State of the Game #4

Hey there everyone! I pray that all of you are doing well. I’m doing really well too… well, mostly. Nothing health-related—just the natural process of getting older. And hey, aren’t we all?

I’m still kickin’, but my “sort of not doing well” moment comes courtesy of my main PC, which recently decided to have a bit of a meltdown. There was even that unmistakable melting electronics smell—never a good sign. I took it in to be checked out, which means I currently don’t have access to my main video and photo editing software.

So here I am, working from my secondary PC. It’s actually a great machine—mainly used for building game levels and characters—but it’s also very… focused. I think I only have about 25 bookmarks in the browser. Even worse? No games. None. So instead of gaming, I get to entertain myself by writing another State of the Game post.

So yes… you must suffer. 😄

That said, I do have some good updates to share for April.

New Hair

I love Helkena’s long, wavy hair—but it was a very old asset. If you looked closely, it resembled ribbons more than actual hair. Even worse, when transferring Helkena into Unreal Engine, the hair behaved more like a football helmet—turning rigidly with her head and showing zero movement.

No wind.

No flow.

No life.

Mouthing Off

Animations are some of the most time-consuming aspects of game development—especially when it comes to syncing a character’s mouth movements with spoken dialogue. Getting that right takes time. A lot of it.

The good news? That process just became much easier.

The Hated Subject

Money.

Yep—I see you running away already.

Whistle… whistle… whistle…Wait… wait… okay, you can come back now.

I know that COVID has made things difficult for many people. Some have lost jobs; others are struggling just to stay afloat. I completely understand that.

But here’s one way to think about it: If 10 people skipped one Starbucks drink a month, that’s roughly $50. And $50 goes a long way when I’m careful and wait for software or assets to go on 50% (or more) sales.

Those funds directly help cover the tools and updates I need to continue developing The Right Path.

And as I’ve said before—and will keep saying—pray about it. Prayer goes a long way.

Prayer helped bring volunteer voice actors together…(and yes…)

HOORAY!!

If you feel led, please pray about making a tax-free donation.

That’s it for April’s State of the Game. Stay safe, and for those of you who are believers in Christ, please continue to pray for this project and ministry.

Be blessed,

Sam 

🙂