Grindle Development Diary 1 – Evolution of a Grin

Grindle Oni A is a game which has been developed over time, through a number of separate periods that have produced four distinct versions. Events during this time have meant these previous versions have not gone further than fully working games to show possible publishers, but now Grindle Oni A is being released on Android devices, and in this first developer diary I want to share where it all started and how it got to where it is today.

Grindle Initial Concept - 2010 

Development of the Grindle game began way back in the early part of 2010, with the initial idea to make a simple memory game for mobile devices involving four different coloured grins. The initial concept screen was quickly produced the next day and a working version of the game was done within a couple of weeks. At this point Grindle only featured four games. The graphics were very basic, but the program was designed to just get the idea into a physical form that could be played and developed.

  

Grindle Extreme - 2010

Towards the end of 2010 the second version of the Grindle game took shape. The graphics became more refined, starting to incorporate tribal tattoo ideas into the style. The grins developed and a simple menu was built for the four games and the four difficulties that they could be played at. This version was called Grindle Extreme. The graphics started to take shape but they were still too dark and the tribal theme could do with pushing to a greater level.

Grindle Oni - 2011

A year passed and then towards the end of 2011 the third version of the game, Grindle Oni, was developed. This version added another eight games to the previous four, adding many new ideas to the Grindle mechanic. Now players had to move the Grins around the grid, watch sequences of lights, and match pairs. The vibrancy of the graphics was increased and the tribal theme was pushed more with the incorporation of Japanese elements. Four Grindle characters were introduced in this version, and the twelve games were split between them, giving the program more of a distinct structure. Achievements and Challenges for each game were also added at this point to expand the Grindle experience. The whole game was now taking on a unified look and the Grindle environment was coming together, but there were still a few more things to come.

Grindle Oni A - 2013

Again time passed with no development, and then as 2013 dawned work began on the Android version of Grindle, Grindle Oni A. With the decision to bring the game out on Android tablets the game needed upgrading and all the art was redrawn for the HD screens, this increase in screen size also meant the program code needed to be redone, and it was fully reprogrammed for this version. During this process refinements were made to all areas of the game. Some of the features in the previous version of the game were not adding anything to it and were probably confusing the experience, while other features just needed a slight alteration. The challenges were now all split into their separate games, with ten for each one. A star award system was also introduced to the challenges, offering a greater reward to the player for completion, while giving them greater targets to aim for.

Grins Over Development - 2010 - 2013

And so now we have Grindle Oni A, developed and refined since its initial concept in 2010 to be a challenging but enjoyable test for all players on Android devices. I hope you have enjoyed this look back at the development of the game and how it has progressed from the initial idea, and keep watching for more development diaries as I take a look at how the different elements of this final version of the game took shape.

Winterflood


Official Grindle Oni Facebook page - Link

2012 - Where Did It Go?

As 2012 comes to a close I guess I can have a look back on the year and if it was any good in the end?

The year started with a lot of potential. I had just published the Last Mask - Tradition on Kindle, excited about the potential of the novel. A publisher was interested in my Grindle game, and to see it develop more. And I was writing a short film script for a new director who wanted something similar to my Last Mask novel, learning how to squeeze a story into 10 minutes. So the year looked promising at that point, maybe things were going to improve this year.

Moving on a month later and things had quickly changed. The publisher was no longer interested in the game after I spent a month expanding and improving it. Apparently it now had too much in it, which was interesting. The director decided to not use my script in the end, after I did several edits, but I will just think of that as an experience at writing a film script, and maybe something will happen in films with other people in the future. And despite getting some great reviews, from people I didn't know, my novel hadn't done much on Kindle

A couple of months into the year and the potential of 2012 had seemed to return to the usual situation of nothing. The Last Mask failed to get past the first stage of the Amazon Breakout awards despite me believing it was better than a previous entry of mine that had advanced. I released my YA pirate novel on Kindle a few months later but sales of that were worse than the Last Mask, and even after giving 300 copies away it still has no reviews. 

So what do you do? There really didn't seem to be much point of committing another year to a novel if hardly anyone was interested in reading it. I continued plugging away at the art, but also with little interest from the people who might actually pay me to do it, and social media seemed to be getting less sociable. But enough about all this negative fun, was there anything positive to the year?

I did manage to win a competition this year, for a fan art version of a Summoner War's card, which will be out next year maybe. I also decided to start this Blog and build a new website to put all my work together, and show the world of Winterflood. I believe the website turned out well, and I don't know if anyone is visiting it but feel it is a quality display of the various things I can do. The purchase of an iPad also got me back into playing board games, and opened my eyes to all the different types of games available, and gave me a few ideas of my own.

