Update - April 7th:

Behind every good (sounding) plan, there's a catch.

Sooooo, it's been a while since the last update. I indirectly promised screenshots and other rather delicious promises -- etc, etc -- but unfortunately, due to various changes in the gameplay made recently, along with some engine tools that just happened to break over the week, and my need to find a better image hosting server, I cannot show you guys any more goodies for another week or so. =P


Yes, it's a sad time indeed, but at least the art is improving on the side. The latest character animations and designs have been simply amazing! Sometimes I get caught up at looking at simple clothing details, or the majestic movement of various environmental art. At times the visual fidelity of the game simply melts my eyes from the amount of crap animating at once. But that's just it: the animations are tied into the gameplay which is tied with the engine tools -- hence the current issue regarding taking a screenshot or capturing video of more real-time goodness.


Going beyond this issue, however, there a bigger plans to create a full blown video presentation of the game, as opposed to discussing the gameplay mechanics and such on an epic post only a automated email spammer can deliver. Expect something like that by late April -- saying if these random bugs get out the way -- along with legitimate screenshots filtering the days before it's showing.


What you can do. Yes you -- in the chair! =O

WDF News has, for the most part, been the home to this rather ambitious project -- VHEL -- ever since the first few weeks I joined {pDs}. To no surprise to any of you guys out there, VHEL really does need it's own site that organizes all the troublesome details and jargon. If you guys have suggestions, know a friend who knows a thing or two about web hosting or the various languages out there (CSS, HTML, etc..), or would simply like to critic my current direction, feel free to do so. VHEL needs a website BAD, so help to make that happen, people! =D


Future plans concerning this project -- still in it's Pre-Alpha stage, mind you -- will include a more streamline donation service so willing supporters can fuel the fire, soon to be available swag (I luvs my swag!), limited edition art books crafted from VHEL's HUGE library of art, and of course, the full game of VHEL: Courier sent around the world HOPEFULLY participating in industry sponsored events like GDC and beyond...someday. Right now, support is all that's needed no matter how small it is. MAKE IT HAPPEN! >=D

Check out SquareSpace - a CMS/Site Builder with fully funtional drag and drop support on UI elements to help you design your site. Any of the revision3 shows currently running can give you a discount code.

Update - May 5th:

Sing the song that makes the people go "OMG"!

Don't look too deeply into this update -- this is just a progress report. BTW, if your concerned about the new website, don't fret. I'm hard at work with a friend to complete the code work along with all the necessary information and game info you'll ever want from VHEL. I'm having some issues with my bank account right now, so that's slowing the process down a notch.

Latest work completed:

- VHEL's art style has been given a slight make over. Characters emphasize shape and form, which somewhat gives everyone a more surreal, abstract look. (Think Team Fortress 2)

- New lighting mechanics and better filter effects.

- Improved contrast and colors, making details much more clear.

- Improved particle systems including several newly employed techniques that allow for more convincing visual effects.

- The original control scheme to the game has been changed from a WASD + Mouse control scheme to a more Diablo style setup (smart Mouse controls).

- The Master Storyline Script (the doc with all the dialogue) is 56% done. That's the accumulation of over 220+ pages of material...and I'm still not done. DX

- Several newly drawn characters have been finished up, though their appearance in the game -- for the moment -- is questionable due to development constraints.

- The voice actors for Khana, Casie, Nolan, Kender Seth, and Skull Nigrescence (spoiler XD), have been confirmed. This leaves over 20+ characters lacking proper voices to fill in the rest of the cast. BTW, if you want in on this, just tell me. =D

- VHEL's game engine, Symbiont, is going through some changes behind the new control scheme and the in-game time line system (the time line is so important). This may delay the release of a game demo in the near future for several unknown months until we know the game plays the way it's intended to.


Worthwhile notes:

- There have been ongoing talks regarding a micromanagement system of some kind since day 1 (That's over 2 years worth of talking for ya). The only issue with it is that due to the rapidly changing circumstances presented to the player in real-time, the use of a inventory system would be counter-intuitive in most scenarios. In other words, the pacing in VHEL is so fast that it literally requires a more action driven approach despite it's Shadow of the Colossus like feel. =/

- A few months ago (sometime in January), a decision was made to streamline the presentation of the storyline. As opposed to randomly mingling with NPC's in a nonsensical fashion, you have what now feels like a "scene-to-scene" setup, accompanied by a slur of branching conversation segments. I wasn't keen on this idea originally, but because of development constraints and high gameplay priorities, this decision was ultimately made for bettering of the experience.

- There is a tactical AI/NPC system already in place that has been gameplay tested, but currently, there are no plans to allow the player (you) to control other NPCs during gameplay. You solely control Khana (the girl with the kerchief) and only play as her throughout the gameplay experience.

- Note: Main gameplay disclosed. In a nutshell, VHEL plays like this: You get a contract (mission) with a time constraint (several in-game days). You explore the world in an open world fashion to reach your destination while carefully observing the weather, noting where Ragnic are spawning, predicting marauder encounters, and protecting your "package" from harm (this being one contract variant). Afterward, you go into a story focused moment with a slightly different kind of in-game continuity from the core gameplay and "role play" to dictate the narration of the story to your liking. This process than repeats with the acceptance of a new contract with varying conditions based upon story driven events.

