Greetings!
I have decided to start fresh, scrapping the old notes of the Lost Project mentioned in the previous post. I was in a different time and place way back when I started that one, so to recapture it sounds a bit like an effort in futility. Work has begun on developing a new world with entirely different actors, though I'd be lying if I didn't admit to keeping a handful of aspects from the old. In leafing through my notebook, I found a few that I am rather fond of. Stepping stones, perhaps.
In doing this, I have also decided to avoid the use of online resources for sprites and faces. You folks have put out some absolutely wonderful work, and it is nothing short of inspiring. As for making sprites, I can certainly handle that part on my own. Character faces, on the other hand, will be tricky for me. Part of the pleasure, I suppose, is figuring out how to pull it off with minimal artistic talent. I expect to request the assistance of an artist friend whose delicious ways with a digital pen are already coloring life into a separate project with me. I've been nothing short of impressed with his particular brand of creativity and intelligence, and it is a delight to bounce ideas off him.
So, that is my direction as of now. The software will sit idle as I gather my thoughts, and try my hand at a little artwork this time around. When I have materials to begin building the database (now that I am refreshed on what is needed), only then will I turn it back on. This seems like a good approach, for me, and I am excited to try while learning a few new things.
However, it is now time for real world work.
It's been roughly a year and half. Likely longer when it comes to working on my project. Time is an oily thing.
Oh, the project. I never really did have a title for it. That, however, doesn't matter now since it is gone. It's a little heartbreaking knowing that 150+ hours of work just sort of vanished because the machine I used to work on decided to have some sort of quantum event that rendered the old grey mare unable to run. Of course, I was backing up my work on a USB stick, which has slipped over a persistent event horizon that seems to follow me like a hungry puppy, gulping down items slotted for that esoteric "one day" use, should that day ever come. Steam Cloud backup? I apparently wasn't using it. I'm honestly not sure why.
I can toss out all the flimsy laments I want, folks, but the lesson stands tall, casting all attempts a blame shifting in its shadow; back your work up properly.
I'm having an awful time getting back into the swing of things. Don't get me wrong, plenty of nifty stuff in the software returned to me after fiddling about with buttons and numbers for a few hours. The sticky, amoebic part that I can't seem to get a proper hold on is the re-creating the creating. I've still got a dusty, coffee-stained notebook with jots and doodles reminding me just where I was going, but so far nothing about what I'm doing feels correct the way it did the first time around. Not that I had birthed the most masterful fifteen playable minutes of game back then, but what's coming out now is some ersatz product with the branding pasted on, leaving it smelling of glue and decaying dreams.
Perhaps it is best to start anew. Though, with far less continuous hours to devote on a weekly basis, it will be awhile before I build something worth mentioning again.
But I'm damned well going to try.
Hello, again, VXers!
