Day 91

Chapter 3! And with preparation for V0.3, that means the obvious next step is drawing a whole new title page! Today, I'm thinking about focusing on the theme of "Butt Probes". Something about that just has me snickering, and that's part of what makes this particular chapter a lot of fun.

As for what's been taking up my time elsewhere (writing this on July 12), I've started sinking my time into an old-school MMO. And it was fun up until I got mid-tier with it (even if in a "turn your mind off" sort of way), but past that point I could REALLY FEEL the grind! The game was automatically programmed to remind me to take a break, and that reminder came several times over the past week or two. Easy for it to say that, when 1) the grind requires full-blown days of effort to reach the peak (or weeks when accounting for human basic needs), and 2) thousands of others have done so in the past, particularly with dozens all running around in the wild having succeeded, and that leaves my low-level self feeling insecure in their presence. At this point, I'm not playing for fun so much as for toughening and improving my own inner strength (or as defined by the rules of my own RPG, "upgrading Spirit Defense"; arguably Mind Defense since Mind governs sanity, but Spirit is where the inner strength comes from as that's the "power of heart").

This feels like a less extreme concept of what ice swimming would do to a person. That's the sort of thing where the mere attempt is enough to prove someone as a badass, never mind actually succeeding. But for ice swimming, I personally imagine two prongs of appeal: toughness, and masochism. Both are extremely rare and proportionately sexy, in my opinion.

If any females out there see this and start producing the right juices as a result, you know how to respond. That's also part of why I looked into MMOs. I've seen the legends, of partnerships formed in such virtual universes. Sadly, to this day, they remain just that: legends. It's the sort of thing you'd tell your kids for a bedtime story, right alongside your favorite brand of mythology or whatever misadventures your otherwise routine errands had procured. What's important is that I still remain sadly single, though fully aware there are worse outcomes than being single and sad. Doubly since I've given up on the dating sites, because I got sick of all the bible thumpers and dog humpers. (Both of which, by the way, could make for valid enemy types in either this game or its hypothetical sequel!)

But, as for the here and now, the human mind was not designed to be turned off for such extensive periods. I need stimulation and excitement. So, that's part of what's pushing me back towards work on my game, doubly since I am specifically itching to make productivity fun again.

11:20 PM, almost midnight, I *WAS* planning on getting back into the saddle, though I feel *slightly* off, probably because I was a little late in keeping the vertigo in check. Plus, computer has more updates to do. Meaning, especially how I know "excitement agitates symptoms", I'm not sure about focusing on drawing at this time. A shame!

12:10 AM, almost 1 hour later (of social media, updates, and thinking), I feel like I should look up a couple very specific South Park references to get into the mindset of "Butt Probes". I mean I sort of see it in my head, but I very much want a frame-of-reference to work with.
12:15 AM, got a mild headache, but I think I can work through it if I'm slow and careful. Not ideal when trying to have fun depicting butt-probes, but I still think it's doable. Starting the process of making the title screen for V0.3 now!

1 AM, got decent progress while snickering the whole way through. Trying to give Scarlet this sadistic yet enticed look on her face as she's about to do the honors of violently probing one of the captured invaders. And the way she holds up this magenta object, it's like a paladin going all "Feel the Power of Thy SWORD!" Yes, that's a heavy metal reference. Look it up. The metal by itself is badass and awesome, but it's so crazy funny to me in this specific context of a 5-year-old girl violently butt-probing an alien invader!
God, now I'm tempted to make a whole scene of Scarlet against the aliens, and having a secret alternative to the knife be a dildo, and for beating the whole chapter (like Chapter 7 or 8) with just that, and having a special achievement for it called "The Power of Thy Sword". Also there'd be a special soundtrack check for, "IF Scarlet is wielding Dildo, THEN play Jay's version of 'Power of Thy Sword', ELSE play the normal Chapter Song".
Of course, I'd first have to revamp the knife mechanics and implement glory kills or similar features to make the knife useful. One other problem: the dildo finishers need to be of a different animation from the knife finishers, so...one thing at a time. Focus, we're drawing the V0.3 title screen right now. (Well, TRYING TO, when I can get past all my laughing, daydreaming, and juvenile snickering)
As for Scarlet's probe sword, I wanted it colored magenta for a reason. In video gaming culture, when something is just plain magenta, not the stylized sort we see in big budget games, it usually means "texture missing" or the texture *is* there but the computer is not commanded correctly to look where it's supposed to, similar to how the T-Pose is when a 3D character model has no animation or something broke in the code and thus the computer falls back onto a default state. The only difference is that here, it's no error, it's done on purpose as a silly chuckle to reference such goof-ups in the gaming industry.
(The ACTUAL "texture missing" is a checker pattern of magenta and black, and that's MUCH HARDER to implement than just plain magenta.)

