Of Next Generations
After the recent elections, it is nice to say things have settled down somewhat in the country (at least politically) and everyone can go back to worrying about other things. For Alchymy Creative, it also meant it was time to revisit all the MPs that were replaced during the recent elections!
Why? Alchymy Creative was responsible for the hundreds of pixelating hundreds of Malaysia’s Members of Parliament for the MYMP Project which was an initiative to hold our politicians accountable by making data available to the public in a digestible form. This came in the form of a website where our MPs were listed like little RPG characters and their performances are derived from their very actions and deeds in Parliament (eg. if they did not attend their parliament sessions, their scores were greatly affected).
This was our way of contributing in the never-ending fight for a better Malaysia.
Tripping Through Time
Students recently worked on a rather unorthodox competition to design a facade entitled “A Trip through Time”. In usual GameDev style, pixel art was the chosen weapon of choice. We called it “Pixel Peranakan” and it was built for Malaysia Day in September.
Assam Laksa, Pai Tee and Cendol are all examples of the Peranakan culture’s contribution to the culinary world. You may not be able to see it, but each standee is propped up with a toilet roll.
Mangled English
As part of a WeChat Sticker Competition, my entry was called ‘Manglished’ which many translate to Malaysian English but I prefer to call it Mangled English. It is a local interpretation of how the English language could be used. This will also be my first time submitting a sticker set for any social chat application but the prize was too hard to resist. The first prize winner gets RM12,000 which would go a long way.
Deep Beneath Mount Scarrr
Wizard’s Lair is a fictional level design done for a fictional game “Generic RPG Quest” for a Coursera assignment. Enjoyed it thoroughly although I may have overshot what needed to be done. As a fan of maps, I’ve never really had the chance to sit down and craft one based on a proper design of an evil wizard’s headquarters under a mountain.
Wizard’s Lair was made with a few important features;-
- A Kill Hall where minions can pepper the attacking forces of goodness with arrows before they lay siege to the main entrance.
- Grag Pens near the entrance for Mounted Grag warriors to surge out to pillage the country-side
- A Fungus Farm for where else would an army source for a constant replenishable source of sustenance?
- Foundry should be close to the Armory and Barracks for easy access in the event of an attack.
- A Latrine, which is usually missing from dungeons for where do the forces of darkness do their business?
- A Blood Garden which contains carnivorous plants fed by the blood of victims which are torn apart by the exotic beasts kept by the Wizard.
- A Cellar with a trick barrel which leads to a secret entrance and a running underground stream.
- A really hidden treasure chamber to hide magical weapons while leaving adventurers satisfied with the more mundane treasures as decoy.
- Living Chambers, study area and laboratory all conveniently located in the same area so the Wizard can focus on what’s important, namely inflicting pain and cooking up dark magicks.
- A torture chamber that is close to the laboratory for easy access to the occasional guinea pig.
Some interesting reference websites and links to read when working on maps.
It Builds Character
I’ve finally settled on a look for the characters of Dungeon Fodder, namely the Warrior, Wizard and the Rogue. This has actually undergone many changes and I realize part of the problem could be my own perception that any art is never finished and every time you come back to an unfinished piece, there will be a part of you that wants to chuck the entire thing out and start over again.
Well I’ve settled for this look for the characters for a number of reasons;
Thinking back to my past as an animator, if you character has long lasting appeal, then there is a higher chance your game would make it commercially. I also feel these designs would have a higher ‘cute’ rating and would look interesting as potential plushies (how and when is a problem for another day). This was something I picked up while pitching for an animated series a few years back. Merchandising always has to have a place in your project planning. Many artists cringe at the thought of such crass commercial considerations infringing on the artistic process but that’s the way the industry works.
After much thought, I do think there is some truth in that, the problem is where to draw the line.
Meet the Heroes
Character Illustrations for the three classes in Dungeon Fodder. The Warrior which eventually becomes a Champion, the Wizard that becomes an Archmage and the Thief which becomes an Assassin. This project has taken ages and gone through tons of rework but I hope to have a more refined prototype to test soon.
