Vilya's Work-blog! (aka Pixel Ferrets behind the scenes)

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December 10

More enemies to butcher and parade around on your skull. I someday hope to wear Marino's head. I'll settle for Frosty Friend.

http://vilyaroo.blogspot.se/2015/12/hats-3.html

December 11

Time travel enemy concepts introduced!

http://vilyaroo.blogspot.se/2015/12/upcoming-design-time-travel-enemies.html

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I gotta admit, I'm not quite sure what the theme for the enemies here are. It seems a little random compared to the rest of the game. Pumpkin Woods has spooky enemies, Flying Fortress technological/flying, Season Temple has the season power-up and element system. I always assumed that the Time Temple enemies would tie into one of two elements, general asian folklore (ex: japanese umbrella demon/spirit, chinese floating masks, etc) or the concept of time (a living statue with a clock face shield that slows attackers when hit or a clock hand sword that slows, or enemies that phase between a 'young' version and an 'old' version like how season temple phases between elements, etc.)

It seems you'll be fighting plants and worm-type enemies in both Mt. Bloom and Time Temple, too. Hm. Maybe best to wait and see everything in action to see how it ties together. :)

Edit: But oh, man, do I suddenly want a floating mask that vanishes/reappears like ghostys do... only spewing flamethrower fire a split second after appearing, instead of charging. :p That would be amazing. In a room filled with several of them, dodging all the flamethrowers would be crazy.

Speeeew.

upload_2015-12-11_5-3-56.png

Edit2: Ah! Fred explained that the enemies are enemies that would make sense to appear in the Present of the village. :) Not necessarily time-y.
 
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Vilya

Vilya

Developer
Staff member
Yeah, our focus with the enemies in the time travel town-thingy is to give an impression that the village has now been abandoned for a long, long time, causing both greenery and animal life to go wild in the meanwhile :)

In the past you actually won't encounter any regular battles, as the village is still a live village filled with people! It's a bit of a risk we take, seeing how different this will seem compared to the other temples, but I think it can be really cool if we do it right (fingers crossed)!
 
Own

Own

Moderator
I, uh, I could've sworn I posted these...

December 14

http://vilyaroo.blogspot.se/2015/12/flower-challenge-chest-room-bg.html

A treasure room!

December 15

http://vilyaroo.blogspot.se/2015/12/portrait-of-mushroom.html

A dapper gentleman with a hat sure to be censored in Japan!

December 16

http://vilyaroo.blogspot.se/2015/12/mt-bloom-transition-map.html

A beautiful room in Mt. Bloom. Well, this is the last we'll hear of Vilya for a few weeks. Say bye, y'all.

January 4

http://vilyaroo.blogspot.se/2016/01/back-from-holidays-happy-2016.html

Aaand she's back! Wowie-zowie, don't time fly? :D One cool video of a new phaseplate challenge, too! This makes me happy because of the Arcade implications. Challenges, woo~
 
Own

Own

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January 5

Minor miner modifications.

http://vilyaroo.blogspot.se/2016/01/transforming-one-miner-into-another.html

January 6

Vilya drops a ton of art from Time Travel Temple on us!

http://vilyaroo.blogspot.se/2016/01/time-travel-zone01-improvements-part-1.html

I really like the improvements, very smooth and colorful. :)

Given it's asian theme, I wonder how nice it would look with asian lanterns strung up between the buildings and the rock walls, or perhaps from corner to corner of different buildings?


upload_2016-1-6_12-48-16.pngupload_2016-1-6_12-46-25.png


Perhaps an unnecessary bit of style. :p
 
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Own

Own

Moderator
January 7

More time travel town improvements! And if you listen to the video, you can hear a the upcoming Mt. Bloom area music. It sounds pretty great, but I can't wait to get pumped up with the Arcade Remix! :D

http://vilyaroo.blogspot.se/2016/01/time-travel-zone01-improvements-part-2.html

January 8

Ponderings on how to properly make a port town. Gritty, exotic, rich?

http://vilyaroo.blogspot.se/2016/01/upcoming-area-port-town.html

Regardless of what we decide upon in the end, we'll try to keep this town quite small in scale. Probably closer to Startington in size rather than Evergrind City (though most likely it'll end up somewhere between the two). We don't want the player to feel overwhelmed by discovering a whole new city at that point of the story, as we'll actually be closing in on the end!
Click to expand...

