AuthorTopic: Lectro Mockup Madness! (New demo! July 22nd)  (Read 72440 times)

Offline Helm

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Re: Lectro Mockup Madness (First post updated)

Reply #30 on: September 14, 2007, 12:09:05 am
you're so afraid of drawing new frames from scratch the animations come out like puppet shadow... puppets. The jump anim: it needs a redrawn stress frame, one for the landing and inbetweens through those.

Offline Souly

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Re: Lectro Mockup Madness (First post updated)

Reply #31 on: September 15, 2007, 11:48:06 am
I'll see what I can do to fix what it is that's making them look like shadow puppets.
Also I'll try and fix the run jump animation for the mafia boss there.

For anyone who cares, I'm trying to find a coder for this project.
So if there's anybody who would like to help out that'd be great. :D

Also, would any of you mind helping me brainstorm some ideas for storylines?
Cause I'm horrible at story making. D:
And if I can just get an idea to link these characters together then I'll be able to go in a direction with these characters other then just random makings.

Offline tocky

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Re: Lectro Mockup Madness (First post updated)

Reply #32 on: September 15, 2007, 01:21:04 pm
Okay, I think I have good story advice, but bear in mind I never actually end up writing anything, so a lot of this is stuff I've been taught but never used myself. I'm assuming you're aiming for some variation on the standard adventurey plot, because this is a platform game and all that.

First up, tell us who this kid Lectro is. So far all we know about him is he is the protagonist and he has a plug for a head or something. Is there a whole society of these plughead folks somewhere? Is he a robot? Where did he come from, and all that. Even if he's just an empty vessel for the player to inhabit, you should provide some origin for him.

Then, who's the main villain? You should design a villain to inspire some specific emotion in the player, and also decide what emotion drives the villain to... to do whatever it is he's doing that you're supposed to be undoing. I'm pulling this stuff from here, which is a pretty solid reference for fleshing out a villain. Since the villain is the character who basically drives the story, you really ought to get him figured out. Then you figure out what the villain is working towards, and what he's done to piss the player character off so much.

Then you script a final confrontation, and the end of your game. Always start at the end, and you'll have a solid ending to draw towards. That's the most of it, actually. From there, write a beginning, throw in more characters, boss fights, just roll with it. It's mostly scripting bits of gameplay, puzzles and battles and that, once the overarching plot is in place. Just build towards your conclusion.

And that's how you write a game (or so I'm told). It's like with the art, people on criticking forums prolly won't do it for you, mostly because we don't know what kind of story you want to tell. Post your ideas, and people will tell you what they think.

Offline Souly

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Re: Lectro Mockup Madness (First post updated)

Reply #33 on: September 17, 2007, 10:26:41 am

Gave him a new gun.

I can't animate smoke all that well...

Edit:

Doubt this makes it any better.

Edit2:



Slowed it down for better viewing.

New gun means new walk cycle with the gun
-> ->
I also changed the footing in the 3rd frame should make the walking cycle much better.
I'll fix the original walk cycle with these changes and put them next to each other.

Yay new walk cycle.
->->
« Last Edit: September 17, 2007, 12:48:26 pm by Souly »

Offline Souly

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Re: Lectro Mockup Madness (Last update; Sept 17)

Reply #34 on: September 17, 2007, 11:34:12 pm
I've got someone helping me with the storyline, so here's what he's come up with so far.

Backstory:
Long ago, during the time known as the information age, humanity attempted to grow closer together in the bonds of friendship. However as the earth's dwindling supply of non-renewable fuels and energy sources, the nations of the world fought amongst themselves to gain the last remaining sources of energy to keep their electricity-driven economies going.

By 2050AD, despite desperate attempts to seek a replacement of the old energy sources, the world was on the brink of an energy crisis. The more desperate people grew, the more they put aside their differences to work to solve their common problem. Finally, there was hope. A UN special task force was able to put together a viable alternative fuel source; if a massive shaft could be drilled into the planet's molten innards, the resulting heat released could be harnessed into energy enough to power the earth fifteen times over.

The nations of the world came together in a new spirit of co-operation, powered by desperation and the spectre of doom should they fail. Having expended the very last fossil fuel reserves on earth to do so, the massive thermal bore began operation in 2061, and once again, there was enough energy for all.

