I Planned To Add Some More Doodles To This Page, But Since The Power’s Out And It Doesn’t Look Like

AItober Day 31: Goodbye, Gordon.

"Must this really be the end of our time together? Perhaps you could take the science team's data, transfer us somewhere else, hmm?"

What if Gordon transferred the Science Team's data, per Coomer's last request...onto his desktop?

Introducing the Science Team Ukagakas, downloadable characters that sit on your desktop -- they'll talk to you and to each other, hang out and perform functions for you, and you can interact with them (such as by giving them gifts, asking them questions, and so on.)

They're still in very early development, but there's some more info below the read more!

Before anything else, I would like to state that they are not currently available for download, but ideally will be downloadable once I've gotten them to a basic working level. I'd also like to try and set up automatic updates, but I can't guarantee that that last bit will work. Their text bubbles are also temporary, though I don't look forward to trying to design new ones, haha. I'm new to programming Ukagakas, hence why I'm using Zarla’s template/tutorial (I can’t link or Tumblr will eat this post, but Googling the ashido ukagaka tutorial should get you there), and while I'm getting the hang of the actual coding part, the art takes some time and I'm not the best at writing dialogue for these characters, so bear with me. :)

Ukagakas can have up to two characters together at once, so the Science Team comes in sets -- Bubby and Coomer are always together, Tommy is a single character (to make it easier to potentially add Sunkist or G-Man later), and Benrey is also alone. They function fine just within their "sets", so, for example, you can have only Benrey open at a time and he'll function just fine and have his own content, but he'll also interact with the others if they're open.

You can also customize things such as the pronouns you go by and what name you take, though keep in mind you can't steal their names, and if you continue to go by some variation of "Gordon," they'll have some special dialogue/nicknames. I'll also note that Benrey will continue to say things like "that's pretty gay, bro," no matter what pronouns you use.

Ukagakas also have a feature where you can track mouse movement/clicks on the character themselves, leading to some fun interactions with being able to pretend you're petting/punching/whatever them; as you can see in the shots above, I'm definitely making use of that.

Anywho, long-winded speech over! I'll make a proper introductory post once they're available for download. If you have any ideas for character interactions/dialogue/questions to ask/things to gift and so on, feel free to share! You can even have ghosts remember if you've done something before, and how many times, allowing for me to have relationships build/change over time. Lots of potential, if only I can actually get it all coded in! So- yup, feel free to send a PM/ask with any suggestions, or additional questions/comments.

Thanks for reading! :)

Continuing my efforts to design Chris' next armor set! Commentary below the cut.

I tried to make the meteor armor set work, but was having to stretch things too far to justify it (completely changing its shape/patterns, dyeing it, layering it with diamond robes to make his staves/tomes build work, etc. to the point it was really meteor armor in name only). So this is a hard pivot -- for this outfit, Chris works with the Guide/Dryad to make jungle armor, and then transmutes it into the ancient cobalt set using the Shimmer. The wings and diamond staff design aren't set in stone; I just needed something simple to get the colors down while focusing on the armor.

This does decrease the impact of the meteor a bit, but hey, Malik will still appreciate some meteor shots I'm sure. And plot-wise, having another moment of the Guide/Dryad both influencing Chris is helpful to set up some following scenes.

I'm definitely happier with this than my previous designs. Swapping "generic metal plate"-star for the diamond-star ties the ancient cobalt breastplate nicely into the diamond staff. And if he picks up the magic missile (haven't fully decided his late pre-hardmode loadout), the outfit design and color scheme fits with that well enough too. This outfit also doesn't suffer from some significant issues the previous ones had (body design too dark and lacking contrast, metal garters too shiny causing a striped look, etc.) because of the updated color scheme. It also displays his worm scarf more prominently (albeit still dyed), helping to immediately justify the Eater of Worlds fight beyond "well the Dryad said so and also you can get a cool pickaxe or maybe a void bag later."

The lunar/celestial imagery is a bit more naturally integrated with this design, such as the "comet/falling star trails" that form the pattern on his breastplate being more emphasized, rather than just "here's a giant star, 'cause he's a mage, get it?" And while dropping the robes look is a significant design shift, keeping his gloves and boots visually similar connects his previous design with this one without seemingly having just palette-swapped his old robes. This is also barely armor -- it's more of an armored shirt -- so it doesn't invite as much whiplash from seeing Chris jump from "mage in robes, albeit with a somewhat heroic cape design" to "wearing straight-up armor."

