tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29957595021827130002024-03-14T07:53:34.168+00:00Lorc BlogA public dumping ground for words and pictures. Contact me at ThomasTamblyn@Gmail.comLorchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08527748564729787267noreply@blogger.comBlogger158125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995759502182713000.post-41094790840004348502014-11-28T17:27:00.001+00:002014-11-28T17:32:28.868+00:00Resource systems in card games<span style="font-size: small;">I want to talk about resource systems in card games. I apologise that there are no pictures. When I say "card games" I mean games like Magic and all its spinoffs and clones. I'd call the genre CCGs except there's no reason they have to be collectible and no reason collectible games have to work like this. <br /><br />For my purposes I’m going to define a genre like so: “Having a hand of unique cards that you pay costs to play.”<br /><br />The traditional system is that on turn N you can spend up to N energy. Next turn you will have N+1 energy to spend. Most games tweak how exactly your N rises turn to turn (in Magic you play lands, in other games you play cards face-down as resources, in still others it goes up automatically) but the fundamentals are consistent. And anything so uniform across so many games is very successful; functional and robust but also boring. This is a challenge.<br /><br /><b>General features of the genre:</b>* Having some cards stronger than others is fun and cost is a good balancing factor for that.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">* Keeping the early game simple is fun.<br />* Ramping up to play expensive cards is fun.<br />* Drawing cheap cards late-game is annoying.<br />* Making a deck with the correct ratio of cheap to expensive cards is far more important than it is fun.<br />* Successful games find ways to work around those issues, usually with card mechanics.<br /><br /><b>Interesting exceptions:</b><br />An outlier I enjoy is Fluxx. The rules of Fluxx are “on your turn, draw a card then play a card”. All cards have the same cost – one play. And some of the cards you play will increase the number of plays that can be made on subsequent turns.<br /><br />Epic was a short-lived magic-clone with one interesting feature: Like Fluxx you played one card per turn; any card. There were also some cards with lesser effects that didn’t cost a play. That was interesting.<br /><br />What I like about those two games’ model is a hand of any random cards is always playable. There are duff hands, but none that leave you unable to play the game.<br /><br /><b>Resource systems:</b><br />I have some mechanics that I think would make resource systems for a “hand of cards with costs” game.<br /><br /><b>Debt system: </b><br />By default you have 1 energy on your turn. You spend energy to pay cards’ costs. Your turn ends when you have no energy left to spend. However you are allowed to overspend and go into debt (this will always be the last play of your turn as it leaves you with no energy left). Any debt is given to the next player as free energy.<br /><br />So, if you have 1 energy and play a 6-cost card, your turn ends and the next player starts with 5 extra energy.<br /><br />Problems:<br />* Maddeningly difficult to explain concisely.<br />* Difficult to track energy in play (counters that go back into a shared pool? Player positions on a wheel?)<br />* For more than two players, it needs to be played all-against-all with no alliances.<br />* Not as much sense of escalation when you can play anything on turn 1. I have thoughts on this, but I won’t ramble.<br /><br /><b>Charge meter system:</b><br />Cards have two modes, free and charged. You play one card per turn. When you play a card for free, after it’s done its thing it becomes a charge in your charge meter – a row of cards in front of you. You spend charges in order to play a card in its charged state, which has a bigger effect than when it is played for free. For example, a card might let you draw 1 if you play it for free, or draw 2 if you spend a charge to play it.<br /><br />In this way, you never have enough resources to play everything in its charged state, and it requires a lot of decision-making.<br /><br />I think there would be colours of card, and cards would usually require charges of the same colour. There could also be cards that have no effect when played for free, but add special effects when spent as a charge. Eg: a creature paid for with this charge comes into play larger. <br /><br />“Creatures” and other cards that stay in play would only go into your charge meter when destroyed. Or perhaps you can spend them from play? This system has a lot of room for fiddling. Too much to cover over all the possibilities. But I’m excited by it.<br /><br />Quite a few games have tried putting two effects on each card, but I’ve never seen it pulled off convincingly – usually the minor/secondary effect feels stapled on and unrelated to the flavour of the card. I hope that this system makes them closely related enough to feel natural.<br /><br /><b>Yin & Yang:</b><br />Every card has two modes, a yin and a yang mode. Each turn you play exactly two cards, but one must be the yin mode and the other in the yang mode. This gives you a large number of potential plays even with a small hand of cards, and every play has trade-offs.<br /><br />There’s a few ways you could take this. If the yin mode was always a small effect, and the yang mode a major one then it would play out like a simpler, faster version of the charge meter. But I think it would be more interesting if they were roughly equal in impact, but different in type. For example: <br /><br />Give/take –Give something to the opponent vs gives something to you.<br />Help/hurt – Helps you vs hurts an opponent.<br />Macro/micro – Improves your resources vs affects the board directly.<br />Fire/ice – Speeds the game up vs slows it down.<br />Reap/sow – Harvest crops vs plant new ones.<br /><br />I like all these systems really. Just need an interesting board system for them to manipulate. The charge meter’s decision-heavy enough that it could make the start of an engine-building game<br /></span>Lorchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08527748564729787267noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995759502182713000.post-77104003184349448342014-03-16T17:49:00.000+00:002014-03-16T17:49:06.531+00:00Drawing generic cards was funThe CCG model of selling randomised booster packs of cards with some common and others rare is an exploitative one. Its exists to bleed money from you, creates competitive spending amongst friends, is poisonous to game balance and turns buying a game into an extended gambling session. If the game blossoms it creates predatory secondary markets and if it folds you’re left holding half a game that nobody plays.<br />
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I take all that for granted. It’s all true, but it’s old ground. What’s interesting to me is all the incidental positive features the booster pack model has.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjCD_BStutwcIT65kJmPWz223ndlonEqqHXForYhF9IeJSwEv1X83yLvSliFWoGYJt4zJZO35o6XDDWKJpSoZX3b05mYfGmeqq6Grh8O1vySm5aixVFH7AtexkzhNbhErATy2OgDaD2W8/s1600/BoosterSplosion.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjCD_BStutwcIT65kJmPWz223ndlonEqqHXForYhF9IeJSwEv1X83yLvSliFWoGYJt4zJZO35o6XDDWKJpSoZX3b05mYfGmeqq6Grh8O1vySm5aixVFH7AtexkzhNbhErATy2OgDaD2W8/s1600/BoosterSplosion.png" height="400" width="321" /></a><b>Ease of stocking.</b><br />
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Random blind packs is a great way to distribute a large set of cards from the point of view of the shop. There’s no danger of people cherry-picking the desirable packs and leaving them with half a box of shite they can’t move. It’s easy to order in and keep in stock. They’re priced low enough to be impulse buys, but big spenders will also buy them in bulk. And anything this good for the shop is good for the consumer that wants to be able to buy their cards somewhere.<br />
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<b>Hiding complexity.</b><br />
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Specialised cards that only work in very specific decks, or deceptively strong cards with big drawbacks are fun, but you don’t want them in every deck. The common/rare model allows you to put your simple and versatile cards at common, and your weird stuff at rare. This ensures that people don’t end up with a collection of theoretically powerful cards but unable to build a playable deck.<br />
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(Yes, I know they also hide the most powerful simple cards at rare, but I’m concentrating on the positives, remember?).<br />
<b><br />No information overload.</b><br />
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A set of CCG cards can easily contain over a hundred playable cards, even after you discount the unplayably bad ones. That’s a lot to take in at once. Exposing people to a booster pack’s worth at a time lets you ease them in without scaring them off.<br />
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And duplicate commons mean that the amount of extra information you’re exposed to with each pack falls off, while at the same time the rare slot makes sure that at least one card in the pack might still be new to you.<br />
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<b>Lowers barrier to entry.</b><br />
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To someone with a decent collection, the commons are worthless – they buy the booster for the rare, and maybe the uncommons. The business knows this and has priced the packs accordingly. The price is based on game value per pack, not just the number of pieces of cardboard. The commons are filler.<br />
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But to someone just starting in the game, every card is new and playable. Commons, even crappy ones, are freebies that fill up an otherwise empty deck slot so that they can get playing as soon as possible, even if their decks are a bit duff. New players get more value from each pack than experienced ones, allowing them to buy-in at a bargain price.<br />
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Duplicate commons also mean that the more you spend, the less value you get for your money. This monetises your biggest fans and makes sure that they spend ten times as much as the casual player, rather than just 2-3 times as much. Clever. Sleazy, but clever. On the other hand, experienced players with boxes of duplicate cards tend to donate them to new players to help them into the game. Which is nice.<br />
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<b>Drafting/sealed deck (aka Limited).</b><br />
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These are a way to play that takes advantage of random boosters. They limit the card pool to a number of unopened boosters and test your ability to make a deck using a limited collection of uneven cards. And they’re really, really fun. And a huge skill-tester. The people who are good at limited play are much, much, much better than the people who are bad at it.<br />
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And it’s not like you just throw the cards away after you’re done with them. It’s a way to get extra play out of your purchases. In fact, some players like limited so much that they don’t even play the “real” game – they sell their cards on to pay for more unopened packs.<br />
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Limited play is a big enough deal that the makers of Magic: The Gathering design their sets around it. And if you’re really into the game, this can almost justify random packs as something other than a money-spinner. It adds that much play value, and it’s not an experience you can get anywhere else (deck builders like Dominion are inspired by drafting, but don’t scratch the same itch).<br />
