Arbiter - Monthly Recap - August 2022 (Patreon)

HOWDY GAMERS!

This month begins the arc of "I'm going to be working on something secret so I'm gonna talk about random stuff each month instead of showing off actual progress." Exciting! 

It also began the arc of 3ds Max systematically breaking me down into a puddle of what I once was—my sense of self, shattered. Was Max always in control? Was my confidence merely a figment of my imagination? Did Max plant this idea of confidence in me, only to take it away? Or... was it never truly there to begin with?

I am 100% switching to Blender/Maya after this project and you can't stop me. Not even you, Max.

Anyways...

Most of August was spent animating the last transformation, The Arbiter's Blade. I started the month with some incredibly stupid tech issues that made it feel like 3ds Max was actively thwarting me, but I managed to find some workarounds that allow me to animate the form comfortably. But on top of that, I also had some art block when coming up with attack animations! Yippie!

Art block in my case primarily manifests in the form of choice paralysis. The playable transformations in Arbiter have a lot of combo strings and ability variants, so it can be challenging sometimes to come up with a new, unique idea that doesn't have too much overlap with the other forms' movesets. This is typically most challenging with basic attacks, as I want each form to have a fun base combo without taking away from the abilities you can equip. It's a tough balance, but I think it's important to give each form its own unique identity.

This was definitely some of the worst art block I've had though, and I think it's just because of the pressure I'm feeling to make this last form the most fun/cool/rewarding/etc. I really want to make it a culmination of the best parts of the other forms while still being wholly its own thing. It was a shaky start but we made it through, and now I'm feeling pretty good about the animations I've finished and the overall direction of the form. 

I'd say I'm about 40% done this form's animations, so assuming everything goes well I should be done within the next few weeks. Please look forward to me showing none of this progress whatsoever!

As it turns out, I also completely forgot to implement one of Omen's mechanics! Each of the forms have a unique defensive mechanic, but it's always something I admittedly forget about until the last second (or in Omen's case, two weeks after I finished him 🤡). 

Omen's defensive mechanic is basically a stance that prevents him from flinching whenever he takes damage. He can also continuously attack while in this stance, so if you're feeling brave, you can play a game of chicken with your enemies to see who goes down first. I'd better see at least one of you beat a boss with this once the game's out. 

"Even if the whole world is telling you to move. It is your duty to plant yourself like a tree, look them in the eye and say 'No. You move.'" ~ Peggy Carter 

Anyways, that about wraps things up for this recap! It's crazy to think I've been working on the forms for about a year now, but we're almost done! Here's hoping the remaining animations don't deal as much psychic damage. 🥂

Thanks for your continued support, everyone!

Cheers.
Jordy