Star Child Dev Log #32

This is Pyxel Edit, which I use for most of the art in Star Child (and I used for all of the art in Toleo).

Let's take a closer look at one of these plants.

The most important aspect of this animation, and most animation, is how different things animate with different timings. Some things animation first, then other things follow. Even the pixel art tutorial books I read have trouble expressing this perfectly, so let's look at it directly.

We imagine the player walking into the plant, coming from the right side. The first thing that happens, on frame 01 is the furthest-right leaf moves to the left. Then on frame 02, the middle leaf moves left. On frame 03, the furthest-left leaf moves to the right, but also, the right leaf moves back to its original position. On frame 04, the middle leaf moves back to original position. And the next frame is the original frame 00, which also means the furthest-left leaf has returned to original position.

What I want is a wave-effect with the leaves. Here is how it looks in-game, with a little particle effect for some falling leaves.

I like it! I think it fits in our game.

Another thing I did this week was improve our rocket explosion particle effect. Here is what it used to look like:

Here is a new and improved version. Better color ramp, and a secondary explosive effect that lasts a little longer and shoots out a little further:

Better, I think.

That's all for now, see you next week!