Port towns tend to be pretty huge, given all the trading going on. Why not go for the illusion of a greater scale? Have pathways blocked off by piles of merchant goods/crates and barrels that give the impression of a much larger city, or guards standing in place restricting player passage into areas of the city they're not authorized or are too young to access. That or a bunch of buildings with locked doors. People in Port Town aren't as accomodating to visitors as Evergrind and Startington are, with all the banditry afoot. :D

As for the options, I like the Agrabah-themed one most. Because it's a port town that's just after a desert, it fits the theme. Plus it allows for some unique, cool building designs. And Vilya gets to watch the Aladdin movies for research. :p

The ruined, dirty, slummy port town like Tortuga from Pirates of the Caribbean, or Zozo from Final Fantasy 6 seems... a little bit too gloomy for the game? SoG has a very colorful, friendly aesthetic even in the Pumpkin Woods. But maybe since it's the final town it should have that dark, uneasy look about it for just that reason?

A beach with palm trees and rolling waves would be pretty neat, anyhow. :) You could also do a mixture of Agrabah and Zozo. Have the Merchant's Quarter of the city with all the fanciness for traders and merchants, while just behind that are the slums with the bandits and poor folk.

All three options have their own appeals. Eager to see what you pick.
 
Own

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January 11

Look at all this beautiful art, and scarecrows with clothes. :)

http://vilyaroo.blogspot.se/2016/01/time-travel-zone01-improvements-part-3.html

January 12

Someone needs to tell these people their dainty little hats look silly!

Which isn't to say I won't be trying to get one to wear myself... but I'm a hat-hoarder.

http://vilyaroo.blogspot.se/2016/01/portrait-of-ancient-priest.html

January 13

We're getting more Phase puzzles! :D Portal has it's portal gun, CrossCode has ball shooting and SoG has it's phase plates. A defining puzzle mechanic, yay. <3

http://vilyaroo.blogspot.se/2016/01/poison-rooms-phase-puzzles.html

January 14

And here's a prototype! Seems it would work fine as an Arcade challenge.

http://vilyaroo.blogspot.se/2016/01/phase-puzzle-prototyping.html

January 15

Crystals under glass. Pretty!

http://vilyaroo.blogspot.se/2016/01/phase-puzzle-lobby-base.html

January 18

Making the lobby for this new high-tech place look awesome.

http://vilyaroo.blogspot.se/2016/01/phase-puzzle-lobby-details.html
 
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January 19

The time travel town gets fleshed out a bit more! I quite like it, it has a lot of fine little details and character to it.

http://vilyaroo.blogspot.se/2016/01/time-travel-zone01-garden-improvements.html

January 20

Phase puzzles! They all look so cool and clever. Getting a very Donkey Kong barrel-esque vibe off of these. Woo!

http://vilyaroo.blogspot.se/2016/01/final-phase-puzzle-prototypes.html

January 21

Different block graphics. Fancy!

http://vilyaroo.blogspot.se/2016/01/puzzle-block-variations-part-1.html

January 22

A new character from the time travel area! Aren't they cute?

http://vilyaroo.blogspot.se/2016/01/portrait-of-priest-apprentice.html
 
The G-Meister

The G-Meister

Giga Slime
If we were going by religious traditions priests could only be male back in the day, so I'd say a boy? Although his neck is a little thin... could just be a child thing.
 
Vilya

Vilya

Developer
Staff member
If you want to know the right answer, check the blog post!
(I spoiled it in this comment first but hey, funnier to watch you guess :D)
 
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Oops, I forgot about this.

