Weekly log - 1

Hi, Joel here. This first dev-log is a bit of a mess, as it's the first, and what I've got to share so far is an array of small achievements. So, let's get into it.

First off, in the concept art department I have 2 characters I'd like to introduce you to.

(NOTE; as the story *is* in development, the character descriptions are definitely subject to change)

The first of all is the star of our show, Alex Wang.

Alex was born in the states to a chinese migrant family. Not just any family, but a family of dragons - sworn protectors of the world. His parents passed away when he was still young. This left himself and his grandfather as the only two dragons in America. His grandfather is too old to do much fighting, but he still trains Alex and let's him stay rent-free in his home/dojo while Alex attends college. Alex is a bit brash and overconfident, but he is quite outgoing, and has a passion for both martial arts and animation. He's currently pursing an Arts degree at the same college as his two childhood friends, Gwen and Bruce. Alex is also quite glad that, although dragons live much longer than humans, they grow up at roughly the same rate up until early adult-hood; So he's been able to have a pretty normal life.

Next up is Gwen Gardner. As mentioned above, she's a childhood friend of Alex. Gwen is a go-getter - she's a straight-A student, captain of the college soccer team, and actively involved in far too many extracuricular activities. Despite this, she's quite insecure about her successes; always worrying that if she isn't perfect, that she'll lose the respect of her friends and family. In part out of genuine interests and beliefs, but also in part due to those insecurities, she's quite counter-cultural. She loves challenging norms, and pushing boundaries.

As for the actual 3D models for these two - I've currently completed modeling, rigging, and basic animations for the above two characters, minus Alex's dragon-form:

Now as far as a roadmap is concerned - I can't commit to any sort of timeline, as this is just a project I am doing in my spare time as I hunt for a job. But I can outline roughly what I aim to achieve soon(tm).

First, the 3D model for Alex's dragon form. Next, concept art for both Bruce, and Alex's grandfather.

After that, I want to make some more refinements to the narrative. A lot of things need fleshing out at this stage.

And lastly, I want to get started on some environmental concept art for the Dojo, an alleyway, and the Mainstreet.
These are going to be the first three distinct areas of the map, and will also serve as a place for me really demonstrate what I've worked on in a more visually appealing manner than just a player walking around on cubes in a grey void. Obviously I don't plan to *finish* with these in the next several weeks, but I do hope to at least have solid concept art, and at least a first pass at blocking them out.


Oh, and before I forget, here's a video of some of the stuff in-game: