Pimp my Work Space

I've been chugging along on my various projects, and will be posting some updates this week. For today, I'm going to talk about something I'm planning to do to improve my work space.

I don't know about other developers, but I have a lot of trouble working if I don't like my surroundings. I need to have at least somewhat clear desk, lots of light, and preferably a window. Blank walls depress me, and I tend to cover them with colourful posters and hangings. But aside from all that, I haven't paid much attention to what specifically decorating the area around me when I work.

In my reading of game dev articles around the internet, I came across a recommendation that even programmers keep concept art for the game they are working on up around their work space. The idea is that good concept art can not only keep devs inspired, it can help maintain the overall aim and feel of the project. Because of this, I've decided to cover the bulletin board above my desk with concept art for the projects I'm currently working on.

Having not worked with professional artists before this year, it's really awesome to look up and see a bunch of concept art all based around something I'm working on. Hopefully this idea helps keep others out there inspired! If anyone else opts to try this out, feel free to post pics of your work space in the comments!

Monster Merchant - Player Concept

It's been a while since I've talked about my personal project, Monster Merchant. That's because I've been trying to focus on coursework, Dare, job applications, and my GDS game. However, today I took the time to finally scan and touch up the concept art I drew a few weeks back for the lead female character of the game.

This leading lady will be one of two choices for a protagonist in the Monster Merchant story. Both stories will be identical, aside from small dialogue changes. Currently, we plan the main story to revolve around the protagonist's relationship with her mother, acting Grand Devil of the fantasy world they are living in. The mother wants the protagonist to join the family business, as the leading evil overlords in the world. However, the protagonist would much rather spend her time raising monsters, and runs away to a small town in the wilderness to do just that. Through the story, she will prove to her mother that she can still bring fame and success to the family name through her chosen path, while being much happier in the process.

The art style, as you can see, is inspired by anime/manga. The clothing is influenced by ancient japan. I'm really excited to see what the game artists and character designers come up with for all the supporting cast, since all the characters will be humanoid monsters (devils, mummies, vampires, satyrs, etc).

I also had a conversation with a designer who is contributing to this project, and ironed out a lot of issues with our stat system, mutation system, and possible solutions for sprites/models/animation.

I don't have much more to report for now. I've done a bit of concept art for the male protagonist and the mother, but nothing I'm happy with yet. I probably won't have much more on this project until after this term is over, but this summer I hope to work on it constantly.