Blogs - OMGtheykilledKenny

A Little More About Magical Mil’s Marvelously Magical Misadventure…

Howdy y’all!

Things may have gotten a bit quiet on my end, but believe me, I’ve been hard at work on the new project.

It’s often said that art and polish should come last, but I really can’t help myself, y’all! My perfectionism makes it so that I can’t just accept the bare minimum when I know I’m capable of doing more. The demo for the new project should have been out already, but I’m spending far too much time on the art! Maybe I need a shock collar that will shock me if the art is taking me more than 1 day to finish lol.

Honey purchases a confection from Millie in the Bakery minigame.

Millie walks through a trailer park on her way to meet a few friends nearby.

Possible statuses that can befall the player. Has not yet been finalized.

I think I’d like to talk a bit about the inspiration for this game. Usually talking about it helps keep me motivated. My favorite Pokémon game is Pokémon Ruby. Everything about it is perfect to me. The characters, the story, the enemy team that changed depending on version, the music, the Pokémon contests, the gym puzzles, the trick house, everything about the berries, the weather mechanic that affects the overworld and battlefield, the in-game events that happen at certain times, exploration, cave exploration, room customization, hidden secrets, and the list goes on! It felt so great to play that game! It’s really hard to describe it in words, so my hope is that I can translate those feelings through M5.

Since this game focuses heavily on a time-based mechanic, I thought it would be a great idea to try my hand at creating mechanics that function similarly to Pokémon RSE’s time-based mechanics. It will be possible for the player character to grow different types of plants, and she will also be able to take advantage of time-based events, such as catching a movie that only shows at night, or getting discounts at a store from 6am-8am only. There will also be some jobs that are only available at certain times of day.

It was really hard to decide which direction to go when it came to the music used. Initially, I wanted this project to emulate Pokémon Ruby in it’s entirety, and after a bit of research, I found that my best bet would be to commission someone who makes music. After checking my wallet, however, I found that it might be best to find a pre-made music pack and hope for the best.

This game does have combat. Unlike Pokémon however, it won’t feature turn based combat. But It will be possible to bring a partner along in battle, though! (More on this in the next update.)

And just like that, I’m feeling really inspired! I’m going to go gather a few more screenshots and draft up my next article. I think these are things you all are going to be really interested in seeing! My research has shown me that fans are big on “ships” so I’m trying to create a system a bit like Fire Emblem where close bonds between characters can boosts stats a bit in battle. Is that how it went in Fire Emblem? I don’t know, I’ve never played it, but I heard somewhere that it works something like that. Perhaps that’s what I’ll research next.

And with that, I’m signing off. It’s nearly 2am and I need my beauty rest. G’night y’all!

Howdy y’all! It’s been a while, I know, but life happens!

Here’s a sneak peek at what’s new from Sweeterville Games:

I’m having so much fun building this world. I’m trying to make it big enough so that’s there’s lots to explore, but I’ve never really been a fan on long stretches of sheer emptiness. But since daytime and nighttime offer different quests in this game, what appears barren and empty in the day, might be an exciting minigame event at night time. There’s still a lot I have to think about, but if I establish the pillars now, the rest might come easy.

I’m currently putting together pieces so that I can have a nice juicy vertical slice ready for the game demo. I’m thinking I’ll make only a week playable in the demo and if my coding skills increase, maybe I can make it so that money and items earned can be transferred over when the full game comes out.

Wish me luck y’all!

Hello, friends!

After so many months of hard work, the new Demo for my game is finally finished! Now you all can try the Cherry Cake for yourselves!

In this current demo, you can play as either the Prototype-Doll Angel, Michelle, the Sparkling Cherub, Gabrielle, or the Misplaced Nephilim, Raphael. Each has a special powered up form, activated only by consuming the Cherry Cake powerup. Collect feathers, defeat enemies, and rescue your friends to earn points and achieve the golden perfect Angel rank!

Here is a link to the game:

Sweetervillegames.itch.io

This game hasn’t really been play tested by anyone outside of my immediate family, so any and all feedback is greatly appreciated! If you happen to run into any bugs or oddities, please leave a comment under the game in itch.io to let me know!

I really hope you guys enjoy what I have put together. Until next time, catch ya later, my friends!

It’s been so long since I’ve shared any news on this project and I simply can’t believe how fast times flies!

I kind of took a short break on developing the game so that I can study up on best practices and such, and began work on a different project. Here’s a sneak peak of it

While Cherry Cake is virtually wordless with a somewhat ambiguous story, the new project, codenamed “M” will have lots of illustrations as well as a pretty clear story. I’ll be able to share a little more about it later, but for right now, let’s talk more about my current project, Cherry Cake War Angels.

