You're welcome. I plan to be back to work next month. See you then.
Sunday, October 21, 2012
The Holidays
Its not often you hear from someone that they have been unable to work on projects due the holidays in October. But, around my house we take our Halloween very seriously. Everything is decorated, and this year's costume is almost ready for paint so I thought I'd take a few minutes to put up the old "I'm not dead post".
Monday, October 1, 2012
I'm never far from Calla
Work has been super slow, so game design has had a chance to shine lately. Although today I spent most of the day working on my Calla campaign instead of robots. Once Halloween has come and gone I'll be able to setup a nice playtest area for games.Until then, it won't make much sense with big party on the horizon.
My current efforts are focused around the magical side of Calla. I've spent a good deal of effort on those who hate magic, and even the divine, but not many words have been laid down on paper about the arcane masters of the world.
I started by working on two types of casters that displayed modern and ancient methods of weaving magic. The ancient method is code-named the naturalist. while the modern is the mechanic. A naturalist harness the energy found in physical objects and focuses that to cast spells. They craft "wands" which are capable of producing a specific spell effect. Focusing this energy depletes the stamina of the naturalist himself, which limits the number of times a day they can cast spells like a normal caster. The number of wands they can create is limited by experience, lesser spells (wands) allow a naturalist to select a higher level version of that spell later when they progress through levels. However, stats limit the maximum number of spells they can know per level just like a normal caster.
Now mechanics have studied how arcane magic works, and have applied this learning to creating spell effects without the need for spells. By performing complex calculations they can manipulate the energies found around them. They are limited in casting scope, by the nature of spells they can cast which are limited to effects based on the elements and the primals. (earth, air, fire, water, rage, fear, joy, sorrow)
A mechanic requires his calculator (abbacus or similar calculation device) to cast spells. Both hands must be employed and concentration is required. They learn spells (new calculations) as they progress in level. Their spells are unique in that they cause an immediate side effect when cast. For instance, when a mechanic casts sleep he selects a friendly target which has all fatigue removed from it. When he he casts heat metal, another target is cooled by the same amount. A mechanic does not have to memorize calculations prior to using them, rather he must eventually rest to clear his head in order to perform more calculations. This limits the mechanic to a set number of spells per day much like a normal caster.
So you can see that both example casters manipulate energy naturally found in the world to cast spells. I want a world where magic can be created in a myriad of ways, but is founded in the same basic understandings. Much like the sword, it will take a variety of forms and it will be made from many different materials, but the basic idea will be the same.
My current efforts are focused around the magical side of Calla. I've spent a good deal of effort on those who hate magic, and even the divine, but not many words have been laid down on paper about the arcane masters of the world.
I started by working on two types of casters that displayed modern and ancient methods of weaving magic. The ancient method is code-named the naturalist. while the modern is the mechanic. A naturalist harness the energy found in physical objects and focuses that to cast spells. They craft "wands" which are capable of producing a specific spell effect. Focusing this energy depletes the stamina of the naturalist himself, which limits the number of times a day they can cast spells like a normal caster. The number of wands they can create is limited by experience, lesser spells (wands) allow a naturalist to select a higher level version of that spell later when they progress through levels. However, stats limit the maximum number of spells they can know per level just like a normal caster.
Now mechanics have studied how arcane magic works, and have applied this learning to creating spell effects without the need for spells. By performing complex calculations they can manipulate the energies found around them. They are limited in casting scope, by the nature of spells they can cast which are limited to effects based on the elements and the primals. (earth, air, fire, water, rage, fear, joy, sorrow)
A mechanic requires his calculator (abbacus or similar calculation device) to cast spells. Both hands must be employed and concentration is required. They learn spells (new calculations) as they progress in level. Their spells are unique in that they cause an immediate side effect when cast. For instance, when a mechanic casts sleep he selects a friendly target which has all fatigue removed from it. When he he casts heat metal, another target is cooled by the same amount. A mechanic does not have to memorize calculations prior to using them, rather he must eventually rest to clear his head in order to perform more calculations. This limits the mechanic to a set number of spells per day much like a normal caster.
