Slothy

It's been a long time since I had an update on the game I'm making. I've been busy with various things in real life, but also am learning how to program so we can get a prototype going at least, which means any real progress there isn't really directly related to the game, and isn't something I'd show off anyway. Luckily for all of you, I've been working on another aspect as well and finally have enough that I'm comfortable showing off the progress. And I do mean show, because the other thing I've been working on are character designs and spriting practice. So without dragging this intro on too long as I'm prone to doing, let's get down to business.

I've got three characters I'll be showing off, all from the alien team. Now some backstory on the aliens without giving too much away for now; they're an empire obsessed with conquest. To that end, they'll seek out any race or technology they think could be useful and exploit it if they can. If not they'll outright destroy it. As such, their army is something of a mishmash of different races and technology that they've enslaved/stolen. I still haven't settled on a final name for the alien team, though I'm batting around the Menagerie because I thought it seemed apt, and the unit names aren't necessarily final, but let's introduce them all the same.

Force Field Crawler:


Resembling a giant crab with a flower growing out of it's back, the Crawler comes from a world filled with brutal predators. With no natural weapons it was forced to rely on the force field it can generate when the "blossom" on it's back opens. Now, instead of protecting itself and it's young from predators it protects nearby units from human bullets and explosives. It moves slowly thanks to it's size, but when you're this protected does it really matter?

Telepath:


The Telepath is an interesting fellow. Having long since grown accustomed to perceiving the world through the eyes and ears of anything around it it's race no longer has any eyes or ears, though vestigial traces remain. It's not actually capable of walking either as it's musculature has atrophied from generations of using mild telekinesis to float about and devour it's meals, all of which it hunts and kills with a thought. It's believed that it may be there to help keep the army in line and under control, but that won't stop it from mind controlling your own units and using them to put your gun to your buddies head.

Sniper:


On his homeworld his race began as simple plants like any you may find on earth. But in response to centuries of deforestation they evolved some rather interesting defensive mechanisms. At first people thought the trees just started to look like them and were taken in by the novelty of it. But things are never that simple. When they had spread far enough across the planet surface they struck, wiping out the other sentient race on their world and taking what technology their still somewhat limited minds could learn to use. Now they travel to other worlds as part of the Menagerie, killing anyone else who would destroy their kin. They can lie in wait for months waiting for their target, going completely unnoticed until the time when they choose to strike.

I'll also note that the Sniper does actually have a sniper rifle (which shoots through walls no less), but I can only tackle so many challenges at once in a single sprite. Next I'll have to figure out how to draw the rifle and make it look like it's holding it properly.

So that's it for now. I think I'll start a thread in Relm's studio for future progress updates and critiques. These are definitely not final game art, but are great practice to help me learn how to sprite while trying to nail down the art style of the game proper.