In a way, the experience ultimately becomes a matter of knowing what to do, where to go, and how to foresee possible events and manipulate them. The game is extremely linear, despite everything I say about open world exploration; exploration is important only when your during contracts. Since the world is constantly evolving, your only real priority is to adapt to each new experience before your screwed. This is extremely vital since a lack of "safety nets" within the game force you to make crucial decisions nearly all the time. This is why the game has weapon, item, and time constraints: to invoke a sense urgency and awareness at all times. Making sure the game plays like this has been the biggest challenge thus far. =P

- There's a energy system in the game that requires you to find a hospitable location to "sleep" before otherwise falling over from fatigue. This mechanic isn't limited to stationed locations, so quite literally, you can recover your energy literally anywhere on the field. The only issue is that your merely fast forwarding time while doing so, making you vulnerable to enemy attack, while your catching some Z's. I'm still coming up with a way to present this in-game in a very natural fashion, but expect something extremely dynamic and challenging from all this that remains fun. XD

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That's all for this update, folks. I'm sorry if you were expecting balls-to-the-wall action with screenshots, video, and "real" details you can get behind, but I'm working as hard as I can to give you SOMETHING during the downtime. =P

Till next time.

Update - May 20th:

IT'S A TRAP! GET DOWN -- NAAGH!!!

...Don't get me wrong, I'm still working on that big May 24th update, but a lot of the things I want to show can be broken down into parts for easier viewing. With this update, I'll review some of the stuff you guys don't know, show some character pics (not in-game screens -- hell no. This isn't Christmas...yet ;D), and a bunch more stuff regarding gameplay.



From left to right: Iberian Sable, Cassidy (Casie) Orin Reynoldia, and Khana Faust (main character)


How many characters are there?

There are over 50+ characters in VHEL including enemies and unimportant NPC's using similar body parts. What your looking at is actual in-game art. Though I would love to show you all 50+, I've only managed to create 25 so far. XD


What's taking so long?!

The reason why the process is taking so long (it's been about 2 years now) is because these characters use a combination of vector based technologies (Flash mostly), traditional image editing programs (photoshop), in-game engine tools, and my very own gradient blending, animation technique. In motion, VHEL looks a lot like Oboro Muramasa or Odin Sphere since body parts and clothing folds move within perspective, creating a cool 3D effect while still maintaining that 2D feel and believability.

These little details are important for a few reasons:

1) There is no HUD in the game PERIOD. Instead, player direction, UI, and important gameplay tid bits are expressed through character animations as well as the environments.

2) There's been a huge focus on making sure you can "feel" the characters and immediately understand environments your traversing through. Atmosphere is important for psychology elements that help maintain the believability factor.

3) It's all about readability. I reworked VHEL's art style several times -- gathering input from a wide expanse of people -- to appropriately create an art style that's both appealing and effective for gameplay.


When can I see everything in-game? Environments especially...

Game environments, for the most part in a 2D game as detailed as this, requires a lot of forethought. Since development is still in pre-Alpha, I can't show anything on that side without otherwise showing everyone here white blocks and gray ground surfaces. =/

If you want an "imaginative example", game environments flow and animate as smoothly as the game characters (which you will hopefully see in the near future). The only issues now that we're experiencing (my friend who assists with programming) deals with possible memory leaks, frame rate dips, and particle spawning limitations. Once we have a stable build up, I'll show everyone here in-game goodness...then actual video.......then an actual demo, and so on. =P


What's up with the gameplay? I still don't get it...at least I think I don't.

Right, so the gameplay has changed over the months. From RPG, to Action RPG, to Action Adventure, and finally, to RTT (Real Time Tactics). Yes, there have been playable builds of each genre varient of this game. No, the versions before weren't perfect or super fun like I would want, but that's the beauty to iteration development (trial and error = win...later). Anywho, VHEL is a RTT. If your familiar with World in Conflict, Full Spectrum Warrior, or other games that emphasize strategy in a real-time situation, then your already half way there with what I'm aiming for.


Your interactions effect the storyline! O=

As I've written in my previous update(s), you control the game via Mouse. In fact, the game can now be played purely through the Mouse if you want and hot key support is available as well. Since your primary objective is to move from environment to environment in an open world manner under a time constraint, your performance on the field DIRECTLY effects the story. In fact, any actions you commit to on the field will change everything that you will experience later on in the game.

It sounds ambitious, I know, but it's a lot simpler than you think if you know how you want situations to play out, logically. There were plans for a conversation tree system, but this was scrapped due to development constraints. There are no weapon upgrades in a conventional sense, but you will gain newer equipment that adds a lateral dimension to the game (you'll see what I mean in time). Since this is a RTT, you will have a "squad" of sorts. Khana -- obviously -- is who'll be on your side at all times, but in time, you'll be able to group up with other couriers (and even marauders) who all have a significant importance in the story and even some perks to help you along.


