elvaq

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Posts posted by elvaq


  1. Hello again, friendly people! :manny:

     

    In case you're not on the Slack or Discord, I am running a new game jam in the spirit of Wizard Jam for Nick's streaming community (https://www.twitch.tv/idlethumbs... you might know it!)

     

    We are starting this next Thursday, The Fools Day, and working all through the first 3 weeks of April, finishing up before the end of the month, and then having Nick & others stream in May.

    Much like Wizard's Jam past but now annual and slightly longer & tweaked.

    The spirit of Dot Gobbler remains, folks are encouraged to contribute however they can and try new things.

    Really whatever you want to do or create to have Nick or pals experience  on stream.

    No worries bout finishing either. Just good vibes and friends makin fun stuff~~

     

    :tup::tup::tup: COME JOIN US :hypnotoad:  :tup::tup::tup:

     

    More details can be found here: https://itch.io/jam/jam-baby-jam-2021

    :stan:


  2. Hey again folks!!! BUMP BUMP BUMP

     

    As a reminder, streaming starts in just about 24 hours from now. Game makers! Please get your last minute patches ironed out and uploaded ASAP - I figure a lot of streamers (myself included) will want to download stuff ahead of time so the sooner your final version comes together, the better.

     

    Streamers! Give a shout out here or on Slack or Discord and I'll make sure to trumpet the heck out of your stuff on those channels.

     

    Looking forward to the Content Feast!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


  3. Hey folks!!

     

    Hope you're all hype for WJ8 in a couple days!
     

    As @Dinosaursssssss mentioned in the welcome thread, we are going to have another showcase weekend on the Saturday/Sunday following the end of Wizard Jam 8. That means Saturday, February 2nd and Sunday, February 3rd.

     

    If you'd like to participate in this streamy event, please say so in this thread and I'll try to get everyone organized into a schedule. Just post your Twitch/Youtube/Mixer channel info and times that you'd be available to stream (all times in PST, the official time zone of Idle Thumbs). Please give a range of times and how long you'd be able to stream for (assuming at least 3-6 hours of jam games worth of Content based on previous jams) I'll reach out to you once I put everything into an algorithm* and figure out the ideal lineup.

     

    We also have a confirmed IT's very own Nick "Nick Breedon" Breckon will be streaming on the Thumbs Twitch channel at 2pm on Saturday the second so maybe avoid that slot, yeah?

     

    And if you'd like to stream but aren't sure how, I'm sure folks in this community can point to easy resources to set stuff up. You've got more than 3 weeks to practice!!

     

    Thanks all, this is the best community~

    -elvaq :sombrero:

     

    *algorithm may or may not be mechanical turk


  4. Howdy! I didn't want to post until I was sure I could actually put something together so.... check out this GIF!

    phaedrus1.gif

     

    What's going on there? Why, it's a reality show simulation & management game of course! A little while back I binged hard on Terrace House (check it out on netflix) and so I kind of wanted to do something Sims-like to help teach myself some AI principles. @Mythalore described it on slack as "Big Brother Fortress" and that's just about perfect. Here's the pitch I drafted up before getting started:

    Quote

    Phaedrus 2010: Countdown to Tears is a top-down, grid-based management game that puts you in control of a reality show starring 8 troublesome Earth teens as they try to live & play together in the intergalactically-famous Phaedrus house while working towards their dreams. Each teen has their own schedule to keep and social links to develop with their new pals, can they juggle their jobs, ambitions, and these new relationships? More importantly, can you the producer inject enough drama to keep the season alive long enough to save your job for when we inevitably move on to the next batch of teens!

     

    Not sure where the outer space angle came from but I'm running with it if I can get it in the game itself. From here, I need to build out the activity/waypoint findinga little bit more but I'm happy to have the basics of pathfinding and a set of needs in there already.

     

    Wanna help??

    Does anyone have interest in doing art, sound, or music for the game? You can sort of see the direction I'm looking for in the color palette of the placeholder art but there's a lot we can do on all fronts if folks are motivated and into the idea. Drop me a line and I can get folks hooked up with the Trello and source control for the project


  5. Put me in the camp that didn't see many bugs (or any that I can strongly remember really). Frame rate problems sure and obviously camera problems but I've played way too many video games to have an experience significantly ruined by a camera. I think I'm very forgiving of a lot of technical things generally, especially when I'm on board with what the art is trying to achieve. I don't think Guardian is a complete success but it is nevertheless an incredible experience. The moment-to-moment gameplay might have been the weakest of Team Ico's games but the art direction, story, and overall aesthetic is the strongest for me. There are a number of scenes in that game that will stick with me for sure, especially the ending.