However, as the energy crisis faded, the need for co-operation faded as well, and humans began to fight amongst themselves once again. As the conflicts once again intensified, the nations made one last agreement: No one nation would be able to destroy humanity's lifeblood: the bore would be kept as neutral ground, and to ensure it stayed that way, a fortress was built over it, one maintained not by humans, but by machines.

The fortress was built around a massive automated defence AI, known as "godfather", it controlled the thermal bore and all of it's facilities. This central computer was given it's own production facilities, and ordered to protect the borehole. Over the years, Godfather built a huge ring of defences around the central complex and the borehole. The entire structure became so big, that Godfather and the humans simply began referring to it as "the city".

As the years passed, many attempts were made by the huamns to conquer the borehole and the city over it, all of them failed, but Godfather began to notice a disturbing trend; the human weapons were advancing, growing in effectiveness with every attack. Godfather attempted to develop new weapons of his own, but found that the combined duties of defending the city, controlling production and developing new weaponry was too much for even his formidable computing power.

Godfather came up with a solution quickly. He constructed two copies of himself, in smaller bodies; Lectro, the ultimate fighting android, to defend the city, Sxulls, to develop more effective weapons and defences and Grlmm, specializing in appropriating raw materials and turning them into new members of a growing android defence force, patterned after creatures of human myth.

For many years, this new arrangement worked well, damage from human assaults on the city was reduced to a minimum, until one day...

The power cut out...

Game Story:
Prologue: Turbine Complex
This stage serves as a tutorial, Lectro starts with all of his weapons. Lectro is ordered by Godfather to find the source of the power outage by descending into the bowels of the city and into the borehole. After learning basic movement controls, Lectro is confronted by a group of "skeleton" attack bots, which attack him on sight. After dispatching them easily, he questions why supposedly friendly bots would attack him. Godfather reassures him that they were merely rogues.

Lectro makes it to the turbine which produces the energy from the borehole, as he inspects it, he realizes nothing is wrong. That is when Sxullz and Grimm appear and attack Lectro. Confused, Lectro is no match and is quickly defeated. Being left for dead, Lectro is tossed into the sea, but not before he learns from Sxullz and Grimm's conversation that they were under orders from Godfather to get rid of Lectro...

Stage 1: Argendhal
Lectro is washed ashore and his circuits dry enough to allow him to move again. He attempts to regain his bearings, but since he cannot find any reference points, he concludes that he is very far away from the city. After looking for (and finding) a source of thermal emissions, Lectro finds the town of Argendhal, which is under attack by Godfather's bots. Lectro surmises that Godfather was not satisfied with Grimm and Sxullz's measures and has ordered his troops to ensure Lectro's total destruction.

Lectro finds that all his weapons have been lost and realizes the he must save the town so that he may be able to find replacement weapons. After he does so, the grateful townsfolk reveal to him that Godfather's bots have been seen elsewhere, and that without the energy provided by the city, human weapons are useless against them. The townsfolk also give Lectro his basic [plasma pistol] weapon, which had been found washed up on the coast.

Finally, Lectro learns that when the city was built, the 8 nations which contributed to construction were each given a keycode. When all 8 key codes are brought together, they de-activate the city's defence systems. Lectro now has an objective; find all 8 keycodes so he can shut down and repair the Godfather AI.

Stage 2: Vittorium
The first of these countries is the naval power of Vittorium. When Lectro enters, he is mistaken for a soldier of a hostile power, Carminium. Because of this, he is constantly attacked by Vittorian minion soldiers. Discovering that Vittorium's keycode is on display in a museum, Lectro fights his way into the museum, recovering his [autocannon] weapon (which had been found and mistakenly identified as an artifact) and the keycode.

Stage 3: Mapalyph
The country of Mapalyph has been completely overrun by Godfather's forces, who are actively looking for the keycode. Lectro has to recover his [EM sensors] from the riverbank at the end of the level before backtracking in a cutscene and using the sensors to find the keycode.

Stage 4: Armendal
The once proud country of Armendal is nothing but a blasted wasteland now. Lectro muses on the flaws in human nature before moving on to discover that Godfather's forces are combing the area to find the long-gone nation's keycode. Lectro has to use his EM sensors to find the keycode as well as his [flamethrower].