In all this time that I’ve been away, I’ve been going balls to the walls on Cherry Cake. The updated demo is currently in the final phases of developer-playtesting and polishing. I know the best way to finish a project is to stop adding features, but when I playtest, each run feels like it’s needs a little something extra. You know, kind of like garnishing a steak dinner with a pat of butter and a sprig of parsley. Something that would boost the overall experience, you know? Some assets are being modified just slightly for consistency and some coding is being reworked slightly for smoother gameplay.
Taking a break from the project has helped me see what areas could use more clarification and where some more work could be done to enhance player experience. In addition to this, more items were made to be interactable and more sounds were included for player feedback. It’s really coming along, and I can’t wait for you all to see it!

The next major milestones for this project is to rework the scoring system and to also get the background parallax to look good. It’s kind of funny how bad I am at getting the parallax to behave the right way. Maybe it might be time for another break….?

JUST KIDDING! I’m actually having lots of fun working on this project again, especially since this new demo is so close to being done!! Hopefully I can return really soon with a new update. Until then, TTYL!

Hello again, my friends!

It’s like the new year brought on a whole bunch of new creative ideas for me. I’ve been revisiting old levels and updating tilesets. I was revising an old level that’s supposed to take place within the digestive track of a huge monster when I had the idea to include boils and abscesses the player can shoot at. I was pretty grossed out having to animate boils bursting, but its going to be so worth seeing how the players react to them in game!

I’d like to share a bit on how I came up with this level idea. Back in the early 90’s, there was this really cool educational program called The Magic School Bus. As the name suggests, the titular school bus was able to perform incredible transformations, and in the episodes where the viewers would be taught about biology, the bus would shrink down to the size of a cell to be able travel inside of the body to see in real time how the body reacts to infections. I know this is going to make me sound like a nerd, but I really enjoyed those episodes! I can’t remember exactly what I learned, but I always thought the inner workings of the body was so cool. I commonly tell my children that if I weren’t so into computers, I’d have been a surgeon!

Being honest, this level is lots more fun to work on now that I thought of a few interesting acid puzzles. I’m trying to brainstorm a few other ideas that relate to the functions of the other organs rather than just the stomach, but it’s a bit challenging! However, if Kenny is 1 thing, it’s creative! I can’t wait to show you guys more of what I can come up with, but unfortunately, I’ve got deadlines and they’re coming up fast! So until next time, my friends!

Howdy y’all! I know it’s been a while since my last update, but I can assure you, I’m still actively chipping away at this project. Again, it’s mostly an overhaul of assets, so it’d be kind of hard to show what’s really changed. I am expanding on the very first demo by changing the way it is played and how it looks for the most part. I’ve also considered adding in voice acting. Nothing major, of course, but small VOs like pained grunts or a 1-liner upon completing a task.

I think I may have mentioned this once or twice, but I used to study art before becoming a software engineer. Because of this, I’m kinda stuck in that place of needing things to be beautiful before I have the confidence to share them. The new update was supposed to be done by now, but my perfectionism slows me down. It’s a blessing and a curse, really :/

If you’ve been Keeping up with Kenny this far, that big guy in blue should be vaguely familiar. If you’re thinking that’s Raphael, ding ding ding! You’re right!! Getting to work on stories for the game, I get to make cool new NPC versions of the the player characters. It takes a little extra time, but I’m almost certain at this point, all of this work will pay off! Between the soundtrack, the sound effects, the hidden interactions between player characters and NPCs, I truly can’t wait to show you guys what I’ve made. I’ll try to be more active here in my down time and update you guys more often, but between schoolwork, child-rearing, and life in general, I get sleepy… 😴

For those of y’all that stuck around, I very much appreciate the support and I’m sorry I’m taking so long. Please continue to stay tuned. That update is soon ;)

Howdy y’all! It’s about that time again already, eh? So here I am with what I have to share for this month. First, a few words: I’m finishing things up with the first chapter of Raphael’s story now. I’ve completed the level block for the very first level, and when I’m done editing the tiles, I’ll place them where they need to be. It’s been quite the challenge trying to come up with the maps for the levels, but also very fun. It’s so beautiful to see this world come to life, little by little. :)

Now to get into what you guys were probably waiting for the most; the visual aides! If you’re here from either my Twitter or Instagram, then you’d probably remember those cute little blue robotic attendants, the Mini-Miches. Their little kitchen scene I’ve been working on for maybe a quarter of the year is finally all set up and ready to go! Well, for the most part at least. There a few boxes and game mechanics I have to add in before the scene is 100% but it’s so close I can practically taste it!

