Hey DROOLERS, Brian here. Resident artist at DROOL. Today, as an introduction to THUMPER, I'm going to talk about the menacing and mesmerizing ZILLAPEDE, one of many hate spewing enemies of Thumper you will meet over the course of development.
I made this guy gradually over the winter as a test as we developed our 'object sequencer'. The object sequencer is one of our fundamental tools. It's a simple system for creating and manipulating sequential data. We use it to create most of the art, music, and gameplay in THUMPER. When I made this, clearly I was drinking too much coffee. I was a bit edgy. I also remember I was listening to the Harmonia album Deluxe on a daily basis, a soothing distraction from the terrors unfolding on my laptop. Occasionally I would run into a roadbock with the tool and need Marc (the DROOL programmer) to help out. We went back and forth on the Zillapede for a few weeks.
There was a point early in the project where we both realized that from an art/design perspective, the tools ARE the game. In game development, the tools have an embedded influence over how everything is created and perceived. Using our tool, the ZILLAPEDE was created by repeating (or instancing) a single mesh many times in a connected sequence.
Don't worry, it's just an instanced mesh.
Unlike most game engines, the DROOL engine has no way to import animation data from the popular 3D animation programs. But that limitation is fine because it forces me to use the object sequencer. I like the challenge of making as much of the art as I can using this tool. It naturally ties everything together to create a universe with a specific and bold look... But seriously, its creeping me out way more than I expected.
Hunting for stoned Droolers.