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(But Limited is also a game that you have to pay to play *per play*. Ouch. Unless you play cube draft…)<br />
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There’s other pluses too, like how surprises are intrinsically fun, and randomisation encourages trading which builds community. But those are more obvious and so not as interesting to me.<br />
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<b>So.</b><br />
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<b> </b>In my head the question is how you might use these good points without the exploitative business model. (I’m aware of living card games, where packs aren’t randomised and you expand your collection with honest, simple purchases. But I’m specifically talking about the randomised booster model, not customisable deck card games in general.)<br />
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The only thing I reckon justifies the random booster model is that without it some damn fine games wouldn’t be profitable enough to exist. But then there’s also shitty games that can coast on how profitable a CCG can be so flip a coin, omelettes and eggs.Lorchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08527748564729787267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995759502182713000.post-4124578029746790032013-12-15T17:28:00.003+00:002014-06-28T14:06:00.336+01:00Pagemages and Boozehorns<br />
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These were me getting back in the saddle after a while away. They started with the pose, pulling something out of a book. The scarf was to add a little character beyond generic wizardliness. The robes are lazy I confess. I too often go with shapeless full-length robes, but I think the shading here gives them a bit more definition. I feel good about those creases. They're not great, but my first effort was so much worse. And I feel I've imrpvoed from recognising the problems and fixing them.</div>
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<a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BaaW1HACYAAqtWU.png:large" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="231" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BaaW1HACYAAqtWU.png:large" width="640" /></a>I'm sticking with doing vector colouring/shading, and I made the linework for these with that in mind. So I knew I'd be putting a coloured pattern on the scarves, and that I could demarcate #1 and #2's hair without needing to blackline it. Which is new. I used the "spare" lines left in the budget to put a little more expression on their faces. Not sure about that. I wonder if it would be better to do it on the shading layer. I think it's only a matter of time before I give up on the no-mouth line-eyes look. Style erosion.</div>
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The unlined spell effects are also new and I can see myself doing a lot more things along those lines. For these guys I deliberately avoided any sort of elemental theming. #1 has flames, yes, but they're blue so they're passable as a generic magical effect.</div>
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Next there's these satyr things. I had something else in mind while sketching, but the drunken faun is far more interesting to me. Very fond of the various boozes and goat-beards. The horns were an enormous pain in the arse. One of the downsides of vector colouring - that horn texture would have been much easier in photoshop.</div>
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<a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ba5dzv4CIAEnRws.png:large" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ba5dzv4CIAEnRws.png:large" width="640" /></a>I think these satyrs are knights who have gone questing into the woods and been cursed for their unchivalric vices. In this case, the knights were drunkards. I could easily conceive of gluttonous pig-monsters and maybe slothful bear-men?</div>
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These cursed knights would fill a good niche in the theoretical game these are never going to be used for. I didn't feel like the forest witches were actually evil. Cursed monsters gives you something you can feel good about fighting, also making the witches more of a credible menace without making them evil.</div>
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Lorchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08527748564729787267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995759502182713000.post-42205413370704493362013-12-07T12:11:00.001+00:002013-12-07T12:11:06.620+00:00MegabotsSuper-units in RTS games. They're tricky.<br />
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The units with strange or unique abilities/roles like super-artillery or cloaking fields or missile defence are fine. But the generic megabot that's just big and tough and covered in guns is problematic. Lovely idea. Giant stompy robot crushing lesser vehicles under foot. Spectacular. The questions is what function do they serve that an equivalent amount of regular units doesn't? Why build them?<br />
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The thor in Starcraft 2 is a lovely example of this problem. A large, impressive super-heavy mech. Like most megabots its primary function is looking impressive. The thor was big, tough and dealt high damage to ground and air
targets. But they didn't do much that a bunch of marines couldn't do just as well.<br />
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In Supreme Commander 1&2, gameplay niche matters much less. But in general, the megabot units are a more concentrated way to deploy your resources. The megabots are so big and so powerful that an equivalent army of basic units can't be concentrated in a small enough area to be effective.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpA3_Mzc1wQuazAZYfFmbYj2i5ZnqFSwSsP53aIppuWJU9WAbJxwA-h1YQEHji7CPV23XUi_GFDib6fLMF5PaTNUnCMR-rkAMXqMTTrG2Fx0Kje-BwRBro00824Uj-U95hB9D8AZk1ByA/s1600/Megabot.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpA3_Mzc1wQuazAZYfFmbYj2i5ZnqFSwSsP53aIppuWJU9WAbJxwA-h1YQEHji7CPV23XUi_GFDib6fLMF5PaTNUnCMR-rkAMXqMTTrG2Fx0Kje-BwRBro00824Uj-U95hB9D8AZk1ByA/s640/Megabot.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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In the vanilla RTS paradigm units don't perform worse when damaged, so a megabot at 50% health is much stronger than an army with 50% of its units gone. And conversely, you can attack or defend with half an army of tanks, while a megabot that's only 50% constructed is worthless. (Supcom2's "launch half-baked" option excepted). But these differences aren't exactly tactically rich.</div>
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So I was thinking about this and I had a weird idea. What if megabots were <i>cheaper </i>than an equivalent army of tanks? Costing maybe half as much as the amount of tanks it would take to kill them.</div>
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But taking much longer to build. Really long. That way the megabot's strategic importance isn't what it can do in combat, it's what it requires economically. It requires a different resource to regular units - time rather than money.</div>
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So a megabot is an investment, or maybe a gamble. You're accepting a loss of resources with the promise of a massive payoff <i>if </i>you can survive. If other players can scout the in-progress megabot, then it becomes a strategic objective with a tim-limit.</div>
Lorchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08527748564729787267noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995759502182713000.post-47315695576187133272013-05-22T20:25:00.001+01:002013-05-22T20:27:50.574+01:00<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">I think about games a lot.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Bioshock Infinite is much more linear
than any of its predecessors. The flow reminds me of Half Life 2 more
than any prior *Shock game and I wonder if it might have been a better
game if they'd gone all the way. </span><span style="font-size: small;">But they didn't.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Later in the game there's a few more
explorable hub areas, but even then there's a ghost-town feel if you go some<span style="font-size: small;">where </span>before the plot needs you to. It's a little jarring
after being otherwise rewarded for exploring every nook and alley. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Anyway. There's a trick they use to disguise the linearity that's quite interesting. It's this layout:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWOY4IhX4Ih8gIV6HtsLeUMXxE_htIZ5sQ9I3Ac2aM9Fs9CF5yAKk5Bo6_sgQKfKMmkjRSpkLOahiBbIwuZQASqe7r3-gGuksP3GyjQTdUDiMgm-AmDck8pVEd8Mjb36pDFCDliDj2Zhw/s1600/BioshockLayout1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWOY4IhX4Ih8gIV6HtsLeUMXxE_htIZ5sQ9I3Ac2aM9Fs9CF5yAKk5Bo6_sgQKfKMmkjRSpkLOahiBbIwuZQASqe7r3-gGuksP3GyjQTdUDiMgm-AmDck8pVEd8Mjb36pDFCDliDj2Zhw/s320/BioshockLayout1.png" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">When you leave an area, you'll often find
that the corridor forks into two, both of which have a sharp corner
that prevents you from seeing down them. But if you backtrack after
following one to try the other, you'll find that both corridors go to
the same area. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">It's a truism than non-linearity usually
equals skipped content. By keeping these corridor sections short, they
minimise wasted level design. But by knowing that there's a corridor you
could have gone down but didn't, it makes you feel like progress is
down to your own choices.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Except that The Wizard trains you to look
behind the curtain. Bioshock Infinite consistently rewards you for
exploring with tangible in-game rewards, and offers no benefit for
pushing ahead quickly. The same trained behaviours that give you
delicious voxaphones, unstable tonics and loot, also reveal the illusion
of your choice. And it was a bit frustrating every time I fell for it,
going back and expecting a new area to explore/pillage and finding
nothing but a switchback.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">And it's interesting to me how a clever
technique to make the levels feel more open, clashes with the way the
game encourages you to play. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">It's more successful when the areas look like this:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9YCsW-UWUqNZ2FckThW745YuiaBz52QI2S8RjxT_RmM9AvxmdSHVEV2iLaxBwqQiAwTpv3bY4enrOisdEVdT-Av28X2-DroxXNyw6UhfzMlWqjVGQLbyTqKZkZrFLxhoYcg-0RvJExsI/s1600/BioshockLayout2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9YCsW-UWUqNZ2FckThW745YuiaBz52QI2S8RjxT_RmM9AvxmdSHVEV2iLaxBwqQiAwTpv3bY4enrOisdEVdT-Av28X2-DroxXNyw6UhfzMlWqjVGQLbyTqKZkZrFLxhoYcg-0RvJExsI/s320/BioshockLayout2.png" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">It's almost the same trick - whichever
way you go you'll reach where you need to be - but on a much larger scale. The corridors are long enough to be interesting, and exploring the alternative route will
have enough action to be rewarding. These areas are also large enough
that the circular layouts don't feel like corridors. And when they're
used as hubs, with different exits unlocking one by one, you might be
approaching the action from a different direction each time, which
wrings more mileage from the same scenery.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Another game is Darksiders 2. It has a
lot of mini boss fights. There's a small cutscene where a giant monster
makes a dramatic entrance and then you have to murder them. But it does
something clever.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Sometimes you'll get the little cutscene
and slay the giant undead scarab hulk or whatever, but then two more of
the same monster jump down, sometimes with minions. Holy crap - the game
