Concept: The Almighty Sidebar

Long time no see! This time we're discussing the Sidebar, a little bit at the left that shows a character's thoughts, ideas, icons, internal conversations, and other things. This is a way for the player to see the interactions between Party Members in the Real World. This shows off the quotes that happen whenever a spectating Party Member remembers something, how the Party Members feel about different choices the player makes in conversations, how they feel about things, etc. It scrolls by automatically as messages come in, sort of like a chat room of sorts, so you don't have to worry about skipping through a ton of text boxes. Something fun that can happen is how they respond if you check something over and over. Take a barrel, for instance, with the Main Character checking it a bunch.

1) M: A barrel. There's nothing in it, sadly.
2) M: Same barrel. Still nothing in it.
3) M: Yep. A barrel.
4) (High-Affinity Party Member): Hey, it's the same barrel. You're interested in it, huh?
5) L (If found): Yo, stop this nonsense. It's still empty.
5) M (If Lloyd's not found yet): Something's drawing me to this empty barrel. It's so boring, though...
6) [You've checked this enough. It's time to stop.]

It'll work similarly for most objects.
In battle, you might get different Party Members responding to different actions. Those not spectating, when hit, might exclaim "Hey, you doing alright out there??" Other examples, to keep this shorter, are...

Not Spectating
Low Health: Hey, is everything alright? Things are shaking...
Low Energy: The lights are flickering. Please don't pass out...
Low Stamina: Why is everything moving in slowwww moootiooonnnnnnnn...?
Passing out: This could be bad... Good night?

Spectating
Low Health: Hey, watch out! You're hurting a lot...
Low Energy: Try to stay awake, just a little longer!
Low Stamina: Go easy on yourself, try to rest up!
Passing out: I'll brace myself. Don't sleep long, please...

In Control
Low Health: Agh! I need to heal...
Low Energy: Sleep could do well for me...
Low Stamina: Whoa, I need to sit down...
Passing out: *Yawn* Mmmm... Don't hit me, please~

Of course, there will be variance, depending on different Party Members and a bunch of other things. Let's just say I hope you won't see a ton of repeats until a decent bit of time spent in-game.
Also, none of this is voiced. It's all text. So no need to worry about having 5 Navis shouting "Watch out! Hey! Listen!" a whole bunch.

Until next time!
-Josh

Design Concept: Armor Ideas

Pretty much none of the following armor ideas will make sense. Some will, but not all.

We'll have separate armor types for every Party Member, with a select few capable of being worn by multiple or even all of the Party Members. This is so each Party Member is still part of their own class, though each "tier" of armor can have multiple versions, with some benefiting one play style more than others.

Anyway, on to the list of what I've got so far!

(Oh, first. Each character has a letter designated to them for speech and labels. Everyone but the Main Character has the first letter of their name (Isaac, Lloyd, Genis, and Rachel.) The Main Character has an M.)

M: Standard equipment. Normally different shirts/jackets, pants, shoes, and potentially hats.

I: Robes. This includes massive endings for sleeves that hang low below the arms, long pants, boots, and potentially wizard hats.

L: Armor. What better way to protect a Machine than with more metal? This includes platemail, chainmail, leggings, boots, and potentially helmets.

G: Light Armor, but not the type you'd expect. Tech Chips are applied to his Apparatus, enabling him to shield attacks with light barriers. These activate automatically, and may show up if necessary. These Tech Chips aren't very customizable, but different Chips can cause different effects. Of course, each one applies a different piece of armor.

R: Not entirely known. All I've come up with that's specific to Rachel is headphones as head pieces. Maybe I'll end up having a similar setup for Rachel as I have with the Main Character, only with different clothes. Maybe different designers?

Anyway, that's that. Figured I should write this down somewhere so I wouldn't forget.

Until next time.

