tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19413750617633052522011-11-27T19:46:55.941-05:00"They laughed at me at the bus stop in front of The Academy..." <br><br> Want to design and produce a high quality video game with absolutely no technical knowledge about how to do it? No problem. <br><br> Follow along as one man teaches himself (almost) every aspect of video game design from scratch and eventually produces a playable 3d game demo.R. Scott Kennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11096457605594470141noreply@blogger.comBlogger331100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1941375061763305252.post-46073841373184247162010-09-11T06:05:00.001-04:002010-09-11T06:07:10.081-04:00

I recently started work again, and I'm making much better progress. As you can imagine, I was surprised to see the new Old Spice ad. :D I hope I can release a demo before this ad falls out of the public eye. I'll be getting my demo together as soon as possible. Here are some more screenshots from the past few days.

R. Scott Kennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11096457605594470141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1941375061763305252.post-79014364515575754992010-09-11T05:48:00.002-04:002010-09-11T06:08:02.199-04:00

R. Scott Kennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11096457605594470141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1941375061763305252.post-52247022664552283902010-02-18T11:04:00.000-05:002010-02-18T11:04:40.539-05:00

These are screenshots of the Hollow world level, in progress. The objective will be to get the world's Guardian Spirit to agree to allow colonies by show of force. It's a very primal world, and there will hopefully be dinosaurs running and flying around (if I can get my head around the whole rigging/animation thing).

R. Scott Kennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11096457605594470141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1941375061763305252.post-86413599116299741932009-11-29T07:07:00.003-05:002009-11-29T07:09:34.109-05:00

Rigging 3d Models for animation is harder than actually modeling them- at least it seems that way to me. Starting over on rigging the Whalien. I'm going to make sure to do it right. I could probably get the animations I need with the clumsy rig I have so far, but I want a fancy one that makes it easier. Better to learn the correct habits now.This is definitely a lot of work, but it's worth it.

R. Scott Kennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11096457605594470141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1941375061763305252.post-6904772040856836092009-11-21T08:38:00.005-05:002009-11-21T09:13:48.267-05:00

I thought about leaving the last post as it is; an indication that I'm still making progress. But I should give anyone who's still following the blog more info than that.Those screenshots were from a test standalone binary; a windows EXE.So far you can't do more than fly around, and if you go too high or low, the camera won't come with you. I'll probably have it fixed, along with yaw control by

R. Scott Kennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11096457605594470141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1941375061763305252.post-9643988340139002452009-11-21T08:35:00.003-05:002009-11-21T09:05:35.993-05:00

R. Scott Kennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11096457605594470141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1941375061763305252.post-78022897889829792332009-07-29T20:26:00.003-04:002009-07-29T20:39:37.703-04:00

Remember that post about how I often change my mind to help a project? How I make more work for myself in order to do something right?Well, that's what's up now. I am still very much on this project. Maybe even more so than before. Only, I'm taking a slightly more circuitous route. I'm doing a lot of background design right now- rules that the player will interface with, etc. I'm killing two

R. Scott Kennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11096457605594470141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1941375061763305252.post-74431495726354424712009-06-11T16:33:00.005-04:002009-11-21T09:04:28.127-05:00

And it's glorious. Thanks again to Ben Schultz. Anything I do on this project from now on is thanks to him.The measurements that he gave me said that the monitor was slightly smaller than what I'd been using at the beginning of the project, but I don't notice a difference. Additionally, my monitor must have gradually gotten fuzzier, because the image seems crisper than the one it's replacing. It

R. Scott Kennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11096457605594470141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1941375061763305252.post-12834949833680875682009-06-10T09:14:00.004-04:002009-11-21T09:03:49.909-05:00

Being a big mouth pays off.My new monitor is on its way. It's technically not new, but it's big enough to let me get back to work.Here's how it happened.I had an internet altercation whereby I shot my mouth off on a forum without knowing the facts. This kind of thing happens about once a month. I tend to exhaust myself so the creativity flows more easily, but my judgment suffers as well. This can

