So yeah, I've finished the game I've been working on for FOUR YEARS. It's amazing that I've managed to finally wrap that thing up. It was starting to really annoy me.

Well, actually, I finished the game last month. I've wanted to put it here in 64Digits but I haven't been able to because the game is 33 MB large and the uploader here apparently can't take that load because when it "finishes" uploading it merely half-loads the File Manager page and doesn't actually upload the file if I refresh the page afterwards. Using the "alternate URL" route doesn't seem to work either but then again it might just be me not using it properly. How exactly is that supposed to work? If I'm uploading a zip file should the end of the URL page be in .zip as well? Because I've tried linking to pages like Megaupload and it doesn't let me.

Either way, I wanna share the game with you guys so any suggestions as to how I can get it up here will be very much appreciated. I'm in the process of uploading the soundtrack on Youtube if anyone's remotely interested.

I'm just about finished with that one project I started 4 YEARS ago (lol), but I have a predicament: I spent countless hours making this kickass soundtrack, but the problem is that even with extensive compression on the tracks the total game file size is about 45 MB.

I've been out of the Game Maker loop for a very long time, but last time I checked even 20 MB was completely unheard of. I'd like to know if 45 MB is just so completely out of whack that nobody would download the game. To be honest I don't really care if nobody downloads the game just because of the file size; I finished the game mostly for myself rather than for the community. Still, I'd like to know how the file size fits in the general scheme of things. Something to keep in mind I guess.

On that note, for those of you interested I'll be uploading the game in the next couple of days. I'll also be making a video walkthrough of the game on YouTube and also put up the soundtrack for download to those interested in listening to the music by itself (yeah, right :P).

Peace.

It's no secret that I've been on/off with Game Maker for a very long time now. Hell, I'm sure most of you won't even recognize or remember me. I keep claiming I'm coming back, but I always get distracted or stressed out by life and leave again. However, the game I started back in 2006 (Project F-60. I wrote a lot of blog entries about it if you want to know more) was really, really close to being finished. After cutting a few things that I think were superfluous and time consuming, I decided that I really wanted to go back and finish at least this game. Just this one.

Then I look around the game and notice I don't have any audio. I had Purianite compose the music back in 2006/07, but I decided to try my hand at making the music myself right now. If you're reading this Purianite, nothing personal at all. I just want this game to be completed ASAP and I'm being kind of a control freak when it comes to this game (I want to get this finished at all costs with as little trouble as possible). I've also really wanted to start making my own music, and I think starting with this is the best way to begin that. So again, sorry about that if you're reading.

So now with the game actually back in "production" now, I'm starting to rethink a couple things. For one, the whole cutscene stuff will go away. Too time consuming and it didn't add much to the game. I'm also adding two very simple extra modes for those who finish the main game. I want to add an enemy horde mode (simple enough to add) and a Boss survival mode (also simple enough). For the latter, if you've ever played Boss Battles or All-Star mode in Super Smash Bros, you'll know exactly what Boss survival is. You go through each boss of the game with only one life and try your hardest to beat as many as possible. I think it'll be a little reward for those who beat the game.

I'll be coming up with more details about the game in the next coming days. I'm really certain that I'll be able to finish this in one way or another, so I'm genuinely excited about this now. No more BS, no more procrastination, no more holdups. I'm finishing this NO MATTER WHAT.

*dies tomorrow*

Well, I gotta say that the progress so far is looking rather nice. I've completed now 6 items (out of 22) for the main mode of the game. Now, 6 may seem like little, but I've decided to start tackling the hard/most time consuming stuff. Aside from that, 10 of the 22 items are really, REALLY easy to do (of which I have done none so far), so doing those in 2-3 days should bump me up to 16.

I've redone the health bar, which looks VERY good in comparison to the horrible one that I used to have. Now the game is looking like a completely different (and much better looking) title than the original game. I'm definitely excited to finish this project. I think it'll set a new bar for me in respects to the quality of my work.

---------------------

I've kinda come to terms with the fact that I won't see a lot of people that I know next year. Which is kind of a bummer, since I didn't really "prepare" myself for that fact before school went out. Which sucks, because by the time I realized that I won't see the majority of my friends again, it was pretty much too late. Besides, the people that I WANT to see now are the ones whom I never see outside of a school setting. That is, I don't talk to them over the phone or "hang out", particularly because those people aren't really into "hanging out" (you know, that type of people).

Sucks, but I'm coming to terms with it. Slowly. I think by the time it's late August I will have admitted that.

No, not the hatelist fad. I mean I've made a list of the things that I have yet to do to finish making the game's main screen. We're looking at 22 items on the list, each of varying difficulty/time requirements. I've so far done 3 of them. I don't foresee the rest of them being any difficult, actually.

After that, I'll have to move onto "phase 2", making the rest of the game's new features and redo the old ones. That's probably the area that'll take the most effort from me. More on THAT as I get close there, because I don't want to overwhelm myself with what I have yet to do. I tend to work based on what I have already done.

I'll try to get a screenshot of the game as it's looking now. I just have to remember to redo that damn health bar. The one I've remade looks like trash.

---------------------
Well, I graduated last Friday. I had been really anxious about that day, mostly because I thought that it was going to be one of those depressing things, seeing a lot of people for the last time. I mean, I had been with everyone since 5th grade. In actuality, a lot of the people that I actually know are going to the same local university, so it's not like I'm not seeing THAT many people after that.
But it really wasn't like that. I went through the entire ceremony, at first anxious as I saw a few of my friends get called and walk across the stage, but after that happened and after my own name got called, it was pretty....meh. I really had no emotion at all. I can't really describe it. I just heard the speakers say things, heard random people get called on, and just sat through it pretty expressionless. It was pretty weird.

Then fast forward to Saturday/Sunday/today. I'm fearing that the people that I WANT to see I won't be able to see. I mean, the university is HUGE. In previous years, I've feared not ever seeing certain friends again after a school year is over, but they always seem to be in some of my classes. I'm not sure how that'll work when the school's population is multiplied times like 1000 and so is the size of the campus.

So yay for anxiety. That stupid feeling will haunt me AAAAAALL through the summer. I hate it.