What's New this Month?
It's closer to a month and a half since the last update, but I've been busy working on graphics and effects for 39 Days to Mars. I made some final decisions about the shape and colours of the ship, and started making some of the puzzle artwork more systematic to cut down on the amount of work I have to do.
Artwork
39 Days to Mars is a very non-systemic game, which unfortunately translates into a lot of work for one developer! My big focus over the last month was designing art assets in a re-useable way, at least as much as possible, to cut down on the time it will take to get the graphics up to standard!
One of the big decisions was to use the same background for as many puzzles and minigames as possible, just with subtle variations to make things more visually interesting. Here's an example of a small page with two different types of binding:
Other than the artwork, I've been working on effects for when things go wrong on the ship.
What I'm working on, in 140 characters.
Jul 23
I've now animated climbing! Needs more polish, but I'm happy for the moment.
Aug 2
Working on final artwork for some in-game items :). Next up, more animation!
Aug 4
I'm implementing more disasters. Today is not looking good for Albert and Baxter.
Aug 9
Every spaceship needs a kitchen. This time with final graphics!
Aug 17
Working on more artwork for the ship. This time with lighting effects!
Aug 22
More items in the game make for fun screenshots!
Aug 24
This evening I'm working on more interface graphics for the mini-games and puzzles in 39 Days to Mars
Until Next Time
I'll be working hard on artwork, and balancing the timing and number of attempts for each puzzle. 39 Days to Mars is drifting in and out of a playable state, and it's still pretty rough, but if you're interested in giving your feedback or helping me to test it out, get in touch!
Don't forget you can follow @philipbuchanan on Twitter for more regular updates and development pictures!
This looks really charming! I always love papery/handmade styles in games. Looking forward to more updates on this!
My nephew just started school this year... He likes to draw like his uncle, so I'm hoping I can use some of his work in my future projects... This game's art style is really cool and I'd like to see more games with the retro art style of yesteryear... Nice job dude!
Thanks for the nice comments! I'm glad you like the art style, it's something I've been concentrating on to try and make it fit well with the gameplay.