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Alrighty, I have decided on a name and genre for my FediJam 2 project! It will be called "Monster Mines" and it will be a runner. Runners aren't something that are supported by GB Studio out of the box exactly, but after poking around and doing a little research, I think it will be feasible. Brandon Petersen has a great video that walks through a one idea for a basic runner implementation in GB Studio here: Can we make an endless runner in GB Studio? - YouTube
Today I am going to play a bit of Donkey Kong Country to revisit the minecart levels as that is going to be a big inspiration here. There is also a segment in Kirby Super Star for the SNES that features mine carts and a few other games that feature them as well. With GB Studio's limitations, my implementation will necessarily be very simple, but I think I can still pull some inspiration for features from what is already out there.
The basic game play loop will have you do a run on the minecart track until you get a game over, then with the coins you earned, you can buy upgrades in the shop for the next round. It's a pretty standard formula for a lot of simple web games and rogue-lite games like Rogue Legacy. I might also play a few games with that type of progression for some more inspiration as well.
Research will be today's big focus, but if I could get a really rudimentary prototype thrown together as well, that would be a huge win. Work on art, story, and characters will begin once I have something mechanically viable in GB Studio. I really want to minimize time spent working on content that needs to end up getting scrapped if this idea ends up being too difficult to pull off.
The FediJam starts today and runs through the end of the month, so I would like to get started on that today. The theme is time is "on rails" and I have no idea what I am going to do with that. Trains aren't exactly my thing and I normally can't stand games "on rails", so this should be interesting. Limitations breed creative solutions, so I think I need to learn to just trust the process.
Getting this journal entry in is already an accomplishment in itself today as I am trying to develop the habit of freewritting in order to become creatively "unblocked" and get my thoughts in order. I'm stoked that I finally sat down to do it. I'm not sure why my brain thinks that writing will be literal torture, because when I finally sit down to do it, it's generally fine, if not pleasant even.
So, the big goal today will be deciding on the basics of my FediJam game. The genre, basic game play loop, and hopefully a title even. I'm not sure where to begin after that, but participating in this jam is intended to help force me to figure out that process. I think having a deadline will help. Normally, you aren't suppose to use jams to learn to create games and how to use your tools since the deadlines are typically really tight, but I think a month is pretty generous and I'm not starting to learn game dev or GB Studio completely from scratch, so I think it will be fine.
Other than starting on the game, I would also like to get some dishes, laundry, and cooking done today. Oh, and I have some administrative paperwork I want to try and get in order today too. Making some time for meditation would probably be wise as well.
I'm excited to get started on the jam project! I have no idea where it is going to take me and I'm very curious what will come about from it.
The Game Dev section has been updated with information about Project Monstera and a place holder section has been added for my FediJam 2 project.
I'm continuing to experiment with the layout as well, so please don't mind me!
Happy Saturday, y'all! I have made some updates to the About and Links sections as well as refining the layout some more.
I'm also planning on participating in the FediJam 2 game jam that's running between 11/30 - 12/31. I would like to try making a quick small game before really diving into work on Project Monstera.
I added some content to the about and links sections and tweaked the layout a bit more. The game dev section will be my next focus, then perhaps figuring out what to do with my blog. 🤔
I'm currently working on tweaking the layout some more as well as starting to add some actual content. I'm also testing out the Neocities CLI tool to make updates easier. Expect stuff to move around a lot while stuff gets settled!
Check out the gardening section for some pictures!
Welp, it's been a hot minute, but I'm back! I went ahead and fixed up the CSS a bit and might continue to tweak it.
I've also been posting on Mastodon lately about the game I'm working on in GB Studio, so check that out as well: https://retro.pizza/@FerociousStrike
I did some web design way back in the HTML 4 and CSS 2 days. When I created my first website, my ISP was still AOL and I was using dial-up. I'll never forget the thrill of finally getting DSL. Having a fast persistent internet connection was mind blowing. Somewhere along the way, personal websites have become a bit of a lost art. Coming across Neocites with its Web 1.0 culture and aesthetic is really exciting and nostalgic.
So here I am re-teaching myself HTML and CSS. It's been well over a decade since I touched any HTML, but it seems to be coming back to me fairly quickly. After running through the CodeAcademy Intro to HTML course and looking up some CSS references, I was able to at least throw together a barebones site in an afternoon. I forgot how fun it can be. And frustrating when you just can't get something to align just-so, lol.
As for content? Well, I already have DeviantArt, Tumblr, and Pixiv accounts for posting fanart, so I figured I could use this page to focus mostly on original content and stuff that's not necessarily art related.
I hope to use this page to document my thoughts and projects. Hopefully it will continue to evolve as I try to remember what I'm doing with all this HTML stuff.
I added a few monster idea sketched to the art section.
Welcome to FerociousStrike Productions. This is my personal website where I will be documenting my various projects and endeavors including learning about game dev, drawing, gardening, and other creative projects.