just served you up one as if it were a boss, and now you need to take
on *two*? And it makes you feel like a badass when you win. It does this
a lot, but it always feels good. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Of course they're not bosses, they're
just a new monster type that then gets added to the normal rotation. But
what a way to introduce them! Great showmanship. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi_CyEQVWSH6P8XJj25u0zhjDNJTDM_k2W1XOXqJhpA-Ad7kl24YxELj5n2NUYGqR6F-0XJK3XXEUriczIle2rFGD9sOkuBT1w-qjiopYMe7nu9B9kJPIr4Hbpkh6zni06kD-dvXVHPls/s1600/DarksidersFight.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="114" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi_CyEQVWSH6P8XJj25u0zhjDNJTDM_k2W1XOXqJhpA-Ad7kl24YxELj5n2NUYGqR6F-0XJK3XXEUriczIle2rFGD9sOkuBT1w-qjiopYMe7nu9B9kJPIr4Hbpkh6zni06kD-dvXVHPls/s640/DarksidersFight.png" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">And clever too. The first fight is
exciting because of the uncertainty - you don't know what this monster
can do. It's also a teaching aid that allows you to learn its attack
patterns in a simple one-on-one fight. The followup monsters require you
use those skills in a more dangerous and complex situation.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Like the *Shocks, the Darksiders games
also reward you for compulsively exploring every corner. It's the Zelda
thing where there's collectibles everywhere if you look for them. And
finding collectibles is fun, but as a completionist I find myself
compulsively looking behind me after every doorway, and carefully
inspecting the ceiling of every room. Which is slow and not enormously
fun.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Here's a thing:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">The game is more fun to play when I'm not
actively looking for shinies. And when I *do* find a shiny, it's more
exciting when I haven't been compulsively checking every square inch. Obviously
that would be the most fun way for me to play, except for the gnawing
anxiety about missing shinies. And that's interesting to me.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Compare it with Minecraft. I get that
same thrill when I see an emerald or diamond block. The layout of caves
usually prevents 100% exploration - there comes a point where it's more
efficient to find a new cave to explore. But I don't get that horrible
feeling that there's diamonds left unmined. I feel no urge to strip-mine
the map chunk-by-chunk down to bedrock. Why is it different?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">I suspect that it's because
Darksiders/Zelda/Bioshock are finite. I know that if I miss a voice
recording or health upgrade, that's something lost to me forever. The
game will end and I won't have gotten full value out of it. In Minecraft
I know there's always going to be more diamonds in the next cave, so
there's no stress. It's impossible to complete a collection so I feel no
urge to try. It feels so liberating.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Of course the problem is one that exists
inside my head. I couldn't argue in good faith that one way is better
than another (or even perfectly analogous). But it's fun to examine
these things.</span></span>Lorchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08527748564729787267noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995759502182713000.post-59771166619366870002013-05-21T20:13:00.001+01:002013-05-21T20:44:36.535+01:00Icon style guide<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">I've made a lot of icons, and I've tried
to keep them to a particular style. That's a little pretentious - my
style is a crutch to hide a lack of ability. Still, it's hard to draw
over 1600 little pictures without getting better at making them, and so
I've suffered quality-creep. The ones I make now are often more
illustrative and less symbolic. I include details that, back in the
first hundred, I might have abstracted.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">Every good icon I make makes its predecessors look worse, and as I get better I'm making more better icons.<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">Still, there's some consistency. From the
start I developed a set of unwritten rules about how my icons should
look. There's a few exceptions, but they're almost all due to oversight
or moral weakness.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbnkTcS6a90Kl91cWK0ZGjNkULdLv2_eMjl8YIbMK5zUVGL2oze76P5HvM01_3pyv7Wt0f9Buv9m9exk-GHxLLGcSSVtWJsnx5ft9ak626YMwSdp9iYty6yIc_fbOZdD_XeSJeRORyveQ/s1600/IconsDemo2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbnkTcS6a90Kl91cWK0ZGjNkULdLv2_eMjl8YIbMK5zUVGL2oze76P5HvM01_3pyv7Wt0f9Buv9m9exk-GHxLLGcSSVtWJsnx5ft9ak626YMwSdp9iYty6yIc_fbOZdD_XeSJeRORyveQ/s1600/IconsDemo2.jpg" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHN1nnP9QPuHku8YtSmGq33T6qrx9kow9EQlK4PLOnn77yMyPMl1KW_A8zthFvu7OzfYO1a6XfUtqFSCJtosE24VDyq6xat1KRqzkdmk5Jv0Qe2GSvKJtbys5jQzdhbt1siBxMmQKlzXM/s1600/IconDemo4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">White on black</span></b>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">Everything is white shapes on a black
background. If I want to do something in black, outline it in white, or
put it over a white shape. When actually using the icons for something I
can invert them if necessary, but for consistency when browsing the
base icons, they're all white on black.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"></span>
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Sharp black and white only</span></span></b>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">It seemed silly to bother with colour
permutations (red heart on black background, black heart on yellow
background…) for the icons when that's so easily accomplished in a paint
program. I can colour, paint
over, use as masks on a gradient or anything else. The simplest possible
base icons enables the greatest freedom when using them.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">This is why I'm always a little annoyed
to see them used as-is; just white shapes on black squares. They were<span style="font-size: small;"> never meant as</span> ready-to-use icons. They're stenc<span style="font-size: small;">ils.</span></span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrpqVBmczJFl2kAMP8-tbznP1xl-0ueSDMrQfmt3vSW32PGyoylv7djMZZPObT6i0BahSS6XbhJQDZd1i_DRpJ-i6PULGT_KRKHPAxRvZtceYikBrAYsSeY5OMg1OrynuGpd4O2GKOIpU/s1600/IconDemos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrpqVBmczJFl2kAMP8-tbznP1xl-0ueSDMrQfmt3vSW32PGyoylv7djMZZPObT6i0BahSS6XbhJQDZd1i_DRpJ-i6PULGT_KRKHPAxRvZtceYikBrAYsSeY5OMg1OrynuGpd4O2GKOIpU/s1600/IconDemos.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"></span>
<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">Border</span></b>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">Nothing touches the edge of the frame.
There's an invisible 1pt no-go zone. Again, this is just for consistency
amongst the base icons and ensures I have some bleed when I cut out the
icon to use elsewhere.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">Fill the frame</span></b>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">The icons are always as large as I can
get them within the frame. They'd be much less useful as a set if they
were all drawn to different scales. If I need a small heart (for
example) I can just scale down a large one. If I really wanted a small
heart icon I'd give it some kind of framing detail.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">Left to right</span></b>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">Consistency. If an icon has a direction,
it's going left to right. Up vs down is more flexible, but when it's
isn't common sense I tend towards top-to-bottom.</span><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">No lexical symbols</span></b>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">These are meant to be illustrative. No
letters, numbers, currency symbols or overly specific symbols. If I
needed a letter or a number, I could raster it from a typeface. And if I
do one digit I should probably do all of them. Likewise letters. Hash
marks are illustrative enough that they feel ok. There's an omega too.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Cilw7OrS5H_ly6Rkyl1u5nXVFz1wC77XRcIAm_UaNPZlm5RjpPQspPT9xcrlWOliiFZHVzlYzuKuDp8g6y13QlW5GsDU9mTKu9F3FPHNJS9CWmR8vsSFiKcWuVHDO7chFpNGe6SpErk/s1600/IconDemos1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Cilw7OrS5H_ly6Rkyl1u5nXVFz1wC77XRcIAm_UaNPZlm5RjpPQspPT9xcrlWOliiFZHVzlYzuKuDp8g6y13QlW5GsDU9mTKu9F3FPHNJS9CWmR8vsSFiKcWuVHDO7chFpNGe6SpErk/s1600/IconDemos1.jpg" /></a><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">Not too specific</span></b>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">I don't want twenty different flavours
of axe. If I need a specific icon for a specific variety of thing, I can
make it to suit. One or two axe icons will fit most needs. And the
icons are supposed to be symbolicaly illustrative rather than perfectly
specific anyway.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">I've bent this one a lot, but I ration
myself. There's a lot of different swords and botles for example, but I
only do them every now and then so they don't take up too great a
fraction of the total. And I try and make sure they're all sufficiently
different from each other to be worthwhile. I'm not interested in doing
ten different helmets with only slight differences.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">I suppose this one includes other
people's trademarks and logos too. No Samus helmet, no buster sword and
so on. For several obvious reasons.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">Not too abstract</span></b>
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Counterpart to the previous rule. If I
need a circle I'll draw a circle. Likewise an arrow, a diamond or other
simple geometric shapes. The icons are meant to be illustrative and
there's a point at which a shape is too simple to illustrate anything.</span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">I've done a few miscellaneous weird
shapes, which could be glyphs, thingamabobs or jewellery. The problem is
that they're so easy to do I could easily churn out a hundred of them.
But even if they're pretty, they're meaningless. There's not much
difference between having a half dozen available and having a hundred.
They're not challenging to make and usually a waste of time, so I don't
let myself do many.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">Definition and resolution</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">This is the most important one and the
biggest pain in the arse. There's a minimum line width of 1pt. And that
includes negative space - two separate white shapes need to have a 1 pt
separation between them. This is my minimum "resolution" for detail. No
bumps smaller than 1pt, no shapes smaller than that.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">There's necessarily a little leeway where
two shapes come together to a point, but I stick to this rule hard as I
can. It puts a hard limit on the level of detail I can put in and keeps
things consistent.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHN1nnP9QPuHku8YtSmGq33T6qrx9kow9EQlK4PLOnn77yMyPMl1KW_A8zthFvu7OzfYO1a6XfUtqFSCJtosE24VDyq6xat1KRqzkdmk5Jv0Qe2GSvKJtbys5jQzdhbt1siBxMmQKlzXM/s1600/IconDemo4.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHN1nnP9QPuHku8YtSmGq33T6qrx9kow9EQlK4PLOnn77yMyPMl1KW_A8zthFvu7OzfYO1a6XfUtqFSCJtosE24VDyq6xat1KRqzkdmk5Jv0Qe2GSvKJtbys5jQzdhbt1siBxMmQKlzXM/s1600/IconDemo4.jpg" /></a></div>
<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">Line standards</span></b>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">Lines get squared-off ends. If the icon
really needs it they might get a taper. But usually not. And no taking
the piss either - If there's a taper then it should be a short taper.
