Dimensionography

Moving Over Endless Mountains Oh So High

2009-10-05T08:26:00.002+10:00

We got home last night and collapsed - after packing and unpacking and getting everything connected it was about 10pm by the time we finally fell into bed. But, for those of you who haven't caught up with the competition while we were asleep, here's our result:

Nothing.

But we think we did better than that. In fact, we think Best Art should have gone to Elle, who worked her butt off to emulate a style she hadn't seen before and did an amazing job. If you haven't seen our game yet, watch the trailer in my previous post, and check out the GUI (the border around the game) in that video. I'll post a high-res version when I can grab one off Elle, but it's one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen in a game.

So where does that leave us? Well, they'll be posting links to all of the games over the next week or so. Go there, download our game, play some of the others, and if you think we should have won Best Art, leave a comment on their website saying so.

It won't make a difference to the judging, but it will make a difference to us.

Thanks for staying with us this whole time. I hope Dimensionography will have many adventures to come, but for now, I think we all need about two weeks of sleep.

Take care, and have a good Monday.
Leanne C. Taylor

Morning Star Watching Over All

2009-10-04T17:40:00.002+10:00

So the competition is officially over, with only the judging left. They've been here since 4pm, walking around, checking everything out, while the rest of us ate sausages and tried to stay awake. We've managed remarkably well, I feel.

So, the official title of our game is:

We had to make a video this year, for the website, and to play if we win an award, so this is what I was doing since about 3:30-ish, with a slight break for sausage sizzle:

Keeping Close to the Path

2009-10-04T15:17:00.002+10:00

Wow. More art. With less than 45 minutes to go, things are getting more and more hectic. Luckily, even though Steve's code compiler somehow managed to hang itself, he and Josh are now playtesting. Their joyous screaming is all I've been able to hear for the past fifteen minutes, so that's a good sign, right?

Crap, half an hour to go. No time for a credits screen, so it's just a text file. No time for anything much, really, but we're supposed to be making a movie, so I'd better get on that. Need some in-game footage, though, which I'll have to grab after 4pm. Everything is exploding, it seems - maybe I'll post more later, but I doubt I'll reach the end of my song this year.

Ah, well. There's always next time.

Endlessly

2009-10-04T13:05:00.005+10:00

Time for a photo update from last night!

So much pizza!
So much Mick Gordon!So much... bad composition! Yay, James and Steve!

Okay, back to my Super Secret Special Project!

Deep Inside of Me, Memories Flickering and Shimmering On

2009-10-04T12:22:00.004+10:00

And sound. Did I mention sound? Things are starting to get hectic, as code breaks and animations and art... still look awesome, but are apparently not up to scratch. We don't have as much functionality as we wanted - only 1 ---- instead of 3, and as yet no -------s. But, for all that, I just played it with Yug, and I was still having fun. He seemed to be having fun, too, which is good. Better than just me having fun. You may have noticed I'm pretty easily amused.

And, since my video upload earlier was so much epic fail, I've looped it to the splash-screen music I chose.

Enjoy!

My Heart Must Beat

2009-10-04T11:48:00.001+10:00

Oh dear. Oh dear oh dear oh dear.

I've been press-ganged into art.

You've seen my gifs - you know my level of competency. Yet I've just finished making not only the instructional splashscreen, but the victory images as well.

Oh deary, deary me.

But you'll just have to play the game to see them. And if someone who actually does art actually gets a chance to actually fix them up... I'll post my efforts here.

Deep Inside So Silently

2009-10-04T10:24:00.002+10:00

And now, in its full glory, Elle's artwork and James' animation!

Morning Star Watching Over All

2009-10-04T10:22:00.000+10:00

Oh hai, guys! High five!

You'll Be Safe With the One

2009-10-04T09:44:00.003+10:00

I'm back! I had to go 'feed the cat', *coughcough*. If that involves sleeping a spell in my own bed and using my own shower, who am I to argue?

We just finished Subway breakfast - a Bacon and Egg Footlong sub for only $5! Buy yours today!

Massive leaps and bounds have been made since I last wrote, but unfortunately I don't know what they are. Everyone's busy making things awesome, but I did play the prototype against James. He beat me, but since there was no win condition, I just waited until he left, then raised my score. Win!

So what can I tell you? It's fun. I was the ---- ---, making people -------. James was the ---- ---, and he kept making people -----. It was awesome. And pretty damn cute, too.

Okay, I've pestered the art team (a.k.a. James) and he's giving me one of the animations he did on Elle's gorgeous characters - stay tuned!

Don't Fear

2009-10-04T04:25:00.003+10:00

James and I just came back after a 5 hour nap/sleep. I can't say if it was good sleep or not, because I think I feel worse than before we slept, but at least a little more awake. A lot more grimy, though, as we didn't realise there was a 'flick here to not die from lack of air' switch. Still, we thank Truna muchly for this bounteous daily sleep - it surely was more awesome than otherwise, and far more awesome than cryptic messages left on a public blog.