-Josh

Character Concept: The Muted Child (Isaac, Part 2)

I've come up with a bit of an interesting scenario. With the previously mentioned % Story Spoiler %, every Party Member but the Main Character has some form of Amnesia. However, I've decided that Isaac's is a bit worse, and with certain things happening to him during the % Story Spoiler %, he's lost a lot. Not only is Isaac unable to remember any of his abilities, he's actually ended up nearly incapable of speech! Or, sort of.
See, Isaac, along with some other characters, including some that only do this sometimes...
They speak in symbols and motions instead of actual words.
Isaac always does this, while Rachel will go to a playful sort of symbol-speak at times. She can still speak normally, though.
Symbol-speech involves the character creating a speech bubble instead of a text box most of the time. A box may appear for some actions, but mostly it's a speech bubble filled with (potentially) animated images attempting to detail what they're saying. For instance, if Isaac requests one of the Party Members, the letter associated with them is placed in front of a sort of siren light. This ends up making a sound similar to an alarm going off, calling for the person he requested.
Another example of this could just be different faces displaying emotions, or different symbols representing different stats. (Heart for Health, Blue Lightning for Energy, etc.)
On top of this, Isaac now acts a bit younger. Instead of being around 18 like he was earlier, he now acts similarly to a 10-year-old, though he at least knows not to make certain mistakes. He'll end up making some eventually, though...

Isaac's basic stats and Abilities haven't changed much. His speed might have gone up a bit, but that's about it. He's still got an affinity for the Aspect of Lightning, and his Abilities are pretty much the same, with the possibility for a few extras (like potentially a lightning shield??).
He also no longer sleeps throughout all hours of every day.

Hopefully I'll update this post to include a picture, but until then, this is how this post looks.

Until next time!
-Josh

Concept: Q&A

But we aren't asking me anything, no. That's at a later date!

No, instead we have questions throughout the game that may drastically change the final fight, making it easier or harder! Depending on how you answer certain questions, the final fight of the game will be changed. This could mean forcing you to wear only one type of armor or using one type of attack, or maybe changing an item set in your inventory, perhaps getting rid of it entirely! The effects and questions will be random for each playthrough (maybe. Now that I think about it, having a sort of Speedrun mode has been a goal of mine and I'd like to keep that sort of randomness rather low.), causing a variety of effects.
Maybe I could do an entirely separate Speedrun mode, but who knows. I haven't gotten that far into creating it yet, so anything could happen.

Some questions and effects I've thought of so far include...
"What piece of armor do you believe is the best/worst?": Causing the choice to disappear, or be the only armor you wear.
...
Hm.
I'm thinking about how all of this would work, and how maybe this isn't the best idea, to be honest. I mean, it's really cool, sure, but...
It's kind of... Really unfair.
If I were to actually implement this, the effects would be drastically toned down, making only slight changes to the fight.
I don't know.
Kinda depends on how well it goes during testing, I guess.

Til next time!
-Josh

Concept: Abilities

Well, maybe the Dream World isn't the most complex idea...

Due to the % Story Spoiler %, every Party Member, excluding the main character, has some form of Amnesia. None of them remember their Abilities or attacks, yet they all seem to be at the same level. In Reality, you always take control of one of the Party Members, and only ever one at a time. However, there are a few unique things happening.
First, every Party Member gains the same amount of Experience and levels up at around the same time. The thing is, that's it. They level up.
Leveling up means a few things. Every few levels you might be able to choose an upgrade to stats or skills, and every level grants some predetermined stat boosts. That's great and all, but it means you can't just level up and win, because...
The second thing is the feeling of being watched.
While you control one Party Member, another will be able to watch you fight while the others idle about. Though everyone seems to interact with Reality all the time, or at least respond to conversations, it actually takes a decent bit more concentration to watch a fight if they want to get something out of it.
Spectating allows a Party Member to watch a Reality fight and learn from it, because the way you gain Abilities is by either creating them at the Aspect Amplifier, or by seeing a similar action be performed during battle. These are actually set triggers in the game, actually. It doesn't matter what level the Party Member is. If they have an "Unknown Ability" related to shooting a fireball, and they see another Party Member or an enemy shoot a fireball, they'll tell you about that discovery if they're spectating, or exclaim if they're in battle. (Oh, I remember now...)
Like I said, though, only one Party Member can Spectate at a time. This means you can run around with a new Party Member on your back and use all of your Abilities, fight new enemies, whatever, and they'll begin to remember their Abilities.
There's another neat little thing about Spectating. Spectating will increase the Affinity/Cooperation of Party Members. Yes, I know the Affinity thing is in the Xenoblade games, but that covers areas and NPCs as well. I'm going for purely Party Member Affinity, and the more they like each other, the better they'll fight when together, either in the Dream World or with the other Spectating their battles. Of course, there are still limitations.
In Reality, having a pair of Party Members that really like each other won't work in a very different way than two who don't even know each other. The only differences are their quotes in the sidebar (which I'll go over later), and a few stat changes. Certain quotes have a chance to grant minor stat boosts for a few seconds. That's about it.
In Dream World battles, however, and in very specific Reality situations, Party Members can perform "Duets", or attacks that involve both Party Members. These will combine certain effects and are generally rather powerful. However, they can only be performed when two Party Members really like each other, and even then, you have to find the Ability to do so...