Sometimes there's a drawn element that is only the width of a line, and
then I might round off or taper the ends but, again, usually not.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><b>By the way </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">The coloured icons in this post are just sloppy five-minute jobs<span style="font-size: small;"> to make a point.</span></span><b> </b></span>Lorchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08527748564729787267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995759502182713000.post-71062094390839093542013-03-16T19:24:00.000+00:002013-03-16T19:24:04.323+00:00Game concept braindumpSimple three-player game. Each player secretly picks a number from one to three, then all are revealed at the same time. Each player who picked a number that nobody else picked gains that many points. Everyone else gets nothing. First to 7 points wins. Would probably work with 4 players too.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqSahZUbR75sOj4JYWbgXPRcGJxuGxQrpz85Ez0VscLQa6Vu6LssUixUUB1LkPT41AyIbTjV8-JFbuLdQ2YXK35utBS5_-bpF62k0kijyCWFuPijCf2rbeSe7dRDAMOgckk0AAzS-aQcQ/s1600/HungryFireBat.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqSahZUbR75sOj4JYWbgXPRcGJxuGxQrpz85Ez0VscLQa6Vu6LssUixUUB1LkPT41AyIbTjV8-JFbuLdQ2YXK35utBS5_-bpF62k0kijyCWFuPijCf2rbeSe7dRDAMOgckk0AAzS-aQcQ/s1600/HungryFireBat.png" /></a>Thinking about a modular roguelike that is expanded by people playing it, which <a href="http://decisionproblem.com/mercury/">isn't new</a> by any means. Maybe some kind of "deck-building" game where you're a summoner building up a synnergistic horde of minions from prefixes, suffixes and modifiers that you gain as you progress through the dungeon. If you reach the end of the game, then your "deck" becomes a blueprint for a dungeon floor. ie: come up with a good ice "deck" and maybe the next player will have to travel through an ice level populated with those monsters.<br />
<br />
Or maybe the visuals are the customisable part? Make a card game ala magic that starts out with all the cards blank, but players get to draw their own art as they play, slowly collaboratively illustrating the game. After playing a round you're presented with 3 different illustrations for the same card and you vote for your favourite. The exact voting mechanism will be a bitch to design, but it's one hell of a gimmick that is sure to garner public attention from game sites.<br />
<br />
Inspired by <a href="http://vacuumflowers.com/star_guard/">Star Guard</a>, a 2d scrolling shooter where you die in one hit but have infinite lives. A meatgrinder of a war where wave after wave of disposable soldiers with increasingly outrageous prototype guns are sent to the front lines in desperation. Each life is a new soldier and carries a new experimental gun. You are given brief uninformative instructions on your weapon when you spawn. Some will be useless in the situation where you are, others will be overpowered, others will be suicidal. Short bursts of discovery and fun, where every failure is a new opportunity. Grenades that bounce unpredictably. A fantastic plasma gun that kills you if it overheats. A super-rocket that only has one shot, leaving you unarmed afterwards. A boomerang gun whose shots you DO NOT want to catch. A nuclear grenade launcher whose blast radius is greater than its maximum range. All mixed in with varied but more mundane weapons.<br />
<br />Lorchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08527748564729787267noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995759502182713000.post-59640975986012733642013-03-09T16:57:00.001+00:002013-03-09T17:24:38.895+00:00Supreme Commander 2 ExperimentalsI enjoy Supreme Commander 2 a lot. Many people say that the first Supreme Commander is much better, but I am not one of them. Still, sometimes I get bored of SupCom2's range of experimentals, and coming up with concepts that add something new to the game seemed interesting. So I did. I probably came up with a few too many actually, so I had to divide them into categories.<br />
<br />
Also I sketched some pictures, which aren't very good, but everything's better with pictures.<br />
<br />
<b>Economy structures:</b><br />
<br />
Cybran "Betelgeuse" experimental anti-matter reactor<br />
Late game it can be hard to find room to build more power generators. The reactor generates vast quantities of energy with a much smaller footprint than an equivalent quantity of generators. Defending it is much easier, but it's an all-or-nothing proposition and (of course) it explodes with nuclear force if destroyed.<br />
<br />
UEF "Butler" experimental supply relay<br />
Borrowing a little from SupCom1's adjacency bonus, this building improves the efficiency of all buildings in its considerable range. Units and buildings are constructed faster and structures produce more mass/energy/research. Rather than a super-resource building, the UEF gets to make its existing ones more useful.<br />
<br />
Aeon "Paragon II" experimental mass generator<br />
Shamelessly "inspired" by SupCom1. After a huge upfront cost, this generates mass resources from thin air. Won't single-handedly prop up your economy like in SupCom1, but neither does it explode.<br />
<br />
<b>Defensive structures:</b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyH-4jhAPOdUrt4_UJlzc-J0v2cxqxER1AfNGhrAf-DycCy_vsXZ3WjoHlFGIivkcJzboMw_bgDPGFC4YxZlryK0ZJtDrabFShlNdhTDTAlGaFslI-IB3i7sHqPgfEhC55E3DWsjLDAMQ/s1600/SupCom2Impaler.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyH-4jhAPOdUrt4_UJlzc-J0v2cxqxER1AfNGhrAf-DycCy_vsXZ3WjoHlFGIivkcJzboMw_bgDPGFC4YxZlryK0ZJtDrabFShlNdhTDTAlGaFslI-IB3i7sHqPgfEhC55E3DWsjLDAMQ/s1600/SupCom2Impaler.png" /></a></div>
Cybran "Impaler" experimental railgun<br />
Fires superheavy metal spikes that must be individually constructed. Low rate of fire and range comparable to light artillery, but the high-velocity spike deals massive single-target damage to ground units. Basic units will be destroyed instantly with the spike visibly stuck in their wreckage (and salvageable!). Experimentals must get used to wearing a new piercing.<br />
<br />
UEF "Skyguard" experimental missile installation <br />
An anti-air missile launcher with enough range to cover an entire base. It fires guided missile volleys that, once launched, will follow targets outside their firing range. It also functions as an anti-nuke launcher (albeit with regular range).<br />
<br />
Aeon "Juvac" experimental power siphon<br />
Fires a beam that deals drains energy and deals continuous damage to a single target, visibly flowing from target to siphon. After X seconds (proportional to the target's capture resistance) the target will be powered down. Until the unit is destroyed, its controller loses energy while you gain it.<br />
<br />
<b>Ground support units:</b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDj2bcjFQMMxP-lILYs7SLt_DS2rb8CyBsbNsXBIwDQvrlCzlYSUWGHW4kslrkk1RAC-P7BmbH4tiU3EzmBecqPQuGtNm0maTdLLsC8H9MD62479xCZjjGuFHKXaQT0lONW8VWSMfdIuk/s1600/SupCom2SupportLand.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDj2bcjFQMMxP-lILYs7SLt_DS2rb8CyBsbNsXBIwDQvrlCzlYSUWGHW4kslrkk1RAC-P7BmbH4tiU3EzmBecqPQuGtNm0maTdLLsC8H9MD62479xCZjjGuFHKXaQT0lONW8VWSMfdIuk/s640/SupCom2SupportLand.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Cybran "Skywriter" experimental beam platform<br />
A multi-legged walker with four independent beam turrets which function both as anti-missile and anti-air. Mobile defence for your army.<br />
<br />
UEF "Mother bear" mobile support factory<br />
A factory on treads that builds land units and stores them internally. Like the flying carrier and the unitcannon, it builds units faster and at a discount. Only minor firepower, but its two support cranes will repair nearby units.<br />
<br />
Aeon "Chelovolt" experimental walking shield<br />
An extra-large mobile shield generator. But don't you hate it when units just walk/fly through your shields? This shield is electrically charged and any enemy units inside it will be struck by lightning.<br />
<br />
<b>Ground attack Units:</b><br />
<br />
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Cybran "Detonator" experimental bomb hatchery<br />
It builds and stores rolling suicide drones that deal medium damage in a large area, but can be destroyed by anti-ground fire before they reach their target. The bombs will roll over water.<br />
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Cybran "Honeycomb" experimental MFRL<br />
A basic walker chassis mounting a huge array of hexagonal tactical missile tubes. The missiles all fire in one volley with a long re-arming delay. Long range and dubious accuracy, but barrages a large area.<br />
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UEF "Anvil" experimental siegebreaker<br />
A massive brick of a tank, armoured in every obvious way and with a strong personal shield. Very slow, but the most survivable unit in the game. Armed with a battery of short-ranged explosive cannon and a small rack of tactical missiles. Deals less damage at a shorter range than a Kriptor or Colossus, but takes massive firepower to destroy.<br />
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Aeon "Soniwa" experimental sonic resonator<br />
A second tracked experimental for Aeon that, like the Pulinsmash, must deploy to fire. When deployed it energises an arc-shaped array. It fires a distortion wave in a long line
that damages every enemy along that line. Closer units take more
damage.<br />
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<b>Flying units:</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg63Q4XLQ7Y1jOEbcjaCt29J1DOC8-YAgjUv3kRVvBVOAr14b0zK14eDuF5UkAQVkeYOylgtJJlWaclx_GsXcRuDBKPn9ZuVED8P09AwgINNH-dcVVr2m8R3Bw0K23hPuC0wYjoTe1d6n4/s1600/SupCom2Flyers.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg63Q4XLQ7Y1jOEbcjaCt29J1DOC8-YAgjUv3kRVvBVOAr14b0zK14eDuF5UkAQVkeYOylgtJJlWaclx_GsXcRuDBKPn9ZuVED8P09AwgINNH-dcVVr2m8R3Bw0K23hPuC0wYjoTe1d6n4/s400/SupCom2Flyers.png" width="400" /></a><br />
Cybran "Commissar" experimental flying cannon<br />
A gunship chassis built around a medium artillery cannon. Slow, but it outranges all non-experimental anti-air. Its short-ranged secondary batteries defend against ground attack, but it's very vulnerable to fighters.<br />
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UEF "Hephaestos" experimental flying gantry<br />
An unarmed flying construction rig that that has the construction power of a commander. Cannot assist factories. Good for quick construction of a forward outpost, or just late-game base expansion.<br />
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Aeon "Herbest" experimental reanimator<br />
A tripartite saucer with dangling jellyfish-like legs. It repairs wreckage into units, transforming other factions' wreckage into aeon equivalents. Experimental and structure wreckage is not restored, instead converted into a proportional number of basic aeon units. Can also repair ground units.Lorchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08527748564729787267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995759502182713000.post-42386000719075029992013-01-14T21:34:00.003+00:002013-01-14T21:34:49.496+00:00Nostalgic pixels<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtatSutrKkwFva62Qoy83aY53FkTo7QJzQMfc5ikRcR9jIZ3AtiwzlcR-ukMaLcDV5BICRLuy3k5Qrti0-_NhZpIaELMOsnGvCHxvNS1Fxes1KvtX-5LIIdvG8F3i9GKUVl_sDR7dGac4/s1600/PixelClasses.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtatSutrKkwFva62Qoy83aY53FkTo7QJzQMfc5ikRcR9jIZ3AtiwzlcR-ukMaLcDV5BICRLuy3k5Qrti0-_NhZpIaELMOsnGvCHxvNS1Fxes1KvtX-5LIIdvG8F3i9GKUVl_sDR7dGac4/s400/PixelClasses.png" width="400" /></a>Today I remembered that I made these little pixel guys a few years ago. And I felt nostalgic. So I looked them up and... huh. These are better than I expected. I'd assumed they'd have aged much worse than this.<br />
