1-10-13 - Mini-Game Reveal #7 [final reveal!]

Nothing really spoilerific about today's reveal. Its the first game you'll be able to unlock it'll be playable from the start (after you rescue Pinkie Pie and access her shop in Ponyville), and its pretty basic

1-9-13 - Mini-Game Reveal #6

This post concerns a portion of the project that has not yet been in development. Any images or screenshots are simply for visual aid and are not official to this project (unless stated otherwise)

Also, there are spoilers in this post. Proceed at your own risk. :P

[also also note, there's one more mini game reveal after this one, I ended up deciding on having seven mini-games instead of six. If you've noticed I've been labeling the mini games themselves in a backwards order (#5,#4,#3, etc etc) this one is #1 and tomorrow's is #0 I'm just making this note to clear any future confusions :P ]

1-8-13 - Mini-Game Reveal #5

This post concerns a portion of the project that has not yet been in development. Any images or screenshots are simply for visual aid and are not official to this project (unless stated otherwise)

Also, there are spoilers in this post. Proceed at your own risk. :P

1-7-13 - Mini-Game Reveal #4

This post concerns a portion of the project that has not yet been in development. Any images or screenshots are simply for visual aid and are not official to this project (unless stated otherwise)

Also, there are spoilers in this post. Proceed at your own risk. :P

1-6-13 - Mini-Game Reveal #3

This post concerns a portion of the project that has not yet been in development. Any images or screenshots are simply for visual aid and are not official to this project (unless stated otherwise)

Also, there are spoilers in this post. Proceed at your own risk. :P

1-5-13 - Mini-Game Reveal #2

This post concerns a portion of the project that has not yet been in development. Any images or screenshots are simply for visual aid and are not official to this project (unless stated otherwise)

Also, there are spoilers in this post. Proceed at your own risk. :P

1-4-13 - Mini Game Reveal #1

Spoilers after the break. You have been warned.

1-3-13 - I'll be updating daily again.

I've decided just now that it would be very wise for me to start doing daily updates again for this project. It wont strictly be about progress though, but mostly of facts and ideas about the game in general.

Most of these updates may contain spoilers, and I will do my best to warn about these spoilers for those of you who'd like to remain surprised.

So what have I been so busy on for the past few weeks? I've started development on the six large mini-games that are hidden throughout the game world. One of these games is essential for the completion of Spikes Quest, and that game is my current project and is quiet a gem for just a mini game.

I've posted about these mini-games before, but I never specified how they work in Spikes Quest.

There are six game disks (or carts) scattered throughout the world. When you find one, you bring it back to the upper world into Ponyville where Pinkie Pie will have something resembling a mini-game arcade booth, here the game is revealed and unlocked to you in a mini-game selection menu of sorts.

The mini-games will be classic spin-offs of such nastalgic games of classic DOS and Gameboy origins and the majority of them are quiet literally a series of videogames within a videogame.

Tomorrows post will reveal the most current mini-game in development, and will certainly be spoilered for such obvious reasons.

So, if you dont mind being spoiled on Spikes Quest, feel free to check on in. I'll do my darnedest to keep this blog and all affiliated forum threads updated on a daily basis. :)

edit: I've got a good feeling that the year 2013 will be the year that this game sees completion. :)

Major Update Coming

Just thought I'd pitch in a short and simple notice that I'll be posting a huge update near the end of January, and I'll possibly have the next test demo ready by mid March.

I've been super busy on this project for the past few weeks. Reason why I havent done any progress updates is because the stuff I'm working on is stuff I'd like to keep secret for the time being.

Hope you guys are still interested in what I'm cooking ;)

Oh, and I hope everyone is enjoying their holidays. Bring on 2013!

