Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas! No real news this week due to work and holidays. Jet Pack Jive will be released no later than February 2011, and I am working out a few short game ideas to release afterwards. Possible future games include a sequel to Moody, a spacecraft invasion style shooter, a rule-based minefield game, and many others. More news about this after the final release of Jet Pack Jive.

Over Drawn

Update time. I finished some of the transitional sprites for the secret project, but I'm falling a bit behind due to being involved with work that actually pays. I should have more news next week for a special Christmas update.

Stumbling Around

Not much of an update this week. Things have been getting crazier as Christmas draws near. Hopefully I have a fully functional release of Jet Pack Jive in the next two weeks. I really want to end this year with at least one new game finished. I have some future game ideas for what to make after this, but 2010 has been a rough year. I may end up taking time off to work on another webcomic. More news to follow next week.

Getting Back Up

Update Time! I hit a small snag with the Top Secret Project, but I managed to get some of the Jet Pack Jive's intro done. I am going to have to work hard to get the game ready for release before the new year hits, but I am pretty close to having the project finished. I'll start on some tiny games in January, but I plan on taking part in group projects in the future.

Remote Viewing

Update time. A bunch of my sprites for the secret group project may be found at this link. More artwork is in the works and I should have decent progress on Jet Pack Jive by the time next weekend comes along.

Art Attack

More artwork for both projects are being finished, with a new image to post to appear in two weeks. Stay tuned for more news in the future.

Restarting Line

I have most of my information and tools back now. Progress on Jet Pack Jive will resume with news and progress posts every Saturday as usual. Development will be a little slow as I know have a second project in the works and a job. You can expect Jet Pack Jive to be available before the year ends.

Running and Jumping Around

I sent off another batch of sprites for a game demo for the LGCK Builder engine. And that is about as much as I can tell you about the project. Progress on Jet Pack Jive will resume around the end of the month, with an expected release sometime before the end of December.

Snow Progress

Getting more sprites for the team project finished. It is going to have more of a winter theme to it. Once more information becomes available, I will post related links to the project. Next week I will have more news as well as an update about Jet Pack Jive.

Getting Back on Track

I am almost to a point where I can resume work on Jet Pack Jive. However, I am working on 2D art for a sample game for a game engine. As I will be working on another person's project, the details will be sparse in respect for information control. More news will follow as this project continues.

And then the world ended

Due to recent hardware failure, Jet Pack Jive is being put on hiatus. The main computer used in development is no longer operational and the software required is not on back up computer. Production will resume once the computer issues have been fully resolved. Until then I will see about posting up artwork or covering design basics. More news will follow next week.

Holding On

Not much of an update this week. More assets are under construction. More news to come in the following weeks.

On the Road

I am currently getting the game pieced together. The sound should not take up too much time, and the game will be set for a release sometime between October 15th and 25th.

Good with the Bad

Update time. All of the art pieces and minor details will be finished by the end of this month. Unfortunately, it will not be released until mid October. I will need to generate some new audio coding in order to improve the general sound quality, and this will take some time and testing. However, I am thinking of adding one more demo release before I submit the final version of the game. This should catch any new issues present with the fixes from the first round of feedback. So far the control feedback was the most helpful, and the game is many times better than it was in its first public WIP build. Hopefully the new menu system will pass with flying colors.

The Home Stretch

Update time again. More art has been produced for the game, but it will be a tough to get the game released by the 30th. Never the less, I will continue to work on the project with the full intention of releasing it before this month is finished.

Reading the Menu

The fixes are done and the final art bits for the menus and cutscenes are being created. It will be close, but the game should be released before the end of the month. More news to come next week.

The Big Fix

Most of the major issues from the demo have been corrected. The remaining issues as well as some new in game art are to be finished by the next update. Most of the music has been selected, with the works Elite Ferrex as artist of choice. Tune in next week for further news and updates.

Work It

Well its been over a week since I put the demo out. I got some well stated feedback, so I am fixing the concerns that were listed. I will be spending some time polishing the last bits and getting the final pieces in place. You can expect Jet Pack Jive to have a full release in late September.

WIP It Good

The Work-in-Progress demo of Jet Pack Jive is available for online play and download. Be sure to leave comments and questions. If everything continues to go as planned, a September release is to be expected.

Here Comes the Boom

As of now, all of the art needed for the beta release has been finished. I will be spending a week working on placeholder music and sounds for the beta version. Jet Pack Jive Beta Edition will be released August 21st or sooner. And for your viewing pleasure a screenshot of the final version of the first stage.

Background Info

All of the main backgrounds have been finished. Right now the foreground elements are being created. I will post one more image next week and I will begin working on creating a suitable build for the beta release within the next two or three weeks.