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There's still some lemons of course. The gunslinger was obviously the first onto the page. The gladiator's duff and the aqua wizard is a bit forced. But the puppeteer and the ninja are cool to me and I think the monk is pretty spiffing.<br />
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<br />
I deliberately limited my palette to black, white and one colour. I can't remember exactly why. Chasing the Gameboy aesthetic maybe? I've a feeling I just thought that stark black, white and one colour was an interesting look. I do enjoy structured limitations after all (like minimising linecounts for my vector stickpeeps). <br />
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I also found these pixel lixards that I'd forgotten about. That was a typo - I meant to say "Pixel lizards" but I enjoy the portmanteau. I was thinking about dwarf fortress when I drew these. I also have a sheet of lizards carrying various weapons and tools but it's boring. Courier lixard is best lixard.Lorchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08527748564729787267noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995759502182713000.post-80353276093229496072013-01-05T18:28:00.003+00:002013-01-18T17:40:31.072+00:00GlaiversNot exactly new. These are modified from one of the previous generation of stick figures. One of the better ones, but I was going through another detail-inflation phase so a few parts had to be scaled back.<br />
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I thought of the original as a "dragon knight", hence the scalloped armour and weapons. Don't take that too seriously though - they're generic designs. I don't have anything interesting to say about the linework. The colours on the other hand...<br />
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The top row are what I come up with if I have a blank white screen and a default palette. I always slip into default R, G and B. Boring. The green one is ok, but they're all too Lego-coloured.<br />
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After getting annoyed by the Lego colours I redid them from interesting-looking colour palettes I found online in places like <a href="http://chromaa.tumblr.com/">http://chromaa.tumblr.com</a> and <a href="http://www.colourlovers.com/palettes">http://www.colourlovers.com/palettes</a> and I'm a lot happier with the look. I wasn't slavish; I kept #3's red weapon for example.<br />
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I was deliberately restrained with the shading details. I want to use flats whenever I can get away with it. However I did shade the fleshtones, for the first time. I think that's a big improvement and something I want to keep up going forwards. It fixes a long-running problem I was having with skin tones not looking like human skin because they had no depth of colour. Faces are important and deserve extra attention. I'm still sticking with the uniform oval-shape and line-eyes, but I suspect it's only a matter of time before I give that up for flexibility, expression and character.Lorchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08527748564729787267noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995759502182713000.post-91582952274747792212012-12-28T14:39:00.003+00:002013-01-04T22:31:20.815+00:00Colour schemesIn the theoretical game I imagine being made with all these pictures, you're meant to assemble a team pokemon-style. I'm doing multiple variations ("skins") when I can, but this raises issues I have with all games where multiple character skins are available.<br />
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Firstly it messes with character identification - silhouettes and colour are the easiest ways to ID a character and messing with that takes a toll. It's one of the many things I don't understand about dota-clones: in a game with 50+ different characters, why is anything that makes it harder to ID your opponent a good idea? <br />
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Secondly it makes groups look like an explosion in a paint factory. Everyone clashes. Compare TF2 at launch to TF2 now. Pokemon itself doesn't have a big problem here because each pokemon has a very limited number of colours and they all draw on a fairly limited palette. Also you don't see more than 2 of your pokemon on screen at once.<br />
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<br />
And I know this game will never be made and it will never be an issue, but it's a fun problem to address.<br />
<br />
So, minimise a player's ability to customise their team. Just make it impossible to field Mr Pink, Mr Yellow, Mr Purple and Mr Green together. Drawback is that this reduces a player's ability to come up with cool-looking but unorthodox combos.<br />
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Another part of the problem is that with only three skins per figure, odds are good you can't find one that goes with your existing colour scheme.<br />
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So make more skins, or just more colour variations for each skin? That involves lots of work, multiplied across every skin I ever make. I could make it easier by homogenising the palettes, so I have a "the green palette" and a "the red palette" where each colour has a clear equivalent and I can just swap them about with no creative thought necessary. But from prior experience I know this won't work - requiring a colour pattern to look good with every available set of hues is (to put it lightly) not easy.<br />
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My frontrunner plan at the moment is colour themes. You get to choose the colour theme for your guild and every character skin is tagged to indicate what themes it is compatible with and you only get given skins compatible with your theme. For example yellow, orange, red and brown skins will all be tagged compatible with the "autumn" theme. But yellow would also be compatible with the "spring" theme. I could create new themes in the future and assess existing skins for compatibility much more easily than creating whole new skins.<br />
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This strikes me as something that will be harder in practice than it is in theory, but I'd like to at least try it out. A subtle problem with retconning incompatible skins out of the world is that it messes with character rarity - but since that's a system I've barely even thought about, I'm not fussed. There will be ways.<br />
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Big issue I see is if it means there are certain characters without a compatible skin for certain themes. To a certain extent I can make sure to create a few extra "night" or "winter"-compatible skins here and there if those themes need more love, but it's still an aesthetic choice with strong gameplay implications.<br />
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I'm not sure how I feel about that. First instinct is to run with it and see. I've a feeling it might end up being an interesting feature rather than a problem.Lorchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08527748564729787267noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995759502182713000.post-68551601334431478862012-12-27T21:24:00.003+00:002012-12-27T21:26:00.418+00:00Carrion Colours<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Don't mind me. Just playing around with colouring for the <a href="http://lorcblog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/vector-carrion.html">Carrion</a>. Much easier to do this with vector-colours.Lorchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08527748564729787267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995759502182713000.post-51595839257645008872012-12-27T12:39:00.002+00:002013-01-04T22:33:09.568+00:00RTS arms raceOne of the things I liked in Starcraft was that each race had a siege unit which outranged base defences, meaning that no defence was unbreakable. In practice this didn't matter because investing in base defences would see you overwhelmed by your opponent's massed units anyway but I liked the idea.<br />
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I've been playing a lot of Supreme Commander 2, and I much prefer its gameplay to that of Starcraft1/2. However some things Starcraft 2 does very well which SupCom 2 doesn't, is leveraging upgrades to make early-game units relevant in the late game, and keeping units distinct.<br />
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These and other things have got me thinking about what my ideal RTS game would be like. I'm thinking a lot about the arms race between units and defences, and late-game obsolescence of early game units. Here's a hypothetical RTS game:<br />
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At tech level 1 your only units are raider buggies - fragile, fast-moving units. They're useful as scouts and for killing other raiders. However tech 1 laser towers are super effective against light armour and can destroy many times their own cost in buggies, so much so that a tech 1 rush attack is impossible.<br />
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Tech 2 unlocks light artillery units which outrange laser towers and make base attacks possible. Their weapons are only useful against stationary targets, this and their light armour makes them easy prey for raider buggies. This is where you use those buggies you built at tech 1 - taking out enemy artillery or their escort buggies.<br />
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Tech 3 is for main battle tanks. These will become the basic attack unit. Their weapon is effective against mobile units and structures, while laser towers and raider buggies can barely penetrate their armour. However this is also when gunships - air units that tanks can't even attack - are unlocked. Light laser towers and raider buggies can attack air (though until now this wasn't relevant) and so they remain useful. Heavy laser towers that can penetrate tank armour are now available, but cannot attack air and are still outranged by artillery.<br />
<br />
(Should heavy laser towers be buildable at tech 2? That way you can
prepare defences against the tanks before they hit the field, but
because there's no air units yet the light laser tower is briefly
obsolete. Perhaps light laser towers are individually upgradable to
heavy lasers at tech 2, so that even though they're available they're
superfluous before tanks appear and you still need to build the lights.) <br />
