Of course, I failed to deliver making something out of it because I didn’t prepare soon enough, but that doesn’t mean I’m content-less. : D

I drew some concept art a while back. I don’t remember the exact reason why but I’m pretty sure it was to get an idea of how the game would look across various scenes.

My example scene, for some reason, was Turk’s hideout. On a side note, World of Whimsy has absolutely nothing to do with Turk, I guess it just seemed like a good test scene.

I think looking at the picture shows the various styles of gameplay the series incorporates, and that’s something I’m trying to implement in World of Whimsy at varied levels. One thing you may notice is the rail jump. That idea was  put off into the Lithodora box. It’ll be much more useful in that game.

Well that’s the update for today. A few ideas crossed my mind for today’s update, like finishing the final Felix model, or going a bit deeper into that Jung typology I’m always talking about for a few more characters, or starting a series of web comics that wraps up Tale of the Night (seeing as I have no intention of doing it in game).

Ah well, maybe another day.

Although I’d never want to use too much voice acting, that is to say every line wouldn’t be voiced out, it’s always something I’m thinking about. One day I would like for it to happen, but right now it’s pretty much out of the question. The chance someone could actually do a voice for a low price and not sound amateurish is incredibly low. I’m extremely picky and when it comes to things like this and currently I’m pretty cheap as well : )

Well enough about why I can’t do it, let’s delve a bit more into my delusion.What should the characters sound like? While I have a number of ideas I’ll limit to list to characters I’ve covered more frequently.

Felix
Tone: Light, Quizzical, Relaxed, Upbeat, Intelligent, Playful, Cheerful, Nervous, Sorrowful, Cheesy
Felix is an odd character with a personality so cheerful and carefree that it comes off annoying sometimes. While happy and laidback, his tone is also sad and nervous, often fluctuating between the two very quickly. On rarer occasions he takes a more aggressive or darker tone, typically he takes this form in life or death scenarios.

Best Representation:
A lot of years ago I said the best representation for Felix was Sebastian Arcelus for his role as Yoh Asakura in Shaman King, but now it’s probably more closer to Tadahiro Amatsu in Shrine of the Morning Mist. Hiro captures his nervousness and has a more adult tone but is too serous. Yoh captures his upbeat tone fairly well but doesn’t sound old enough. I’m positive a mix of these voice would work very well.

Wiley
Tone: Pessimistic, Grumpy, Cocky, Loner, Immature, Brash, Offensive, Carefree, Annoyed, Sarcastic, Lazy
Wiley is the type of character to say exactly what he is thinking, as long as what he’s thinking isn’t a compliment. While his tone can sound angry, it its really just sarcastic and angsty. When this layer is peeled back he seems much less threatening to those around him. He has a slapstick sense of humor and has no problem laughing at or making fun of people.

Best Representation:
A lot of years ago I said the best representation for Wiley was Richard Ian Cox for his role as Inuyasha. That hasn’t changed at all. If there was one role I could hear clearly in my head it would be his, probably because they’re so similar. Although there are a lot of angry loner characters out there, he sticks out for some reason.

Karina
Tone: Prissy, Witty, Cynical, Deceptive, Dramatic, Glamorous, Snarky, Mischievous, Scornful, Playful, Poetic
Karina likes to smile, but it’s more of a devilish smile. She enjoys speaking in posh girlish tones and has a very upper class laugh. When others know her well enough however, she may switch to her natural cynical tone which is still posh but more dominant and snide, her laugh also changes sounding more evil. Her less playful side shows her intellectual tone more but is usually accompanied by a bitter tone.

Best Representation:
I really don’t have one. Rachael Lillis’s Jessie role from Pokemon set the baseline for the characters style of speech but the role is so comedic that using my imagination to fill in the gaps would likely be a stretch. I’ve only listened to a sample, but Jamie Marchi‘s role of Helen from Claymore seems to come very close, but the character seems to have an air-headed tone to her which throws things off. I may look more into the actual show more one day.

While I don’t have the means to produce actual voice actors, it’s always fun to think about things like this ahead of time. If anyone out there is remotely interested in voice acting or just voices in general please visit http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com. It’s a very excellent site!

I still don’t have anything new to show so once again I’ll bring in something old and discarded. Before I probably even started programming I made this stage demo. There’s a fire and Felix must save, Catrina, from her burning mansion. If you read this walkthrough you’d clearly see the game was never meant to be about busting heads all the time unless you include puzzles that may give someone a headache. While the following walkthrough isn’t very well made or well thought out, I do think it gives a real sense of my style of adventure which is a bit more akin to point and click games. The picture shown is actually just the first floor.

1. Use something from the backyard to break the glass in the backyard

2. Go to the library take the step ladder and then climb into the dining room through the back window.

3. Turn on the thermostat to put out the fire next to the vent in the living room

4. Grab a screwdriver from the utility closet and climb out the living room window.

5. Take the screwdriver and wedge the window open to the kitchen

6. Get the fire extinguisher from the kitchen and head to the bathroom

7. After putting out the fires go in the bathroom and get the plunger

8. Go to the utility closet and combine the plunger with the rope

9. Use the rope and plunger and throw it into the broken off water drain outside and use it to climb up to the veranda.

10. Go into the workroom and out the window grab on the gutter outside and shimmy across it to the balcony.

11. On the balcony, grab the vines draping around the rail.

12. After breaking the balcony window lasso the vines across to the rail above the upstairs grand hall.

13. Climb across the vine and go to the upstairs utility closet to get a wrench.

14. Go back to the balcony and use the wrench on a loose gutter on the other side of the balcony.

15. Shimmy across the gutter to the master bathroom.

16. Exit out the master bath to the bedroom where you’ll find Catrina knocked out.

17. Take her credit card and exit out the bedroom to the hall and use it to enter locked doors like the guest room

18. In the guest room, drag out the dresser into the hall in front of the stairs.

19. Get Catrina and place her on the dresser.

20. Felix will Jump on the dresser as it goes through the fire breaking through the door and the gate outside it to safety.

If you’re thinking what I’m thinking, that was confusing, a bit obtuse, and there were a lot of things on there that probably wouldn’t even work (the vent, screwdriver on a window, plunger, sliding down a curving staircase on the door). I’m still questioning the arrangement of the house also. I also think I was going to throw a time limit in there too! It’s certainly not the best example of Felix adventuring but I think you get an idea where the heart is. That still hasn’t changed.

On an unrelated note, Happy Valentines Day