A New Day, A New Focus

2008!? Hooo... ray... wooo... ehh... yeah, whatever. It's a new year, the holidays are past. I've never been one to really dwell on the prospects a whole new year might bring. I'm a little more narrow-sighted I suppose... it's a new day TODAY and that means all kinds of short term possibilities. Maybe that outlook (or lack thereof) has something to do with the fact that my development has shifted once again.

Yes, I've shied away from the input command tree that I was raving about in that last post and shifted my focus to other things... far more fascinating for the time being, but also incredibly productive and ought to cycle back around to the input stuff I'm neglecting when I finish anyways. That input stuff is fun and all, but it pales in comparison to 2D Skeletal Animation!! WOOOO!!

My immediate goals are using a mouse and keyboard to supply bones and joints to a 2D skeleton. The body parts will of course be attached to the individual bones. What this means, is I will be able to supply a great deal of very fluid animation in the game without drawing thousands and thousands and thousands of frames of animation. I love cartooning, but I'm not that sadistic... It also means ANY sprite can act and contort any number of ways. This will help avoid thousands and thousands more drawings. It ALSO will aid with attaching weapons and armors and whatnot to characters, AND I will be able to provide animation far more advanced than normal. Especially considering my budgetary restraints (the likes of which Houdini wouldn't even be able to loose).

I'll keep you updated, and when I have something visible to show I'll post a clip of it. I'm just shy of the "something to show for all the work" phase, so maybe within the week. Here's hoping!