The Wasteland and The Horned Lizard

In which Arielle, after taking a small retreat to recuperate and lock in, returns to regularly scheduled Game Gen clone game projects. Memories of Wasteland Weekend float in and out of mind, as Arielle decides definitively that the 'tanks' in the Tank Clone Project...will be Horny Toads/Horned Lizards, after the one she and her companions found, now many years ago, in the deserts of the Mojave...

Working on this project has been both wonderful and challenging for so many reasons. In the beginning, I was so worried about being able to put my own spin on something that seemed thematically to have issue with being themed anything other than modern warfare. I mulled over theming for a long time, until I came to settle on Horned Lizards in the Mojave Desert...which has opened a small can of worms. On one hand...I'm having a lot of fun figuring out the artistic aspects, even going so far as to pin down a wonderful color palette...

Very Southwestern...

On the other hand, it's been fairly emotionally charged. There was a time when once a year I used to visit the Mojave with friends, for an awesomly themed Mad Max event that was costume required and larping appreciated weekend event. It often felt like coming home, after spending 362 days in the urban prison that is living in Los Angeles. Cut to the reality that as time goes on, the bonds we make with others do not always last and sometimes we loose them completely, as has been the case with me. Most days I find myself thinking of Wasteland Weekend and wishing to return, but currently have no means by which to make a return possible. The Nostalsia is equal parts wistfully wonderful...and a deep hollow ache.

One year, our campmates had captured a bit of a camp mascot. I can't remember the name we gave it.... but the smart little bugger seemed to enjoy our company...and the ants we collected for it to eat. If I remember correctly...I think I might have named it Seraphim...since the markings on it's back looked like little pairs of wings. We never witnessed the lizards "eye blood attack" but I take that as a W....as that ability is usually a last resort, and is a tell tale sign of extreme stress in an animal.

The past two weeks I've been struggling with my own mental and emotional battles...but I've done my best to make some progress with the Tank Project....I specifically gathered up reference of both the Mojave and the specific species of Horned Lizard that lived in the area my friends and I used to frequent:

SO SMOL <3

This is a walk cycle I was able to find for a gecko that was top down. If one fiddles with the timing, shapes, and weight...I think it could be a good resource for when I finally try to make pixels move. Artist: Karianne Hutchinson

As for what I was able to accomplish artistically for the game so far is as follows. I mostly completed the background image and sorting out the wall asset and placing them on the grid to create a compelling and potentially fun maze the tanks will have to navigate.

The Final background is a mixture of the first background I made and the last, using the final version as a Screen Layer. The Wall image has stayed pretty unchanged, and the maze that has been created is now mostly solidified, but may change as the tank image is still...being worked on. Once I have that done and the animations for the lizard tank completed as well...then more things can be finallized after. In the coming weeks...that will be my next step to completion.