Creatures
July 29th, 2007 by Derek Hey, guys! Long time no talk. I think I mentioned waaaaay back when that we wanted to do some development posts. But things have been so busy around Bit Blot way that it’s hard to find the time to do one justice. But! Finding myself fairly caught up on my artwork duties right now (not for long), I thought I’d take a break to talk about one of the more important and interesting aspects of the game… namely, CREATURES.

One of our original goals for the game was to create a really lively world for Naija to interact with. This is, at its heart, a game about two things: Naija, our lonely protagonist, and her story, and also the world of Aquaria. For as much effort as we’ve put into developing Naija as a character and giving her a real voice (played, of course, by the talented Jenna Sharpe), we’ve put the same amount of work into developing Aquaria - to make Naija seem real, the world she inhabits has to feel real. And creatures, of course, play a large role in that. At every turn, there has to be something swimming, crawling, bobbing, darting, or hopping!

Our inspiration for creatures comes from a lot of places, but first and foremost we look to Mamma Nature. I spend a lot of time looking at ocean pictures online to develop ideas for creatures. One place I definitely check out is our “Weird Underwater Creatures Über Thread,” which is very much living up to its name! Great job, guys! The other place that I like to go is this site, Divebums, which has the most amazing underwater photo gallery I’ve ever seen. That little globe crab you see on the right is based on a photo that I found on that site. (As an aside, please note that in the game screenshot Naija is looking right at the crab. During the game, she will tilt her head to look at things that interest her. But more on that later, perhaps!)

This is, of course, a fantasy game, so there’s no reason why we can’t mix things up a little. The globe crab is a creature that isn’t too different from its real-life counterpart (although you may find some larger-than-life variation in your travels!). The sea dragon, on the other hand, takes on some qualities of its namesake. Whereas actual sea dragons are quite small and very timid, the dragons of Aquaria behave more like actual dragons, blowing “fire” angrily at anything that gets in their way!



There are a few interesting things about that screenshot that you may notice. One is that Naija is fleeing the sea dragon on a seahorse. Whereas the dragon fits the typical idea of “video game enemy” by attacking you on sight, many of the creatures in Aquaria are neutral or friendly towards her, and Naija will have different ways of interacting with all of them. Seahorses you can ride if you understand how. The other thing you may notice about the screenshot is that Naija is dragging a large rock behind her, which she can use to attack the sea dragon with, or defend herself from its fiery attack. How she’s managing to

人
德里克的 2007 年七月 29 日嗨，人! 长的时间没有谈话。 我认为我是把 waaaaay 提到了回来当我们想要到做一些发展职位。 但是事物有是如此忙碌的在附近一点点污点方法以便它是困难找时候到做一正义。 但是!发现我自己公平地捕捉在我的艺术品责任上上面立刻 (不很久), 我想法我将会拿一休息到谈话游戏的更重要和更有趣的方面中的大约一…即, CREATURES。

给游戏的我们的最初目标之一将产生一个非常活泼的世界让 Naija 互动。 这在它的心，是一场游戏大约二件事物: Naija ，我们的孤单主演和她故事, 以及养鱼池的世界。 为同样地很多努力同样地我们有放进入发展中的之内 Naija 当做一个个性而且给她一真正的声音 (玩, 当然, 被那才能 Jenna Sharpe), 我们有放那相同量的工作进入发展中的之内养鱼池 - 为了要使 Naija 似乎真正，她居住于的世界必须觉得真正。 而且人, 当然, 在那的游戏一个大的角色。 在每个旋转，必须有某事游泳、爬行、振动、投射、或单脚跳!

人的我们的灵感来自许多地方，但是首先我们期待性感的成熟女人自然。 我花费许多时间看大海照片在线发展人的主意。 一地方我一定退房是我们的 "怪异的在水中的人 ü ber 线 , " 是很多生活决定于它的名字! 棒的工作,人! 我喜欢去的另一个地方是这一个位置， Divebums, 有最令人惊异的在水中的相片集我已经见到。 那一点点地球螃蟹你见到在那之上权利以一张相片为基础哪一我发现在之上位置。 (当做一旁白, 请在游戏 screenshot Naija 中正在螃蟹正确地看的笔记。 在游戏期间, 她意志倾斜她头到神情在使她感兴趣的事物。 但是在那更迟者上的更多, 也许!)

这当然，是一场幻想游戏, 如此在那里是没有理由我们为什么能不混合事物向上的稍微。 地球螃蟹是它的现实对方不是太不同的人 (虽然你可能找一些大的-超过-生活你的$$1变化旅行!)。 海洋龙，另一方面，承担它的同名的人的一些质量。 然而真实的海洋龙是相当小和非常胆小的, 养鱼池的龙行为表现更多同类真实的龙, 吹制 " 火 " 愤怒地在妨碍他们的任何事!



有一些有趣的关于事物 screenshot 哪一你可能注意。 一是 Naija 正在 seahorse 上逃走海洋龙。然而龙藉由在视力上攻击你适合 " 电视游乐器敌人 " 的典型的主意, 多数在养鱼池的人是中立者或友好的向她, 和 Naija 将会有与他们全部互动的不同方法。 Seahorses 你能乘坐如果你了解如何。另一个事物你可能注意有关 screenshot 的事是 Naija 正在拖拉一大的在她后面的岩石, 她能使用到攻击海洋龙与, 或防护她自己免于它的炽热攻击。 她如何正在管理到