The character offset is a good idea. Go with that.
As far as LPC goes, I think it would fit this project nicely, but custom sprites are better, because they allow for more unique visuals. Good luck finding someone to do LPC quality sprites for free, though.
I have only used Java in a school environment and honestly do not like the platform as a whole enough to invest personal time into it, but the language has a nice syntax and some very useful standard libraries. If you're looking to port your game engine to another language, you should consider Haxe and C++ with SDL.
I normally use the CC-BY-SA license on OGA because I want the art based on my art to be shared as well. You do not need to share the code of the game that uses the art, just the derivative art assets. There are some who would argue otherwise, but if it really worries you, contact me (or whatever other artist) privately and negotiate on a different license, as Curt suggested.
That has a CodeBlocks project file, too, shirish, which is pretty cool. I wouldn't recommend it to beginners to try dissecting C++ code, though. I would send them to something simpler, like Flash or Game Maker or Love2D. I would also recommend they not look at open source projects until they've read up on object-oriented programming and design patterns.
I like free-roaming gameplay, but I don't care about whether or not I change the story's outcome. It just isn't that big of a deal unless I'm playing a game that focuses on its story above all else, like a choose-your-own-adventure book.
Anyway, it is easy to come up with your own plot points and make some flowcharts. Then, you could simply plan some pathes. Give the player two or three plot lines that could be driven by choices in the game. Then, you get the illusion of freedom that pennomi was talking about. It takes a lot of work, so most developers stay clear of multiple plot points unless it's a kind of replayability bonus, like a "get through the game in less than 5 hours to see the secret ending" kind of challenge.
I think the colors make it seem very much like a Spider-Man style creature. Suddenly, a scorpion could sting someone and instead of killing him, it turns him into Scorpion-Man. :D
Coming up with names seems pretty easy to do. I just take the game idea or story idea and apply some key words from that idea to the meaning of the name... or I just choose a name that sounds good.
More specifically, say you have a story about a boy who dreams up a world where everyone was turned into pig slaves to do their master's bidding, and the boy must defeat that master by using his trusty telidoscope!
Key words: dream, pig, slavery
Potential names for the title of the story: Porkchopper (Unintentionally brings up helicopter ideas.) Piglatin (Too plain, not very descriptive of the game.) What Pigs May Come (Perfect, it references a movie with "dreams" in the title, and it describes the premise of the story quite well.)
Potential names for the boy: James Porker (Random and quickly thought up, whatever.) Brendan Slop (Brendan refers to having "pig odor" while Slop refers to food you feed to either a pig or a slave. Not catchy enough.) Al Swine (Al would be short for Almos, meaning "prince". This name could also be considered the title, "All Swine", to describe the premise. Calling him the prince of pigs could be a hint at the story's ending.)
You could take a more realistic route, but I find that a quickly thought up, funny name can be a lot more memorable. In the case of the planned story, it seems fitting to choose a childish naming style to reflect the childish story.
I've noticed that a lot of the models shared on BlendSwap either do not hae rigs at all or are rigged very poorly. You're better off just looking at rigging tutorials and making a rig of your own.
The character offset is a good idea. Go with that.
As far as LPC goes, I think it would fit this project nicely, but custom sprites are better, because they allow for more unique visuals. Good luck finding someone to do LPC quality sprites for free, though.
I honestly don't even like the RPG Maker sprites all that much. Maybe I have seen them used too often. I just don't see why so many people use them.
I really love the green color. Good job on that one.
I like the particle effect. Nice depth sorting.
I have only used Java in a school environment and honestly do not like the platform as a whole enough to invest personal time into it, but the language has a nice syntax and some very useful standard libraries. If you're looking to port your game engine to another language, you should consider Haxe and C++ with SDL.
I normally use the CC-BY-SA license on OGA because I want the art based on my art to be shared as well. You do not need to share the code of the game that uses the art, just the derivative art assets. There are some who would argue otherwise, but if it really worries you, contact me (or whatever other artist) privately and negotiate on a different license, as Curt suggested.
That has a CodeBlocks project file, too, shirish, which is pretty cool. I wouldn't recommend it to beginners to try dissecting C++ code, though. I would send them to something simpler, like Flash or Game Maker or Love2D. I would also recommend they not look at open source projects until they've read up on object-oriented programming and design patterns.
I like free-roaming gameplay, but I don't care about whether or not I change the story's outcome. It just isn't that big of a deal unless I'm playing a game that focuses on its story above all else, like a choose-your-own-adventure book.
Anyway, it is easy to come up with your own plot points and make some flowcharts. Then, you could simply plan some pathes. Give the player two or three plot lines that could be driven by choices in the game. Then, you get the illusion of freedom that pennomi was talking about. It takes a lot of work, so most developers stay clear of multiple plot points unless it's a kind of replayability bonus, like a "get through the game in less than 5 hours to see the secret ending" kind of challenge.
Very nice art. Nicely animated, too.
I think the colors make it seem very much like a Spider-Man style creature. Suddenly, a scorpion could sting someone and instead of killing him, it turns him into Scorpion-Man. :D
Coming up with names seems pretty easy to do. I just take the game idea or story idea and apply some key words from that idea to the meaning of the name... or I just choose a name that sounds good.
More specifically, say you have a story about a boy who dreams up a world where everyone was turned into pig slaves to do their master's bidding, and the boy must defeat that master by using his trusty telidoscope!
Key words: dream, pig, slavery
Potential names for the title of the story:
Porkchopper (Unintentionally brings up helicopter ideas.)
Piglatin (Too plain, not very descriptive of the game.)
What Pigs May Come (Perfect, it references a movie with "dreams" in the title, and it describes the premise of the story quite well.)
Potential names for the boy:
James Porker (Random and quickly thought up, whatever.)
Brendan Slop (Brendan refers to having "pig odor" while Slop refers to food you feed to either a pig or a slave. Not catchy enough.)
Al Swine (Al would be short for Almos, meaning "prince". This name could also be considered the title, "All Swine", to describe the premise. Calling him the prince of pigs could be a hint at the story's ending.)
You could take a more realistic route, but I find that a quickly thought up, funny name can be a lot more memorable. In the case of the planned story, it seems fitting to choose a childish naming style to reflect the childish story.
I've noticed that a lot of the models shared on BlendSwap either do not hae rigs at all or are rigged very poorly. You're better off just looking at rigging tutorials and making a rig of your own.
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