Here's an update on what's going on with Sirlin Games. We're working on physical and digital versions of all three of the announced card games: Yomi, Flash Duel, and Puzzle Strike.
The digital versions will appear on a new site with all sorts of nice multiplayer features. The site will use Flash while the games will themselves will be in Unity. Even cards are more fun in 3D. We're sadly lacking in Flash and UI artists, and I don't know what we're going to do about that yet, but functionality and design are coming along.
Yomi
Yomi is now at version 8.0, which is really more like 800 or something. New decks here (scroll down in that link to download pdfs fo all the decks). This new version has been a long time coming because we completely changed the way the card images are generated. The new method is a pain in the ass, while the old method was a gigantic pain in the ass, so that's a great improvement. Also, there's a bunch of new art in this version, but also several placeholder pieces. There might be technical problems here and there with the new cards, but you'll tell us pretty quickly I bet, and we'll fix them.
To play Yomi before its actual release, you could print your own physical version from the pdfs linked above, cut them out, and sleeve them against CCG cards or something. Or to playtest online, you're stuck with having to use Lackey for now (see forums). We're working hard to change this state of affairs though!
For our upcoming "real" online version, we're working on the core functionality of playing Yomi. That means seeing cards in your hand, dragging them around to rearrange them, playing to the table (face down or face up), looking through discard piles, and so on. We're basically starting by creating a virtual table that doesn't know the rules of Yomi, but at least lets you play the game in a reasonable and easy way if you do know the rules. And that just feels good when it comes to moving cards around, drawing them, playing them, etc. We're trying to make it feel really nice! More on that in a future post.
We have a lot of features lined up for this new site, but our first goal is to get the basic mechanics of our virtual card table, and having those 3D cards look exactly the same as the print version's cards. When just *that* works, even though parts will look ugly (things like placeholder text for your health instead of a nice looking health bar), even though the site itself will be entirely placeholder art, we're going to let you guys try it. That will be weeks from now still, but I think it's better to get it into someone's hands early than to wait months instead of just weeks.
After we reach this first goal, we'll then add the game logic to enforce all the rules of the game, and I think we'll also add rule-less versions of Flash Duel and Puzzle Strike so you have an easier way to play test those games, too. If you're willing to put up with in-development, placeholder stuff, you can help us develop the site and the games together.
Yomi Art
For some reason, it's taken literally years to get the necessary art for Yomi. Certainly not for lack of me paying money, I'll tell you that much. Anyway, let's take a look at Valerie Rose, Manic Painter (by GenzoMan):
Valerie has heterochromia, meaning she has one blue eye and one green eye. She "sees things differently," and expresses herself through painting. Emotionally, she experiences highs and lows, which she believes gives her even more appreciation for the full spectrum of human feelings. She also happens to like both boys and girls--a crime in the capital city of Flagstone. She now lives at Rook's Morningstar Sanctuary, a protected city labeled as "enemy of the state" by Flagstone. She serves as Rook's artistic advisor, alongside Max Geiger, Rook's scientific advisor.
Valerie's punch, kick, block, dodge, and throw sprites (by Long Vo):
Flash Duel
This game is now a "Final Candidate" phase. That means it
Click to read more ...
Wednesday, March 17, 2010 at 5:27PM ;)
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