A gamejam kind of weekend

I have been drawing *other* non-game-related things, but I have yet to scan them. So those will be saved for a later post.

This weekend I spent 48 hours (or there about) making a game. Unlike previous game jams where I've worked in teams of about 5, this game jam I worked on my own. I didn't want to stress about it, or spend extra hours on it – my goal for this game jam was to take my time, enjoy myself, and hopefully make something that resembled a game. I succeeded on all counts, which makes this one of the most successful game jams I've had.

The basic premise of the game goes thusly: You are a mouse in an atmospheric test facility, attempting a great escape. Squeeze under obstacles, avoid roid-rage rats, and collect medicine for the ultimate power-up! As a mouse you are incapable of attacking, but once you've collected 3 capsules of medicine, you can transform (for a limited time, of course) into a swash-buckling hero. Face your enemies, fight your way out, and become the hero of your own adventure!

The idea came from a mouse at the company I work at (Roadhouse) and a conversation that arose. I explained I found mice adorable and interesting, as they are essentially a conglomerate of disconnected bones in a gelatinous body (scientific fact!) allowing them to squeeze under doorways. There the main mechanic was born: a character who can squeeze under obstacles. 

I began sketching in my sketchbook, but having left my tablet at work and possessing no scanner at the jam, had to duplicate my sketches in pixel art (using photoshop). All in all, it works, I believe. The mouse managed to remain cute, even without the cute lines. I then set about making all the sprites for the major mouse animations. 

crouch walk - or as Kim says "Sausage MOUSE!"

Jump. I ended up cutting out the first and last sprite for the game.

and Walk

Due to the time constraints of the game, I did not manage to make the swash-buckling hero. I have plans to upload the concept sketches and to create a pixelated mouse-hero soon, but not yet. 

On the second day of the jam, I realized I wouldn't have the time to do all I wanted, and more importantly, I needed a baddie to avoid. Not necessarily an evil character to battle, but a guard of sorts, someone to avoid at all costs. I also realized I am rather bad at laying out the level design. I literally made it up as I went along. 

The enemy!

end of the level

middle of the level

On the last day I made a title screen (super important) and made sure the "game" looped. At the end of the day I only had one level (a mediocre one at best) that when you reached the end of you arrived back at the title screen. In a way, the game is functional. And kinda pretty to look at. 

The original background had a blue overlay

but I thought that was too meh, so I added a purple one

By the way, did I mention I made the entire game with a program called Stencyl? Because thats important. None of my "lone wolf game jamming" would have worked without it. 

Concepting Sketches at the Game Jam

Some pre concept sketches and concept sketches from the game jam. I thought it would be fun to upload the work I did in my sketchpad as well. 

Before we had characters or even a basic story/ mechanic, I had doodles of women. What kind of style would I go in? What kind of face shape? And even what kind of body. I (secretly) wanted to do the ghost at the top. In fact, I think I might go ahead with the idea, even if its just to a proof of concept stage (or a low-res flash comic). But I need some more time to work on it. To flesh it out, create a bible and a world, and to plot.

Once I figured out what style I wanted to draw in, I set about finding what character shape to use. She could be younger, older, or heavier. I also concepted the world background, as per Andrew's specifications (based off of Scott Pilgrim VS the World, mostly). 

During the animation process (low res) I got stuck on the jumps and on the kicks, so I went to the sketchpad. So many tiny sketches. Fortunately, I think I got it mostly right. :)

GRMJRM

The inside joke amongst my project group is spelling Game Jam as GRMJRM. So there's that. I wanted to upload the link to our game! YAY! It was created in a 48 hour span, so take that into consideration when you download and play it.

I'm glad I did the game jam. I had tons of fun animating. But now its back to work on Pix to the Nth Dimension. Creating sprite sheets in illustrator some more.

Late in the game I realized...

By the time I got to animating the last sprites (the hardest as Sam's hair kept changing) I realized it would have been easier (and possibly less cliche) to have her be brunette. Alas. Too late.

Sam's brown haired sister, Maggie

Initially, when I started the jam, I came with an idea rather than a mechanic. This is one of the problems with being a writer and not a game designer. I think in terms of story first, gameplay second. Games are (and should be) built gameplay first, story second.

But I really wanted to do something unexpected. To discuss "strong female characters" in a larger frame. Of course, thats what novels and essays are for. But I wanted to talk about how one of my favorite movies, The Secret of NIMH stars an incredibly strong female character. Despite her timidity and fears, she goes on an adventure to save her family. Its the perfect metaphor for what I believe.

