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Spore

When I first heard about Spore, I was ecstatic. It sounded like a beautiful mix of EVO, Majesty, and a gazillion other equally amazing games I will currently fail to mention. When the first videos were released in 2006, I was even happier. The potential I saw in the game was virtually unfathomable.

But a lot has changed since the game was announced so many years ago, and I'm more than a bit worried. Most of what I've heard is just rumors, but others are rather threatening and right before my face.



Compare these two images. The one on the top is from 2006, the one on the bottom is from 2008. What's the difference? The one on the bottom is a lot more stylized.

And yes, I do have a problem with that. The more you "stylize" the content of a game, the more you limit what things and experiences your player can have in that game. (Since everything has to adhere to the style.) Which goes entirely against what spore was supposed to be all about! The spore I saw in 2006 had more of an old-world feel- (which I admit I love) but the thing is, you could change that if you wanted. The whole thing felt more organic- and organic things are those must untouched by human creativity. It was a mystical, clean slate.

But now... I'm afraid I just don't feel the same way towards it. The new videos and advertisements make it look like they changed everything to look very kiddish. Not that I think this "style" should be unaccessible in the game; just that those of us who want big, scary, lurking ocean monsters shouldn't be forced into it.

What's more- and this was just a rumor- I heard they took out the ocean stage entirely! That means no swimming, straight from the cell to the shore! I'm devastated! The instant I heard about the game my first plan for a monster was underwater. I'm hoping it was nothing but chatter, but I've seen foreboding prophecies such as this come true before.

So, what are your thoughts on the game's progression? I'm currently wondering whether or not I'm going to buy it at all, at this point.... That may sound snide, but the entire way I wanted to play the game, and experience it, seems to have been removed.

Here's the link to the original 35 minute video from 2006; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8dvMDFOFnA
And here's a shorter one from 2008; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QU8CwbYhuaw

I have come to show you my sprites.




I made these chickens! :DD. Aren't you proud of me?

Anyway... they're original sprites from the ground up. I had some pictures of chickens to look at, but otherwise these babies are entirely original. Don't they look delicio- I mean, adorable?

I'll eventually post all the animals I make as resources, once I've got them all done. All in all, it will include these chickens, a cow, and a dog ripped from Seiken Densetsu 3. Not a lot, I know, but I'm going to start small.

So... what do you think of my chickens? My favorite part is the rooster's tail. What I don't like is how I only have three frames, so I can't have them pick up their feet as they step forwards- like chickens are famous for doing. And the hen's tail looks sort of weird, I think I made it move too much. What says you?

Now a topic about character design.

In my opinion, character design is one of the most important aspects of video games- unless, of course, you've got something like the Halo series or a MMORPG where your audience creates it's own character.

What are some game characters you've liked in the past? It can be anything about their appearance or personality that especially stood out to you, and made them memorable. Moreover, what do you focus on when you create your own characters? One of my personal favorites was Ferris from Final Fantasy Five, if only because they actually gave a girl character high hp. And why not? She'd been living with pirates on a ship all her life, of course she would have built up some serious durability. Which reminds me; it's much better to be realistic about your characters than to stick to normal expectations.

For me, empathy is the most important aspect of the main character. His or her reactions to any tragedies or victories they may face in the game need to be the most realistic- in my opinion, of course. Which ties into the writing aspect of character design.

Do art and writing have equal value in character design? And what are your thoughts on how both should be used to their fullest potential?

Let's talk away.

Really weird BGM error in RM2K. -problem solved-

Right after I downloaded the Rpg Maker 2000 RTP 1.32 optional extension, something really weird started to happen to BGMs. They won't play in a test run of the game or by opening the BGM selector. But the weird part is, if I open up another file in Windows Media player, I can then hear the song being played on top of the file I originally told Windows Media player to open.

At first I thought it had something to do with setting Windows Media Player as the default program for Midi files. So, I went and fixed that. They still won't play.

It was working fine before this download. I also imported some BGMs, but I did that after this problem first occurred. Is anybody familiar with this, or should I just give up and re-download RM2K? I only needed the contents of the RTP 1.32 to play somebody else's game, but I can get rid of it now.

Any suggestions?
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