-Josh

Concept: Worlds (Dream World)

The hidden safe-haven of our main character.

The Dream World is a strange place, to say the least. With the combination of a few ideas I've seen in the past, coupled with an entirely new play-style and graphical overhaul here, the Dream World is one of the most complex ideas I've had for this game. See, in Reality, all stat boosts, status effects, etc. work in a real-time fashion. Like I said, it's similar to Xenoblade Chronicles, where fights begin by getting close to enemies and starting fights. These fights involve attacks that take time to use, have cooldowns, all  of that. However, the Dream World is completely different.
Energy and Stamina work similarly to a character's Magic Meter/MP/whatever in most RPGs, instead of throwing you down and causing issues when they deplete in Reality. Here, your battles are caused by random encounters you find while traveling. Don't worry, they'll be shadows of creatures. Approach them and you'll start the battle. In the Dream World, all equipment and items have the same stats, but everything works a little differently. Say you've got a Regeneration spell that gives Health every few seconds. In the Dream World, that's changed to give you a bit more Health every turn of combat instead. The Dream World's status ailments are enhanced or worsened for balance reasons.
Similarly, weapon attack times are changed to effect Speed in the Dream World, changing the order of attacks. This will be made obvious in menus and in battle, where the turn order is placed on everyone.
Another major difference is Party Members. Because you're fighting inside the main character's head, essentially, every Party Member can fight at once, instead of having to be switched out. This greatly changes how battles will pan out, and instead of being rushed over to the closest resting place when you run out of Health (or being forced to run and find an Inn), a Game Over is instead caused by everyone running out of Health.

Oh, no. I just realized something about Abilities...
But that's for later.

Finally, probably the biggest difference is how the story works here. Upon finding a new Party Member or Aspect, the player has to go into the Dream World to "activate" them. But that won't be the only reason to head to the Dream World. You're able to head into the Dream World most of the time when you rest at an Inn. When you do this, some things might change. The first thing is being able to freely access the Aspect Amplifier, as well as being able to enter a sort of "Training Room." (Possibly.)
The Training Room will allow you to test out different Abilities and such in both Reality and Dream World scenarios. You won't gain experience or Abilities like this, but it's good practice for learning how things work.

Also, a word of warning about the Dream World: Dreams tend to mimic Reality. So having a great day, not passing out, winning a lot of battles... That'll be nice.
But start screwing up, taking a lot of damage, getting negative status effects, and overall doing poorly?
Well, you know the opposite of Dreams... right?

-Josh

Concept: Worlds (Reality)

Lots of posts today, all of them long.

Reality, or the Overworld, is where everything resides at the beginning of the game. This world, which still needs a name, resembles Earth in a way, but with four continents instead of seven. These continents, or Regions, are rather different in appearance. Starting with Josh's home Region: Wesnoth.

This place sucks. No better way to describe it. With very few areas like Redhaven, Josh's peaceful hometown, Wesnoth is a Region of destruction. Most children are actually taught very early on, "If you want something, but can't have it, blow it up! The nobody can have it!"
Most Wesnothians are vile people, selling things constantly that may or may not be real, stealing from others, even fighting the other Regions. This Region houses some of the most violent people in the world, and is the start of most wars, especially with Quetzalquartz. But... was it always like this?

