Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Egan_BW]

I'm not really sure why the url shortener is necessary here; the full b12 link shouldn't take up too many more characters, and these posts aren't close to the post character limit. Guess it must just be so you can tell where the link goes by the address, makes things look nicer.

[Solifuge]

GM CHAT TIME, APPARENTLY:

I didn't meant to neglect these comments. Been busy getting the thing started! ><;

PTW

Why am I not in this already?

PTW for the time being.

Posting to watch.

I love the art style so far!

It's good to have ya! Hope to see ya posting around, from time to time.

This looks really cool, even after just one update!

Nice art!

Meowsong bestsong 2016.

Thanks for the kind words, y'all. ISGs take time and effort, but they've been a great way to practice creative skills and multimedia design stuff in the past. I'm enjoying making this, and I'm glad you're enjoying it so far, too!

Er, you do know we can't read alt-text on phones, right?

Yeah. I want to keep things accessible on different devices, but I'm fond of the Alt-Text thing. It helps keep the posts from being huge with optional RULES text that bogs down the pacing. I'll do my best to explain the relevant bits, and might make a RULES section in the OP at some point, for reference.

If something doesn't work on your device, or I forget to update reference info like that, please remind me!

Soli where'd you learn all this sorcery with the navigation image links
and where can I learn how that works?
What's that github thing that the song is hosted by?
How long is the drawing taking you on this in general, typically?

I'll tell ya, Gunin, but ya gotta post suggestion(s)! :I

1. BBCode is pretty well-documented. I just spent an afternoon playing with it until I managed formatting stuff I liked. It varies from site to site, but the tags can generally be nested and combined to do more complex stuff. If you want to see some of the formatting I use, quote one of the game posts.

As for the links, kinda like Egan_BW said at the end. I'm mostly using bit.ly to make posting links easier, and for the analytics (to see how peeps are using the links, so I know what formatting to bother with). Mostly, it's so I can write the easy-to-remember link in a post beforehand, and add the new post's URL later without editing the old post.

2. Github is space for hosting projects online. Usually it's used for collaborative software projects and code, but you can also use it to host files (like the images) and make webpages. Dropbox used to do this, but they recently discontinued the ability to host HTML, so I'm switching the over to something 100% better, with a small learning curve. Only "downside" is that the backend is public.

3. On the plus side, the public backend means that you can see how long it takes to do updates! Sorta! It's getting faster as I've got more of the basic poses for sprites down, and more map tiles for the current region done. Generally, it takes a few evenings of work, when it's new-art heavy, or means designing a new area. Otherwise... probably just a few hours for writing and formatting. I've got a block of time, this month, so it makes all this set-up stuff considerably easier!

If I built my own webpage to mirror the ISG on, a lot of this stuff would be easier, and it'd open up some new options for some of the multimedia things I want to do. I might do that, once I find the time to learn the necessary HTML and Javascript stuff. But that's gonna have to wait until next year. Ludum Dare this weekend, and that's gonna keep me pretty booked if I compete.

[Egan_BW]

Ohh, that trick with being able to change where the link goes without editing the post itself sounds handy, I'll remember that if I ever try to be as fancy as you
.
One thing I'd recommend is to make the "next post" button go somewhere when there's not a new post yet. Right now the link from http://bit.ly/AshwoodCross2 to http://bit.ly/AshwoodCross3 just goes to the bit.ly error page, which might confuse anyone going through archives. I'd recommend having that go to the same place as http://bit.ly/AshwoodCrossReply until there's an actual update there.

[Kadzar]

Flick on that flashlight quick for any sign of scary things!
Then flick it on when you're pretty sure there aren't any!
Hold both Mori and the plushie for safety

+1

[Doubloon-Seven]

Flick on that flashlight quick for any sign of scary things!
Then flick it on when you're pretty sure there aren't any!
Hold both Mori and the plushie for safety

+1

Let there be +1

[DolosusDoleus]

^+1

[Tiruin]

Eep! I should've worded that somewhat like 'stick to the wall, peer inside slowly and flick on the flashlight and then quickly flick it off while hiding back behind the wall. Remember that quick flashback, then being sure, flick it on permanently and check'. Y'know, like...what anyone would do in horror games other than quicksaving every time tension seems to build up? :O

In which a tired Tiruin does not go well with words. ._. I'm glad it's a restful month for me now though. x_x

Solii: Could you mention what art program you're using to make all those nice pixel designs? I remember you did so before, but it wasn't a post. (Like the shading vs the pixelated contrast)

[Parsely]

Name the kitty "Panzor".