SQ Graphical Showcase Video: The Lost Shrine

9/20/12 - www.equestria3d.com

Its been a while since I last updated anything on this project. I've been preoccupied. :P

Anyway, a short little update. I've just registered http://www.equestria3d.com as a domain name, and in the future I'll be re-uploading the old Spikes Quest Demo files into the server (once I can afford a descent server to do so)

I've received a couple of complaints about the links to the old files being broken. That is because my old name at bullockarts.com had long since expired (I plan to renew it eventually, but it wont be used for my pony projects anymore)

I do intend to continue work on SQ. I know I keep going on these long hiatuses but that's because I keep getting too distracted by other projects. Still, I'm hoping to maybe get something done in the coming months or so.

Dont give up hope yet, folks! :P

7/14/12 - Config System 3.0 Update

The config system has been updated! (nevermind the fact that it was missing from Spikes Quest Demo #4)

> New UI system entirely from scratch
> Key-mapping and gamepad support
> Background scrolls and changes colors (not neecesary, but kinda neat)

With the addition of the key-map and gamepad features I should note that during the game you can either play with the keyboard, or connect a gamepad and instantly start playing with that without having to change the settings to do so.

I may release a testing kit just for the config system later this next week. So if your interested in testing it out, please stay tuned.

6-24-12 - Monkey related update

The response in my last update concerning the upgrade to Monkey coder was a mixed bag. What I failed to mention in that update was that the code transfer was a thought for later when the game was actually completed.

I dont intend on changing to an entirely different coding language anytime soon, so those of you who may have been concerned can feel rest assured. ;)

I have toyed with the demo version of Monkey and I've found that its an entirely different coding experience. There are some familiar bits of basic coding in it, but the language has its differences from Blitz Max. I'd still like to purchase it just to play around with it and see what I can do concerning HTML5 and the Android OS (I'd later like to try my hands at the iOS system as well as the other supported platforms)

But at the moment, Spikes Quest WILL remain a Blitz Max coded application.

5/9/12 - I'm nawt dead yet! I think ai'll go fer a walk!

I haven't updated in a month, so I figure I should bump this project up again...

I wont deny it... I've been severely neglecting this project. And I wont blame most of you if you've practically given up on it. But facts to be, I really just dont want to give up on it yet... or ever... I actually do want to see it through. The problem is with just how easily I can get burned out, or distracted by other projects.

Such is the fate of someone who has bad ADD I guess...

4/2/12 - lol April Fools! and other News

Just in case y'all didn't guess it. Yesterday was April 1st. And my whole 'Spikes Quest is cancelled' bit was a total April Fools joke. ;) (the whole Boots Adventure game concept should had been a dead giveaway, really...)

So let's get back to some actual legit news...

Taking the advise of Thirtyfour (from the Ponychan thread), I've decided to host the streams once every other week instead of every week. This means there will be one stream per every two weeks (twice a month) where I'll host previews, updates and maybe do some actual work for y'all's viewing pleasure!

As of now, I've decided to take a break on the graphics and code and start work on the game's actual documentation. These docs will include an actual story for the game, items that you can collect, enemies, NPC's, etc, etc and it'll all be quiet extensive with certain details and illustrations. However these docs wont be published to the public (unless you wont to be spoiled to heck and back) they will only serve as a reference for the game's development. I may actually spend a few weeks working on these docs and maybe... just maybe, I might release it as an actual online wiki a few months after the actual game is published!

Ad that's all the news I have for now. I'll try to keep you all updated. But if you dont hear from me for a while, dont lose hope! I may just be really busy working up something magical ;)

4/1/12 - Spikes Quest Cancelled

I've decided that due to the enormous stress this project has caused me in the past year alone that I am to cancel it and replace it instead with a newer much more worthy project.

Boots Adventure

you know, Boots from Dora the Explorer? yeah, that monkey thing... I'm making a side scrolling adventure with him because he's so much more amazing than Spike the Dragon!

The game will be a 4 level Mario style game where you go around collecting  purple seashells and helping his Spanish human girlfriend (Dora) get from point A to point B.

There will be no enemies and there will be no traps. And the story is nothing more than to help some dumb blond mermaid who lost her precious pearl in a large jar of pebbles or something silly like that

Doesnt that just sound exciting? :D

Oh, and to make it even more epic, I'll be throwing in a brief cameo by Tom Bombadil from the Tolkien Novels where he'll help our monkey out by singing him riddles while prancing about on some random floating lily-pads.