God morgen. Hvordan går det?

Now, some kind of work - ahoy!

Garfield Minus Garfield

Don't Look Back We've Got to Go Now

2009-10-03T21:37:00.003+10:00

I've been charged with the sacred task of finding music and sound effects for our game. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a decent fountain sound? Most of them are eerily akin to someone peeing in an open sewer. Not all that surprising, but offputting, nonetheless.

Now I'm looking for music, but how do you decide what kind of feeling you want to convey? Our game is action-based, but in my mind, and certainly in my interpretation, the story is a very sad one. So the music I'm finding reflects that, but perhaps that's not the angle the game should have. It should be something a bit more jazzy, to keep the player's interest, but, again, how do you find that? Searching for free instrumental music comes up with so many options that to listen to them all would take longer than composing something myself. Of course, anything I picked would sound better than what I composed, but still. :P

Last year we went with Justin R. Durban. I have a lot of music on my computer, but it still comes down to feeling. Games like Mystic Inn have a good combination of slow pacing and driving beat, with few enough musical cues to not get irritating after ten hours of play. Combine all of those parameters and you're in for a doozy of a search.

Having since discussed this with James, he's pointed me to an artist named Stephane Picq, whose work he has. It's interesting listening, and very peaceful. I may have to see if I can find good ol' Stephane's more upbeat moments.

Nothing much to report - busy, for a time. It's getting late, though, so we may not be busy for much longer. Hopefully we'll be able to playtest soon, but with both Josh and Steve on the grumpy side of friendly, I'm loathe to ask. :) Maybe later.

C'mon, Don't Hesitate

2009-10-03T18:05:00.002+10:00

Beyond the Earth, Beyond the Sky

2009-10-03T17:37:00.003+10:00

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand we have a new concept *.gif, but it's a bittle lit on the large-ish size, so please click below for the fun:

Clickmeclickmeclickmelickmeclickme!!!1!

Comment to let me know how awesome my ImageReady skillz are.

Need to Walk the Wings on High

2009-10-03T16:22:00.009+10:00

Here's a little lesson, children! Learn along with Auntie Leanne!

There's a word here: svart
hvit (vit)
grå
rød (rø)
blå
gul
grønn
orange (o-ransj)
lilla
fiolett
brun
Also, view with glee the example of the intended walk cycle, as interpreted by Steve And Elle:Now imagine Josh going "DNnNnNnNnNnNnNnN!!" and you've got our last 15 minutes. ^^

Carrying the Light of Tomorrow

2009-10-03T15:23:00.008+10:00

It's been a while since an update, so it's photo time, courtesy of Elle!

Elle noms delicious red things. She is Wonderful Fruit Lady, bringer of Fruit! And other fruit-like things!
Josh and Steve are both far too happy for the amount of Yoshi butt in this picture.

Gui! GUI! :D

Josh had a nap, away from the bright lights of the sleeping room... under the desk of noisy typing and equally bright lights.

But Sonic soon cheered him up.

Brendan's visit was inconspicuous, as always.

I think that kitty melon's planning something - I don't like that glint in its eye.

To be honest, I've been working on actual work, not 48-hour work, and playing a bit of Aion. Work has ground to a halt, though, because even though I got more sleep at home than I would have done here, it was still only 4 hours. Besides, it's more fun to come back in an hour or two and see the progress these guys have made.

Chronicler out!

To Walk Into the Dark

2009-10-03T11:42:00.004+10:00

Hello, readers! I have a new treat for you:

http://twitter.com/Dmensionography

Catch up on our backstory, and live the drama, as I post our tale an hour at a time. Each Twitter post has been specially crafted to be 136-140 characters long, giving you maximum Twitter bang for minimum Twitter buck!

Well, except THAT line. And that one. But those are for good reasons. Trust me.

We also have a toast update: Ben from Super Dev. Bros. has used the Hello Kitty toaster to great and delicious effect. There was Raisin Toast, and then there were Pop Tarts. The day is only just beginning, and it looks to be a good, food-poisoning-less day! Bottoms up! On coffee!

That's Calling Me To Now Begin?

2009-10-03T10:33:00.003+10:00

I'm back!

I momentarily died there, but I'm alive again, thanks to the power of Sleep (tm)!

Actually, I had food poisoning, and had to get emergency Father-of-boyfriend evacuation to home. It wasn't all bad, though. I got to wake up when the cat sat on my face. Ah, the memories.

So now I'm back, but not from outer space, only South Brisbane. I believe it's time for Poptarts, and possibly Raisin Toast. Steve may be making coffee, if we can prod him enough. I think he was the one that recommended we buy the tazer. Oh well, time to find out!

Could it be the Sacred Wind

2009-10-03T02:23:00.004+10:00

Day 36, and still no sign of rescue. Rations are scarce. Beginning to consider convenient 'accidents' for fellow crew members. May be risky, though - only thing available is Chicken Crimpy avalanche. If only we had some food, it might not have come to this. But poor planning, and the Tim Tam Andes, have left us vulnerable. I won't wait. The Crimpies come down tonight.