January 25

Vilya makes a ton of cool little broken phasing blocks.

http://vilyaroo.blogspot.se/2016/01/puzzle-block-variations-part-2.html

January 26

Vilya offers a miner a shave and an hour in the tanning bed. Lookin' fine!

http://vilyaroo.blogspot.se/2016/01/portrait-one-miner-guy-into-another.html

January 27

Vilya digs a tunnel. Hi-ho, hi-ho~

http://vilyaroo.blogspot.se/2016/01/mount-bloom-map03-tiny-expansion.html

January 28

Vilya makes an adorable miner girl. Aww.

http://vilyaroo.blogspot.se/2016/01/portrait-of-miner-girl.html

January 29

Vilya makes rooms and backgrounds that look cool!

http://vilyaroo.blogspot.se/2016/01/phase-puzzle-1-background.html

February 1

Another miner gets a makeover. From adorable girl to mopey man. Vilya is clearly some manner of witch.

http://vilyaroo.blogspot.se/2016/02/portrait-of-miner-guy.html

February 2

Vilya constructs a chamber of poison to murder players in. How horrible.

http://vilyaroo.blogspot.se/2016/02/poison-map-1-basics.html

February 3

Is that a temple I spy?

http://vilyaroo.blogspot.se/2016/02/poison-map-1-phase-puzzle-entrance.html

February 4

Puzzles! And not the kind that involve pushing blocks. Speedrunners rejoice. :p

http://vilyaroo.blogspot.se/2016/02/phase-puzzle-2-background.html

February 5

An assortment of graphics. Wow, every screen looks beautiful. A part of me wishes Pillar Mountains got this kind of makeover far in the future, but then it might look a little too busy / confusing for new players.
Ah, well.

http://vilyaroo.blogspot.se/2016/02/a-mixed-bag.html
 
The G-Meister

The G-Meister

Giga Slime
I get where you're coming from. Might not be the same point, but the grass in the mountains is a little plain and monotonous, with only a few flowers to break it up. Looking at the lawn outside my bedroom, it's got a little more variation in it. There's a few changes in colour where the grass gets a bit more yellow, there's patches where it's intertwined with moss and there's some areas where little clovers have overridden the grass completely. Even if it was just a (moderately large) repeating texture which was just touched up around the edges, I think that might look really nice.
 
Own

Own

Moderator
February 8

Vilya continues her cruel, inhumane human torture rooms.

http://vilyaroo.blogspot.se/2016/02/poison-map-2.html

February 9

Vilya takes a break from poison. Puzzles!

http://vilyaroo.blogspot.se/2016/02/phase-puzzle-3-first-donkey-puzzle.html

February 10

The one where Vilya makes a boo-boo. Uh-oh. The user interface is blocking puzzles!

http://vilyaroo.blogspot.se/2016/02/oops-when-things-go-wrong.html

Wouldn't it be easier to clear the user interface in puzzle rooms? Hrm. Maybe not? It does look good, though.
 
Own

Own

Moderator
Uh, oops. Skipping the stuff that's already in-game. :p

February 17

The Crossroads. More rooms for Mt. Bloom!

http://vilyaroo.blogspot.se/2016/02/the-crossroads.html

February 18

Power Flower gets a boss portrait. It's just too cute!

http://vilyaroo.blogspot.se/2016/02/power-flower-boss-portrait.html

February 19

Mt. Bloom gets even MORE rooms. Which I love. So much to explore, so many branching paths!

http://vilyaroo.blogspot.se/2016/02/another-mystery-room.html

February 22

Vilya shows off her botanical art skills and makes a card for the toxic tulips. They sure look like they'll kill the competition at award shows!

http://vilyaroo.blogspot.se/2016/02/toxic-tulip-card.html

February 23

A group meeting is held. Only this time, not at a burger joint? People must be skimping on the developer hat. :( Lamentations of lost burgers aside, lots of info here. Be sure to read this one!

http://vilyaroo.blogspot.se/2016/02/time-travel-temple-planning.html

Coming up with cool puzzles will also be interesting! Since it's time jumping, you can only really change things in the past that affects the future and not the other way around. We have a bunch of ideas lined up for the next zones after our meeting, but if you have any suggestions, feel free to comment :D
Click to expand...

The Ancient Castle?
The Underwater Caverns / Reef Forests?
The Volcano?
The Tropical Island?
The Obligatory Sewer Level (pls no)?
The One Where You're Shrunken And Everything Around You Looks Super Huge?
The Sunken Ship?
The Carnival of Horrors?
The Distorted Realm - where everything looks really bizarre, or possibly glitchy like old games?
The One That Takes Place Entirely Inside An Enormous Monster's Body As A Dungeon?
 
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