You cant deny that's not epic!

Stream Related News - Changes are being made...

So I was about to set up everything for the stream, but of course I've been dragging my behind the whole time about it. A feeling of not really wanting to do anything at all today. Facts to be I've spent half of today watching YouTube videos... procrastinating.

So what is it with me losing motivation over the whole livestream thing? Most of it would be because of my usual disappointment on how few viewers I get each day. Most of the time I'm there by myself just tinkering away on some small bits of graphics or code, but sometimes one or two (or if I'm lucky, three) people would come in to check out my progress. But eventually they'd often just get bored and leave (or some other more important reasons, they'd leave).

Once again, I'm not griping or complaining about the lack of viewers. I fully understand that there are logical reasons behind the matter. I just tend to get bummed out about it sometimes, and I lose the will to keep working on things.

So I'm thinking that maybe the whole Livestream thing is becoming more of a burden than an actual asset. I'd probably work best if I scrapped the whole streaming thing and worked at my own leisure and without the depressing concerns of if I'm boring the hell out of my viewers or something.

So here's what's being changed. I wont be hosting a stream five or six times a week like I have been doing. But I will host a livestream on Saturdays before the Pony episodes to showcase what has been done and answer a few questions.

I'll also keep doing my art streams on Thursdays and Sundays, because I find great pleasure in having a few good chaps watch me draw things.

In between these stream dates, I'll work on the game. Building up the graphics and the code in an effort to make the Saturday stream damn well worth it!

And also between these times, I can try to build up hype and promote the upcoming streams through forums, blogs and the SQ youtube channel

What do you guys think of that plan?

Wednesday 3/28/12 - Stream Recap

Just now called quits on the stream for the night. it was slow as expected, but it went alright, I guess. I've started work on Ponyville if anybody wants to know.

Anyway, before the stream, I guess I was just being a bit too hard on myself which made me think about cutting the stream's up-time over the week. I was in one of those heavy doubt stages, not only concerning the stream but the project as a whole. I half wondered if I'd ever even complete it.

But during the stream, as I worked I kinda let up on those thoughts and started to feel slightly proud again. I may just keep the stream times the same as they were and forget about the time deduction thingie.

Next stream will be on Friday as promised. And I might actually start it extra early... like say maybe 7:00am CET

I know allot of you folks out there haven't been able to attend the stream due to work or school (or odd time zones), and believe me when I say I'd like to make it easier on y'all, I just don't know how to at the moment. I'm hoping that as Summertime approaches things will at least get easier for you school types!

anyway, I hope to see some of y'all in the next stream. Who knows, I might one of these days hold an announcement stream with the promise of a demo on that same day!

we shall see.... we shall see....

In other news, I will be hosting another art stream tomorrow starting early in the morning and lasting until late in the evening! It will be the continuation of the artwork labelled "For I Have the Upper Ground" feel free to come in and watch me draw!

Wednesday 3/28/12 Stream About to Start

http://www.livestream.com/misterbullsarttheater?t=704881

Wednesday 3/28/12 Stream Notice

Yes, there will be a stream today, but it wont start until 2:30pm CET

Since it seems I'm kinda getting a late start on everything.

However after today, I've decided to only do the streams on Fridays, since streams seem to totally drain me and also the fact that if you plan a stream a week in advanced more people are likely to show up.

also for today's stream I've decided that rather than working on that same tileset that I've been working on for the past couple of weeks I should change up the environment. what shall I work on? Maybe Ponyville, maybe the Everfree Forest or maybe a cavern setting. I'll decide when it comes time...

Anyway, I'd like to hear some opinions about changing the stream schedule up. Of course, I'm still worried that the reason not many folk have been showing up may be because I frightened them away the other day what with those nasty livestream ban errors and Procaster setting the stream to my webcam where my ugly mug was on the screen the whole time...

I'm still sick to my stomach with embarrassment... c.c