Through out this set of levels, Raphael will have to use his destructive quirk to find his way back to his home. I have plans for him to crash through walls to create new access points as well as using his mortar to blow up some extremely volatile security cameras. Despite this nephilim’s size, these set of levels were actually designed with lots of stealth aspects in mind. Upon playing his story, you’ll find out how tough he actually has it, but I don’t want to give away too much!

The final bit I’d like to share is of a change in design choice. Originally, I was going to go the old-school Sonic the Hedgehog route and make the level titles on their own little title cards before control is given to the player. But after watching a few YouTube videos about diegetic interfaces, I thought doing something like that sounded a lot more interesting.

So far, I only have the titles on billboards, but I’ll think up more creative places when I get to those levels. I’m excited just thinking about all the clever places I can place them. Maybe one will be in the banner announcing the beach BBQ? Maybe one will be the name of a store in a different city? I’ll never tell, mwahahahaw!

I’m going to continue to chip away at this while also getting ready for Spooky Season with my little ones. I hope you all have a spectacularly spooky holiday, have a great time, and most importantly, stay safe y’all! Until next time, my friends! Happy Halloween!!

It’s already the middle of the month and I have nothing to really write about. But consistency is key. Whether or not I made some big stride in a development milestone, or a baby step in an animation, it’s all still worth sharing. So today, I present a few screenshots of the levels I’m currently working on.

Here is a peek at the vending machine that dispenses the titular power-up item, the Cherry Cake. Eating this will transform the Angel into a powered up, invincible killing machine called a War Angel, for a short while. But don’t expect that kind of power without dropping a little dough first! Most Cherry Cakes found in the game must be bought with tokens hidden within the levels, but there are some you can stumble across and some, you may need to trade favors for. And sometimes, being a cute little kid is enough to warrant a free piece in Her Immaculate Militia(HIM).

Variety is the spice of life, so lastly, I’m creating “pallet-swaps” of some assets. By doing this, I’m hoping that if the players dies and has to redo it all, it won’t become boring too quickly for the player. I could make a whole unique dozen, but I must stop adding so many features or else this project will never end!

I’m thinking I should make some foods unique to each level, an example being that doughnuts are exclusive to New Heaven City because they have Cops and a literal doughnut shop there. I’m liking this idea so far, but the real challenge will come in trying to think up unique foods that match each level’s theme. I already have this darling idea of Tacos being served only in a particular level because it’s “south” of somewhere, so I might as well follow-through, right?

Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed today’s little update. Not a lot of words to share this time, but definitely lots of cool pictures and a bit of my thought process. That’s valuable, right? …Right? *Anakin and Padme Meme*

Hello again, my friends! Unfortunately, I don’t have a whole lot of news to report since the things I’m currently working on are the things no one really notices until they notice lol(animating).

Anyways, I’ve been chipping away at this for so long that I begin to get wonder if this game is actually as fun as I think it is or do I just think so because it’s one of my babies. While it can be quite hard to discern what exactly makes for a fun game, I think most of us are in consensus on what makes for a good-looking game. If somehow, Ken doesn’t come through with the fun, I can assure you this game will be a visual marvel in the very least!

In my personal opinion, one of the best things about playing video games is the ability to see and interact with new worlds. With games like Super Mario or even Rachet and Clank, each level is essentially it’s own little world. I’ve always loved the beauty and wonder that comes with seeing these new places for the first time. My personal mantra has always been that I will create beautiful worlds the player can get lost in admiring. It took a brief stint at Full Sail University and a few supplemental reading to finally be at this point where I can put my ideas into practice, but the notion of building a beautiful experience has always been in me. What can I say? I’m a perfectionist! Like Lusamine from Pokémon, I’m obsessed with beauty! Have I told you guys about my shiny red shoes, yet??

As I’ve probably stated MANY times before, I’m currently working on a level called New Heaven City and this level is shaping up to be quite large. Despite this, I’m going to make every corner of this world feel alive by adding in subtle animations like twinkling stars and even kittens lazily snoozing away as their tails wave hypnotically. I still have lots of work to do if I want to see my grand vision come true, but I’ll be more than happy to show what I have now:

These are a few screengrabs of the character Raphael in the NHC level. The player will have the option to travel through the city or through the sewers. Of course you have your usual low risk/low reward — high risk/high reward situation going on, and by having both, I hoping it bumps up the replayability value of the game. Despite having 6 playable characters, Cherry Cake War Angels is a fairly short game! I’m trying to make the lore interesting enough where people will want to play the game again just to look for clues that deepen the story.

