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It technically just became October. Waiting for my ipad to charge, this is torture. >:(
I spent a bunch of time drawing for Theo's C Drive, this comic is long af for a backstory. Also I was talking about my sleep troubles yesterday - and I just remembered I'm supposed to be taking medicine to sleep. And I don't want to go pick it up at the pharmacy .-. I mean I did forget, but now that I remember, I am actively trying to prepare myself venture into the outside world tomorrow. I did go grocery shopping today so that's something.
I really like how the panels for Theo's stuff are turning out, I know my understanding of proportions is probably janky as hell but I'll get better... I'm not someone who cares about my work being cringe anymore, tbh. I've spent a few years throwing trash fires into the wild in another medium, getting bad-mid-nice reviews, so it is what it is. Sometimes I do a good thing sometimes I fail, and that's ok.
Coding-wise... I came up with some ideas of new genuine gameplay type things to work on. My brain kind of screeched to a halt trying to figure out how to game-ify the story bits I have written. But I'm playing around with an inventory system and will probably start poking at a combat system too.
Is September ending already? Weird. So, I've been writing the story out in narrative format over the last day. One more hobby to pull into the rotation lmao. But I think it's helping me get my head together a little. I did some poking around for semantic HTML research and all that's around of course are a11y articles and (a few) opinionated redditors who don't care about accessibility. I mean, I'm no saint, my site is riddled with potential for improvements, but this isn't work! And I'm trying to do what I can when my memory actually cooperates.
What I'm looking for is actual opinions from users who need a11y implementations, I want to know if there are new ways that semantic HTML fits into their every day. Something not so technical, if that makes sense? Do articles still act as they always have? Do they prefer some other use case? Random thoughts. I'd love to do some kind of not-so-starched article that talks about the human side of what I'm trying to put to words... But I'm not very good at communication (GAD that manifests in social anxiety among everything else, whatup) and I hate writing articles.
Anyway, I removed a lot of dead weight in my CSS for my non-story pages and updated little bits here and there for said pages. Updated the Credits page to use the same stylesheet as the new Sitemap.
I lost a lot of time today to sleep (5 hour nap.) Another tidbit about me to add to the occasional note; I'm supposed to be getting a referral for a sleep study. My sleep has never been great, so having an answer is step one in treatment!
Hm... Other than that, I've done some storyboarding this week, too. I can't remember if I've mentioned here that I made a personal page (halfpint) so that exists if you're interested. I probably won't mess around with it much honestly. Other than adding flights of ideas that don't fit here but need a home to keep me from screaming to release that repressed creative energy :D
I'm probably becoming less and less... peppy? Maybe? I think my probable hypomania from this past month is fading and I am very, very tired. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy! I'm just generally more chill (and to some, less insufferable, lol) when things are stable.
I don't know if that's true, I'm very excitable in text and it comes and goes. I try to reel it in but. eh.
More non-code: I got quite a lot of writing done, and some big plot-twisty pieces are falling into place. A lot of writing for someone who hasn't written non-stageplay-flavored content in 7 years lol. I have no idea how long the comic/game will be because it's a contained story. There are only (mild spoiler if it seems like I'm not adhering to the basics of Inferno) 9 circles. But there's a lot of smaller character development moments, and idk if they're GOOD to put in a comic or if it's too much mush or uninteresting to put into that format.
I COULD potentially do Purgatorio and Paradiso, but I keep running into other ongoing fiction in my research that makes me regret the Inferno thing, just a tad. So maybe I'll let it rest when it's time. The thing about getting really invested in a story you're writing is that you have to be ok letting it go at the end, which is super hard to reconcile! I've been able to part ways with a few stories I was obsessed with in the past though, and take big breaks from others projects, so it'll be fiiiine.
Lots of maintenance done today. Did I mention that I refactored some js code yesterday? I think I only wrote that on the feed! I did some more refactoring today as well, mainly CSS focused but I'm sure there's plenty more for me to comb through. Also shared what exists of the game with some peeps and they were super helpful in giving me feedback ;u;
I moved a BIG chunk of the Wistaria gameplay files around, so there MIGHT be a few lingering relative links that went unseen while I tested each page. I think it's all settled though. It might have been late last night that I got Theo's PC up to around 80% done, or 80% of my current goals. Inspiration sometimes kicks me in new directions. I also figured out how to subvert that lag going on with Lera's page that had me blocked by going for a different CSS approach. The og idea never really cleared up, but I'm happy with the substitute.
Uhhh... I don't know what else. I made a bunch of placeholder files to prep for the levels I already KNOW will exist, and I drew Lera! You can find it on herebyHalfPint on Tumblr, since I still haven't fixed the links being blocked by the overlay on this dev log page lmao.
