Cats vs. Aliens Caturday Update #5
Hello and welcome, Invaders!
Well, I didn’t get to do much coding again this week. Life keeps on lifeing, as it does, and I ended up not being able to spend much time (any, really) in a deep work state that lets me make forward progress toward demo.
I was, however, able to play with some fun, less intensive things that I know you’ll think are awesome additions to Cats vs Aliens: particles and world environments!
Ummm… aren’t particle systems pretty basic sh…tuff in games, though?
Yes and no. More in the “easy to learn, hard to master” space. They are pretty simple in Godot, but they do require a lot of trial and error and patience and trying again, which I’m actually pretty good at. I didn’t spend two years of my life grinding endgame raids in WoW and not learn how to fail over and over again until I succeed, ya know? Ya girl here’s got beating her head against a wall until it gives way down to a forking science, I tell you.
Particles are half art, half programming, half sliding sliders around until things just feel right. Figuring out the correct balance between simple and complex, between what can be used and reused and what can’t, between too much and not enough is a real fiddly problem to wrestle with at times. Sure, there are basic formulas out there that I could copy and paste to give you more of the same stuff you’re used to seeing, but you’re not playing Cats vs Aliens for more of the same. You’re playing it for a glimpse into my world of ridiculousness and cats. And I can’t give you that by copypastaing code alone. I also have to tweak, and draw, and modify, and refactor, and tweak some more, and draw some more, and, well, on and on as such.
You love it, I know. You’re so welcome.
How will this help?
Juiciness, babyyyyy!
Juicy games are fun games. You want the juice. You NEED the juice. And the juice needs to be worth the squeeze. What squeeze? The squeeze of paying money for a game. Because, I’ll be real here, I would like to make money from this eventually so that I can keep making more games. I’m just me, and this is my first game, so I’m not looking to get rich, and certainly not to get rich quick (it's been two years and I've made about -$243 {yes, that's a negative number} so far, so if that were my plan I'd be failing miserably), but I am looking to pursue the goal of making enough from games that I don’t have to work retail ever again.
Please save me from that fate. I promise to keep making juicy games for you!
What’s next?
Well, I’m going to have to wait and see how well everyone in my life feels after last week. We’ve all been sick with whatever is going around the entire neighborhood right now, and though I’m pretty much a mashup of hobbit and goblin and cave troll and just stay in my underground dwelling most of the time, other folks leave the house and bring back all of the illnesses. And then the whole family gets it and we all have to figure out how to still function while having energy between all of us the sum total of a burned-out lightbulb.
So, who knows what’s next. Probably more fun little systems like particles that add fun to the game without requiring intense focus. Until I feel fully recovered, I won’t know. Wish me luck and health, and keep checking for updates. And send coffee and cookies, should you feel like it. I have a Patreon where you can donate like $3 to buy me a cup of joe. I won’t link it because I’m not here to push you into it and sell you on a membership, but search Patreon for Echo in a Void if you want to help meowt. This is me:
