Pyweek is Over — What comes next

Yes, after a week of emotions, programming, drawing in Inkscape, and uploading demos, Pyweek has ended!

Judging is still in progress, but I’ll post my scores and placing when they are in.

—-

I’ve been thinking about what comes next in my life.

I’ve been considering competing in the Pyggy Awards, which is a three-month follow-up to Pyweek. I think, though, that I want to take a break from my Pyweek game for a while first.

That said, I’ve been kicking around a few ideas for what to do with my newfound spare time.

First, I will start work on Penelope. I like the concept, and I think it would be a good one to pursue.

Second, there will be two other projects I will work on, both in Ruby/SDL

All three of these are long-term projects

—-

In addition, I will consider entering the Pyggy awards. I was originally very excited about them, but had no idea about how bored I would get of my game!

But eh, I’ll probably enter in it. I just won’t be devoting 100% of my time to it like I did during Pyweek.

—

That’s about all I really have to say. Like I said earlier, I’ll post the Pyweek results for my game later, for the curious.

Peace.

—Henry

Shelving Polly — Writing an Adventure Game

Pyweek thus far has shown me numerous design errors that were present in Polly’s Adventure.

Until I can resolve those issues, I’m extending its stay on the shelf.

I will instead be working on something else entirely. I will be working on an adventure game.

The (tentative) title of the game is Penelope, after its protagonist.

The Plot:

One day, in the kingdom of Brickton, just outside of the town of Redlow, a young woman named Penelope Green nervously approached an old wizard’s house. You see, Penelope was seeking a solution to a problem. She had always been sad, for as long as she could remember. Now, her life was fairly  comfortable, she sold flowers in the market, and that kept her fairly comfortable. She was still sad. She felt ugly, unloved, and like her life was pointless.

Penelope thought that surely the wizard would be able to help her.

When she entered, she was greeted by a large raven that stared at her and cawed loudly. There was the sound of footsteps, and an old man in a blue robe entered the room. He greeted her warmly, and Penelope mumbled a reply.

She told the wizard her story. He thought a moment, and then a wise grin spread across his face. He hurried to a shelf, and picked up a bottle full of a blue liquid.

He handed the bottle to Penelope, telling her to drink the bottle at the dawn of the next day. He said that the process was not an easy one, but that it was fully possible.

Penelope hurried home, and lept into her bed. She had finally found a cure for her sorrow!

The next morning, Penelope got up and popped the cork out of the bottle. The liquid smelled of berries, and shimmered a bit in the morning light. She drank the elixir in one gulp, and waited for it to take effect.

Penelope felt a tingle, and then passed out. When she awoke, she quickly realized that she had been tranformed into a fox!

Tears formed in her eyes. She had been tricked by the old wizard, and now she would be forced to live amongst the animals for the rest of her life!

The raven who had greeted Penelope at the wizard’s home perched in the windowsill. She looked up and glared at the bird, cursing its appearance in her mind.

The raven let out a devilish chuckle, then cleared his throat. He told Penelope that the wizard had decided that she needed to learn to enjoy things in life, and that she was being given a break from her routine to help her do so. The raven continued, saying that when she could demonstrate that she had found joy, the wizard would be happy to change her back.

He then stood a moment, scolded her for glaring at him because he had nothing to do with the whole affair, and then took off into the sky.

The game starts here

That’s what I have so far. Well, and this:

The game will be played from an overhead perspective, and will be tile-based. It will be written in Ruby using GTK+, with a GTK::Drawable serving as the display screen, and regular GTK+ widgets and frames forming the remainder of the interface.

The secret to finishing games… D-:

I just saw Pymike’s warmup game on the Pyweek website.

How does he do that?! D:

I… Can’t finish a game.

*Sigh* I guess I just need to keep working…

—Henry

Polly’s Adventure — Weapon List

I’ve got a tentative list of weapons for Polly’s Adventure. 😀

Arms: (One weapon on each arm)

• Machine Gun
• Gatling Gun
• Flamethrower
• Laser
• Plasma Cannon
• Dual Laser
• Shotgun
• Missile Launcher
• Swarmer Missiles
• Phaser
• Mines
• Bombs
• (Or none on both arms if the player wants to lift things)

Shoulders: (One weapon on each shoulder)

• Gatling Gun
• Cannon
• Laser
• Heavy Laser
• Rocket Launcher
• Swarmer Missiles
• Pounder Missiles (Sort of a concussion missile)
• Flamethrower
• Plasma Cannon
• Ball Lightning Cannon
• (Or a lamp for dark areas)

Back: (Only one)

• Mine Layer
• (Or a box of ammo)
• (Or one of a couple types of jetpack)

Chest: (Only one)

• Grenade Launcher
• Machine Gun
• Laser
• (Or flares for dark areas)

The player can also put one of a few types of feet on their armor:

• Dash Boosters
• Flight Boosters
• Running Boots (Doubles running speed)
• Tungsten Boots (Allows player to walk on most hazardous surfaces, but halves running speed)

The player can also choose from five bodies:

• Normal
• Light (Double speed, half health)
• Heavy (Half speed, double health)
• Turtle (Quarter speed, quadruple health)
• Hare (Quadruple speed, quarter health)

Each of these parts goes through four levels, zero through three. Level zero parts have blue trim, level one parts have green trim, level two parts have yellow trim, and level three parts have red trim.