I updated the 404 page with code that is ONE-HUNDRED PERCENT NOT MINE. The original codepen is linked in the credits page as per usual, but with that one it's entirely untouched. I'll tinker with it eventually but honestly the 404 is the least of my concerns as I want to keep moving forward and exploring/practicing javascript. I might start focusing on Typescript now locally and compile it into JS to put on the site. We'll see. I'm doing katas now after it was mentioned, I'd never done js katas and it's pretty neat. Maybe I'll link it as a resource tomorrow. :D
Ohhhhh I fell off the bandwagon on updating this page! What have I done in the last few days... A lot of drawing, just bases or simple sketches for later scenes. I started toying around with a comic for what I've coded for the story so far to put on my tumblr. I also started drawing a little "about me" comic.
Coding wise... I revamped the front page's CSS and imagery so that it would give the right vibe. Notebooks now have images and look like legit little notebooks. They do a rainbow thing before shifting colors. I think I also updated the light switch in Haru's Room sometime in the last few days?
I started on Lera's Room fr this time, but I'm stumped because the CSS is laggy when it just shouldn't be. Idk if it's my PC or what. A JS solution isn't coming to mind but that seems like it would be basic, but at the same time I think I would still need the CSS to work properly if I went that route. I tried messing around with some hardware properties CSS seems to have nowadays, but no dice.
Maybe a bit of writing will help me reset and not burn out ;n; I worked on a page for a silly little Doom clone. I'm probably not going to make it too complex or anything or I'll lose steam without the instant gratification of having a thing :D
Anyway, here's my tumblr if you're curious but all of the coding-specific details will be here! I'm just adding sketches and stuff to it.
I'm dead I just realized you can't click on the links for this page aside from the home button!!! problem for future me <( ⸝⸝•̀ - •́⸝⸝)>
brain tired byyyye
AND I'M BACK TO SAY MY PLOTTING PROGRESS FOR THE STORY ON WRITER DUET GOT ERASED AAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHH it's ok it's still in my noggin and I described it to some friends recently who have seemed to like the vibe? deep breaths........
I've overhauled the site big time .___. I unlinked a bunch of pages and just got rid of my pikmin and animal crossing pages. I might remove all of the saved up anime imagery sitting idle in my dash. I should PROBABLY make the whole cyberpunk route on another site but I don't want to ٩(＾▽＾)۶
EDIT
I drew something non-human at laaaast~ I replaced the door placeholder! I want to replace that driving gif soon now that I've made the effort for the door, I'm a little worried about that one because it'll probably be hands + dashboard. I can never draw cars lmao and it seems like the perspective just wouldn't fit if it was a pic of the car outside. I should finally attempt the key thing.
I also want to replace the pink background on the front page, I just don't know what with. I spent too much time trying to figure out a new background I almost wonder if I should draw one... so spooky to think about doing big images... .-. I want to start some Limbo drawings soon, at least to start getting a sense of what things should look like as the characters descend.
I just finished replacing the portraits on the Limbo page, everything is linked up rn so if one wanted to view it, it's possible by exploring the site! But the story isn't really told in a fluid way atm. I did spend a lot of time plotting out the game/story and how everything should progress. But the actual full gameplay aspects I'll have to tinker with over time, because I do want to make sure I put at least an equal if not greater effort toward the coding aspect. Trying to figure out what will introduce more complexity, from a game design standpoint (*´-｀*)
It's actually 3:30AM here on the 15th but we'll say this is for yesterday lol. Finally getting into some more intricate code, I think I'm going to need to slowly move from Limbo's current string arrays to objects, which is probably a good thing.
I'm trying to do things that push me to cement the basics that I just have never had time to focus on during my career so far. I need to go through this entire site and make things responsive, it is SHAMEFUL ;n; but it's satisfied me enough getting things out the door to keep working on everything, so. I also need to go through and add alt text - or at least empty alts, because I'll have to set aside quite a bit of time to properly describe every image I've drawn. oof.