Dancing with the Enemy

All of the enemy art has been finished. I will now work on the background pieces and make better story boards for the cutscenes and menu pages. This will be the last update image weekend for a while, as I am getting to the part filled with spoilers.

Moving Along

Just a quick update this week. I worked on editing the color pallette so it there were no longer seventy versions of the same violet on the different enemies and finished more of the final artwork finished. I also edited the player movements to lessen the likely hood of having the walls destroy the blasts before it even appears on the stage. Its been a pretty rough week with the recent move, but now I just be getting back into making greater progress on the game.

In the Shade

Getting ready for relocation. The final shading of the player has been finished, with the last of the enemy sprites expected to be completed within the next two weeks. The work-in-progress images will probably be stopped in early-to-mid August due to the possible spoilers they will generate. More information will be available in the future.

What a Character

Well, all of the flats for the player has been finished and I will begin shading and finishing up the remaining enemies. I will be balancing this as I am preparing to move to Indiana, so it looks like the final release will take place sometime between late August or sometime in September. After this, I do have a small game in concept mode. Unlike this game, it will not be a platformer. Check back next week, as I will toss up another picture of the game in progress.

Player player

Update time again. I am currently working on the player sprites. The week has been a little rough for progress, due to certain professional opportunities and recent portfolio requirements. However, some of the flats have been finished, leaving the flats for jumping and dying left before the final shading is added in. Any future news on further progress will be revealed next weekend.

Fire Away

Update time! Right now A bunch of the enemy sprites have been finalized, all of the player attacks and items are done, and I am putting together the player character sprites at this very moment. Next week may be the final week I will put a screenshot of the game before its release, as I do not want to go too far ahead into spoiler territory. Once the art and final tuning of game mechanics are finished, I will begin working on the music and sound. Unlike the music with Buried Blitz, I am looking for consistant music that fits the theme rather than defaulting to pre-looped techno from Newgrounds. But enough of that, here's another image of Stage 2 with more new sprites.

Having a Blast

Update time. Right now all of the art work for the enemy attacks have been finished. Work on the artwork for the player attacks and stage backgrounds is currently in production. Enemy art will also be showcased soon.

Power Play

Despite a very long power outage, I am here with an update. A couple of the attacks have had their art assets finished. More will be completed in the weeks to follow. Stay tuned next week for another update with a screenshot as well.

Hopping to It

Update time. I am back from my vacation and I managed to get some of the art work done. So for this portion of the development cycle, I will be showing off certain sprites and images that will be in the game. So here is stage 1 with the final version of the hopper bots placed in. Stay tuned for more in the future.

Jetting Away

Packing up to resume my regular work schedule. A few sprites will be posted next Saturday.

Mountain of Work

Still on vacation at the moment. I have the basic designs for a few of the enemies roughed out. More to come once I get home.

Up In the Air

Right now I should be on vacation. Updates will continue and the production phase should kick into high gear around early June. The artistic designs of the enemies are still being created. Right now all I will reveal about them is that they are all robots and machines. Stay tuned for more news and developments.

In Production

The prototype phase has ended. All of the stages, enemies, items, base coding, the player character, and rooms have all been blocked out and tested. The only thing remaining is art, sound, and the final testing rounds. It has been six or so months since the release of my last game and this should be a nice addition once completed. By next Saturday, I will be under going a few weeks of vacation off in the mountain regions. Updates will be small and further progress will be halted a bit. So for the first part of the production phase, in game art for the enemies will be posted on this development blog. Once the regular schedule in early-mid June is under way, the regular updates will resume.

Setting the Stage

Update time again. As of now all of the enemies have been finished and a goal has been set up for the stages. Also, the first and second stages have been mapped out and passed the alpha phase of design. Right now, I am building the third and final stage. Balance is the main issue with this part. Making sure the game is not too hard will be a major concern the will be frequently examined until the game's final release. Here's a new screenshot of blocked out version of stage two.

Enemies and Items

Update time! This week I managed to not only get all of the items blocked out and finished, but I have also formed out five of the seven enemies that will be in the final build of the game. Next on the list is building the last two enemies, creating a stage goal allowing transition from stage to stage, and finally creating the finalized layout for the stages and rooms. After this, the prototype and preproduction phase should be nearly completed, with art and sound to follow in the production phase.

Big Loser

Update time again. Due to some recent personal developments, I will be working on this project more often than usual. As of this week, I managed to get a basic losing and restarting mechanic fleshed out. Unlike my previous games, I will try to create this as a game that will not require mouse usage at all. Stay tuned for further updates each Saturday.