Color-wise, I did add a small amount of purple to this design compared to the in-game ancient cobalt armor. Magenta/purple is associated with the amethyst set, Nebula pillar, shadow magic, band of starpower, etc. and so I didn't want to make him too blue and muddy the waters (blue is Lunatic Cultist, Stardust pillar, etc.). I also don't want him to blend too hard into the dungeon walls, one reason why the outfit is so bright. But it should still be enough blue to make Chris stand out against the red backdrop of Hell later on. I'm feeling good about the level it's at currently, and I can always subtly tweak it in particular scenes as-needed to make him fit in or stand out as needed. On the flip side, his wings get a soft warm brown tone rather than a cold sheen to contrast his outfit and tie into his skin/eye/hair color to both introduce more color hues into his outfit and make his head less disconnected from the rest of the design.

I did try to minimize the number of different colors overall, but it doesn't significantly impact the complexity either way. This is just a product of how I color characters -- instead of color-picking from a reference image, I have a folder of coloring layers for each character that I copy into each page. So each folder will have, for instance, one layer for hair, one for a character's shirt, and so on. Each layer has a max of two colors so that I can color pick them into my main/sub color icons, clear the layer, and then paint bucket those colors in. So since I'm already handling every layer separately, adding more layers (especially of solid colors) doesn't significantly impact the time I need to spend coloring.

Anyways, that's all I've got. Character design is hard.

My dearest followers and mutuals and friends and lovers. I am going to extend one deadly serious question to you on this beautiful afternoon.

What is your #1 video game recommendation

Circus Tree: Six individual sycamore trees were shaped, bent, and braided to form this.

it’s-friday.avi

The original joke was pointing out that Victor Frankenstein dies at the end so maybe jot that down and don’t talk about wanting to be like him when you have two people actively plotting your murder but I think there are maybe more reasons why Frankenstein isn’t a good role model

Anyways yeah I was just thinking about Wheatley’s ranting about literature and then this happened

Aperture is a place of science

Ahhh I got TAZ: The Crystal Kingdom in the mail today!! Crystal Kingdom was always my favorite part of the podcast, and the graphic novel is so good,, highlights:

Bitch fucking Frankenstein-ass Lucas is so very enjoyable, his character design is lovely and for a little bastard of a necromancer I do just adore his character

Taako: "He's the Grim Reaper! Read the room!!!" Kravitz: "Wow! So not just a pretty face!"

UPSY YOUR LIFTING FRIEND is so very FUCKED up

Noelle......her remembering and everyone's expressions when they realize is so good

EVERYTHING about Kravitz, holy fuck. He gets such a spotlight in the graphic novel!! He's just hanging out and occasionally reaping souls, as one does

DM!Griffin also wearing a spacesuit

They kept the Crystal Kingdom song!

Lucas and his mother aaaa

They removed the "turn Magnus into stone and then use shape stone to make a corkscrew and remove the relic" scene which is honestly for the best because I do NOT want to see that drawn on paper

The "tentacle your dick" line IS still in there but they changed the context

Okay but I really like the character dynamics and emotions, like Lucretia at the end reflecting on Lucas and Maureen

THE ENDING with the seven birds prophecy, the IPRE badges, and the Starblaster!!!

AVI IN A SWEATER AVI IN A SWEATER I WANT TO EAT HIS GENDER

Johann and the voidfish also make an appearance <3

The cosmoscope :D IT'S SO PRETTY!

Taako's macarons!

Taako is smitten

"Kravitz? Tell Julia I finished her chair?" aaaa

Angus is adorable

GARFIELD THE DEALS WARLOCK IS HORRIFYING

Wooden ducks!

Lucas' face at "I know, I know, apprehend him-" "No. Kill him."

I know it's funny to hate on Lucas but he's actually so great

SO IS KRAVITZ I’m so happy he got so much screentime here

"Lucas, you don't need an advanced degree to water a plant"

i am once again asking you to consider half life/portal narrative parallels

Honestly don’t remember if I ever ended up posting these, I wanted to make the whole set before I shared them but I started these long ago and the motivation died. They still look nice, though! :)