- Written by Matej Pavlič
As I said at the beginning it's practice that makes it perfect. The more time I spend making comics the more I see myself progressing. When I come up with an idea for a script I write down the text and link it to each panel. Then I'm able to determine what mimic a character will have/use in that panel. I've also figured (something and experienced cartoonist will be able to relate to) that it makes sense to do stuff in stages. So in the last run I had drawn 3 comics, then colored/finished all and in the end put in the text to all of them. As you don't keep switching, the process is faster.
- Written by Matej Pavlič
I'm almost at the end now. All I've got left is Unreal Engine.
I've talked a bit about Unity already and while coming to the end of the review cycle, I've revisited the notion of using Unity again. Since with Unreal Engine 4 they are the leading market progrms for game making (for all that don't do their own engines) it makes sense to look at it once more. Both engines are free but the biggest difference between them is that UE does provide for a non coding way of creating a game for free. Unity has some plugins to offer beginning at around 40€. So guessing I won't be doing a tutorial on that as it costs money and judging by the comments people claim that you have limited functionality with these kits/add-ons. If you want more you need to learn coding. UE appears to be more complex but also looks to offer more. I won't start another heated discussion over which is better as the internet is already full of those. Checking some of those comments it looks as though Unity is better suited for 2d mobile games and provides that in a smaller package. On the other hand UE does offer a 2d environment although it's primarily meant for 3d game creation.
So guessing I'll try UE next and see where it goes. If I manage to get a crack at Unity also then fine if not then I'll just end it with the next review. All that is missing then is a summary of what I've tested so let's see who is going to be the winner.
- Written by Matej Pavlič
So batch drawing has it's benefits and drawbacks. While I am able to quickly finish a batch of comics, if I have the scripts for it, it does encourage lazyness. Since I know I can do it faster I can sometimes succumb to it and postpone my work to another day.
- Written by Matej Pavlič
Seems like the site archives blog posts that are kind of too old. Sure If I was not that lazy then this would be maintained.
- Written by Matej Pavlič
11. Unreal Engine 4
11. Unreal Engine 4
If you're not really young you've probably heard of the Unreal Tournament game. It was developed by Epic Game and the company is behind the Unreal Engine 4. The engine is free until you really start earning big bucks from where on you pay a percentage of the earnings or there is a subscription when a company is using it. So for building a simple game the software is completely free and you have a ton of documentation and videos online. Although the software is not originally made for 2d games it has that option while you can also build 2.5d and 3d games. It is said that for those UE4 is the best available program.
Obviously the software is more complex as it's goal is not only building small puzzle or side scroller games, but large interactive environments with many characters and complex story. So learning curve steeper than on other software I've encountered up so far but it does follow the same line. Due to it's blueprint system you're now able to build games with no coding which again is said to be not perfect (obviously by the guys that know coding) and is in some way limiting you in your design. I've heard that before also for other programs where there were both options available.
Game
I made a sidescoller game based on a youtube video and some free graphics available online so anyone can repeat that.
Interface
Interface is complex as the software itself with many options of definition for each component. Immediately you see a big difference between this and other programs with all the additional options you have and clicks necessary to set up something. Needs some time to get used to but nothing critical.
You have several windows inside the program with ...... on the left, additional info and folders at the bottom, left is reserved for definition and options for each component and the center window is there for making the levels and positioning.
Events
All the scripting is done in a separate window where you are defining a character for example and it follows a similar pathway we've seen before. It does offer a lot more in terms of options so you can branch out your event tree to almost infinity.
Score
While the concept is nice there isn't really any customization available. The engine is free and everyone can use it on Windows or Android platforms. So although you can have fun with this program it's not really my cup of tea.
Difficulty: 10
Literature: 5
Cost: 10
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Overall score: 7