So much... coding....... so much....... drawing.......... I'm not tired and it is 6AM which, in my case, is actually a very bad thing. Off to sleep I go I guess ;-;
So I haven't really talked about myself much, but I just want to celebrate that I went outside on my own for the first time in ages! I have diagnosed agoraphobia and it's very easy for me to isolate myself right now, but just going to get the mail is a big deal. I'm very proud of myself
EDIT
I took a little bit of a break today from drawing, a TINY bit of a break... Because I did draw a portrait for Theo's PC page which I've been working on, and updated "That Character" in Haru's Room. I did a lot of coding today and last night. Theo's PC isn't ready to share as the functionality is still being built out, but the updates are on my feed if you're curious ;u;
I've added windows for "My Computer" and "Lera's Stuff", and the mIRC window (aka Chat) is pretty much done. I've also started on the story progression for the next interactive talking sequence, which will be introduced via the "Recycle Bin". That does currently do super secret stuff though hehehe :D
I HAVE BEEN WORKING MY ASS OFF DRAWING ALL DAY LMAOOO I'm literally going to laugh in an unhinged way bc this is the fourth time I've updated Theo's portraits. This time I didn't really use a base it was just hours of adjusting and adjusting and ahhhh.... I'm sure he still looks wonky but I think it's an improvement. He just looked really young in the last set, and these characters are NOT supposed to be kids. Theo might act like a big immature baby sometimes but he's a grown ass man.
In all honesty I should be focused on coding but I drew Haru and Lera too, it's literally been an entire day of drawing.
Maybe I'll find the energy today? I took a nap so it's not too late. My ipad keeps dying in the middle of me drawing because it's losing so much power (probably Pikmin Bloom draining it tbh)
I did iiiit, I spent a lot of time trying to refine my portraits for Theo in Room 1... Idk if how I used my inspo is transformative enough, I'm still learning what the heck all of this means. But I linked the base in the credits, I couldn't find the artist's site with reverse image search, so it's from where I found it on pinterest :(
I really like how they came out! I'm tempted to redo my Unknown Character but it's fine rn.
EDIT
I've been drawing all day and studying art stuff ;n; Before working on this game it had been a really long time since I last drew something but hopefully there's still enough muscle memory to make the art ok. I replaced "her" portrait, idk if I like the change because she's clearer but again it's another "it'll do for now" kinda thing.
EDIT #2
Think I finally got the mIRC text content in Theo's PC where I want it to be, and there's now a bit more to the layout of the chat window! I also fixed the time on the clock since the "start" button should be clicked between 3-4AM. I need to focus on more code tomorrow and not spend a whole day drawing but it's so nice to practice again.
YEAH! I got my charger so I've replaced the Theo and (secret character) placeholders! My art is really rough... It's probably a lil cheesey and maybe takes away from the story but I'll refine it as I learn and get comfortable drawing, but it's fine for now... At least it's mine.
I'm pretty shy about it but I imagine not that many people will see it idk. ^___^; Might need to ctrl+f5 for a hard refresh if you've ever loaded the game before!
If you've taken any time or decide to check it out, thank you so much!
EDIT
I've just learned that tracing bases is ok...? I never knew that, I'm going to give it a shot because I really think my game could benefit from me being able to create something nice. I'm obviously not making money and will credit people! I'm excited about having a little more guidance though bc I am feeling... uncertain and kind of want to revert the drawings u___u
EDIT #2
I reverted Theo's placeholders and restored the credits for the picrew I'm using - but I'm working on new ones! I just got too excited lmao
Decided to pull everything onto my PC so I can work without updating 500 times and also retain all of my changes via github. The first room is as ready as it's going to be for a little until inspiration for cleaner storytelling or progression hits me. AND until I get my darn charger this week so I can actually draw some art for the game! Might work on the personal bits of this site soon, idk, who's to say.
I do need to work on the light switch and wanted to add some choice consequences, add keys, and do something more interesting with the driving sequence but it's fine for now!
I've made a lot of progress for the first "level", I just added music but have a few effects I need to kick it off. I'm really stoked though, I haven't been pretti-fying or even adding the main personal pages here at all because I'm so excited about the game stuff -___-' it'll come with time tho. I also ordered a charger for my pen so I can start on the art instead of using my placeholder picrews. It's gonna be shabby but... It'll be mine!!
SO MANY IDEAS!! I wish I could draw well, I know what I want to do for the first legit gameplay level and it would be much improved if my drawing capabilities were decent. I'll make do though. :)
Started on the game!
I figured out an entrance I like! Unforuntately... Now I want to make a game out of it lol. Well, lots of changes coming.
I'm still not sure what to say here. I'm slowly building up this page, and I'm not sure why other than I find it therapeutic to work with older web tech.
I would like this to be a super cool page, but I'm not really an artist and it's been a really long time since I used old-school stuff, so going back to the basics of javascript, poking at jquery, and seeing what newer technologies other creators here use is interesting to me!
I can eventually create some kind of credits/buttons/linkback page. All of my assets right now are sourced from free png sites (like the ones in my background image which was a pain to make as someone who is, again, not an artist) or they're images and midis found by browsing the Internet Archive, specifically sites via Anipike's v i n t a g e website.