Welcome to Code Like a Dragon

Hello. C J here. I’m heading into a week of video game design and novel writing on occasion. My main project is Dragon Engine this week. I’m documenting the steps to make Dragon Engine here so thoroughly for a reason. I’m going to package them in a small Quantum Expansion, Code Like a Dragon. The entire process of setting up Dragon Engine will be turned into cards with Quantum spells on them.

I might have cards to make or customize a region map card, make items, or add to a character’s colour. The set of cards will be set in Ascala and use the code language Ascala uses, Square. The software used as an example is fictitious and is called SquareBuild. It will strongly resemble GDevelop to the point that I might need to make fake UI elements and screenshots of SquareBuild. Everything depicted will transfer over to GDevelop and other generic game making software one to one.

The Code Like a Dragon Expansion is part of a series of Expansions aimed at presenting technical skills in an approachable, modular way. The other Expansion in the series I’m working on, and have been for a year or so, is Draw Like a Dragon. Draw Like a Dragon explores the craft of art for mostly a digital art environment. It contains basic cards for tools and techniques, advanced cards for art styles and genres and legendary cards about monetizing art in a modern day, internet based environment.

It is still being worked on and there is a small ebook version out for download. This ebook was my first attempt at making the product before I realized everything I wanted to write would work better as a card game. These two projects are turning out to share a lot in common. Most art these days is in 3D render, as are most video games. The assets from one can easily do the other job and I’ve recorded some of the basic spell components as a new list of Sapphire gems in its own document in the Books download link. The video game contains an art making Creator mode where you can arrange and animate the character models, customize them and take screenshots to your liking. See more about Creator mode in the page about the game.

The question I’m wondering as I go into a week of 3D modelling and texture sorting is whether these digital items can be used in a real life spell. Can a 3D asset do witchcraft things? If so, does it matter what colour it is? Do I need to sort cards by the asset’s colour? I know how to represent the reptile head asset I made yesterday using Sapphire gems. It’s two spheres for the head and nose, two cones for the ears, a cone for the neck and a square for the nose. This is easily put in the card game but what does that do? I’ll learn as I go.

C J Mcpherson

Comments

Four New Recipes for January

Hello. C J here. I've got four new recipes for everyone here. We have everything from Chinese chicken to homemade hot apple cider. Enjoy. The Emperor’s Potatoes Here we have the first food item I ever finished designing for Food of the World – Carthia. I tried three combinations of traditional Asian ingredients and pasta under the assumption that I was doing Italian-Chinese food for the book. I could not for the life of me get any of them to be exciting. They were fine. I don’t eat fine. I got bored of the pasta thing and then thought to myself, ‘what happens if I swap the pasta for another starch? What about a potato?’ It worked. Really well. It worked so well I named them The Emperor’s Potatoes. They’re mashed potatoes and I left the skins on because I like vitamins and then that got me thinking about the traditional medicinal food of Ancient China, ginger. Could I put ginger in a potato dish and have it work? Yes. I can. That surprised me. Be warned, these are almost dangerousl...

Recipe - Lemon-Lime Soda

Hello. C J here. I have here a recipe for homemade lemon-lime soda. This beverage is just as sweet as the original brand it’s based on but has actual lemon juice and lime juice in it. It tastes similar but not as acidic. Strangely this recipe worked the first time I made it. It’s mostly glucose syrup, which any chemist with my knowledge of food could make in a home kitchen. The recipe makes four cups, each one to be served over ice. One cup is mostly enough for one person. Ingredients One Cup Sugar One Half Cup Water One Tablespoon Lemon Juice Three Tablespoons Lime Juice Two and a Half Cups Soda Water For the Glucose Syrup Mix the sugar and the water in a medium saucepan. Put over medium heat and stir frequently until the sugar is dissolved and the liquid is clear. It should still be thicker than water. For the Soda Measure out two and a half cups of soda water. Pour into this the glucose syrup in a heat proof one quart measuring cup or other heat proof vessel. Add the lemon juic...

Chocolate and Barbecue Sauce and Truffles Oh My

Hello. C J here. I've got two new recipes for everyone today. I meant to type up a third but for the life of me I can't find the paper index card I wrote it down on. I will have to make it again and post it later once I double check I have the right proportions. I know what's in it but the proportions are done by taste. It's for Asian style ginger baked beans as part of my Asian-barbecue book I'm working on. The book might actually end up being cards for the card game because the recipes are so simple they fit in that format. That makes my job easier. Here's our two recipes for today. The first is a new Asian style barbecue sauce I invented from scratch. This isn't based on an existing sauce. It's the product of a lot of planning and research. It's great. The second recipe is for my final draft scratch made dark chocolate. This stuff is good. I still have some of the batch I made three days ago on hand. It's too tasty to eat. There will be a mil...

TheAstralBackstage

Search This Blog