing into the next generation  (those who grew up on PS1/N64 games).  And with High Definition things look better, the downside being performance is more sluggish -- a reason why Vanillaware, pioneers of 2D, has yet to release a genuine HD game.

Let me repeat:  This is just a budget game.  Please do not expect too much of it.  Amid freeware this will be an awesome game, but compared to other commercial games it will not stand a chance.  This project is a means for me to realize the majority of my ideas and influences into one cohesive whole.

Now on to the topic at hand:  If I'm not the game's writer, what am I then?  If I'm not one of the artists?  I'm still the creator, the producer and director.  The game's writer will be none other than the great Taleweaver -- he recently ventured writing for a commercial game, Zenith Chronicles, so I thought why not bring him on board here as well since I liked his flexibility in writing different subject matters and in different styles.  Compared to him I am just an OK writer... and nowadays, just being OK doesn't cut it.  If there's one thing an indie game can do to stand out from the competition that has superior manpower and budget is through writing.

Don't get me wrong, I still have an idea for a project later on which will require myself to be the writer, simply because I'm the only expert in the subject matter.  But for Elspeth's Garden, which come to think of it is the most mainstream game I've been working on, I'd rather rely on whatever talent I can find.

Girls and Skirts

I was recently disappointed to learn that the team ICO High Definition collection, originally scheduled for April, has been postponed until later in the year, no doubt to promote the Last Guardian.

I'm not interested in the Last Guardian, frankly.  Only in Ico, which I've never played before.

Simply because the latter has a girl center stage, even if she's just an AI.

http://m.ign.com/articles/1154560

Would you believe that my main motivation for creating the 3D side project (Tentatively titled "Elspeth's Old Home") was because I was disappointed that the Last Guardian *could* have starred a female protagonist in a skirt?  But apparently Fumito Ueda was too conservative.  Boo.

I already have a strong female protagonist in the main game, so I entertained the idea of giving her more life in the form of a 3D model.

Okay, I admit I like the option to use the right analog stick to swing to a low angle.  80% of my enjoyment of Hyperdimension Neptunia was actually admiring the 3D animations of the all-female cast.

I don't like looking at male protagonists in the 3rd person.  I know how they move.  But 3rd person female protagonists... aha!  Just cycling through all their animations is a treat or even a game in itself.  It's just so nice when you're playing a JRPG and you see the active cloth or hair physics at work... something you don't get to see with clean-cut male characters.

See, I grew up in mostly all-male environments.  I admit having female playable characters or even AI in a game is the closest I have to female companionship in my current sorry state as a loser in life.  That's why I was addicted to Artificial Girl 3 for many months.

I consider game characters the same way I consider characters in movies or literature -- I get into their role and see them as real people.

So I'd like to see more realistic female personas in games.  Especially if they happen to be wearing skirts.