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Now there's a reasonably variety of units on the field and all the basic unit relationships have been introduced. Past that you can have the fun weird stuff that allows for people to be creative and require tactical responses as much as specific counters.<br />
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There's still room for expansion if needed. Cloaked units, for example, could give another tier of rock-paper-scissors relationships. If you make light laser towers and raider buggies the only units that detect cloaked units then you've wrung a fourth tier of usefulness out of them, without making them any better in any other situation. (Though I suspect that it'd be getting strained at that point).Lorchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08527748564729787267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995759502182713000.post-89705986376156626922012-12-24T15:58:00.002+00:002012-12-25T11:44:50.003+00:00Vector CarrionI've been experimenting with vector colouring. Normally I export the lines into Photoshop and then colour them there. Flood fills under a multiply layer make life fairly easy. I've been getting more and more comfortable with Inkscape though and the colouring jobs I'm doing are getting fiddlier and fiddlier. So I tried a thing.<br />
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I think I like it. It means I have to do some things differently - I have to delete line sections that I want to be invisible (I used to just hide them behind white shapes). So it's a good idea to keep a source copy of the linework so i don't have to reconstruct it if I decide to make changes. Not an enormous bother.<br />
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It suddenly occurs to me that they look like a Pokémon evolutionary line in this picture. Oh dear.<br />
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The long pointy arcs of colour are much easier as vectors, which is handy because I found myself doing those a lot. Other shapes are harder - I wanted to tear my hair out putting the highlights on those intestines. The hulk and the titan have more detail than just about anything else I've done though. I wanted to test it with something meaty (no pun intended).<br />
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I've also scaled them differently. I used to use a fixed square as my scale guide, fitting everything inside it. This had the odd effect of making people holding their arms above their heads shorter than people standing upright. I'm now going to allow them to have different sizes as appropriate, and scale human figures to each other. Line thickness will stay absolute, so larger creatures will look like they have thinner lines, and all human-size figures will have the same relative line thickness.<br />
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Toyed with making another leap to variable line thickness and maybe even abandoning the flat ground-line, but decided against it for now. For now. Also pondered giving proper hands to people. Again, not yet...<br />
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Oh yeah - the leftmost guy is new. He's a carrion zombie. Zombies are pretty boring, but I felt that this theme needed a human-scale something. I may have felt wrong. He was a valuable prototype though. Working out how to do a human-scale ribcage was a big problem and I'm not sure I've got the right answer yet. I used so much colour detail that the lines are obscured anyway.<br />
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I'm not sure I'm going to do more Carrion. They're meant to be ancient skeletons slowly re-clothing themselves in flesh. With strange masks. Not sure where else I could go. Differently proportioned figures? Not enthusiastic yet - these are cool on their own.Lorchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08527748564729787267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995759502182713000.post-82925889605154920192012-11-06T22:08:00.002+00:002012-12-24T12:57:57.344+00:00Diablo 3 boss modifiersOne of my favourite things about Diablo 3 is the boss modifiers and how fun they are. Molten, arcane and frozen are personal design favourites. On the other hand Reflects Damage and Extra Health are yawnworthy. Naturally I have ideas for more modifiers.<br />
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Unholy was my first idea. It came from pondering the elemental boss modifiers and how there's (for obvious reasons) no holy modifier. An unholy monster is orbited by a damaging gold/black flame whose size, damage and orbital distance increases with each revolution. (After reaching a maximum size it dissipates and spawns anew).<br />
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Things that suck about Reflects Damage include: no visual effect and a lack of interesting decisions when dealing with it. Iron Maiden was my attempt to fix this.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht5Gm3o6CDxwaIZgLE6mPCC_9BRzT1E3aRjaPMWNLEecWhUplT0LbAqhF0RDPnbbJKlkIfteQzTVjbkW-kbtbFq5MMVt6cHdwBT8I0SFfBbcEyJVjJVs5tgRt-MOFjSZdg2hxn_8Ypjuk/s1600/D3IronMaiden.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht5Gm3o6CDxwaIZgLE6mPCC_9BRzT1E3aRjaPMWNLEecWhUplT0LbAqhF0RDPnbbJKlkIfteQzTVjbkW-kbtbFq5MMVt6cHdwBT8I0SFfBbcEyJVjJVs5tgRt-MOFjSZdg2hxn_8Ypjuk/s640/D3IronMaiden.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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The monster will freeze in place for a couple of seconds (after a short spell FX) and sprout rusty spikes. While frozen it's immune to damage and it responds to attacks with volleys of very damaging spikes. This gives players something to react to and something that can be played around. <br />
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I like the metallic theme and naming it after the Diablo 2 curse, but you could also make it frost-themed as a reference to Chilling Armour.<br />
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Horde is already in the game of course, but I think it should be applicable to champion packs as well as uniques. On a champion pack, horde means that the pack has 1-2 extra champions in it. On the higher difficulties it's trading a boss ability for extra warm bodies. Sometimes it's fun to fight a larger number of slightly weaker enemies.<br />
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Arcane Enchanted is probably my favourite modifier designwise so I wanted to come up with something similar. Corrosive monsters will lob blobs of acid that slowly expand into large puddles of continuous poison damage before evaporating. This limits player movement in a similar way to arcane sentries. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL2FUnjzWUMo71ZyNQ4kppExxmcy2-8k5NFPdHevVLtKYXHkzD7tnKyvRv0jXBtLZt6VZBlrkok5JZxJUpEbjav8CKw3mS4OlHwC4uffZDWnWkk5HNZGd4A1oPgikRK_AlY8DJ3EaDXOg/s1600/D3Returner.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL2FUnjzWUMo71ZyNQ4kppExxmcy2-8k5NFPdHevVLtKYXHkzD7tnKyvRv0jXBtLZt6VZBlrkok5JZxJUpEbjav8CKw3mS4OlHwC4uffZDWnWkk5HNZGd4A1oPgikRK_AlY8DJ3EaDXOg/s320/D3Returner.png" width="320" /></a>My fix for Extra Health is to make it more interesting than a passive 50% hp boost. When a Returner monster dies, a spell FX plays over its corpse. After a few seconds it's returned to life at 50% hp. This can only happen once per monster. Similar overall effect to extra health, but more interesting to look at. And the first kill gives players a mini-victory to make the fight less of a grind.<br />
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The picture says Soul Drinker but I've since decided that Cannibal is a much better name. is a unique-only modifier. The unique sacrifices its own minions one by one, gaining extra size, damage and hp each time. The idea is that against a Cannibal players should prioritise the minions rather than the unique as usual. And allowing the unique to get to full strength should be one of those avoidable "oh shit" moments that makes the game so much fun.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcb_0smnkIT1tXBVce0xgrLbJ8ZSQZwCNsBuATgjOaSIJx3JJshfzgcF6byIjsLPzQKoNyKv1v89ysTY0jxke8Fv-JKFO6iFme5c9Y61N_cL7JyyqyQjzNuahrfJZDGk5-jjrAdRUDZKU/s1600/D3Summoner.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="116" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcb_0smnkIT1tXBVce0xgrLbJ8ZSQZwCNsBuATgjOaSIJx3JJshfzgcF6byIjsLPzQKoNyKv1v89ysTY0jxke8Fv-JKFO6iFme5c9Y61N_cL7JyyqyQjzNuahrfJZDGk5-jjrAdRUDZKU/s400/D3Summoner.png" width="400" /></a></div>
Summoner is a cross between Illusionist and Horde. A Summoner monster does not spawn with any minions. Instead it summons a pack of spectral minions. The summoner will continue to summon minions every now and then, so players will have to fight through a constantly regenerating meat shield. You'll have to kill more minions in total than a horde, but fewer at a time.Lorchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08527748564729787267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995759502182713000.post-69504093761463079822012-03-16T17:17:00.000+00:002012-03-16T17:17:52.235+00:00RuffiansAt the sketch stage these were a pirate with a cutlass. After the lines were vectored it looked just like he was pulling the blade out from under his coat and I thought that was interesting enough to become the focus of the figure.<br />
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If you're pulling a weapon out of your coat, then you were hiding it. Why were you hiding it? Because you're not meant to have it. Who wears long coats and conceals weapons? City toughs! And so Mr Corsair becomes Mr Ruffian and the cutlass became improvised bludgeons.<br />
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The idea really cemented itself when I gave #2 that crazy hair. That's when I realised the OTT japanese gangster look was the way to go. #2 has it best with his bare chest and snazzy coat lining, but #3's tied trousers are pretty cute too. I think #1 looks too much like a wizard with that beard and the strange ruff - I'd hoped that the colouring would bring him more on-theme. Even tried going back to the lines to turn the ruff into a scarf, but it wasn't happening. Shame. The lead pipe is my favourite weapon though.<br />
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Speaking of which, I like the weapon variety. All things that a good leg-breaker might be carrying.Crowbar obviously coloured after Mr Freeman's, and a disquieting spatter-mark on the truncheon. And it's nifty how that little loop turns a baseball bat into a truncheon - though ribbing the handle helps make it obvious.<br />
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Modular divisions: Head, collar, belt, arms, weapon. <br />
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The colours aren't terrible, but only #2 feels <i>right</i>. Maybe if I had others so I could make it obvious that they're wearing gang colours? I'm missing a trick here. Not going to dwell. Plenty of time to come back to it if I have an idea.Lorchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08527748564729787267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995759502182713000.post-41078780351092696092012-03-03T21:27:00.003+00:002012-03-22T21:28:43.652+00:00Swamp HuntersThey hunt swamps? I don't have a clear identity for these guys. They're a revamp of a last-gen figure I'd labelled as a skull-clan archer (#1's head on #2's body is almost the original). They feel like outdoorsmen or survivalists. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBQcMmV2-qXnXmIlQKPUISm2r15pDszvjmSO6FJEYze0pmFAp7nLasrrQQAlXbTH976cw8KxJ3CDrTxUQ-yoYk9Us3tWL9vNn3hzc1gLwhFQvjSWQDXAZ-ZjA7zc-wNe2TN1vtSgK1zX8/s1600/SwampHunters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBQcMmV2-qXnXmIlQKPUISm2r15pDszvjmSO6FJEYze0pmFAp7nLasrrQQAlXbTH976cw8KxJ3CDrTxUQ-yoYk9Us3tWL9vNn3hzc1gLwhFQvjSWQDXAZ-ZjA7zc-wNe2TN1vtSgK1zX8/s640/SwampHunters.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
