i r dev panduh

That I no longer post to this account - I post on thepixelgeisha.

All the hella game development things happen over there now.

Hello, yes. Good morning. Or afternoon. Possibly five o’clock somewhere - who knows?

I’m moving to another blog. The Pixel Geisha. The name probably rings a bell if you messed around with my database thing (which has been updated with the actual desktop - you’ll find a link for it on the new blog). That’s basically where all my updates will be happening from this point forward although I’ll probably pop in around here to remind you that, hey, The Pixel Geisha exists and the panda blog is more or less dead.

There’s nothing on the blog at the moment but there soon will be. I’ve got updates on projects drafted. Those will be posted once I’m done with the transition from this blog to that one.

Also: it’s worth mentioning that it’s a sideblog to my main one which is biersluts. I made The Pixel Geisha into a sideblog because for one thing: signing out of one account and into another one is a pain in the ass. And second of all: you know me, I can’t stray away from bands for too long. Having a dev sideblog brings it all together full circle so I’m happy.

Kind of like how when a girl goes to play a video game and she just winds up seeing half-naked women and boobs all over the screen.

So I get the purpose and point behind blogging and I understand how important it is when connecting with other developers and updating people on your development progress but I don’t actually like regularly updating on my progress. But, then again, I kind of have to. I don’t want to. But I have to.

This is a problem.

But, ya know, as a game designer, I get hit in the face with problems every day. As a game designer, my job is to solve those problems. If I can solve game-related problems then I think I can solve other problems too.

The Pixel Geisha Database.

I’m not going into detail what The Pixel Geisha is just yet - for right now, I’m just going to focus on the “database” aka just a Flash computer prototype.

You press the power button at the bottom of the screen. It boots up. It loads. And then it opens up to a desktop featuring icons that have different functions ranging from showing art for games I’m working on as well as little details and blurbs about the games.

Except…I’m not done with the design yet. I don’t have the desktop design finished BUT!! I’m really, really excited to show everyone what I’ve got done so far and I want to show you guys that rather than sweating art assets, I’m starting to get the hang of using this placeholder art thing. I think you guys will be proud.

So, without further ado…

A very brief preview of The Pixel Geisha Database.

Think of this as the op-ed on what I just posted.

I really had to make that post because fuckers like that were botching my morning yoga. I’d be on the mat doing my fancy ass hand stands with my little man Buddha on the coffee table in front of me - we’s just chillin’ like enlightened as all fuck buddies; you know how we do - and I’m trying to breathe peace and shit and all I can think about is assholes who probably never move from their computer chair and doesn’t remember the last time they had a half-decent lunch that wasn’t ramen. And when you have all these negative mutterings swimming around inside your head, it makes an otherwise wonderful morning of sunshine and smiles turn to utter shit. It’s really hard to focus on form when all your focus is unintentionally going towards all the things you hate about the game development community. And you know what happens when you don’t hold your form? You either fall flat on your ass, bruising it all to fuck, or quite possibly break your neck. If I didn’t make that post and get all of that out of my head then that’s all I’d be thinking about during yoga for the next twenty years. Assholes can ruin their health all they want but I’ll be damned if they’re going to ruin mine.

u got all dat??

Staying awake for 48+ hours is not at all in the slightest bit impressive.

Forgetting to eat is not cool.

And I really think people in game development should stop acting like it is. More often than not, the game developers I encounter are attention-deprived martyrs who spend more time trying to fill the role of a starving artist than they do actually making games.

You’re making yourself look like a complete and total fucking titbrick.

Are you a grown ass adult or are you a nine year old having a sleepover for the first time?

Stop it.

Personally, I want to be fulfilled from the inside out - mind, body, and soul. I deserve that. I deserve a life where those three things are balanced and work together. But in the game development scene, there’s so much talk about “sacrifices.” Now, if you truly believe that “things just don’t work like that” and that you need to deprive yourself of sleep and nourishment then, well, sucks to suck, I guess. I think you’re a fucking idiot and any money you earn from your games is going to end up being put towards your medical bills when you start having health complications ten years from now.

You should not be sacrificing your health and well-being for anything. It’s not noble. It’s just ignorant. Instead of talking about how you’ve forgotten to eat, why don’t you take a moment - now that you’ve thought of it long enough to talk about it - to get off your ass and make yourself a meal. And if you really want to prioritize working on your game, then do that “sacrifice” thing and go to bed instead of watching your late night television shows.

Wow. Now those are some crazy ideas!

It’s often said that it’s important to have friends in game development. However, if you’re one of the people who fill the description of what I’ve discussed in this post, then I definitely don’t want to be friends with a person like you.

Fuck that shit.

And, to top this all off: no apologies to caused offense or butthurt because if I had thought I would end up apologizing for it in hindsight then I wouldn’t have said any of this in the first place. I am so fucking over people acting like not eating, sleeping, or taking care of ones basic needs is necessary to the game development process. You’re an independent game developer. You do not work at a big game company. People quit those kinds of jobs because they are forced to go through the things you are willingly doing to yourself. The fuck is even up with that? Enough.

WOULD YOU JUST LOOK AT THESE PRECIOUS PRINCESS PUFFS.

