IP Incubator Club Thread 2013: Bi-Week-007: July 1-July 28- 2013

#21

Hey Roberto, have a great trip.

Small steps forward, not a real update… but I have successfully migrated all my websites to “the cloud”. I finally found some combination of VWD10 and WebMatrix that made it happen; now everything is running on Azure. I was very excited to turn off the server I had been running for the last 6 years. It runs hot and loud and the power went out here twice last week.

I am also very excited to be able to offer a rock-solid hosting experience. It does not matter where you live in the world, the videos will load reliably and from within the application. If I need to scale it’s a simple as clicking a button to upgrade. I am very happy to not have to deal with server administration duties; this will take some work off my plate. I had to dump Facebook and this was sad/bittersweet. My current plan does not support certificates, but probably I will look at this sometime in the future.

Now that it’s looking and responding better if you have not yet, please take the time to go to the website and WATCH THE WHOLE ONE HOUR, 4 part video.

I did use the self-healing tool in Photoshop to clean up the Neps cover image; there was some poke-through. Totally amazing! Like magic.

It’s also been very nice weather up here in Tremblant so I have been spending some time outside, getting some Vitamin D, swimming in Lac Mercier. When it’s nice here it’s a paradise so you might as well enjoy it. Plenty of time to do computer stuff in January.

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

#22

[color=white][font=Verdana]@RedCigarette - Congrats on the Front Page! I am really liking your work and am looking forward to seeing some more.

Thanks Roberto for keeping this IP Club going and it is great to see more people involved as well. I already have made a couple of plugs/mentions in forums I go to when I push my game - i.e. Touch Arcade, and I will continue to do so too. :slight_smile:

I will be back shortly with an update to make - just finalizing our version update for our game and some things for IndieCade.

@grantmoore3D - from my experience while making our game Blaster X HD, my friend and I worked remotely from each other. The key is communication and making sure you both are on the same page. There are benefits to working close so you can better see what the other person is working and correlate efforts from there. However, it is possible to work remotely as well. The Game Bakers, who made Squids (Over a million copies sold on mobile) are known for being a totally remote based team. Their team is scattered in all parts of the World.

One thing I noticed is when we were working on our game remotely is to not micromanage too much. Sometimes when someone has a certain vision it can be easy to scrutinize certain aspects of your game. You have to have a lot of trust in the person you are working with and set a particular goal/style you are aiming for and just let your teammate create and see what he comes up with. During the whole development phase to our game, Josh and I only met in person 2-3 times total - the first was just being to introduce each other face-to-face. (We were not total strangers though, we collaborated on certain projects in the past, but never one-on-one and face-to-face until we worked on this game)

We are both pretty happy with the outcome and it was a learning experience for sure. It will seem like a rollercoaster ride throughout, but as long as you see a benefit to the working situation, it can pay off.

@Pyke - Double Fine’s Kickstarter issue can be a setback for that type of funding, but that is also because they are well-known and have a following, so the media will pick up on it quicker and push it more. Kickstarter is pretty huge regardless and is a good alternative for looking for funding. Don’t let it deter you as you have a great project and you should find support without a problem, especially if the items you are offering are well worth the value, which I am sure they will be. The hardest thing for an Indie Game Dev is actually finishing and releasing the project, which is a lot harder than it seems. Do you also have you legal things in order before you do your Kickstarter campaign? It might be a good idea to form an LLC before you do it, as it will shield you personally if something should arise.

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#23

Nice image! I like the mood and style. The depth focus with the silhouettes in the foreground and your color tone is eye-catching. The style reminds me of the game Limbo, which was very well done artistically as well. Looking forward to your next post. :slight_smile:

#24

Thanks, it’s all designed to emulate photographs from the early 20th century which I’ve always felt is an ideal aesthetic for making a horror movie/tv show. None of the scenes are finalized but I at least know what they’ll look like now.