Oh, I have one more announcement I’d like to share before I sign off for now. I’m going to try my best to update you guys at least once a month. My sister tells me I should share more of my progress. That way when my game blows up and I become big and famous, the journey on how I got there will be much more inspiring to the people who take the journey after me. I really hope I can inspire future generations. That’d be so dope. Well, goodbye for now, my friends!

Hello, my friends! It’s been another long while, but at least you can rest assured that I’m really drilling away at this! I’ve recently purchased Level Design: Concept, Theory, and Practice , by Rudolf Kremers and it’s really helping me understand the art of storytelling through level backgrounds. There’s only so much we can pack into our games, so why not make the most out of that, right? So Instead of having certain NPCs explain game lore, the world itself can help tell the story; Like a war-ravaged landscape tells a greater story than some random character explaining how strong the final boss is. That saves on having to write script and having to code in that extra dialogue. The book goes on to say that players can even begin to form their own stories in their heads about what they see, which can lead to more dynamic gameplay. I can’t explain it as well as the book can teach it, but all I can say is that after reading it, some very interesting and particularly creative ideas have been coming into me!

Speaking of creativity, I came up with a new design for the poster! Check it out! :

Here are your first 3 War Angels, from left to right:

Raphael, HIA’s* very first Nephilim soldier. Despite his large size and stern demeanor, he’s actually very sweet! He used to be a Halo Engineer before he became a War Angel. Long story short, he used to build angels, now he defends them. However, since he’s so big, he’s prone to causing destruction, which makes the other angels wary of him.

Michealle(pronounced like seashell) is HIA’s Commander, the captain of all War Angels and leader of Team Cherry Cake. As HIA’s first fully-functional mechanical Angel, she lacks free-will herself, so she cannot fathom insubordination. Unfortunately, insubordination is also what her troops are good for. Left to pick up the pieces where her previous iteration left off, she desperately tries to lead the war angels while trying to learn what it really means to be a good leader.

Gabrielle, is HIA’s youngest recruit in the history of their entire military. She was hatched with an immense amount of power, yet was left unclaimed. This turn of events made her a person of interest for HIA. While being carefully surveilled by them, she trains as a War Angel so that she can safely harness her powers. She’s secretly curious about the circumstances of her birth.

*HIA(sometimes called HIM) is short for Her Immaculate Army. Although technically they’re a military, but HIM kind of betrays the fact that their grand leader is a indeed a “she”.

Now that you’ve met the three main actors, let me introduce you to their home! This is the level I’ve been chipping away at all this time. It may very well be the first and only level you guys get to really see, so I really want to make it grand! I mean, you only really get one chance at first impressions, right? So feast your eyes on this, my friends! Here’s a concept of how extravagant I’m trying to make their home city, New Heaven City:

The player will be able to travel through the city or through the city’s massive sewer, which can only be accessed from specific points.
This is only a small piece of an entire 2 part level! I intend to fill this level with quite a few points of interest that could potentially expand on the hidden lore of the game. This is my interpretation on a cool little technique this book refers to as a “pull”, which is supposed to help with pacing.

In addition to designing levels, I’m also trying to build a believable world. One of the things I needed to do, according to the aforementioned book, is to make the world seem alive. When you travel, you see that these new places have their own interesting histories and cultures derived from those histories. So In my project, I’m trying to build how I think an Angel culture would look. I imagine they would be high-society and quite elitist so one subtle change I added was to make all metallic objects shine gold instead of silver. Hell, I decided to get my Midas on and turn everything into gold! Here are a few examples of New Heaven CIty’s tiles.

I also began work on NPCs y’all! And I’m not just talking about allies this time! I mean real deal, civilians you can interact with. I can show you guys the spritesheet I have for an Angel Bitez worker:

Yes yes, ya’ll. My animation style IS quite cartoony. But it’s what I grew up on so it’s all I know! Creating her animation was so fun that I’m feeling inspired to make a whole lot more! I have a whole list of NPCs I’d like to include like a dude in a panic in a telephone booth, a couple and their dog who jumps into a bush, and angels at a posh cafe to start!

It was so nice getting to share again after so long! I hope I can be back with more sooner than later! But alas, all good things take time! See you all next time! Until then, Ken signing off!