Oh, hello. I didn't see you there. Please, disregard my feverish plotting as nothing but the ramblings of a madwoman on the verge of Crimpy Collapse. It's well-documented - look it up. There's no cure, unfortunately. It's like Rabies, but delicious.

It turns out some of our energy drinks aren't actually energy drinks, but are at least appropriately named for this discovery:

But, shhh, don't tell anyone. The Placebo effect is going strong, especially with Steve. Steve, don't read this. Okay, thanks.

Elle has done a gorgeous GUI for us. I am in awe. Aweful, in fact. But she has paid homage to Mucha in the most delicate and wonderful way. When I am allowed, I will post it, for all to see and wonder at. For now, you may make do with my original concept for our game:

I plagiarised the tesla coils myself!

But, alas, far earlier than it should have, the collective sugar level for our team has reached its peak, as two of our members - J&J - are still asleep, leaving the remaining 3 of us to carry out the unenviable task of disposing of sugary energy drinks and chocolate. Read no sarcasm here, folks; sugary light-headedness is not to be sneezed nor sarcasm'd at. It may, indeed, be time to sleep it off. If only I could.

On that note, we haven't seen Team X - the empty table on the left side of the webcam, don'tchaknow - since we were given the Words. I recently saw them all sprawled near the vending machines - on couches, no less! - and resisted the urge to steal their hard-won design-on-butcher's-paper that was so carelessly cradled tightly in their arms. They win for now, dear sirs (and one girl... I think?), but, rest assured, our victory will be swift. Far swifter than my thieving skills, at any rate.

I think it's time to brush my teeth. They're starting to tangle.

Only I Can Feel and Hear

2009-10-03T01:37:00.001+10:00

We have coder down! I repeat, CODER DOWN!

Drifting on a Breeze

2009-10-03T00:43:00.000+10:00

Uh... what?

That Speak to Me in Secret Sighs

2009-10-02T22:43:00.005+10:00

We're into the sleeping now - James and Josh are AWL, because they have permission. Elle, Steve and I are holding the (freezing) fort, underneath the air conditioner that will no doubt be a welcome companion during tomorrow's afternoon. Unfortunately, it didn't rain today, as the weatherman promised, so the outside weather is still a bit crappy.

There have been pies, sandwiches and Tim Tams from the friendly support staff, and coffee from the friendly support Steve, but despite all this, energy is low. I spent a while working on our spiffy new logo up top, and now I'm working on the soon-to-come Twitter Surprise, which, if you know anything about it or will soon know anything about it, is why I'm taking a break to blog. We'll see how it goes, and it doesn't quite fit the tone so far, but it's an interesting exercise, and that's a big part of why I'm a writer.

I may also learn Norwegian this weekend.

So we're travelling on, ever so blithely, with our tails in the air and memories of home behind us. The night is just beginning, and the taste of home-brand milk is sweet. More photos!

This is why we sent him to bed.

And this is why we don't even try to send Steve anywhere (watch out!).

Yena and the delicious cookies.

The cookies make some friends! And Then There Were Nom.

Please don't kill me, Agatha Christie.

Dreaming of the Stars On High

2009-10-02T21:10:00.004+10:00

Welcome, welcome! You've found the blog of Dimensionography, one of the groups competing in Brisbane's 2009 48-Hour Game-Making Competition! I hope that's what you were looking for, because it's certainly not anything else!

Gratuitous exclamation marks aside, we're in the comp, and well on our way. I've had a late start posting, because we've been busy designing, deciding on an art style, and figuring out a sleeping order. Yes, alas, we're sleeping this year. It ain't as easy as it used to be; we are old, Father William! And Josh is controlling gameplay with his chin. I believe it's already begun.

We're firmly established off the left side of the webcam shot. Don't look for us: we're not there. We may be, briefly, but our fleeting presence isn't entirely webcam-worthy, it being some 20 feet away from all the action of the competition floor, and all people looking mostly indistinguishable from that angle and distance.

Our words, I hear you ask? Our words? Well, here they are:

Storm
Giant
Love

As you can imagine, we're making a game about a giant storm of love destroying New York City. Don't think it makes sense? Ask Jerry Bruckheimer. We've already had an offer for a movie sequel.

We've also had an offer of cookies from the inestimable Yena Lowe. We accepted the latter, as it made us feel less like sellouts, and more like cookies. Which we ate. And they were delicious. So delicious that, if you lick your screen and imagine really hard, you may just be able to taste the awesome.

By the way, there will be a Twitter thing happening in the next couple of hours. It's not a blog, it's not a chronicle, it's a blonicle! But it should be interesting nonetheless. I'll post a link, so stay tuned!

Oh, and here's the rest of the welcoming committee:

Welcome, welcome to City 17...

(PS~ If you're not Christine, don't keep reading... We've eaten Nandos and are supping on water. We are still alive and functioning. Rejoice. xoL~)