     

    For those that have finished, here's a bit of story analysis I thought was really interesting:

    Spoiler

     

     

    Also how incredibly sick were the scenes that took place outside the valley? Makes me dream of what Team Ico could do with a better technical framework and bagfuls of money. Platinum collabo anyone?


  6. Barton Fink
    Fargo
    Miller's Crossing
    A Serious Man
    The Big Lebowski

    Raising Arizona
    No Country for Old Men
    O Brother, Where Art Thou?
    Hail, Caesar!
    Blood Simple
    Inside Llewyn Davis
    The Hudsucker Proxy
    Burn After Reading
    The Man Who Wasn't There
    The Ladykillers
    Intolerable Cruelty
    True Grit

     

    The only ones I didn't totally love are the last 4. I probably need to re-see True Grit and Man Who Wasn't There to reassess them, mind!

     

    I should also say that A Serious Man often takes the #1 spot for about 6 weeks after I watch it


  7. I've really enjoyed Polygon's video explainer series of some of the more intricate issues in reading comics.

     

     

    Some of the info might be a little basic for old school comics nerds but I really appreciate the clear and approachable format, looks like they're getting deeper and more interesting with each ep!


  8. Oh hey, forums! Us streamer-types have put together a public calendar that people can check for regularly scheduled programming http://tiny.cc/IdleStreamingCalendar

     

    Obviously following folks who are on said calendar (btw they're all good) on Twitch and/or Twitter is a good idea for up-to-the-minute info but this should hopefully be a continually-ish updated resource.

     

    I really think we're building something special in the Slack and each other's chats and it has spurred me on to do far more streaming of myself than I ever thought I'd do. Cheers and a half to the amazing group of folks that have huddled together and are all doing very cool stuff!

     

    ps-- i am doing streams at  https://www.twitch.tv/elvaq! right now i just want to prove i can stream on a schedule before i get even slightly fancy with it. currently focusing on Pillars of Eternity, rotating 4x/strategy games, and maybe some upcoming random indie stuff as well 

     

    pps-- the multiplayer streams of Jackbox and maybe some forthcoming games on saturday nights are just incredibly fun. stay tuned!


  9. This jam has been a little strange considering all the work that went in to figuring out the name and what exactly the "heart of Wizard Jam" is but I'd still love to collect anyone's thoughts, ideas, or criticisms on how Wizard Jam 4 went.

     

    Here are some sample questions to think about, just to get the ball rolling:

    Did you ever feel restricted or confused by the Wizard Jam format? Conversely, was it all a little too loosey-goosey?

    Do you feel like forming a team was easy? Was the Google Form people filled out with their game ideas and team stuff any more helpful than the team-forming forum threads of the past? Any general or specific ideas for ways the next organizer could improve team forming?

    How did the Diversifiers go for you or your team? What about the process of selecting and voting on them?

    Too much Dot Gobbler? Or not enough?

     

    Wizard Jam 5 coming soon!


  10. I just wanted to say right quick that I am so proud to have been a part of organizing this jam! Over 50 entries!!!

     

    This community constantly, surprises, delights, and inspires me. Joining up with you all over the past few years and working on whatever it is we're building here has been such a good decision for me personally.

     

    Thanks again to everybody who contributed, participated, or just chimed in wherever over the last few weeks!!


  11. Awesome, thanks for playing!! I haven't played Super Puzzle Platformer or the other game someone mentioned, Trash Panic but looking back now this game is totally just those two combined! Pretty cool that I could wind up in the same place without really knowing all that stuff. Kind of makes me want to see what other weird takes are out there for the Match 3 genre!


    Anyway, here are some final version GIFs I made today...!

     

     

    KbU0Mt.gif

    uzPqGd.gif

     

     

    I do kind of want to keep going over the next month and add some stuff I didn't quite get time for. There are at least a couple bugs I've noticed but I am pretty happy with how the core gameplay turned out. I'd still like to get the audio options done just for learning's sake, if not the full Story mode. We'll see

     


  12. I won the battle in the end but right now I am very, very tired.

     

    https://elvaquero.itch.io/another-chill-hell

     

    Will update again when I can make some gifs on my work computer. PS is now crashing when I try to save out any gif and... ain't nobody got time for that

     

    Sleep now, GIFs later.

    Pretty major art/sounf overhaul and I hope people like it!

     

    Still planning on doing a score contest for a Pico 8 key so do get to practicing...


  13. FFXV coming out is having a serious impact on my productivity -_- I am not a strong man.

     

    BUT! I am forcing myself to sit down and put together a pre-final weekend beta build to get some more feedback. https://elvaquero.itch.io/another-chill-hell Let me know what your scores are!

     

    We'll see how far I get on Story mode by Sunday, heheh.... I'm definitely going to at least finish fixing up those crates with the glitchy visuals and behavior

     

    I really need to make some gifs but I need to get back to those fantasy boys even more. Tomorrow!