Next is Quetzalquartz, the exact opposite of Wesnoth. At least, on the surface.
The massive crystal buildings of Quetzalquartz are blindingly bright, almost as if every city in this Region wants the world to know what Region they're in. With many of the rich and powerful people residing here, Quetzalquartz is the place to be if you're high up in society. But underneath all this beauty (and endless musical puns) lies something rather disturbing. Maybe this place isn't so great, honestly...

Zynchronus, the secretive Region. Not much is known about this Region, but it always seems to be covered by a massive wall of smoke. Some say that there's nothing but factories running there now, but those who say this have no idea what they could be producing. It's strange, though. And to add to that, there have been rumors of different colored lights that seem to be staring at those who dare pass too close to the Zynchronian shores...

Finally, Palovus. This is the Region of peacekeepers, a Region where everyone tries their best to make sure no more fights break out. It's been said that long ago, shortly after yet another war with Quetzalquartz, something terrible happened to another Region. Through process of elimination, people believe Wesnoth attacked Zynchronus, but nobody knows why, or even how, they got over there...
Palovinians always seem cheerful, and they seem to enjoy being the only "normal" Region in this world. With a "palace of destruction", a place of endless lights, and a mysterious factory being the other Regions, Palovinians seem to pride themselves on their rather "standard" RPG town setting. But maybe something else is happening there. I mean, nobody can be happy all the time, right? Especially not an entire Region...

These Regions are all surrounded with water. It's like a massive ocean between every Region. Nobody really knows what goes on in this ocean, or even if something actually is happening. However, storms seem to be a bit more common as of late.
Hm.

"Hey, wait..."
"I'm not the only one who saw that figure, right?"



-Josh

Concept: Worlds (The Beginning)

Wow. This should be interesting...

The Worlds concept is one I've been toying with since the start of this development project. See, how this works involves a bit of story for the game.
We start with our main character, who, since I'll likely have an optional name of, is named Josh for now. He's got a bit of an imagination, actually. He really likes the idea of magic, but nothing destructive like most of Wesnoth. In his little town of Redhaven, a peaceful, yet small, village on the outskirts of the woods, Josh gets an idea. After learning about how magic works, he begins packing a few things to set off on an adventure. The purpose? Well, he just wants to become the best music-based fighter in the world. He's already started training, actually, knowing just one Ability so far, one he made up himself: Song of Recall. It's a rather simple Ability, as all it does is allow him to store his weaponry in a sort of in-between dimension. That's cool and all, but he wants more. He wants to learn all of the Aspects, and have Abilities for all of them. So he packs his things and heads off to the woods in search of his first Aspect...
But when he finds it and collects the fabled Aspect Orb of Wind, he starts feeling dizzy, eventually passing out.
When he wakes up, he realizes he's not where he was when he passed out. The thing is, he's not in a different area, either.
Welcome to the Dream World, the inner thoughts of our main character. This is where the Party Members reside for the duration of the Real World adventures, along with many other things...

The main differences between the two Worlds, Reality and Dream, or the Overworld and the Dream World, are art style and play style. If you've ever played Tales of Symphonia or Xenoblade Chronicles, you'll know exactly how the Overworld works. In the Overworld, things are more, well, realistic. This vast 3D environment allows the player to see a ton of what's going on with the world. The battles will be more real-time based, with a 3D arena to fight in. However, there are some drawbacks. In this world, only one Party Member is allowed to be controlled, and Energy and Stamina are extremely important for staying here. Run too low with either, and you may wake up to realize your Health is a little lower than it once was...
The Dream World resembles more "retro" RPGs, like the older Final Fantasy games or Earthbound in terms of play style. In the Dream World, your movement is a bit more limited, and battles will send you to a turn-based area outside of the map. However, in the Dream World, every Party Member available at the same time, and Energy/Stamina management is a bit easier to deal with. But something's not right here... In this World of thoughts, imagination, and creation, something fights to beat you down. But... what is it?

