Mar 29, 2010 by Alec Holowka
Recently we purchased an HDTV for the purpose of testing “Marian” at various HD resolutions – but it also happened to be my first HDTV ever, so I was pretty anxious to see some of my games running at epic sizes. 
The Latest Marian Prototype…
Back in the day when Derek and I were working on Aquaria (circa 2006), widescreen monitors weren’t a big deal. Everything was 4:3, and we designed the game accordingly. However, by the time the game was released in late 2007, 16:10 and 16:9 had caught on in a big way. We ended up releasing a major patch of the game that added full widescreen support – and it was a lot of work. Beyond the code changes, we had to create new artwork to extend the edges of certain scenes, edit all the levels so that the game wouldn’t spoil anything major, etc.
Aquaria: still sexy at 1080p/46”
Designing with multiple aspect ratios in mind from the start is a little bit tedious, but it definitely saves a lot of heartache down the road. 
Previously…
Mar 22, 2010 by Alec Holowka
Today I’d like to explain another part of our prototyping process, something we call “Level Snippets”. Essentially they’re just little sketches of a piece of gameplay drawn up by Kyle, which I’ll implement in the engine to test out various core gameplay mechanics.
We’re only going to show you one of the most basic ideas that we’ve prototyped as an example right now, because we don’t want to give away any of the exciting stuff just yet. This doesn’t even scratch the surface. 
(in fact, this particular piece is a bit misleading, as “Marian” is not a traditional platforming game)
Once I get a sketch like this and we’ve talked about it a bit, I’ll get it up and running in Unity with some boxes to block it out. If there are reusable components, I’ll build them as prefabs. (in this case, platforms that fly in) Then all the work done for the small test level can be reused in larger areas!
Previously…
Mar 15, 2010 by Alec Holowka
We just got home from San Francisco, which involved a lot of good times as well as a fair amount of hard work on finding a good home for “Marian”. We brought a new, private trailer for developer friends, plus a few other interested parties – and it was a hit.
The trip also included the most epic TIGRadio episode to date: a two hour discussion featuring about a dozen indie developers. (including Phil Fish, Farbs, Petri, Kyle Pulver etc)
You can find the conversation archived here. If I remember correctly, it starts off a bit slow but gets into some pretty interesting game design territory eventually!
I’m back in the ‘peg – and it’s nice to be home… but I miss everyone already.
Previously…
Mar 9, 2010 by Alec Holowka
We’re down in San Fran for GDC! Due to the sheer amount of awesome hangouts, talk-planning and other insanity, we missed Monday’s Marian update.
Better late than never – here’s a picture of a little ancient photo album we put together to help us show off the art of the game…
Also check out Chrissy’s sexy GDC photos on Flickr… they’ll be updated at least once every day!
And if you’re down in SF, consider checking out my talk with fellow indie compatriots Adam Saltsman and Andy Schatz at 2:15pm on Wednesday. It should (hopefully) be entertaining and informative.
Previously…
Mar 1, 2010 by Alec Holowka
Recording a very short snippet of voice over for Marian… in our uber high tech recording studio. (Note the USB microphone, cardboard box and pantyhose stretched over a hanger…) We’re working on a trailer for our current prototype, which may or may not be seen publicly.
Big ups to Bog Logan for offering his time and his sultry tones.
Previously…
(last week I said we’d talk about modelling, but that’ll be next week instead!)
Feb 15, 2010 by Alec Holowka
Here’s a visual demonstration of how we can go from a fugly sketch by yours truly to a lovely looking piece by Katie or Ashley. (in reverse!)
Can you guess which one was mine and which ones were Katies’?
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Previously…