[DolosusDoleus]

Investigate the glowy red spot

[Tiruin]

Investigate the glowy red spot

Flick the flashlight on, *NEAR* that spot!

[Parsely]

Here's a YouTube channel about how to play the Ukelele.

[Solifuge]

This Dark Passage is aptly named. It's hard to see anything in here! Anything except for a Small Red Light in the near distance. But you do feel a thick, slow breeze around you. And smell a lot of earthy, dusty smells as it moves past.

But curses, now we lack food!

For a moment, you worry about how you don't have any food. You take further stock of your current CONDITIONS.

SATED: ≫ HANA HAS EATEN RECENTLY. ≫ SHE WILL BECOME HUNGRY AFTER A DAY WITHOUT FOOD.

You're feeling pretty SATED, and are okay on food right now. You could eat, but your stomach isn't protesting with HUNGER or anything.

At least we can sling that duffel bag for another storage! Flick on that flashlight quick for any sign of scary things! Then flick it on when you're pretty sure there aren't any! Hold both Mori and the plushie for safety

You rifle through your equipped Duffle Bag in the Total Darkness. You pull out what feels like the Duffel Bag, Flashlight, Cat Plushie, and Mori the Ukulele. Unfortunately, you only have 2 Open Equipment Slots remaining! And that's not enough to carry all these items at once. You try to avoid dropping any items onto the ground, as you fumble blindly with them.

Spoiler: 2 Grace + 2 Wit - 1 Can't See ★★★ <VS> Difficulty ★ (click to show/hide) Success!

Phew! You dread what might've happened if you dropped that Flashlight. Or anything, in this Darkness. Who knows where it'd have ended up? The momentary panic subsides, as you blindly tuck the other items back into the Duffel. You decide to equip the Flashlight, and keep your other hand free for now.

Definitely check out the red glowy thing with the flashlight. It's almost certainly not a horrible monster preying on the memory-addled.

A monster preying on the memory-addled? That's not a pleasant thought. Still... you're here, and your curiosity outweighs your fear of the unknown. Let's see what we're looking at here, you think to yourself. You click the Flashlight on, and point it toward the Small Red Light.

Spoiler: GM NOTES: (click to show/hide)

Solii: Could you mention what art program you're using to make all those nice pixel designs? I remember you did so before, but it wasn't a post. (Like the shading vs the pixelated contrast)

Here's my process as it sits. First, I sketch out User-Interface stuff, characters, and terrain on graph paper. I like the graph lines, for keeping the sizing consistent. This is probably weird, but I don't care! >:U

After that, I use my mouse and a cheap Huion drawing tablet, plus GraphicsGale for Pixel Art, Animation, and the occasional Oekaki-style illustration. I start by making basic Tile Shape Dummies and Sprite Dummies in the basic poses I want, before painting the characters, so the look stays consistent. Once the Sprites and Tiles are done, I assemble Zones using them and the Tiled map editor.

When I need special effects, or am illustrating something more Photoshoppy or High-Fidelity and less Pixelly, I use Krita and/or Gimp. These haven't come up in this project yet, though! It almost did, while working out how to do the Flashlight Effect, and a few as of yet unseen effects. Right now for lighting, I've got alternate tilesets that are lit from different directions, and I use a beam-shaped mask to pick which tileset to reveal, sorta. I really don't want to animate it ever, so please no swinging the light around willy-nilly. At least not until I figure out a better method, or get more comfortable with the workflow! :3

Some Sprite Dummies!


Some Tile Dummies!

One thing I'd recommend is to make the "next post" button go somewhere when there's not a new post yet. Right now the link from http://bit.ly/AshwoodCross2 to http://bit.ly/AshwoodCross3 just goes to the bit.ly error page, which might confuse anyone going through archives. I'd recommend having that go to the same place as http://bit.ly/AshwoodCrossReply until there's an actual update there.

That's a good idea. I was just doing it this way so I didn't have to edit the old post with the new URL, but it makes more sense to do it this way.

This also gives me other ideas! Bweehehehe etc.

[Kadzar]

That sort of looks like a button. I say we try pushing it, to perhaps better illuminate our situation.

[Dermonster]

A button!

Push it PUSH IT PUSH IT PUSH IT PUSH IT

[S34N1C]

A button!

Push it PUSH IT PUSH IT PUSH IT PUSH IT

+1