Bows are awkward because they put a lot of lines across the torso. This limits the detail that can go on the figure's clothing before it becomes cluttered. Also you really ought to give archers a quiver, which you might notice I failed to do here. I don't have a good justification, I just couldn't find a neat place to hang one.<br />
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#1's has kneepads because I liked how they made his boots femur-shaped. That's not a great reason, but it is <i>the</i> reason. When I coloured him I was thinking "chicken".<br />
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#2 I consciously dressed up in natural materials, then gave him the compound bow to mess with that. I like his little mantle.<br />
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#3 got away from me. He still seems like he needs something more interesting than just trousers. I tried a hanging sash, flowing cloak or loincloth but it didn't stick. And the colouring stage wasn't much easier. I repainted that sash so many times... I wanted the rest of his clothes to be neutral, naturalistic colours so the sash had to be his point of interest. Nothing seemed to work right though. The West Ham-coloured pattern is ok I guess. Maybe I should have tried to give him a better gimmick with the linework.<br />
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In contrast to a lot of my recent characters, there's barely any shading detail on these. And I'm okay with that. They didn't need it.<br />
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I spent too long writing this and now my tea's cold.Lorchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08527748564729787267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995759502182713000.post-15512460550809593132012-03-03T16:58:00.000+00:002012-03-03T16:58:58.888+00:00Carrion HulkThis is a carrion hulk, an attempt at making non-generic undead. Ribcages and facelessness are good visual foci. Especially given how my normal figures don't have mouths - I can go with the flow rather than against it and then have the ribs as surrogate teeth.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJeDYQ7kinnvbfbGhQCgq_0UKKxuqpvZkz6-596i-PzP1AZcmSiQt96G6ZKQvgwQ5ghR9eQ1HvYohmAn8jVpDkVOvQK4xkuo5WiMFR53dBWG15c12e9O8-A_qF4o_L071kXHUIUMGrOd4/s1600/CarrionHulk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJeDYQ7kinnvbfbGhQCgq_0UKKxuqpvZkz6-596i-PzP1AZcmSiQt96G6ZKQvgwQ5ghR9eQ1HvYohmAn8jVpDkVOvQK4xkuo5WiMFR53dBWG15c12e9O8-A_qF4o_L071kXHUIUMGrOd4/s1600/CarrionHulk.jpg" /></a>This guy is either the corpse of a giant, or perhaps a monstrous product of necroscientific grafting. The silhouette was inspired by some concept art for Shadow Of The Colossus. I felt really good about the sketch and was genuinely excited to get it finished. It needed some tweaking of course. The legs were originally stick-figure but it looked too much like a person wearing a zombie torso (which isn't a bad idea for a future drawing...) and giving them bulk also gave me room for more muscle detail.<br />
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When it came to colouring I was thinking about <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shingeki_no_Kyojin">Shingeki no Kyojin</a> and its giants with their "half-baked" biology. I don't have the chops to match that level of anatomical accuracy, but it was an important inspiration.<br />
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I think my colours need to be redone. There's no area on this figure that doesn't have detail shading. That's not necessarily bad, but to keep it in the right style I need to be careful to keep it all sharply defined. The back is looking good (though I should have used more bone-colour instead of light flesh for the ribs coming off the spine). The chest ribs though are far too messy - you can tell that's where I started. By the time I got to the hands and feet I had a much better idea of how to achieve the look I wanted.<br />
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The fingers on the right hand are too small. I made a halfhearted effort at redoing the hand to be splayed against the ground, but didn't meet any success. In the meantime I can just about convince myself that they're dug into the ground, or curled up out of view, but honestly I need to man up and fix them.<br />
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Still I'm proud of this. It's the most complicated thing I've tried for a while and it turned out better than I'd hoped. Go me.Lorchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08527748564729787267noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995759502182713000.post-5687754330509203722012-02-26T21:30:00.000+00:002012-02-26T21:30:14.214+00:00Banshee and BittervileThis is a banshee, because I was thinking about undead a lot. Sadly she's pretty generic. Still looking for that hook.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqxEXhAOs0oGIGWfpdx1rnXTDfnDlScDiKvYb6UH6h5pva7BIcaY701LR2GosVKAlCqFuPElHB9HaJd47a3j7YxuzrwV5hx8Wm_LWrAHCXR_zSoBq5WP8ssAx3u2wDnF6u-wLblQ3SImU/s1600/Banshee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqxEXhAOs0oGIGWfpdx1rnXTDfnDlScDiKvYb6UH6h5pva7BIcaY701LR2GosVKAlCqFuPElHB9HaJd47a3j7YxuzrwV5hx8Wm_LWrAHCXR_zSoBq5WP8ssAx3u2wDnF6u-wLblQ3SImU/s1600/Banshee.jpg" /></a></div>I feel bad about the low-cut gown. I think that was a mistake. It looks pretty classless. At least I didn't use the shading layer to define breasts. I want her to be ethereal flowing spirit, so I'm not looking to emphasise any human features. It's not immediately apparent when viewed on her own, but compared to human figures in this style she has circular "creature" eyes and actually has a mouth.<br />
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The mouth has a lot more shading detail then normal. It really needed the teeth to sell itself, but defining them with a line seemed too clumsy. However, since I ended up using a dark purple to outline them, I might redo it with lines when I fix the neckline.<br />
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My slacker approach to lightning was deliberate this time, because I wanted her to look ethereal. I'm not sure it's the best way to accomplish that, but it seems to work alright.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiECsg-6CtsUKXDvpjUukbSCmDuLYCJ6tptiFakgh1BgVQOkm-ORLDPKz8nzg-ejzo5GBLgJSxW5tZKl2obv2f4H5gTmJS6z8cde_59P8h7dOmXu7bR65ZF9Ah7QbdX4GqjYx4eO012ZlQ/s1600/Bittervile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiECsg-6CtsUKXDvpjUukbSCmDuLYCJ6tptiFakgh1BgVQOkm-ORLDPKz8nzg-ejzo5GBLgJSxW5tZKl2obv2f4H5gTmJS6z8cde_59P8h7dOmXu7bR65ZF9Ah7QbdX4GqjYx4eO012ZlQ/s400/Bittervile.jpg" width="332" /></a>Now down here we have a bittervile. That's him on the top left. I like those colours; necrotic, ghosty and pepperminty.. Top right is a recolour I did because I wanted to see what it looked like in fire. The answer is "boring". The other two are just me playing around. Flamey/energy things are the easiest to recolour. Something about those flowing pointy shapes begs to be hue-shifted. Same happened to <a href="http://lorcblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/lunacy.html">the werewolf</a> with his jaggy fur.<br />
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Bittervile is a good name. If I'm going to have the convention that a<a href="http://lorcblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/incendiary.html"> *-vile is an elemental creature with a skeleton</a>, then bitter is nine times more fun than "necro-" or "morti-"as a prefix.<br />
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The linework is pretty simple but I feel like there's a good energy in the twisting flames. The spinal column's unconvincing; I think the perpendicular lines should have been slightly curved. The skull's weird shape I'm ok with as it's meant to be a spirit rather than a physical skull. Those teeth are wrong though. I got confused and arrayed the lines rather than the teeth themselves. Silly me.Lorchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08527748564729787267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995759502182713000.post-23615320632816433352012-02-25T14:04:00.000+00:002012-02-25T14:04:39.311+00:00NecromastersThese are what I made of the "liche WIP" I mentioned before. I'm not sure exactly what they are. Probably undead, certainly death-themed. Some kind of evil wizard or overlord? I'm happy enough with these guys that I want to make an undead theme just to give them a home. I don't want it to be moring and generic though. Maybe if I come up with an interesting hook. Focusing on the "death elemental" aspect rather than walking corpses? I'm not sure. It'd need to incorporate the bloaters too.<br />
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I like yhe way that their horns aren't lazily symmetrical pairs. The way the colours give them substantially different looks while staying on-theme. #1's golden belt buckle thing is a bit weak compared to the floating details on the other two (tattered cloak and gorget). I got a nice gleaming gold effect on #1 and the shine on #2's horns is cute too.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFZlBoUGURMssNrPq3nf66RMFjjmTMmfaRJ1FyZ2amKnH5mrks2cG5Anw4-jpGAOSXoYzhrikAYawuGL42i7g9FbDfbkIpMopFNkMsHqZ0g90jDte5RsVHfGXU1trHGUHGekEOXma75jk/s1600/DapperCindergroom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFZlBoUGURMssNrPq3nf66RMFjjmTMmfaRJ1FyZ2amKnH5mrks2cG5Anw4-jpGAOSXoYzhrikAYawuGL42i7g9FbDfbkIpMopFNkMsHqZ0g90jDte5RsVHfGXU1trHGUHGekEOXma75jk/s1600/DapperCindergroom.jpg" /></a>#2's eyeball-on-a-staff has more detail than usual. I just couldn't get it to work without both defining <i>and </i>detailing the iris. #3's staff caused problems because the skull on it was drawing too much attention from his real head. I darkened it right down and nixed all detail shading from it. After that, the glowy eyes in his helmet seemed to do the trick.<br />
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Bonus! A dapper cindergroom. Doesn't he look civilised? See this is what I mean when I mention an interesting hook. Like the way my fire elementals are very proper gentlemen. I'm not sure how to justify it except that it appeals to me.<br />
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No variants for him. The more minimalist a design, the harder it is to mix up. I couldn't bear to ruin the cut of his suit. Ok there's something odd going on with his inside leg but I'm willing to overlook it for now.Lorchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08527748564729787267noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995759502182713000.post-53565009561238123382012-02-18T11:53:00.000+00:002012-02-18T11:53:42.678+00:00Angry kilnNot sold on the name, but he's a clay golem with a fire in his belly. Fire belly? Kiln-gut? Chamber core? The pot that walks?<br />
