chirping along!

Hello folks! I'm really sorry its been a few days since my last update. I have been working on the mermaid game in the meantime, there's been quite a bit of progress I want to share with you!

The backend functionality of the game is getting close to finished. there are a couple of bugs and edge cases I am trying to squash, but as soon as this part is over, it's on to making a bunch of art and then getting you guys to test the game out!

I made a few test clamshell "chests" which will eventually open to reveal something for the players, as well as a crabby "lock" which prevents players from swimming through without solving a puzzle.

Lani can now "chirp"! this is the primary way that puzzles are solved. the final solution to all puzzles in the game is always a word. typing on the keyboard, you can say the word, and Lani will chirp it. if she says the right word to the right object, it will trigger something to change...

you can see the chest opens when she says the very mystical password...

I also built a collision system! lani cannot swim through these coral blocks here.

YOU WOULD NOT BELIEVE HOW LONG IT TOOK ME TO IMPLEMENT THIS.

( ╥ω╥ )

I kept running into problems with the previous movement system I built and it was very easy to "cheat" and get Lani to swim into a block, where she would later get stuck. essentially I had to redo a lot of stuff and this is part of the reason why I didn't have any updates...I was trying to solve. this. one. thing!!!

but I think I got it? so hell yeah.

☆:.｡.o(≧▽≦)o.｡.:☆

You'll notice there are some fish swimming around; this is something I did when I was having trouble with the collision and just needed to give my brain a break. These guys are not interactive, they just swim around and make the space feel more alive! I also figured out how to make the background parallax to give everything some more depth. It was a fun project and just what I needed to get back in the groove.

In regards to the issue I mentioned in my last post, I have sent inquiries to some law firms and am waiting to hear back. there is a really cool organization called Volunteer Lawyers for Artists in boston that helps artists with their copyright issues bro bono or for very reduced costs, and they are currently trying to match me with someone! Fingers crossed. In the meantime, I will not be posting any mermaid-related content on youtube, because I'm afraid of these guys striking me again. I am going to post my little shorts primarily on instagram, which seems to be the safest option for the moment.

Thanks again to everyone for supporting and following along. This game is looking so awesome and I'm really excited to publish it! Okay, here's your sign-off joke (and yes, I'm keeping them nautical themed all month!):

Q: why did the crab cross the road?

A: To get to the other tide!