New Beginnings

Hi this is the first Dev Log I've ever done, so I thought I'd start with the birth of this idea. Whalefall started as a pitch document that I submitted as a part of my portfolio when I applied for NYU Tisch's Game Design program. I can't seem to find the original pitch document anymore, but I'll keep searching because there's some killer artwork from my sister on there. 

I've since gotten into that program, and while Whalefall had always been a passion project I'd wanted to pursue- it kind of took the back seat while I learned the fundamentals of design, programming, and the overall production process of making a game. Even now I wouldn't qualify myself as an expert in any of these categories, but as I sat at home with nothing to do this past winter break I came across a video game grant- the Alfred P. Sloan grant, which looks for games that have to do with science. The qualifications themself are very broad, so I figured, why not use this as an excuse to finally start making Whalefall? 

The videos attatched to this post are the result of my first steps executing this project. A key mechanic of Whalefall is the enemy clone/growth system. I want the final game to have monster-like infected humans that, like starfish and some worms, clone/regrow themself when limbs are severed. The first video is a sample of the actual clone/regrowth mechanic prototype, the second is a huge fail trying to get that same mechanic to work on an animated mesh (animations from mixamo), and the third video has the first person controller I created that will serve as the player. 

I suspect most if not all of my code will have to be revised at some point as I really am just winging everything- but my new philosophy is to get as much of the game functional by any means so that I can better articulate what it is I'm trying to do!

I'm currently using unity 6 to bring this project to fruition. Stay tuned for great stuff!