1:35 AM, I think I am almost done (tm) with drawing the title screen. Many of the design choices directly reference the old-school South Park, namely their very first episode "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe". I really like the simplicity of the show back then, and how that makes everything more adorable. The new stuff is still good, and while the art direction is gorgeous there, I personally liked the cuter, old-school better. Just a matter of opinion, since it matters for the context of explaining what inspires Short Bus.
After subtracting breaks and distractions, probably took about 30-60 minutes of real work so far.

2 AM, I'm losing focus. Feeling a bit "bleh" too. But at least the title page is mostly done. Just have to add a few colors and try to redesign the logo, since what I currently have feels very placeholder. Just gonna clock it at 1 hour of work.

That aside, there are 2 points I checked on. First, most of the games I'm super excited for are still in PENDING limbo states. On the other hand, the achievement stat for The Way of the Badass has changed (used to be under 10%, now it's at 35.7%), meaning people *ARE*, in fact, playing my game. That's incredible.

(1 nap and lunch later...)
I still don't feel it. I know I felt it a day or 2 ago, meaning I guess I should just go grind until my brain pleads to do something creative. I regret not striking on that impulse at the time, but I was too focused on reaching my goals of the time.
Funny timing, even *that* game is going through an imminent update, so now's not a good time to grind, either.

8:10 AM, MMO servers doing weekly updates, so...guess it's time to get back to drawing. And I keep laughing because of "THEY WILL KNOW THE POWER OF MY SWORD!" By itself, the song at face value is badass...but what makes it funny HERE is the context of Scarlet wielding her butt-probe, holding it high, the same way the paladins would point their blades of heroism to the heavens. Blending that imagery, with that music...THAT is what I find so funny.
Also those metal album covers are starting to inspire me to design a "not-placeholder" LOGO for the game!

8:50 AM, new dialogue box. This will happen right when you beat Chimera, so that Scarlet informs the player it's time to head back to the Badass Bunker for more character development and, more importantly, that's where Chapter 3 will transpire. Remember that panel to the left of the foyer? Yeah, that's now going to be implemented as the holding room for any captured survivors. And it's part of where Scarlet will do her probing and intrusive psycho-analysis.
Mua hahaha!

9:10 AM, after about another hour or so of creative energy, I feel the need for another break. I lost my momentum, and I need to decorate the setting of the room where all the brain invading and butt probing will transpire.

10:15 AM, let's get started on that new dialogue box.
10:25 AM, the box is drawn, so including the slow-downs from low energy, took about all of 10 minutes to go from start to finish. Though, with that all said and done, I definitely feel another urge to just conk out and get ready for bed. Caffeine and metal music can only keep a person awake for so long until the inevitable happens.

There's one other problem. Feels like, I can't regain any of my energy, no matter how much I rest or eat. And this means it's hard to do *anything*, work OR play.
On top of that, at 11PM or so, Wednesday night, the whole house stank with overwhelming skunk. Even my gas mask was only partially effective at filtering it out!

Thursday...
I just wish everyone could shut up. I am simply done. I ran out of patience for all the bullcrap back in 2020. Not only am I having internal struggles with focusing, I also have to endure loads of rambling and futility behind-the-behind-the-scenes, which adds layer upon layer of "I can't bring myself to work on the game like I'm supposed to be doing." Part of me feels like I'm making excuses, but every gut instinct is like, "I'm done. I can't take all the mind-numbing crap of reality."

In all seriousness, tell me what you think of the new logo. I seriously want something that says "badass" but I'm having trouble with how specifically to convey that. We can all agree that some of the original logos are mere placeholders.

Friday...
OK, if there are no more skunks, stinks, MMO fixations, annoying family, bachelor blues, berserker boner, medical concerns or maintenance appointments (a.k.a. BREACHES OF QUARANTINE), energy shortages (electricity and human energy), or any number of ideas in my imagination that I find distracting, it's time to focus on finishing this up for the time and getting a move-on!
Just know that when I have been saying there's been difficulty focusing, I am not joking!

2:50 AM, back in the saddle!
3:15 AM, backgrounds are simple and basic, but mostly passable right now. Later there's going to be more dialogue, the music shop opening, and new codex entries for the Chapter 2 Boss Fight. All of that will have various checks from new variables to make sure it's all in line with the story's progression. But that's not for today, just know that's on the to-do list.
3:35 AM, let's get this all saved into more universal file formats and over to the game engine.

I think everyone's going through an overwhelming whirlwind of crap right now, and while we all deal with it differently, we all have the same problem: too much crap, all happening too fast. For me, I'm trying to tell everything to shut up, but that's only getting so far.

3:40 PM, one other point for the near to-do list...I need the Chapter 3 Title Card!

4:05 AM, let's test the new room.
Had to clean up some old residue from the V0.2.1 launch screen.
4:10 AM, new door is not working. We are specifically at a point where the Chapter 2 Boss should be dead, and the global variable for "Chapter 2 Beat" is now flagged to greater than zero (which is just a roundabout way of telling a boolean to read as "true"). So, for debugging, we'll make the invisible door object visible.
ALSO I'm not sure if the secret shortcut is despawning when it should be.
That said, the new door is not being made visible, so I'm led to imagine it's not spawning.