-Josh

Concept: Aspects

I was supposed to write a tie-in to something earlier, and ended up waiting until now. Ah well.

Elemental Aspects, or just Aspects. Why are they capitalized? Because they're important.
That's... actually the reason.

The Aspects in this game are based off of a little remix project by DJtheS titled "Disciple Month". This was a three-part project in which he remixed specific sets of songs to match different elements. This project was also based off of something else, being the "Tales of" series of games, specifically Tales of Symphonia and Tales of Phantasia. The first two Disciple Months used elements from the games to set the categories. These were, in order, Wind, Fire, Ice, Darkness, Earth, Water, Lightning, and Light. The third Disciple Month used a few "other elements", being Time, Sound, Magic, and Life/Death. With five songs per set, and one extra, this project had 16 different songs using these elements. I'd highly recommend checking them out, because seriously, they're all really great remixes.
Anyway, I think I'm getting a little sidetracked. Basically, the 8 basic elements will definitely be used in the game, but not really in the way they are in the Tales of games. These will instead be collected as Aspect Orbs, granting our main character the ability to use the respective Aspect. These are found in...
Wait, can't say that yet. Story Spoilers!
I can say, however, that these Aspects aren't easily used. It's a simple process to pick up an Aspect Orb and learn how to manipulate that Aspect, sure. But when has a normal kid, such as the main character, been able to just know how to use these powerful abilities?

This brings us to the Dream World, a land of imagination, ingenuity, and occasionally Nightmares. The Dream World has many uses, one of which being an area that will open up upon finding more than one Aspect. See, the Dream World is the main character's thoughts. Going through this world allows the player to mess with different things in the main character's head. This will be important in a later post, but for now, we're just worried about the Aspect Amplifier.
The Aspect Amplifier is an area that may get a name change in the future. It allows the player to mess with different Abilities that use Aspects, potentially creating different, new Abilities to use in and out of battle. None of these are required. In fact,the only required part of it is going there once an Aspect is mastered, just so you can set the Aspect to be used. Using this, though, will be rather helpful throughout the game...

Anyway, that's my concept for Aspects. A few other ideas may come up later, but the important parts are 1) The 8 Basic Aspects are definitely used, and the other 4 may show up as "combinations" of other Aspects. And 2) The Aspect Amplifier will be used throughout the game to set Aspects into being used after they're mastered in the Dream World.

Until next time!
-Josh

Concept: Cover Armor

I've seen quite a few games recently that have a really awesome mechanic. Say you're going through the game and you find some really great armor. Upon equipping that armor, your character's design changes, to show they're wearing that armor piece. The thing is, maybe that armor piece looks absolutely terrible. You'd hate looking at that character while they wear that piece, right? That's where vanity armor comes in. It goes by different names, depending on the game, but basically, vanity armor allows you to wear whatever armor you'd like to get the effects of, while seeing your character in a completely different set! By equipping vanity armor, you see what you have equipped there, but you gain the effects of the armor you don't see, or the armor you actually have equipped. If it sounds complicated, think of it like this:

Wear a full set of, say, steel armor. Like a full suit. That's the armor that gives you all of your defense.

Now you equip a normal-looking t-shirt, shorts, and maybe a flower in your hair. You put those on in vanity, and now you look like you're wearing a t-shirt, shorts, and have a flower in your hair, but you still have the effects of the steel armor.

So of course, this concept isn't a new idea, nor am I saying it's my own. It's a wonderful idea, though, and I'm definitely adding it, with my own little variant. I've never seen this done before, but if we can have cover armor, why not have cover weapons?

Say you equip the greatest sword in the game. But as a joke, you put an empty tube of wrapping paper in your cover weapon slot. Now you're swinging around an empty cardboard tube of wrapping paper, which looks ridiculous, while dealing damage and having the effects of the greatest sword in the game. It's ridiculous, and I love the idea.