—-

I’ll start working seriously on the assets after Pyweek. In fact, I’m declaring this game shelved until after the competition. I’ll revisit it in a week. 🙂

For now, I’ll start thinking about my Pyweek game.

Pyweek — Looking forward to tomorrow!

Tomorrow evening marks the beginning of Pyweek 8!

I’m really excited! OwO

I can’t wait until the theme is announced!

*Sigh* Guess I’ll have to wait, though. 😛

Polly’s Adventure — About the Character (And a few other things…)

I thought I’d write down some information about the protagonist of Polly’s Adventure, as well as the setting, to kind of solidify them in my mind.

So, here goes.

—-

The game takes place in a near-future world, where mobile robots have become fairly commonplace, and humans share the world with numerous types of sentient animals.

These robots are more often than not piloted, though autonomous machines exist. The robots serve a variety of functions, from mining to construction, but have not largely superceded wheeled vehicles in the area of transportation.

Piloted robots, particularly those where the pilot is on-board, are called “Powered Armors”, remotely-piloted robots are called “Puppet Armors”, and non-piloted robots are simply called robots.

Specifically, the game takes place in northern Michigan.

In the area where the game is set, a band of thieves known as the Locktooth Gang have been raiding small towns, like the one the protagonist lives in. They have mainly taken machine parts, but have also stolen food, clothing, and even money. Few people have tried to stand up to them, as even police armors cannot seem to get the better of Locktooth’s machines.

The governor has yet to act on the matter of the Locktooth Gang, and there are rumors that the gang’s leader, James Locktooth, has been blackmailing him into not cracking down.

Rumor has it that the Locktooth Gang has a secret hideout somewhere in the Upper Peninsula, but no one knows where to look for it, or even if it really exists.

—-

Polly Lorraine Rose is an inventor from Edison, Michigan. Her day job is that of engine mechanic at Toby’s Motor Hut, the business her best friend owns.

Polly has built numerous machines, including a machine she has named “The Pug”, a robotic armor which can be mounted with a variety of tools.

During the course of the game, the player will come across numerous machine parts, which they can use to build upgrades to and new components for the Pug. This will be handled by a menu system between levels.

Polly is a tomboy, through and through. She hates makeup, loves the smell of motor oil, and refuses to wear a skirt. She can be a bit too gung-ho at times, though, and often charges blindly into things without forethought.

Polly has long blond hair which she ties back in pigtails, and typically wears a dark gray tank top, olive green baggy pants, and work boots. She has the typical orange and white fox fur pattern, with black marks on her muzzle.

It’s bloody hot here! D:

I hate Michigan summers. 😦

It always seems to get hot before I’m ready.

Ah well, that’s life, I guess.

Hoodang, relaxing day! Now back to work!

I’ve decided to cut my day off short. I feel better, I feel relaxed, and I am bored out of my skull.

I’ve made some tentative decisions about Polly’s Adventure. I’ve been changing my mind alot in the last couple of days. I’ll post the details, though, when I get them worked out in my head and in text. ^_^

—Henry

Takin’ A Break Today

Today, I’m gonna take a break. I’m going to be lazy, get nothing done, and maybe even go out to the park for a walk.

I need to de-stress, I need to exercise, and I need a break.

Might update here or on Twitter, but I’m not going to work today. My C++ exam project can wait until tomorrow, studying for the CO230 exam can wait until tomorrow, and every project I have started can wait until tomorrow.

Today, I relax. =^..^=

—Henry

About Me — I’m a Furry

Since I’m starting to see more views here, I thought I’d tell a bit more about myself.

I’m a furry. My alter-ego is a red fox named Thomas McDaniel, and he is Scottish. My character is a mechanic, and builds steam engines in his spare time.

But this post is about me.

I’ve been a furry in some way or another for most of my life. Since I was a little kid, before I had any idea there was such a thing, I had alot of the traits.

I like to maintain a sense of humor about the fandom, like I do with most of my interests. I can take a joke. ^_^

I feel a strong connection with foxes. I sometimes like to ascribe spiritual aspects to the matter, but that really depends on my mood.

I don’t like being sad. When I feel down, I like to try to pick myself up and move on. I feel like when a person is sad, they should try to help themselves, because that’s where all help begins.

I’m a loving person. I love hugging and cuddling. I admit, I’m kind of touchy-feely.

I enjoy doing. I love to be engaged in something, and have a number of hobbies including programming (As anyone can see from my previous posts), sewing plush toys, cooking, and collecting super balls.

I have had issues in the recent months (Well, okay, about two years) in terms of motivation. I have been trying to get interested in things again, though.

I am very passionate, and put alot of emotion behind the things I do. I figure if you’re going to do something, you might as well do it well.

I have had alot of self-conflict lately as far as what kind of car I’d like to drive. I’m planning on getting my drivers’ license this summer (I never ended up going to drivers’ training in high school ). I’ve been leaning towards getting a Smart, but I’ve also thought about a Vespa or an electric vehicle.

Phew! Feels good to get all of that out! X-D

That’s a bit about me. So… hello. It’s nice to meet you. 🙂

—Henry