This here is a poorly scanned sketch dump. I just sort of bullshitted my ideas on a page and this is what came out of it. I'll be posting a better drawn picture of each character later on.

Also, that fucking bitch Charlotte is ugly as all fuck. I fixed that. You'll see the changes I made to her when I post her character sheet thing.

This is a video of a game I've playtested. You play as a turtle trying to survive the end of the world. Dodging debris and such as you try not to get sucked into the whirlpool at the center of the screen.

I enjoyed it a lot. It was challenge without the stress and the game is all around great. Plus turtles are awesome.

so when you're on your "/blog/squarebit/" page you see all the replies and notes in little blue boxes? because i have to access all notes and replies from my activity page now ;~;

No bratty/whiney introduction this week. And, being that last week I didn’t share what I was up to, I can jump straight into what I have planned for this week.

Literally just finishing the art assets for the first version and doing some programming each and every day of this week. Those are my goals. Ideally I’d also like to get the coding done for my own blog theme - I’m tired of using premade ones because they are complete and utter shit so I decided to just suck it up and design my own blog theme as well as code it. So, ideally, I’d like to get that done for this week too.

And that’s it, really. Since programming is going to take up a huge chunk of my time, I can’t really plug in anything else.

The game that I had previously refused to name (not Cuntcept - that’s something else entirely) now has a sort of codename that’s not its title.

Hashtag FaLaLaLa.

It’s named such because the placeholder image for the game character is Squidgy - which is basically this stuffed squid thing the lead singer of Of Mice & Men has.

This is the placeholder image:

And this here is the actual Squidgy.

Progress Ramblings are meant to be a Monday thing. Today, however, is a Tuesday. I didn’t post this yesterday because yesterday was a fucking nightmare for myself, my friends, and everyone else involved. Believe me when I say that no one knows drama like I do. I try to stay clear of that kind of stuff but when someone spends every damn day talking shit, eventually that bitch has got to fucking go, u feel me?

Anyway. Now that I’m done whining about things I knew were going to happen in a matter of due time, let’s get on with the real business.

Last week was focused on developing a new concept - affectionately being referred to as Cuncept - as well as getting together the concept art for said concept; both of which goals were completed.

This weeks goals are—

Not going to be shared. Because I’m having one of my moods where I don’t want to share anything with anyone and would much rather just make things on my own in the shadows where no one’s paying attention to what I’m doing. I’m really particular about the idea that, once you share something of yours with someone else, it’s not really yours anymore. Part of it is still yours, of course, but another part of it belongs to whoever you shared it with. Since I’m an only child, I never had to share shit. I jealously guard the things that are my own - especially if it’s something I made - even if it’s something that’s meant to be shared…like a game.

Just let me coddle it for a little while longer.

And, you know, not to mention that it’s really hard to effectively present an idea that’s so underdeveloped. It’s a lot like a baker holding out a mixing bowl full of flower and butter that hasn’t even been mixed yet and saying, “That’s my cake.” Well, it’s not really a cake, is it? It’s just a shit ton of white and yellow stuff that doesn’t really look like anything. And that’s kind of what’s happening when I talk about my game or Cuntcept. The map I’ve showed and vague things I said are the butter and flour for a cake but it’s not quite a cake at all. And I mean, there’s a lot of things that butter and flour is used for, u feel me?

People don’t really need to know every single little detail of development anyway. I see a lot of devs do that - they overshare and all the really important details get lost underneath the overwhelming amount of all the small things.

Blink-182; yes, child.

I present to you this post as a friendly reminder to everyone that just because something is a bad idea for your process doesn’t mean that it’s a bad idea for everyone else.

To recap: Last week I wrote a post and in it I said that I’m doing asset design before I go about programming prototypes and what not. I got several responses - both of which told me that designing assets is a bad idea before proceeding to list off reasons why it’s such a bad idea.

Now, this post isn’t egocentric. This post isn’t necessarily about me or what was said in response to my post. This post is about creative people in general and respecting another person’s creative process.

Quick tip: If your response to something starts with, “I’ve found that doesn’t work because—” then you should probably save it. Sure, that’s what you found. But the other person must has discovered otherwise. Which is precisely why they’re doing something that’s different from you. It’s what started the conversation in the first place.

This is what you really mean to say in response: “I’ve found that doesn’t work for me because—”

By saying that, you manage to hold a discussion without telling someone that what they’re doing for themselves - something that works for them - is wrong.

Let’s keep in mind that there’s always some kind of blip in every situation. A few exceptions to every rule. And just because you’re not that exception doesn’t mean someone else isn’t either. They could be. And if they know they are, then they are. So they do things their own way and you telling them that what they’re doing is a bad idea doesn’t really help anyone. Rather than help their process you’re only hindering it by making them feel like the way they create their own art is wrong.

If someone is doing what feels right to them, how can you possibly tell them that it’s wrong? If they enjoy their process the way it is and if they’re getting games done one way or another, who’s to tell them that what they’re doing is a “bad idea?”

Next time when you discuss the creative process with someone, don’t say, “That’s not a very good idea,” about their process. Instead say, “That’s not a very good idea for me.” This way, you’re sharing your own process while also respecting the other person’s.

Ahhhh, yes. The map to the world of the game known as Cuncept.