R. Scott Kennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11096457605594470141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1941375061763305252.post-89900671272748642232009-05-31T22:09:00.002-04:002009-05-31T22:14:44.868-04:00

I've got the RAM, and will probably have the monitor on Wednesday. I'm selling some things on Craigslist, and the buyer for the biggest cash item can buy it then.The problem with the old monitor is that it has a cracked solder joint. That's the *only* problem.I'm going to keep looking into it to determine if it's something I can fix without killing myself. I understand that opening a CRT monitor

R. Scott Kennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11096457605594470141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1941375061763305252.post-42159495321138888732009-05-26T17:25:00.002-04:002009-05-26T17:29:25.801-04:00

I'm waiting to get a new Stick of RAM and especially a new monitor. My old 21" monitor died, and the replacement (hauled off the curb when someone else threw it out) is barely suitable for word processing. I've done a little bit of 3d work with what I have, including the beginning of a new design for the P.E.C.E.It shouldn't be more than a few weeks before I can get back to work in earnest.

R. Scott Kennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11096457605594470141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1941375061763305252.post-9935277723408856912009-04-25T21:23:00.006-04:002009-04-25T21:45:58.795-04:00

Man, this character sucks.I'm going to have to start over on him. He's a steampunk robot who's meant to be a the sidekick for the Steampunk ship's pilot. I "designed" him to be whimsical (check), goofy-looking (check), steampunk (check), and awesome (Nope). Part of his schtick was that he resented the form he was designed with. I started to give him a Penny Farthing (the old fashioned bicycle

R. Scott Kennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11096457605594470141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1941375061763305252.post-38066549365368765752009-04-09T12:44:00.002-04:002009-04-09T13:10:24.546-04:00

Well, my friend won't be joining the project. He doesn't enjoy the programming. Ironically, I *do* enjoy what little programming I've done over the years, even though it's not easy for me. For this kind of project, it's probably best to make sure that everything is done by someone who's passionate about their area.I've also learned a lesson. I've come close to learning this lesson in the past,

R. Scott Kennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11096457605594470141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1941375061763305252.post-4722758628484932152009-04-08T00:06:00.006-04:002009-04-08T01:35:54.011-04:00

I've had some real life things to attend to, but I am still on the project. I should be back in full force tomorrow.In other news, I've offered a place on the project to an old friend- one of only two people I personally know who I'd trust on a creative project this important to me (I'd absolutely work with professionals, but not necessarily a friend who just thought it would be cool but couldn't

R. Scott Kennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11096457605594470141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1941375061763305252.post-78589981997595732422009-03-30T09:42:00.003-04:002009-03-30T09:49:06.510-04:00

"Counterpoint Games" was a bit generic, so I've changed my operation's name to "One Man, Banned" or OMB. It's "Banned", not because I can't spell, but because I have felt in the past that there was a wall between me and the industry, so I have to do it myself. And of course, it's a play on..stuff.I still don't know if it's clever or stupid, but I think it has more character. The URL will remain

R. Scott Kennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11096457605594470141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1941375061763305252.post-74067656680287621052009-03-29T11:18:00.007-04:002009-03-29T11:44:12.937-04:00

Here she is in her clothing.To get the folds in her dress, I selected the faces that followed the desired curve, extruded, moved, and scaled them, then smoothed the edges to make it look better.From the back, in shadow and light...Her hemline, and a bit of detail on the sandals. The second picture of the sandals is what I changed the texture to after I rendered most of these, so it's most

R. Scott Kennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11096457605594470141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1941375061763305252.post-82989498451284583332009-03-28T05:45:00.003-04:002009-03-28T05:50:37.041-04:00

In order to finally shake the sick feeling I had recently, I had to take a couple of days off. The good thing is that it was hard to do and I'm eager to get back to work. I'll try not to go so nuts with the all-nighters (except on weekends), but I think I'll be able to keep up a good pace.In related news, I'm looking forward to buying another stick of RAM to max out my computer soon. It should