Thanks to Xenoblade Chronicles, Xenoblade Chronicles X, and Terraria, 3 games I've either seen or played that had characters actually wearing the armor they had on, with the option to use vanity armor as well. As I said, not my own idea, but a very nice idea that I'd love to add to my own game.

Concept Art: Party Members (Rachel)

Coming in last-minute (not really), we have Rachel Crescandous.
Rachel's a rather happy, entertaining character, added for more of a support class, and for a happier character to be in the party. And no, she's not there for fanservice. She's there to actually contribute to the game.

Rachel's from Quetzalquartz, which may explain why her last name is similar to "crescendo", a musical term for gradually getting louder. Her backstory involves some interesting issues with the police force of Quetzalquartz, as well as a strange group of people who use the moon and stars to guide them through things. Through these issues, she develops a few abilities, including the (not too useful) ability to change her hair in whatever way she likes. Rachel's abilities are based mainly on healing the others and providing help for the party. Like Joshua, her abilities can be amplified by different types of music, though it's a little more limited in terms of what they do. Instead of what Aspect the music calls, the change actually is mostly based on the overall mood of the song. If the song calls up the Earth Aspect, however, it'll still help a bit.
Rachel's dual knives and slight thieving abilities help out in combat, and though her normal attack stat may be a bit weaker than the rest, the effects she can apply to herself, the others, and her enemies more than makes up for it.

Rachel's gone through MANY redesigns. This is mostly caused by me having to learn how to draw girls instead of guys all the time. Early on she actually looked rather similar to Josh, but over time she began to develop her own look. Most of the time, you'll see her in the more recent drawings with either brown or blue hair.

Or no color.
Eh.











^^That's the current design. The next picture has her in a different outfit, one designed as a sort of "Vanity Armor" set. In-game it's called "Cover Armor", and I'll go over that next.





Now that the party members have been introduced, it's time for a concept or two.
Huzzah!

Concept Art: Party Members (Genis)

Introducing Genis Cantabel, a...

um...

Hm.

Genis, when he was young, was practicing swordplay in his house, when he accidentally hit something on display. This item, for whatever reason, turned out to be a bomb. Perhaps it was placed by his sister...?

Genis blew himself up, but survived, but at a cost: His eyes are rather different, his left leg is now replaced by a metal one, and his means of survival rely on an Energy Apparatus, which at the time, was a prototype. This causes his movements to be more robotic, and his Energy Management is rather strange. Genis, in the past, was great friends with Lloyd, and, as he's from Palovus, is rather intelligent, and prefers to keep peace between everyone. Genis was supposed to be the final party member, completing the trio of Mage, Warrior, Ranger, taking the role of the Ranger. His Energy Arrows allow him to apply different debuffs on his opponents by using the different Aspects, and though his ammo isn't limited, his Energy really is.

Genis has found ways to modify the Apparatus, but at the beginning of the game, that thing's staying on his chest, out in the open.

Concept Art: Party Members (Lloyd)

Ah, yes. Lloyd Adamantium.

A Machine hailing from the secretive region of Zynchronus, Lloyd is your standard tank. He's got high Health, high Stamina, and low Energy, though his Energy Consumption is rather low. He's... been through a lot, causing him to have a personality of uncaring. He believes it's his job to guard everyone, and make sure they stay safe. With his massive sword, a hatred for enemies, and a dark past, Lloyd stands short but strong, ready to destroy anything that stands in his way.

(These drawings may have other party members, but focus mainly on Lloyd.)

                

He's going through a redesign, but here's his most recent iteration.












Lloyd's gone through his share of redesigns, but the one thing staying the same has been the way his eyes work. As a Machine, Lloyd is as close to a human as possible, with one main outside difference: His eyes. They're a sort of light display, explaining why his pupils are white in these drawings. His eyes are actually supposed to be red, with black elsewhere, representing the lights that are "off".

