Sarah had oral surgery this week and was out of commission for a few days. That said, we got some good odds and ends done. The more progress we make on our designs, the more we’re starting to get a sense for how things can fit together. There’s some really interesting ideas flowing and it definitely feels like we’re cooking at this point.
Conveyor belts
One of our goals for the project is that it will have automation elements but not necessarily be dominated by automation. We want the player to earn the right to automate tasks as they become redundant and frustrating but continue to be challenged by newer tasks as the older ones become automated. There will be all kinds of gizmos and gadgets related to the automation of tasks, but none will be more prevalent than the Conveyor Belt.
This week, I was able to model the Basic, T, and Corner conveyor belts, get them textured, animated, and write the physics code necessary to actually move items around. I still need to write an engine for the player to actually place conveyors in the world once they’ve unlocked the ability to use them. The concept we were going for was more of real-world conveyors, like in an automated distribution center, where the contents can be a little haphazard and sloppy in an organized-chaos type of way. Some of our favorite automation games do the neat-and-orderly belt style, and that’s fantastic also, just not the look we’re going for.
Check it out:
We think it ended up looking pretty cool. You can see how it evolved throughout the week starting from the animations to the first physics proof of concept. We think it’s pretty slick (in our own biases of course) but I’m sure it’ll need to be tweaked and re-tweaked as other mechanics take shape.
Personally, I like watching the belts get overloaded. There’s something strangely satisfying about running through the pile at the end. It’s like jumping in leaves virtually.
Fun stuff!
More Icons
We got a few more icons done this week, for the Iron Gear, Rope, and Paper icons. I really like the hand painted look and feel of these icons. They feel very soft and approachable. Sarah took another recording of herself banging the Iron Gear out.
My personal favorite from this week is probably the paper icon. I just think it feels soft and whimsical. Totally the look we’re trying to hit with these things.
Admin Stuff
For all the fun stuff, there’s always the fair share of admin nonsense to deal with. This week we got the paperwork back from the state of Pennsylvania formalizing our LLC formation. This allows us to move on to some of the next steps from an admin standpoint that we’re planning. It was important to us to form an LLC (while potentially overcautious given our field) because there’s really not a whole lot of potential downside. The cost to form one probably hovers around $100 depending on where you live ($125 for us) to create the figurative separation of church and state should the unforeseen occur. For us, we’re planning on bringing contractors or other assistance in at some point, and while we plan on making the terms clear and agreed upon for any of these efforts, disputes can happen and it’s nice to be protected.
One of the most important things that we’re ironing out now is the operating agreement. It’s interesting to work with your significant other, luckily we tend to get on pretty well. That said, we do disagree at times and occasionally bristle at each-others constructive criticism. To keep a project going, an operating agreement like the one we’re wrapping up can have language around how disputes are handled so that everyone doesn’t just dig their heels in and progress grinds to a halt. It creates this nice sense that even if you don’t get your way, it’s not the other person trying to undermine you, you’re just following the rules of the game that you agreed to from the start. That alone is worth it.
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Cross-posted from: https://www.essembi.com/devlog/2-13-update-conveyor-belts-more-icons-and-admin-nonsense/