R. Scott Kennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11096457605594470141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1941375061763305252.post-22080449130585950302009-03-26T09:06:00.004-04:002009-03-26T09:21:08.463-04:00

I wanted a warmer look for this character. She doesn't look particularly Mediterranean, but the Empire is huge. Rome itself was a very multicultural society, and so is Brendir, its partial Mystic Space analogue. She'll look more like a member of such a culture once I model her dress and sandals.I changed the original model because, as I said, she looked pretty cold and in the story mode of the

R. Scott Kennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11096457605594470141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1941375061763305252.post-27615295217734772862009-03-25T06:18:00.003-04:002009-03-25T06:29:31.421-04:00

I know, the thread title sounds like an ad, but I assure you, I'm just a psyched newbie. When I first got into this project, the Unity site mentioned that 2.5 would be coming, with features like standalone Windows binaries, etc. It looked great. I'm glad I've waited to download the trial, so I'll get to use the new version.I may be remembering incorrectly, but it looks like the Indy version's

R. Scott Kennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11096457605594470141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1941375061763305252.post-65005550209257147902009-03-25T02:55:00.002-04:002009-03-25T03:12:40.323-04:00

I'm still working on the game every day, despite the lack of daily updates. I'm taking my time on the female character, "Deandra". I think that aiming for finishing the demo this summer is pretty realistic- some things are quick, but others take more time.I've attached some preliminary images of her, without formal textures. I do have some textures on her but I'm not happy with them yet. I can't

R. Scott Kennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11096457605594470141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1941375061763305252.post-33161658260398796092009-03-21T03:48:00.002-04:002009-03-21T03:52:54.468-04:00

I'm getting a bit sick from pushing myself so hard. I'm going to knock off earlier than I planned to. Right now I'm working on the pilot of the Thraxian (ancient world) ship. I decided to make her a woman, and I've come up with more interesting backstory for her. Plus, I think a Greek-styled dress is more visually interesting than a toga. I'll see if my wife wants to do her voice.

R. Scott Kennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11096457605594470141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1941375061763305252.post-3320387281538336472009-03-20T05:45:00.001-04:002009-03-20T05:56:11.903-04:00

I can't seem to imbed the videos easily enough for my sleep-deprived mind to handle right now, but I wanted to share two links:The Mona Lisa , Pong and more done with a herd of sheep wearing LED vests...And The Mona Lisa painted in pure HTML. That's right- no images, just pure code.These guys are awesome, and it's definitely encouraging to see what kind of things are possible with determination.

R. Scott Kennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11096457605594470141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1941375061763305252.post-41667403392980657432009-03-19T17:27:00.009-04:002009-03-19T18:27:11.063-04:00

My Son calls this thing a "Whalien". I call it a Tanin (Plural: Taninim), after the mythical celestial whales from Hebrew Folklore. This is the Mother, and there will be a calf as well, which I'll create from the same mesh.These guys are important to the demo scenario. One culture reveres them as godlike beings, while the other culture hunts them to harvest their magic. The protagonists are in

R. Scott Kennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11096457605594470141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1941375061763305252.post-24887756306855307752009-03-18T03:15:00.006-04:002009-03-18T04:07:33.214-04:00

Here it is. The other ship. It's called the "Astral Talon". The purple crystals are for propulsion, and the red ones are for firing weapons.The Reddish metal bit on the chest is hard to make out, but it's the cargo bay doors. There are smaller tall rectangular doors in the mouth and at the back of claw that holds the cockpit. I figured pictures of those might be a bit boring, though. To board the

R. Scott Kennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11096457605594470141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1941375061763305252.post-76069908551130044612009-03-16T17:49:00.000-04:002009-03-16T18:02:36.756-04:00

If you've been reading along, you might notice that I say "I'll do X" and when I post the next update, it turns out I did something a bit different. Sometimes in the previous post it might have seemed like I was very firm in my position, so the change comes as a surprise.That has a lot to do with the way I've always done creative work. If I come up with a better idea, I'm willing to change