As the year draws to a close I have now got back into game programming, currently working on a big project for 2013. So as the new year approaches maybe there is potential again, and maybe that potential may quickly vanish. Hopefully I will also self-publish the Last Mask in paperback, and there is still a chance that I will return to it next year and finish the other books. I remain positive  for what I am doing, and optimistic that this can be big, if I avoid people who just want to waste my time, as that is a commodity in short supply .

I also discovered while watching the Olymipic opening ceremony, as it shared a lot of my vision, that I am not weird but just British. So here is to more Britishness from me next year.

And on that note I end this short review of my year wishing that 2013 will be a bit more lucky than the previous ones, and that you all have a great one also.

Finding The Core

    Looking at what I was doing recently on the internet I realised I had spread myself here and there with all my art and writing, but I didn't have one place that people could visit that contained it all. So with this in mind I decided I needed a core, a website where I could put all my work and easily control how I presented what I was doing. A place people would hopefully get to know as the one location to see all about Winterflood.

W - The Core

    When I decided I wanted to create a site the obvious first job to do was see that is out there already from my fellow artists and writers, and if I am honest I was surprised by what I found. There seem to be too many who had just slapped their work on a site with no concern for how it was presented. We are supposed to be creative people so we should be presenting our work in a creative fashion, one that reflects our work. The website should be an extension of the artist in my opinion, a reflection of who they are and the type of work they do.

Golden Dreams - A Warm Welcome

   Now after a few weeks of hard work, and remastering of some old pieces along the way, I can now announce that my website is up and running. It contains a large selection of my art in tasteful galleries, and also pages about the various books I have done.

What Kept You? - A New Face

    I hope you all enjoy visiting this new site and I look forward to sharing many new pieces of work and news there in the future. Let me know what you think as I am always glad to hear from you all.

Winterflood  

Website Link

Getting Sand In Your Goblins

    On my previous Blog I showed you my entry for PlaidHat Games' Summoner Wars fan art contest. Well I enjoyed doing that one so much I had a pop at another, so I present to you in this Blog Krusk Summoner of the Sand Goblins.


The Original Card

    Here is the original card from the game. Krusk the summoner of the Sand Goblins, a survivalist faction that knows how to wriggle out of a tight spot.

The New Image

    Looking at the original character I liked the goggles on his head so wanted move them over his eyes on my one, and also change them to circular. I also like a good set of teeth so started there and worked out. I also gave him a bandanna as it gives him a more pirate or bandit feel.

The New Card

    So with the art done I mock up a card and here we have my version of Krusk, a summoner at home in the sands, just waiting to ambush you.

Imagine The Filth

    PlaidHat Games the makers of Summoner Wars, which I reviewed in my other Blog previously - http://entertainingtomyself.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/summoner-war-ipad-review.html, are currently running a fan art contest where you can re-imagine one of the summoners from the game. So I decided to have a go at it and below is my version of the Demagogue summoner of the Filth.

The Original Card

    Here is the original card from the game. The Demagogue the summoner of the Filth a demon worshiping faction that is all about mutation and dark rituals.

The New Image

    Taking this original character I then thought of the mutation aspect of the faction and imagined him with the mutation taken to an extreme level on himself, but still keeping the recognizable elements of the original character. So lots of tentacles bursting from his cloak was a central idea.

 The New Card

    So with the art done I then put him back on the card and here is the final art. The summoner of the Filth pushing his powers over the limit.

    It was interesting taking a character that already existed and changing him in my own way. We shall see how he does in the competition, and any comments here are appreciated as always.

The Year a Legend is Born

    Welcome to the Blog, and this time I would like to introduce you to a boy called Scaramblous Jaike, and an exclusive conversation with the author of his adventures about the first book and how the series will develop. So without further ado let me introduce you to writer of Scaramblous Jaike and the Revenge of the Shadow Monkeys… me.

    Welcome to Talking to Myself, Stephen, it is great that you could take the time to talk to us today.

    Thank you, it is nice to be here today to talk to you about my new novel.

    Scaramblous Jaike and the Revenge of the Shadow Monkeys is your latest novel on Kindle so tell us a bit about it then, what is the story, and who is it aimed at?

    This novel is a fantasy tale aimed at a Young Adult audience but that doesn’t mean adults are excluded, and I hope it will appeal to them also. The story is about a group of children who live aboard a gigantic pirate ship called the Black Tide, a mysterious ship that is stuck on an island. These children have never left the ship, and seen what is beyond the horizon, so this novel deals with their first adventures beyond the only home they have known.

