Merry Christmas!

Half a year since the last post, but looks like everything is still up and running! It has been a very busy past few months, lots of learning and growing, and plugging away relentlessly on the game project. It's time for a little break though, and I do hope everyone out there has a very happy holidays with their friends and loved ones!

Adventure Apes + Game Porting= Happy Day!

If you've been wondering recently why there hasn't been too much in terms of updates for the game related stuff recently, the answer is quite simple...I was recently approached to port the game over to a handheld system! For a complete newcomer to the whole game making biz, it came as a complete shock, as well as a dream come true to have my little monkey crew made available to large base of people, and if a little money comes in as a result, all the better :)
Everything is in the very, VERY beginning stages at this point, and I'm sure as the project progresses, changes will be made to many aspects of the game in order to make it a top notch product. Perhaps the greatest advantage with an undertaking like this is that I won't be working alone on it. Reduced individual workload and greater brainstorming capacity will be very much welcome!
I look at this as a once in a lifetime opportunity, where if it gets done right, could lead the way to bigger and better things for the Adventure Apes, happy day indeed!!

Level 3-2 Mockup

Here's the second portion of level 3, the lava caves! It's going to have the same sort of concept as level 3-1 with the seamless tiles for floors and walls. I think that there are possibilities for some fun problem-solving in this level as my intent is to have switches to raise/lower the magma levels in order to gain access to items and doors. Add to that the red laser weapon from level 2 to unblock restricted areas, and the Ghost Vision ability (which will let the player see objects and enemies hidden from normal view) in level 3-3, and the game should end up with a pretty good mix of puzzles! Fingers crossed.... :)

Level 3-1 Mockup

I decided to try something a little different this time around. Typically, I've done sketches of the layout and rooms on grid paper to figure out placement of blocks/items/enemies. It works great for the design of the level, but not the atmosphere. So, I decided to put together a quick sketch to see how this part of the game might look. It will be different from the first two levels in that there are no individual/carved blocks for the floors and walls, instead I'm going to try coming up with a randomly generated seamless tile. There were a few elements in level two that were generated randomly (blocks and plants specifically), and I think the result was kind of fun, so I'll continue that trend here and see how it goes!

And now for something completely uninteresting....

I put this together mainly as a result of a game design expo that I had the privilege of attending recently. One of the guest speakers (Matt McLean from Obsidian) was truly exceptional, and the comment that most stuck out in my mind from his speech was that "you can never show the control scheme for a game too much. Even if it's in the instruction booklet, chances are it won't be seen."
And just like that, a little piece of my heart sank. I had spent a few months worth of evenings putting together the art and layout for a true retro style instruction booklet to help reinforce the old-school vibe off my current game! His point is completely valid...I never really read those things as a kid for the instructions, it was the art I was after, and even now, I may take a quick glance through them, but never really pay much attention to the controls. So, my solution is to replace the current pause screen with this diagram, and hopefully avoid leaving the player frustrated or wondering what button does what exactly.

Squidephant Wallpaper!

I needed to do something to get my head out of game-code mode for a little while, and I thought that a perfect way to do that would be to make a couple new wallpapers for the site! After going back and forth on a few different style directions, I figured that the most suitable thing to do would be to make things that look like Mayan jewelry to represent the bosses in the game. Sure, I started out of order with the second boss, but he (and his level in the game) have been ingrained into my mind for the past six months, so cut me some slack already! Next will be the Skull Demon :)

Here's a link to the full-size wallpaper

New Game Images!

I posted some pics not too long ago as level two was in the middle stages of being done. The level is more or less complete, but will need some tweaking here and there before it's up to snuff. While the code is plugged away on, I offer you these new in-game images:

The gamefile is available for downloading from the Adventure Apes' site. The site itself is looking kind cluttered and dated, so I'm hoping to have a new looking site sometime in the near future as well. Right now, I've just kind of been throwing stuff in there as I update the game instead of keeping is tidy and organized. So be on the look out for that too!

Level Two Boss Revealed: The Squidephant!!

Don't let the goofy name throw you off, this guy is one bad mutha! Part squid, part elephant, and part...spiky-shelled sea-thing, Squidephant is an ornery beast, and Mitch is intruding on his territory!
I was a little hesitant posting this since people can see how to beat the boss, but he looks so darned  cool that I couldn't resist. Enjoy :)

Mayan Mystery Gameplay Update

Here's  a little peek into the Mayan underworld, courtesy of the Adventure Apes! The game has undergone quite a few improvements lately, and level two is getting very close to being complete...probably one or two months away from being ready :) This little video doesn't shed too much light onto the game so much as it shows the general atmosphere you can expect...lush, dark, and danger lurking around every corner!!

Mayan Mystery: Level 2 Madness!

It occurred to me a while ago that people found level 1 of the Mayan Mystery a bit tricky to navigate because the graphics were the same throughout. Even with the occasional 'helpful' message from Otis and/or Dr. A, I think that it probably frustrated more than a  few people until they got their bearings with the temple layout as a whole. With that said, I've been putting together level 2, and am hoping that the experience will be much better for the player. There are three main sections of the level, each with its own distinct look and music. These screenshots are very early stages of the level of course, just to give a sense of the graphic style for each section. Development is coming along nicely, but it is a little slow, simply because level 2 is set to be hugely gigantic!

A Whole Mess of Adventure Apes Line Art!

It's been a little while since I've posted anything for the storybook here, but it has been getting worked on, and here's the proof! Recently, I decided to try changing up my process a little bit in an attempt to keep things fresh and fluid instead of trying to pound out one thing at a time...meaning that I'll be rotating what I do week by week: Line art/story related stuff/game design/coding related stuff. We'll see how it turns out, but hopefully it will keep each required skill from getting too rusty. Anyhow, here's a peek at some of the latest storybook pages!

 

  

  

  

 

Adventure Apes Demo Video

So, this is a continuation of sorts to the last post. The graphics are to a point where I'm pretty happy, and it's gotten to a point where there is enough atmosphere in this little test that a full level is going to get made very soon. There are a few more bad guys to add of course, and some tweaks to the code, bug testing, the usual, but it's definitely shaping up well! Hope you like the little video :)

Bubbles, plankton and crabs, oh my!

Who knew monkeys could swim so well?? This is a secret image to the still-under-wraps level 2 of the Adventure Apes' Mayan Mystery video game... It will be treacherous navigating the huge submerged hallways without breathing, but if any one monkey can pull the mission off, it'd be Mitch!