No Game Engine Game Dev: Word Sleuth 054: Layout for new art, Part 1 of N.

Streamed on 2024-09-24 (https://www.twitch.tv/thediscouragerofhesitancy)

Game Engines are for sissies!

With all the code features done, it is time to start polishing. This is the part that I am the worst at as it involves upgrading the art. Somehow I never do enough art to learn the tools and skills necessary to be good at it, and I find ways of avoiding the actual learning-art-process. My usual approach is to try to math my way out of doing much art. Which is what we did today.

I cranked up a small Python script to help me lay out all the components we will need on screen. In that script I can set widths, heights, margins, spacings and compute the amount to add for isometric extrusions. Then the script will spit out screen dimensions and locations for guidelines. With the list of guidelines I can just about slap together something that will look okay on screen as far as layout goes.

We got as far as laying out some letter blocks and a bookshelf. The letter blocks do fit as intended, but I think with the block extrusions the face that will hold the letters will be too small to see clearly. I will probably have to rethink the blocks, but that's why I math and prototype before wasting a bunch of time on learning art. :)