R. Scott Kennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11096457605594470141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1941375061763305252.post-30100672333386113132009-03-16T09:13:00.000-04:002009-03-16T09:28:09.907-04:00

My first attempt at the Ancient world ship was pretty basic, but I'd like to detail it a bit more. I'm only posting the above to show you the basic motif. The ship above was the first attempt. I'm going to go bit heavier on the bird motif- detailing feathers, facial features, and giving it talons. The fuselage which holds the crystal cockpit above will be mostly the same, but the talon motif that

R. Scott Kennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11096457605594470141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1941375061763305252.post-6982785070804384382009-03-15T18:25:00.000-04:002009-03-15T18:44:26.147-04:00

Ok, here are the pictures of Andros, the Androgynous Base Mesh. This is a unisex mesh, from which I can make male or female characters- which is why it looks so bizarre. The important part is that whichever I need, I have the vertices for. I just have to move them around. I ended up taking my hand-built mesh and sculpting, altering, and further developing it, rather than sculpting the whole thing

R. Scott Kennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11096457605594470141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1941375061763305252.post-57383069594289521492009-03-15T09:52:00.000-04:002009-03-15T10:12:35.616-04:00

A few more delays on the human mesh.I've been doing my humanoid mesh the hard way, and it's been looking kind of mediocre. No worse than the character models of a few generations ago, but still not as nice as I'd like for a modern game. Maybe the video tutorials I was using were old or based on methods from those times?I probably could have used it, but it would end up taking a lot longer to get

R. Scott Kennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11096457605594470141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1941375061763305252.post-81473083758144636102009-03-14T13:23:00.000-04:002009-03-14T13:28:55.511-04:00

I had a few issues with my male mesh, and it's taken longer than I thought. I just want this one to be as good as possible and easily adaptable to any humanoid form I need- meaning a set of generic features that can be distorted or exaggerated as needed without adding any new polygons- which makes it more challenging for a beginner like me. I just have to do the ears, teeth(texture-ready ridges,

R. Scott Kennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11096457605594470141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1941375061763305252.post-60520564350811173282009-03-09T08:27:00.001-04:002009-03-09T08:34:09.225-04:00

I'm working on basic character meshes for the intro movies of the demo. I'm doing a male and female generic human, which I'll alter to create specific characters. Both are of average proportions, not video game proportions. :) My characters will likely be a bit more cartoonish, but it's good to have average as the starting point.For the intro movies, I'm thinking of showing a bit of downtime on

R. Scott Kennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11096457605594470141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1941375061763305252.post-7127774223311062342009-03-05T09:20:00.000-05:002009-03-05T09:55:45.086-05:00

This is the high polygon version of the Steampunk ship, obviously. As a high polygon model, it's not suitable for game use, but if I do an animation sequence or intro movie it will work well.I'm calling it a P.E.C.E, for "Pugilistic Ether Conveyance Engine". It's not complete- I still need to add weapons, a cargo port, and change some details, but it's starting to look the way I want it to. The

R. Scott Kennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11096457605594470141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1941375061763305252.post-43289679899479496062009-03-05T08:39:00.001-05:002009-03-05T10:33:20.779-05:00

Now, a bit about my first project. I'm calling it "Mystic Space". It's going to be a one level demo of a space combat game. After it's done I'm hoping to expand it to a full game. I won't say just how ambitious I hope to get, but the demo will be a testing ground for the larger concept.The one level demo will be a pre-beta test of the concepts and game play.Unlike most space games, it's not

R. Scott Kennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11096457605594470141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1941375061763305252.post-67088759395942339592009-03-05T06:15:00.000-05:002009-03-05T11:41:19.484-05:00

I've been working on the preliminary stages of a video game. I'm doing the whole thing alone, minus some royalty free assets like sound effects. I'm a pen and paper game designer who hasn't been able to get a shot at designing video games, so I've decided to do it mostly alone (Who needs those other guys?). I'll be asking friends for help with things I can't do, like female voices, or extra

R. Scott Kennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11096457605594470141noreply@blogger.com0