Concept Art: Party Members (Isaac)

Ah, Isaac. An underdeveloped "re-design hell" of sorts.
Isaac Vicorus is a character with an idea, but no story. He sleeps a lot of the time, and when he's not asleep, he's trying his best to help others with his magic. Originally from Quetzalquartz, Isaac's specialties in the Lightning Aspect allow him to have a rather large Energy Pool to draw from. However, his past is still unknown to the rest of the party...
Isaac's stats are heavily based in Magic. His Energy is high, but his Health and Stamina are rather low, forcing the player to use a lot of Magical Abilities if they wish to use him. However, if you can get passed his weaknesses, he's got great potential.








As I said, Isaac's rather underdeveloped in terms of drawings and story. He'll get there, though.

Concept Art: Party Members (Joshua)

Next up is our Placeholder character, who's actually modeled after how I draw myself. For the sake of not confusing everyone, we'll just call him "Joshua" for the time being. These drawings are of myself, whether it's a scene in-game or in "reality" (like the time I stayed up much longer than I was supposed to. Pulled an all-nighter on a school night.)

Joshua's a neat character. He's the one to start the adventure, with the goal of collecting the eight Elemental Aspects of Magic, which are scattered throughout the world. Originally from Wesnoth, this character is extremely customizable, allowing the player to use whatever weapon they'd like, though his specialties lie in swords. His magical abilities are strange, and he's got a great affinity for music. This allows him to use different bits of music to help his magical abilities grow in strength. He's able to use every Aspect, and has the most average stats out of the 5. And as the leader of the party, he's the one guiding everyone through tough situations.





Here's the most recent drawing of him. This is the newest design, and I honestly love this. I'll be redesigning him ever so slightly in the future, regarding his hair.















Originally, he was drawing inspiration from Link, from the Legend of Zelda series of games, and over time, I've changed him to sort of abandon that design in favor of a more creative design.

Concept Art: Party Members (All)

Welcome, everyone, to the concept art area of a game I'm making! These are the party members. Originally there were only four, but later on I added another. I might explain bits and pieces of this game as I go on, but for now, we have the five characters you'll be seeing the most: (Main Character with a placeholder name), Isaac, Lloyd, Genis, and Rachel. The drawings of this post, and the next few, will be focused on them, and were drawn anywhere between the beginning of my Junior year to today.

Starting with, well, everyone! I have multiple drawings involving most, or all, of the party members. Before I start focusing more on the others, why not start with them all?





Some of these might be unfinished, in terms of details. The outlines and everything are complete, though.

Welp. I guess multiple was actually like 2.

Onwards, to the next post!

Older Drawings, Part 2 (Sophomore-Junior, Part 1)

More old drawings! These aren't nearly as ancient, nor are they as bad. You can also see the drawings actually improve in quality as well, going from olive-heads to actual head shapes, and a transition out of graph paper!












A left-handed drawing! Neat!







And I'm purposely skipping some drawings because they lack context. Junior year was when I began actually working on storyline, artwork, and characters for the game I'll make eventually, so I won't post those until I have the context for them.

Until next time!
-Joshua

Older Drawings, Part 1 (Freshman)

Finally getting around to updating this thing. Our first post includes a lot of drawings (like 45) that I did quite a while back. Most of these were on graph paper, were really bad, and don't have much, if anything, to do with a game I'll be making in the future. Honestly, the reason I'm uploading these is because it's kind of cool seeing how people improve over time. And seriously, I've improved a lot. No more olive-heads or strange noodle-arms!

Looking back, some of these were done as early as 8th grade! Freshman year probably had the most of those, though. They all were centered around Homestuck or a girlfriend I had at the time.
Wow.
That was a LONG time ago...
So, starting with the drawings of old, and going to right before last year...
Be aware that there are a lot here. That's what this first post is about: getting all of the really old drawings posted and out of the way so I can make more detailed (???) posts about newer drawings.













































Wow that's a lot of drawings.
But you know what they say, you can't get better at something if you don't do it a bunch! That... kind of explains the severe lack of variety in these early pictures...

...and I wasn't very creative with ideas, either.

Next I have whatever drawings I have pictures of from last year! And I'll likely have another post with it going over even more pictures from last year, since I have a huge folder of them.
Don't worry, I'll only do drawings that seem important, like I did for this post.

Until whenever I post this next!
-Joshua