Healthy Habits

Well, I finally got my work and free time balanced out. Health has been tested and added, as are the initial enemy tests. Vertical scrolling and stage testing will begin shortly, with along with the editions of two more blast types and researching horizontal looping or possible teleportation nodes. Unlike Magma Girl, this game has no paused button planned and the cutscenes between stages will only be a single image with subtitles. The ending will be a bit longer, but it will still be a fairly short game. Afterwards, I'll resume more work on Magma Girl while creating yet another tiny game to release during development.

Musically Grounded

Well, I have begun checking out possible music selections while I am trying to balance my free time and work. I am thinking of going with a more techno-based sound, but I will know more once the stages have been finalized. More updates will be available next weekend.

Stalled Flight

Aside from doing some minor testing and planning, not much progress has been made this week. I will be working on some bits for research and testing for this time period. I will have further updates next week.

Jump, Jump

Well, most of the controls are finished for Jet Pack Jive. There will me some testing in an attempt to create a more complex game, but it will still be based around jumping, using the jet pack to increase one's jump, using the jet pack to blast enemies below, and reaching the top of the stage. I have the general characters and story plotted out, but it will be more mechanic heavy. If I was going to make an epic story, it would be more suited for a comic or cartoon and not a piece of interactive entertainment.

Jump and Jive

Well, I've started on the new side project while I'm re-hacking out the Magma Girl development plan. Jet Pack Jive will be a short three level climber game with a unique downward shooting mechanic. The game will play similar to Kid Icarus and Contra, with three to five power-ups and no bosses. As jumping will be a major mechanic, I will be spending a good chunk of time making it function smoothly. Tune in next week for more updates.

Plan B from Outer Space

Well, I have some good news and bad news. The bad news is Magma Girl is being put on hold for a bit. Keep in mind, it is not being canceled. The entire scope of the game is much larger than I can manage with a full time job and expect a release after three to six months of development time. In the mean time, I'll work on the game here and there while I rebuild my plan for the project. Right now I am thinking of creating a simple three stage platformer based around height instead of distance. I will be sure to add more info once this project has a good foundation.

Working Out

Not really that much progress this week. My new job has not left me with much time or energy to focus on the project recently. I have since developed a proper since of work rhythm for my current occupation and March will be filled with much greater progress. I am already working on a new schedule to increase productivity and hopefully allow Magma Girl to be available for download by Summer 2010. Keep watching for more news next week.

Boss Time

Another slow week. I am currently working on getting the first boss planned out along with figuring out how to block together stage two. More news to follow next week.

Minor Fixes and Little Else

Nothing worth reporting aside from some level maintenance here and there this week. Hope everyone has a nice Valentine's Day. More detailed news should appear next weekend.

Working Out

Welcome to another Saturday update. I have stage 1-1 blocked out and the prep work done for all of the other stages finished. Aside from the bosses and enemy AIs, not much is left before art and sound will be all that is left. I am going to wait a few weeks before creating a game play video or trailer, as the game is not at a good point for prototypes and demos. Also, as I have started full time work as a web developer, progress may slow down a bit more. I am expecting Magma Girl to be finished and available sometime this summer. If all goes well, it may even be ready by spring. Attached below you will find a new screenshot detailing stage 1-1.

More Leveling

Still working on the level and enemy designs. I will work on sending out an image or video link for next week. Progress will be slowing down a bit as I start a new job on Monday.

Leveling Up

Well, its been a slow week. I'm still plotting out the levels and scene breaks. The cutscenes are probably going to be comic panels with the option to skip right into the action despite the risk of disconnection between the stages and breaks. I will have more info posted next week.

Pause for Danger!

I managed to finish one of the enemy AIs, nail down the side-scrolling, tossed in the placeholder and scripts for the death animation, made a short song for the credits and direction parts, and I put in a functional pause button. The downside is that pausing will requires a middle mouse click for use, as pressing any keyboard key will cause the game to unpause. Right now, the majority of the prototype phase is completed. The next few weeks will be based around planning and plotting the stages, creating more enemy AIs, working on various music pieces, hacking out the various lose screens and stage transitions, and working out the bosses. Stop by next week for more updates.

Losing with Grace

The basic menu system and losing mechanic has been completed. On a related note, it seems that the amount of health the player has can able to be carried from room to room. This should allow for multi-room stages without having the health reset to full each time a transition occurs. Further testing will be needed to confirm this. Next on the list will be creating a few of the enemy AIs, placing in the death animation placeholder, work on the side-scrolling mechanic, and see if I can get a short song finished for a menu or cutscene. Tune in next week for more news and another in-game image.

Item Get!

Happy new year, everyone. Now that my cold and the holiday seasons are done with, progress should continue at a decent pace. As of now, all of the items for this game have been finished. Player death, the lose screen, and menus are next on the to do list. Here's a short preview of what is currently in the engine. Be sure to tune in next week.