#25

CONCEPT NAME: Le Gouffre

PRODUCTION BLOG: http://legouffre.com/en

CATEGORY: Animation

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

Le Gouffre is an 8-minute animated short film about two travellers who embark on the amazing journey of crossing an impossible gap. We are working full-time on this film, living on our own money, and we are basically trying to tell a great, dramatic story for everyone while creating a unique look that blends hand-painted textures with realistic animation.

PROJECT GOALS:

Win festivals, then make a big hit on the internet and gain the visibility and credibility that will allow us to eventually be able to live on telling our own stories.

STATUS NUMBER: 7

TEAM MEMBERS: 3

Carl Beauchemin - Animation and Rigging
Thomas Chrétien - FX and Compositing
David Forest - Animation and Art Direction

START DATE: July 2011

ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: December 2013

WIP THREAD: http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=153&t=1085457

WHAT WENT RIGHT THIS WEEK:

-We might be able to have a meeting with a producer in the upcoming weeks to discuss financing. Nothing official yet, but we’re crossing our fingers!

-We’re starting to see how the film will look like in other ambiances than the storm. We’re very happy with the results so far!

-I finished reworking all our old compositing shots so now I’m back on my schedule, animating new shots all day with the occasional texture high-rezing on the side.

-We installed an air conditioner in the studio!

WHAT WENT WRONG:

Even with the AC, the heat is still hitting pretty hard. Good thing we’re only three guys in here though, working shirtless is one of the many bonuses of the indie path of life. :slight_smile:

SHOW AND TELL:

No tutorial this week, but we’ve got four composited shots to show! Click to see full size.

You can also see the actual animation on our blog !

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#26

Love the consistency of the painterly style in the well lit settings versus the stormy ones.

#27

@Frotze - Looking beautiful, awesome to finally see it in motion and rendered. Also, I checked out your production blog and it’s absolutely hilarious… that’s definitely an awesome way to do PR and keep your fans entertained, good job. Well designed website too!

#28

Ok guys time to post your updates.
I am still in SIGGRAPH but when I get back I will pick one for our next spotlight.

-R

#29

@Frotze - looks great! I really like the daylight scene with them pulling the ladder, the color tone, stlye and lighting looks fantastic! Also, a really nice job with the animation and giving it a sense of the ladder having actual weight to it, very well done.

#30

Hello ya’ll

I have been hard at work on my project.

Project name: “I Love Kaiju”

I have been rounding up the script. Getting it all together. Trying to balance all the characters and such has been a challenge giving the realistic setting and fantasy setting but I am just gonna run with it. I’ll be working on my script while on the plane to Japan. Hopefully I’ll get some real inspiration and research doing my project while in the homebase of Kaiju.

Here is a current picture of the main villian and our little heroine Calle.

A little about Calle - 1000 years ago giant weapons were created by man. The weapons get out of hand and destroyed the planet. Humans were made nearly extinct by their own creation. Over the years though the monsters gained sentience and many began to discover what they had done. They sought to become more than destruction and atone for their sins. They now protect the last humans who are in cryo sleep. Their goal is to rebuild the planet and one day introduce the humans to paradise.

Calle, a young Yeitso, is a protector in training. She works at the Cryo Storage and has befriended the sleeping humans whom she frequently talks to as she is alone and misunderstood by the the other Yeitso.

The Yeitso are the enlightened giants who have the power to absorb weapons and become a living weapon. They use their powers to protect the humans and recreate the planet.

Calle ends up having a bad day when Milton comes to town…

Here is a picture from that battle.

What went right
My Indiegogo and Kickstarter campaign is on track. I just need to find some good places to promote the project. I need to be able to get a minimum of 5k for the models I need. Mainly Joe, Snailo, Calle, Generic Yeitso.

The rest will be done by me.

So if you have any ideas on where promoting this idea might be a good place please share.

I would also like your critique on my characters if possible.

If you don’t remember my project it is the one one with this guy.

The main story is about 3 Kaiju who go on a journey to confront Milton. Milton is a rogue “power ranger” on a mission to break the 4th wall.

#31

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