    I believe this is the first book in a planned series, so what is the series about and how will it develop?

    Indeed it is planned as a number of books. The series follows the adventures of Scar and his friends as they uncover an ancient mystery. The whole series is set over one year in Scar’s life and the dramatic events that will change it, events that have their foundations in this first book. As the tagline for the series states this is the year a legend is born, but we don’t know who or what that legend is going to be at the start.

    Will the Black Tide be the main setting for the series then?

    The Black Tide takes up about a third of the first book as we meet the children and their world, but we quickly discover other parts of the Dagga Isles, the world of the books. In the second book, Scaramblous Jaike and the Treasure of the Red Pirate, a discovery is made that opens up the whole of the world the children live in, and this will form the foundation for all the tales to come. So the Black Tide will be an important place to the story but there is a whole world of wonders still to be discovered in the books.

    For those who have read your other book The Last Mask – Tradition, how does this one compare?

    This book was originally done before the Last Mask – Tradition and is a very different series. Scaramblous Jaike is aimed at a YA audience, so entry to the series is suitable for children, but will also appeal to adults who like adventures of the imagination. Both books present a fantastic world to the reader, but obviously have their own distinct identities. The Last Mask has a more complex journey, with some darker locations, but the Dagga Isles hopefully contains an equally entertaining experience for anyone who has travelled into the world of the Joke.

    With entry being aimed at a younger audience, and dealing with children embarking on a fantastical journey, it is a bit like Harry Potter then? Are you just trying to cash in on the void left by the end of that series?

    That sounds a bit harsh to say I am just trying to cash in. I will say the series should appeal to fans of Harry Potter, as it presents an imaginative world, but it is a very different tale. The scope and scale of this series will take it places Harry couldn’t have dreamed of, and I am not afraid to kill off main characters as anyone who has read my work will know, so this series will have that edge.

    Sorry about bringing up Harry Potter, but obviously some might draw comparison. So what themes do you cover in the first book?

    The first book obviously deals with the children’s wishes to discover what is beyond the horizon and this leads to their first adventures. On this journey we come across the themes of friends and family, explored in various ways. There is also a bit of good old revenge thrown in, as the title suggest.

    Ah yes, the revenge of the shadow monkeys, so what are the shadow monkeys and why do they want revenge?

    Well I obviously can’t reveal that here, as that is a surprise for the book, but I will give you this picture to show and hope your Blog readers are intrigued to discover more about the mysterious monkeys.

    Indeed, it does look interesting, and I can’t wait to find out more about the world of Scar and these vengeful shadow monkeys, but what drew you to writing a pirate novel in the first place?

    Why wouldn’t I want to write a pirate novel? Swashbuckling high seas adventures with a heavy dose of fantasy is the stuff to get the imagination flowing, and in a similar way to the theatre themes of the Last Mask, pirates are something that you don’t find a whole lot of books out there about. It is another area that I feel is greatly unexplored so I wanted to get in there and do some exploring.

    And it sounds like this is going to be another interesting world that you are going to have a great time writing as well. Thank you for taking the time to have this little talk with us today and we look forward to talking again in the future.

    Thank you for having me.

    So there you have it, Scaramblous Jaike and the Revenge of the Shadow Monkeys is now available on Kindle and Kindle Apps from your local Amazon, at a very reasonable price, and I suggest you all check out the adventures of this group of children and their fantastical pirate world today before any shadow monkeys get their revenge.

Amazon UK - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Scaramblous-Revenge-Monkeys-Legends-ebook/dp/B00821TF6O/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1

Amazon USA - http://www.amazon.com/Scaramblous-Revenge-Monkeys-Legends-ebook/dp/B00821TF6O/ref=la_B006SFL5ZK_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1338293241&sr=1-1

Cover Story

    I present to you today a special preview of my upcoming book that should be out this year, a collection of short stories that all share one common theme, although I won’t reveal what that theme is at this point.

    So I will let you see the art right now and leave you to maybe ponder what is lurking inside when arrives.

    The art obviously relates to one of the stories inside the book, but is it Science Fiction, or maybe that terribly popular Steam Punk, who knows? Well I do but this is all I am revealing for now.

    Here is also a short video showing the making of the cover from the early sketches to finished art. As you can see the title was placed right from the start so I could work the art around it, and the layout of borders and text matches my other covers for a consistency of work.

  

    Hope you enjoyed this special preview of the future book’s cover, and this little Blog showing it, and that you are now looking forward to reading the stories that lay inside, when they are finished.