This is a rather small update in comparison to the beast that will be the May 24th update. I'm throwing EVERYTHING on the table -- showing previous builds of the game, letting you guys see some of the newer animations in action, explaining more of the narrative in-depth (bring some popcorn), and a bunch of other stuff that I should actually shut up about.

DON'T MISS OUT!!!

Update - May 24th:

My dog approves of this update! (Oh, and it's my birthday today...)



As an artist, I'm very picky about what I like to show to people. I'm extremely hard on myself if I don't deliver fully and anything less than absolute perfection ratifies my need to improve (that's a catch 22, btw, XD). When I had decided to make VHEL into a video game -- because it wasn't at a time -- I had to get used to digital artistry. In addition, my focus on realistic character design had to take a 180 spin to compensate for a mess of limitations I wasn't previously aware of. I've only been working on this project for 2.5 years, so within that time, I have improved from iteration to iteration, breaking down what I wanted to show and the purposes behind them.


Pre-Production from 2.5 years ago. Yep, it's not pretty, but this is way before I introduced Flash into my work. This is an in-game screenshot, albeit a very crude looking one. BTW, all this was done in Paint. XD

Pre-Alpha from 1.9 years ago. Real-time screenshot. Still using Paint around this time. Actual gameplay was up and running surprisingly, but that's not say much since many of the sprites used were place holders.

During the Spring of 2008, I took a look at Flash since the workload was becoming near impossible to do, especially since animations were becoming problematic. As my design philosophies grew, so did my need to improve the artistry and immediate need to compensate for my technological limitations. Don't get me wrong, the tech behind VHEL is rock solid, but due to the inherent limitations to 2D aesthetics, improved visuals with a proven program like Flash makes all the above "wants", that much more possible.


So this was the original design done with sprites. This definitely wasn't getting the job done.


The second screenshot at the top used a more traditional pencil-to-scanner approach. The artistry improved, somewhat, but I never was a good at creating things stylistically with precision. Due to this, much of the art was inconsistent with clearly visible flaws. =/


Once Flash was introduced, and once we knew that VHEL's game engine could handle 3000x3000 resolutions and output AA effectively, I went ahead and redesigned all the characters again with a more focused direction on readability, visibility, sharp angles, contrast, facial expressions, depth, self lighting, shadows, unique silhouettes, saturation, body types, and postures. This process took over 1.5 years to master to a science to create what VHEL is today.


With a cast well exceeding 40+, and over 30 unique locations I still need to fully create down to the last pebble, making sure the minute-to-minute experience from gameplay to atmosphere, remains the utmost goal.



The logo design has gone through many different iterations. By far, these two are the best made thus far.



Gotta love those long nights planning out your core gameplay mechanics...DX


It took several frickin' years to come up with this triadic hierarchy system. Basically, it determines how enemy confrontations, in-game tactics, and player motivations, will resolve. The fist represents "combat". The blackened face at the top represents "cloak". The knife represents "cunning". The arrows indicate which action beats what in an in-game context. This system makes it easy for me to plan out enemy AI before I give my programmer buddy the word on what to do (he likes it when things are simple =D). Since my core gameplay revolves around "evasion", I have to make sure that your actions in the game, force you to look at situations in a methodical sense.


This is just part 1 to this giant update. I'll comeback in a bit and post up more goodies that'll keep you wondering if I truly have a life or not. (The actual answer is "no".)

I haven't been able to find this thread until today! I forgot where it was after the site update, I am more excited than before.

The girls (everyone really) aren't human. They're Bhacrio, Humari, and/or Hecoy -- alien races/species. Because of that, it somewhat generalizes everyone's appearance, which is something I kind of don't like, but sometimes it can't be helped especially when I have to deal with the same body types. Additionally, some of the models on display are starting to become outdated and some of them suffer from "copy and paste" syndrome, to save time. XD

I am trying to redesign many of the characters though since what you pointed out has been the greatest criticism I've gotten from others. It all just takes time to do though, so I hope to be rid of this issue soon. =/


@ Super Penguin

It's sort of my fault that the thread kind of went Houdini for a bit. I know I was suppose to have a second part to the first big update, but I've been super busy like I don't know what, lately.



@ Everyone

Aside from what's kind of common knowledge now outside of practical things I should be showing like gameplay, video, and screenshots, I can't disclose much in the way of new info right now without a large sum of you saying the following:



So...here's what's all meant to happen within the following month just so you know:

- Pre-Alpha play testing. Oh God, please make this stupid game work like I want it to. Amen.

- Voice over sessions. I get to hang with my favorite girl for several hours straight until we start yelling at each other over how stupid her lines are. What fun. =D

- AI programming. 'Nough said.

- Finalizing some animations that have been long overdo. I'll see if I can post this stuff up in the future.

- Website. Don't bitch -- I know it's not done and I know I said it would be by now. I'm a horrible liar who takes your joy and delays it like Valve. It'll be a Flash site, for sure. I'm using in-game visuals and animations for it, so it's kind of being made simultaniously with everything else.