4:15 AM, debug tells me that killing the Chapter 2 Boss Fight is NOT triggering a "Chapter 2 Beat" condition. What we need is, "IF all 3 boss bad guys are dead, THEN declare Chapter 2 Beat as greater than zero."
On the bright side, it is FUCKING AWESOME watching the Colonel just RIP AND TEAR through the boss fight, making it look like the chimera enforcers get shredded if he so much as SNEEZES at them! It also makes debugging more effective and entertaining, since we can jump right to the condition check without having to do the "actual, proper boss fight". It's all part of why having access to him so early counts as a cheat.
4:30 AM, now it's working. Got distracted daydreaming for a few minutes also, and I didn't even need to get rid of the "End of Demo" pop-up. Though, one thing I noticed: if Steam says I'm playing "Spacewar", that's a lie. Not sure why it defaults to saying that game, but what's REALLY happening is that I'm testing The Way of the Badass.
What's important is that the doors are now working as intended, and I actually think I need a way to kill the music when inside the probe room. There's a specific reason for it, and it's mostly to show there's a change of tone like the foyer. Maybe mute all music for the foyer as well.

4:50 PM, almost forgot to add a dialogue box for Chapter 2 Done, where Scarlet reminds the player that it's time to go back to home base to continue the story. Mechanically, from a design standpoint, it's very much like in the tutorial cave after killing the spider she would say, "There's nothing left for me here." It's to nudge the player along.
And this means there's going to be a lot more dialogue to do, from Duke talking about that biometric door to him wincing when Scarlet does the actual butt probing of the alien specimen.
Now that I think about it, I think I need *ONE* more variable...to check if Scarlet's reminder had already come up. It won't be saved to the INI file, for that would make it pop up once AND ONLY ONCE! We want this to be each time you resurface or resume, to give sufficient reminder of "OK, time to move on".

5 AM, now that Chapter 2 is wrapped up, we can go back to doing something even more fun: writing the codex for Chapter 2 Boss! Then it's something a little less fun: nesting the if-then logic checks for Scarlet's codex book to check for Chapter 2 being beat in order to reveal the details and the fun I had with writing.

6:05 AM, finishing up the writing and double-checking of the 3 new codex pages, which included a few slow-downs to admire my work and to try and conjure new ideas for what to write about the bosses. So, took about an hour of work. Starting at 2:50 AM, so about 3 hours of work. Yet it felt like 6 or 8.
And, once I get these pages implemented, this is where I'm going to tap out for this entry. A new dialogue box, a new room and background, new lore for the boss fight, debugging Chapter 2 to make sure it gets flagged as beat...all in a day's work, and a part-time pace no less.
One other point I noticed now, is that I don't have codex entries on jetpack aliens or the golems. Bleh.

6:30 AM, Codex entries ready for testing.
Everything works now, so time to record some video and package the Dev Diary.
If I go too fast with the codex pages, you should be able to stop the video, as I leave enough time for you to pause this time. Or, I'll just splay them in this Dev Diary. Note that because of the title screen, this one is NOT going up on Youtube.

6:40 AM, had to RE-record the video because while the video was good, audio capture failed. Stupid OBS, thinking my headset is invalid when I've never unplugged it. And as per usual, I skip through redundant content to get to the new parts, which is why I flip through most of Scarlet's book so fast. That aside, video looks good, so back to final steps of preparing to distribute the Dev Diary.

Even after everything is implemented, I still have to check emails as part of the final distribution process of sending out the Dev Diary. So, the work isn't done until email goes out and this get published onto Steam for the public to view and criticize.
7 AM, logins passed so now I am inside the technical backend. And, for vague metrics, people keeping up with the latest Dev Diary (Day 90) has dropped compared to the record-breaking spike of sick leave and the 1 year milestone, but the numbers are still solidly in the double digits. Very impressive for my expectations!

7:20 AM, finishing up proofreading and correcting typos as best as I can, so now here's the video:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hMnT6oYsHP1AFjCEwZPYyNaZwWJeKx0O/view?usp=sharing

7:30 AM, going through final double-checks, because when I hit "publish" and send out emails, that's when I'm clocking out. From 2:50 AM to now, that's about 4.5 hours worked today.

SO, to hopefully help me focus for Dev Diary Day 92, here's next time's to-do list:
Codex for Golem, Jetpack Alien, NPC section marker, Tom, and Heather (Easy but time-consuming)
Dialogue to start Chapter 3 (Very Tedious)
Colonel reload animation (Tedious)
Improve Scarlet's reload animation (Tedious)
Chapter 3 Title Card (Easy)
Music Shop Interior (Tedious)
Coding and debugging it all to make it smooth (easier said than done)

See you in a few days.

Semper Bellum!
Jay