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It's meant to look like his body is malleable clay with the head amorphously twisting out of it. His hands (on the other hand...) he's baked in his belly until they're hard. I think the legs are pre-baked to withstand the kiln's weight and heat.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT4E8lfmx8pueVV1t2sPWfGAxnwTDGhDZsd90MGOqaiq9vOoJIUEYzWQ-RDVZOiAm7maUTgfx-Wa2-j1j6FWmWH3-PBkT7JpJVUisO0tIsxeKjnXd6fqF_ydrbOhZH48Ld8Rwcq9sIO9E/s1600/Kiln.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT4E8lfmx8pueVV1t2sPWfGAxnwTDGhDZsd90MGOqaiq9vOoJIUEYzWQ-RDVZOiAm7maUTgfx-Wa2-j1j6FWmWH3-PBkT7JpJVUisO0tIsxeKjnXd6fqF_ydrbOhZH48Ld8Rwcq9sIO9E/s1600/Kiln.jpg" /></a></div>I want the head to be the soft part, so maybe I shouldn't have put the fire in his eye. And his fingers appear to be spoons. I tried a variety of shapes for the fingers, but theses are what worked best so I went with them.<br />
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The blue shape behind him is... well I don't know what it is but it makes him present a little nicer I think. There's probably a name for them that I don't know of. Better than a zoom layer and doesn't require actual effort like a background would. <br />
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I've had the "internal furnace" idea for a while. My first try was <a href="http://lorcblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/fire-elementals-wear-top-hats-now.html">this burly architect</a> but he looked better as a strange alien. Glad I finally got a furnace-belly done finally - I like the imagery.<br />
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I'm pelased with the shape of his body. The sketch started out as exploring those curvy hips and stubby legs. The slightly pointed shoulders made me think of clay and so I added the head and then the belly.<br />
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Moderate success!Lorchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08527748564729787267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995759502182713000.post-61371220923490968902012-02-17T17:15:00.001+00:002012-02-25T13:51:45.794+00:00Lots of things I don't like about these. I didn't exactly rush them, but I forced myself to keep moving rather than dwelling and fixing because I worried I'd abandon them before I got them looking good.<br />
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So first, the things I do like:<br />
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The name. "Bloaters" is so perfect I'm surprised it's not been used before - slang for their fatness but also what can happen to a corpse after death. The patterns of ... lividity maybe? The patterns around their tumescent growths are cute and evocative of their deadness. To a lesser extent the blotchiness around the gaping wounds, though I worry that two different patterns of the same colour is too much fussy detail. And #3's hair. Patchy hair is something I've not done before. Finally, those cute stubby little legs.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_gTVCwyD7hXzINreG65ekzXRL_x0JYf6kBegF32BCgc5qL7IS9bFcZAQygO7s3khPfVCLX9yX2rlo9xxukiBUOOYGacU2PjY6kzRqxpnxcd1fa_6UT_-CSRpUKzJPgEU_o8l54M2064g/s1600/Bloaters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_gTVCwyD7hXzINreG65ekzXRL_x0JYf6kBegF32BCgc5qL7IS9bFcZAQygO7s3khPfVCLX9yX2rlo9xxukiBUOOYGacU2PjY6kzRqxpnxcd1fa_6UT_-CSRpUKzJPgEU_o8l54M2064g/s1600/Bloaters.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Things I don't like<br />
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The way #2 looks like an apple core. I went overboard with the gaping wounds there but it wasn't entirely apparent until after colouring. Could probably lose the rightmost and shrink the centre one. As is it looks like his bottom half is pulling away from his torso, which isn't what I wanted. And a bit too gross besides.<br />
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Lack of swappable detail. it's heads and bodies only. I suppose the torn trouser patterns are unique too, but nobody but me will ever notice those. I'd like to have had two sets of detail on each body - chest and belly maybe.<br />
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The detail inside the wounds. Did not know what I was doing there. #1's is brainish and #3 is gutsish, but I think that's trying too hard for this style. Something less distinct would be more suitable. I need to play around and come up with something that looks suitably stylised and evocative. #2's blobby mess isn't doing it for me either.<br />
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Their wrists. I've taken them a step too far from being stick-men. The arms should have slimmed down to lines before they reached the hands. It's important to stay away from the awkward middle ground between stylised and explicit.<br />
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Finally, identity. I didn't decide what I was drawing other than "fat zombie" and so they're all over the place in character. The wounds imply fantasy necromantic zombies, but the infected blobs imply disease zombies. They might make good surgical zombies if I swapped out the blobs and wounds for stitches and patchwork. Lots of lovely space for that sort of detail. Maybe give them fuses and have them be walking bombs. Possibilities.<br />
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Not sure if I even want to do traditional necromantic undead as a theme. It's so very tired. I like the way I have things at the moment where zombies and the undead crop up as part of some other themes. I do have a funky liche WIP I mean to come back to, but he's not enough to hang a theme on. Also skeletons are crazy-hard to do when even the living are stick men.Lorchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08527748564729787267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995759502182713000.post-18883324953975935102012-02-15T20:39:00.000+00:002012-02-15T20:39:44.634+00:00Squamus magiTarted up from the first <a href="http://lorcblog.blogspot.com/2009/03/squagus-and-friends.html">squagus</a>. Though now I look back at him there's some niceness that got lost along the way. The original isn't staring into the camera, which makes the pose look more natural. On the other hand, head-on view gives them a priestly air.<br />
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It took a long while to get three compatible variations that I was happy with. I'm still not certain what #2's back fins are, or exactly how #3's tail is coiled but I can live with it. The first one is still my favourite. I completed him, colours and all, before even the linework for the other two.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Vt9ctUDXGg9gKZg0i8sgiM6zD1_HkIoJiLOs8w5OfFnGsgmQCqajUaO60xXCwe6jyzt6oqZBtFjftRwliWvl_kUJgj20wXaQQ5q4hEoR56iGAezMw93WIvanIb2bNyVS-sZh3bMOmv0/s1600/Squagi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Vt9ctUDXGg9gKZg0i8sgiM6zD1_HkIoJiLOs8w5OfFnGsgmQCqajUaO60xXCwe6jyzt6oqZBtFjftRwliWvl_kUJgj20wXaQQ5q4hEoR56iGAezMw93WIvanIb2bNyVS-sZh3bMOmv0/s1600/Squagi.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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Number three had to be hue-shifted at the last minute because I'd accidentally coloured him like a dratini (pokemon). This fleshy pink suits him.<br />
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There were a few patches of detail that I decided to remove. Mottling on the tentacles and so forth. Id gone too far and it made the few flat areas look bad. Even now #2's borderline overwhelming.<br />
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Conceptually these are the priests of the sea cult, devotees of the elder fish god. They don't fight, they just summon and inspire their minions. They might also have creepy fish-god magic such as ink clouds or a hypnotic gaze.Lorchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08527748564729787267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995759502182713000.post-71388041605388474692012-02-10T17:49:00.000+00:002012-02-10T17:49:38.509+00:00Medicators<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">I was so pleased with the new hospital staff I've made recently that I took a crack at revamping the mad docs. Sadly it didn't work out, but I recovered these from the ashes:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" height="279" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWbvXAwt3-76XYqkhJA9KFsdkuFF3op1wJh2LThvabYGA64wdv1833MqXX8mkCGtwXI32t2Mm4-OnFmqjmk3QNau6YSflz-yAZCIXE6vy171Tz0uNhBWHbwjR0rEcspO7z8D8hBsK1I94/s640/Medicators.jpg" width="640" /></div><br />
They use their syringe guns to inject people with <strike>dangerous</strike> helpful medications.<br />
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I like them overall, but there's a few issues. #1's goggles are a bit too space-man, #2 needs more line detail on the and #3 just lacks pizzaz.<br />
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I do like the fluids in the guns - the laval-lamp style blobbing makes it look nice and toxic.Unsure about #2's zipper along the neckline. Might be too subtle. Maybe I should have made the zipper a line-detail? The guns are cute and their beige plastic + bright rubberised grips colour scheme is perfectly on-theme.<br />
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I'm wondering whether I should try harder to unify the colour schemes across variations. It depends on exactly what they end up getting used for, but if they're all just different looks for the same game entity then it's important that you recognise them easily. On the other hand maybe I could turn the bug into a feature and make variations mechanically different. I don't know.<br />
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Also "medicators" is a lacklustre name. I thought about making them phlebotomists and making the syringe guns full of blood, but I really wanted some drug-injecty guys. Vaccinators is inappropriate because the meaning is too specific. Pharmacists maybe? Ooh - ballistic pharmacists? That has potential. Not there yet but along the right lines.Lorchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08527748564729787267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2995759502182713000.post-72229595473350697772012-01-15T19:37:00.002+00:002012-01-15T19:37:27.198+00:00Better EuthanistsDecided those euthanists were shite. Redid them with stronger poses. Much much better. #3's face looks dumb though.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhLTPC0zNV9xa_mYTJTkK9h5npoytnRoVaxNHJPqBTNha8sy8uJutdy0cGUu1O5H541WYxxgGw5LF9cyDteyawhL2EhANRot6KdoWj2-lze1SLJ8WLOzFN81ANNm0f5HBK6mFVlcYp-Yg/s1600/Euthanists2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhLTPC0zNV9xa_mYTJTkK9h5npoytnRoVaxNHJPqBTNha8sy8uJutdy0cGUu1O5H541WYxxgGw5LF9cyDteyawhL2EhANRot6KdoWj2-lze1SLJ8WLOzFN81ANNm0f5HBK6mFVlcYp-Yg/s1600/Euthanists2.jpg" /></a></div>Lorchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08527748564729787267noreply@blogger.com0