Vivarium Game Dev Blog

[Vivarium Game Dev Blog]

Showing off the camera system in a pre-alpha map created by @littlenimart

(These are placeholder graphics, not representative of the look of the final game.)

[Vivarium Game Dev Blog]

[freedomlanes]

Here’s a sneak peek at the scoring screen. I love the look of the super crappy bowling monitors at trashy old bowling alleys so I decided to recreate that kind of effect.

I’m not really an advanced programmer so figuring out the scoring for the tenth frame was really difficult for me. The way it works is a bit janky but it does work! A full game with your league is playable in this early state. I have a rudimentary “AI” for your opponents that reads accuracy, spin and power values from an array. Those are the three main game mechanics of bowling so far. 

The thing that I’m most excited about though is the dialogue system.

Have you ever played a sports game where you have conversations and dialogue options during the actual sports gameplay?

In Freedom Lanes you will have conversations with your league (and opponents) every match. After your roll you will watch your teammates roll and dialogue will run along the bottom of the screen. 

Sometimes it will be casual, sometimes it will get serious, but it will always be interesting and reveal something new about the characters and the town they inhabit. Your choices will affect branching dialogue paths and change some characters’ opinions on your personality. 

Stay tuned for a new character reveal next week!

[Vivarium Game Dev Blog]

Revisiting the item inventory system (using prototype graphic assets) –

I’ve decided that I want to build a Equipped Item system, with a dedicated button tied to using that item. (Think early Zelda games.) Prior to this, the player would have to open the menu each time they wanted to use an item.

Since using your inventory items is a key mechanic in Vivarium, the intent is to highlight the importance and impact by showing your selected item prominently.

[Vivarium Game Dev Blog]

[freedomlanes]

I hate posting with placeholder art but I wanted to show how the bowling “engine” works.

I’m using Box2D to do a top-down physics simulation which I’m then mapping to a pseudo-3D bowling ball and pins. 

The first gif is from very early in development when I was just working on the simulation, and the second is how it looks with the “3D” effect. I initially wanted to do raycasting like in the original Doom and Wolfenstein but I think my current solution is a good substitute, and less resource-intensive.

The final visuals of the bowling will be inspired a lot by League Bowling on the Neo Geo in the third gif. Look at all the personality in that animation!

Next post I’m going to show off the scoring system and talk more about how the story and gameplay are intertwined. I’m still gauging interest in this game so I’d love to hear any thoughts and suggestions, and if you like what you’re seeing please share it with anyone else who might be into this kind of thing!

[Vivarium Game Dev Blog]

In-game clock created, with a basic visual effect to show nighttime.

Minutes transpired more quickly in the world of the terrarium.

Using some BG tile sprites from Animal Island on the GBA to prototype with. (Thanks to Perseus of SpritersResource.com for providing these sprites.)

[Vivarium Game Dev Blog]

Because the game now uses 30 degree-from-ground isometric angle, I had to tweak analog input to allow the player to move correctly in perspective.

Above, the character is rotating to match the degree of angle from the analog stick input. This looks wrong and functions poorly because the character cannot walk diagonally along the perspective grid.

Below, the input is dampened on the Y axis so that she moves correctly along the perspective grid.

In addition to the rotation-bound direction that the character walks, the speed of movement on the Y axis is also reduced slightly. This is because of the foreshortening of the angle. (Perspective obsession thanks to my visual arts background.)

[Vivarium Game Dev Blog]

Now prototyping 2D character movement.

I drew key frames for a quick 8-direction animation set to test how it feels to move around with the character.

[Vivarium Game Dev Blog]

[freedomlanes]

Hi everyone!

Freedom Lanes is a narrative-heavy bowling adventure game I’m developing inspired by games like Golf Story and Stardew Valley, and movies like The Big Lebowski and Dazed and Confused.

I wanted to tackle some themes about the current state of America and the drug epidemic through a coming-of-age story set in a podunk fictional town called South Freedom, NY.

This is Cole, the protagonist. He’s conflicted between settling for a quaint life in the country and leaving home to pursue a more exciting lifestyle.

Throughout the game you’ll bowl with his league, look around town for work, and try to find meaning and purpose while meeting a diverse cast of characters struggling to make ends meet.

I’ll update this blog once a week and reveal art, gameplay, and more character details as I get further in my development journey.

If you’re interested in the game, please follow us here and on Twitter and don’t be afraid to send me a message with any questions!

-Trent

[vivariumgame]

Trent is a fellow New York-based dev, and he’s collaborated as a composer on games I’ve made before. He’s got a cool project in the works that I highly recommend following!  (Especially for the RPG and adventure game fans out here)

[Vivarium Game Dev Blog]

◇ The Vivarium development blog is relaunching! ◇

Vivarium was under development for some time as a 3D game - however I wasn’t happy with the results coming up. Vivarium is meant to feel handcrafted and organic, and the 3D tests didn’t seem to fit the look and feel I imagined the game having when the idea was first conceived.

So, I’m reaching into my background as a traditional artist and animator, and reworking Vivarium into a hand drawn, hand painted 2D game!

Above is a first look at the new painted style of the game’s envieonment art - background by @littlenimart, character by me.

Please look forward to the new art, animation, gameplay, music, and more that we have in store from Vivarium!

[Vivarium Game Dev Blog]

quatraquartz asked:

This looks so cute! Cant wait to see when all the final art assets come together, good work!

Thanks! There’s a lot of cool stuff I’ll be uploading soon so I’m excited to share that.