(I updated the 2nd post with this)
« Last Edit: September 17, 2007, 11:35:48 pm by Souly »

Offline Arachne

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Re: Lectro Mockup Madness (Last update; Sept 17)

Reply #35 on: September 18, 2007, 12:52:43 am
Your latest animation is awfully fast. It barely gives the smoke time to disappear before another shot is fired, so I don't really think it's needed at that speed, and the direction isn't very smoke-like. To me, it looks a bit more like some kind of ghost jumping out of the barrel. I gave it a shot, but I don't think the dithering I tried on the smoke worked that well. :-\ 

I like the idea of the Godfather, but for such an elaborate plot, it doesn't seem very plausible to me. If you're looking for alternative energy sources, why not just use solar energy? We're talking about thousands of zettajoules hitting the earth every day. Our energy consumption today is not even a thousandth of that, so I don't think it would be worth the trouble to drill into the Earth (a teeny tiny fission reactor in principle) when you have the sun (a fusion reactor the size of a million Earths) right out there. :D

Edit: I was actually hoping for something more pirate-related to go with the cartoony style. He looks like a pirate mouse more than a robot to me. I think it needs to be grimmer and darker if you're going to have such a depressing story to go with it. :D
« Last Edit: September 18, 2007, 01:32:22 am by Arachne »

Offline Cataphrak

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Re: Lectro Mockup Madness (Last update; Sept 17)

Reply #36 on: September 18, 2007, 01:47:48 am
Hello, I'd just like to introduce myself as the guy doing the story.

To answer your question Arachne, an upscaled geothermal plant is indeed more plausible than most of the more mainstream alternative energy sources currently being pushed forward by environmentalists today. Allow me to explain by tackling each one:


Solar Power:

Solar panels are unreliable, and fragile, also consider that only a tiny fraction of the sun's energy hits earth, and only a tiny amount of that surface area can be covered with solar panels at any one time. considering that one thousandth of the earth's surface is already the size of ireland, factor in the fact that solar panels only work at 30% efficiency and and that they don't generate energy at night, that's an area the size of france. Considering that we're talking about CURRENT energy consumption, not counting developing countries with OMGWTFBBQHUEG populations and potential industrial capacity like India and China, that's an unacceptably large amount of land area if you also add the fact that even more panels would have to be built to replace ones which are wrecked i nstorms, tornadoes, wars etc...


Wind Power:

Little known, but true: Wind turbines only work at about 25% of their rated capacity under IDEAL conditions. Add to that the fact that wind farms aren't working at ALL most of the time (when there's no wind, or the wind is powerful enough to damage the turbine), you get a very inefficient source of energy. In fact, there are sources out there saying that the energy produced by a single wind turbine in it's total life span is LESS than the energy required to construct it, and that's not including the fact that a good portion of the turbine's parts are made of petroleum products anyways.


Nuclear Fission:

Ah yes, good ol' Fission, bane of Homer Simpson and Greenpeace alike. Nuclear is actually the most plausible source of alternative energy availiable today. Of course, there are only three things you have to mention to the average person to turn them anti-nuclear for life: Toxic Waste, Dangerous Radiation and Chernobyl.


Nuclear Fusion:

Man-made nuclear fusion, it don't exist yet. and frankly, I don't thin kthis one will become viable (read: profitable) for a long time yet...


I hope that answered all your questions there. If it didn't feel free to send more my way. As for me, I have to finish writing this outline...

Offline Souly

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Re: Lectro Mockup Madness (Last update; Sept 17)

Reply #37 on: September 18, 2007, 01:56:23 am
Can't seem to get that boom to work, also reworked the smoke.
Didn't like the dithered smoke too much.

Offline Arachne

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Re: Lectro Mockup Madness (Last update; Sept 17)

Reply #38 on: September 18, 2007, 02:03:42 am
Cataphrak, thanks for taking the time to clarify. :D

This is more what I think of when I hear android. Nothing wrong with being original, though. ;)

Offline Souly

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Re: Lectro Mockup Madness (Last update; Sept 17)

Reply #39 on: September 18, 2007, 05:36:45 am
->->
Update on the shooting animation.
Edit: Slowed it down.
Edit2:Changed the 3rd frame, the recoil was too fast.

Archne, I was actually planning on something similar to that for the boss's body gaurd.
If I was to go with the current storyline then I guess he would be a prototype for a new version of Lectro.

I was thinking of making him a bit more evil with green prongs.
I actually had this already made, funny you made a similar edit.

UPDATE!
->->
He can run and shoot now. :D
This was the hardest animation up to this point.

Edit: Fixed some errors with the laser.
Edit2: Realized the flash on the face wasn't in the run and shoot.
« Last Edit: September 18, 2007, 06:20:57 am by Souly »