So you can see that both example casters manipulate energy naturally found in the world to cast spells. I want a world where magic can be created in a myriad of ways, but is founded in the same basic understandings. Much like the sword, it will take a variety of forms and it will be made from many different materials, but the basic idea will be the same.
Monday, September 24, 2012
Reaching Out
Posted an ad on Craigslist tonight to see if I can find local artists who want to work on games. I've decided that I need to have other hands doing some of the work involved in making a great game. So my first obvious choice is to start finding talented artists. My second will be to develop a team of dedicated play-testers.
This way I can focus on the design, instead of trying to create every aspect of the game. And, when a playable version is ready, have a group that I can call upon to provide feedback. So the search for artists has started, and the search for playtesters will go out on Facebook shortly.
In the meantime, I have almost finished all of the available strips for my webcomic. Once it is completed, the whole thing will get compiled into a book. Mostly this is so I can keep a copy on my shelf. Then it will be back to writing comics in a couple months, always a good way to eat up free time during the winter. Expect that I will plug it a bit here, even if it is a bit off topic.
This way I can focus on the design, instead of trying to create every aspect of the game. And, when a playable version is ready, have a group that I can call upon to provide feedback. So the search for artists has started, and the search for playtesters will go out on Facebook shortly.
In the meantime, I have almost finished all of the available strips for my webcomic. Once it is completed, the whole thing will get compiled into a book. Mostly this is so I can keep a copy on my shelf. Then it will be back to writing comics in a couple months, always a good way to eat up free time during the winter. Expect that I will plug it a bit here, even if it is a bit off topic.
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Game Update
Work has been keeping me super busy so not much progress on the game has been made the last couple of weeks. I have almost completed all of the cards for bodies and heads. I have a couple arms and some legs done as well. Hopefully I will be able to put together a working playtest copy soon.
In the meantime, I scored rather low in the latest Game Crafter contest. I decided to tip my hat to that aspect of the community since it really pulls attention away from my actual game designs in order to put something together before the deadline of each contest. By next summer, I hope to be all caught up, and able to entertain the idea of entering in a game contest every month or so again because the challenge is fun. I just can't keep up right now.
In the meantime, I scored rather low in the latest Game Crafter contest. I decided to tip my hat to that aspect of the community since it really pulls attention away from my actual game designs in order to put something together before the deadline of each contest. By next summer, I hope to be all caught up, and able to entertain the idea of entering in a game contest every month or so again because the challenge is fun. I just can't keep up right now.
Logo Update
So I have been working on making Imp Print a more serious affair. One of my hurdles was deciding on a name, then came the logo, and finally the mascot. Well I contracted an artist to design my mascot and I was really quite impressed with his work. I thought I would share. First I should start with the logo that he used as his inspiration to create the mascot.
From this humble imp logo I created myself on the computer one hot afternoon. He created this mascot.
Monday, September 3, 2012
Initial cards
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Christine cut up cards for me, and I took the time to start creating some really ugly prototypes for robot heads and bodies. Thought I would take a couple quick pictures before I called it a night.
Day 1
Today marks the first day for working on a new game concept that I originally started a few weeks back, but put aside in order to make an entry for the Steampunk design challenge. The idea is to create a super simple robot fighting game where the players assemble a random robot and then enter an arena to do battle. I have a basic system in mind, and a lot of ideas for the components. I started drawing a set of "robot pieces" to be used to assemble the robots.
My first hurdle will be to complete the artwork. The goal is 12 different components for each part. There is the head, body, legs, and both arms. Since the arms can be used for either one that really gives me just 48 different components to create the artwork for. One of my issues is I want them to line up in a nice clean fashion so that when the cards are placed together, it creates a nice image of a clunky robot. Not, a clunky image of a nice robot.
My first hurdle will be to complete the artwork. The goal is 12 different components for each part. There is the head, body, legs, and both arms. Since the arms can be used for either one that really gives me just 48 different components to create the artwork for. One of my issues is I want them to line up in a nice clean fashion so that when the cards are placed together, it creates a nice image of a clunky robot. Not, a clunky image of a nice robot.
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