We use strength as a gendered term, implicitly. Especially when we frame strength with physical feats. Strength is masculine. But it doesn't have to be. When we talk about strength, we should speak of strength of character. What makes a character strong? I have a theory. Its not about cutting their hair and joining the army (masquerading as a man, naturally). Its not about being a body builder or an archer or competing in a sport not designated for your gender. Its about the things you believe in and those you hold closest – and the lengths you are willing to go to protect/defend all that you hold dear. Its not about being perfect, flawless, and unemotional. Its about being flawed and complex, realizing these faults, and overcoming whatever demons/ problems you face regardless of them.

What makes a good strong character, is a character who, despite their faults, succeeds. Who faces insurmountable – even magically improbable – challenges and at best, wins, at worst, survives.

Samantha Torne

I think I should have suggested "Samantha DANGER" but... too late. They've already got the title screen done. :/ .

With less than 30 minutes left, I unfortunately didn't get around to animating the villains/ monsters. It would have taken me about an hour to vectorize the characters, yet alone animate them. :( . Instead I did a short hand cheat and grayscaled our heroine. This way it looks like she's battle depression. In an cliche, not at all accurate way.

The idea of the game was (and still sort of is) the main character, Sam, must battle her inner demons, LITERALLY. (Within herself, no less). (Well... not within herself like her hearts and organs or anything, more metaphorical self.) (It looks like a city.)

Some of the baddies included:

The "Angel" (and the "Demon" never got drawn). She has to fight the ideal of the Madonna/Whore complex. The idea is these baddies are things a girl faces IRL. This could also represent "Purity." 

I know its cliche to use greyscale as depression, but there you have it. It was the easiest to replicate, as its just Sam without color. I just finished compiling these in half an hour, so at least we have something for her to battle. 

The "magazine girl". Aka the perfect version of herself she could never be. Unfortunately for this version, the collision points would change (minorly) but enough to cause heartache for the programers. Plus, I would have to redraw her entire illustrator model. 

The "final boss" monster character: Sam's perception of herself on a bad day. Call it "Bad Day" Baddie. Thats about all I have. Unfortunately I never got around to vectorizing and animating any of these baddies. But it sure was fun to animate. I think I could start calling myself a character designer. 

game jamin

Of course, every time I leave the jam to go to sleep, I wind up singing "We Jammin." Even if there's no music playing at all. Not that I'm leaving the game jam, we're in the middle of it still. The thick of things, so to speak.

I was lucky, this morning I came in and my teammate, Lawrence, had his brother come in to help with art. WHEW. So he's working on backgrounds (hiphiphorray) and I'm working on sprite animation. NOTHING BUT SPRITE ANIMATION.

I kind of love it.

As of so far I have: Walking, Running, Idle, Punching, Kicking, and Jumping (from and standstill). Next is Jumping (from a Run) ... and possibly a "Hit" animation (when the character gets hit) but after that it's onto HI RESOLUTION ... and villain animations. SO MUCH WORK. SO LITTLE TIME.

iamagamer Game Jam!

Been SUPER busy. The end of the term is coming, like, in two weeks so its MEGA CRUNCH TIME. I've been finishing off hi-res assets for Pix's vertical slice, animating characters in 2D Toolkit (a Unity plugin), applying for internships, interviewing for internships, AND writing Billie VS. My life feels like it might just flatten under the weight. 

Which is why, though maybe a bit ill-advised, I'm participating in a game jam this weekend. WOO! It'll be a much needed break from all these legitimate demands. Though in preparation for the game jam, I've been working double time to get all my actual work done BEFORE the weekend. 

Right, onto the game jam. So Dr. Kim Voll (my prof) decided to host her own game jam, with the sponsorship of local game studios and the school itself, called "iamagamer." Her idea is to create game jams centered around inclusion, with a social perspective in mind. By that I mean, games that focus on, or are lead by, characters who are atypical. PoC or LGBTQ or differently-abled ... etc. For her first jam (this one) the focus is a bit broad: simply games built around female characters. All because of a barrage of ill-timed articles with the theme that more or less, female characters didn't sell games or make good games. 

Today I started sketching some potential female characters. It feels SO good to just draw for kicks and giggles. SO GOOD. I miss drawing for fun. Anyway, I quickly realized that the majority of the female characters I drew were either: monsters, aliens, geometric shapes, anthros, or ghosts. I can tell you why, too. Because I want to avoid, at all costs, easy sexualization of the female characters. It might be silly or inescapable, but there you have it.