Update 6: Cutscene Editor
It's that time again! We've got a special preview of the cutscene editor tool that we're using to build all the in-game cutscenes along with some gifs of the editor in action. And don't worry about spoilers - we've custom made these gifs without actual story content to keep those secrets behind closed doors.
So without further ado, I introduce you to Otter Cut Pro (that's what I call it in my head):
Otter Cut Pro
Patrick's custom Cutscene Editor held a special place in my heart as the story writer. I love me some cutscenes, so we've been working closely together as he formulated the perfect graphical interface for our Scene Editor, which you can see below:
Scene Editor
The panel anchors on the right hand side of the screen where you can insert Actor commands for moving our lil' dudes and dudettes around, Camera Pans, Zooms, Soundtrack goodies, and a whole host of other features. And the best part is you can see all this and then instantly hit the play button to have the scene played back from the start, as seen below:
Seaside Cutscene Expanding Toolsets
Just as with our Map Editor tool discussed in a previous update, the Cutscene Editor is built with expansion in mind. Just in the last week Patrick's been working to perfect smooth pans of the camera, as seen below:
Forest Foolishness
We've also been working to integrate the individual character animations for play on the fly along with sound effects (which you can't hear in gifs unfortunately) as you can see in the little tiff Des and Vashti have below:
Lover's Quarrel
Next up on the agenda is to add more expansive custom animation features for those little details that bring out true character in our sprites. Everything from pulling out a hidden dagger, handing over a bouquet of roses, and simply blinking the eyes - this all brings the characters of Arcadia to life!
And not in a creepy sort of living doll kind of way either, we promise.
Up Next
So while Patrick and I continue to bug test and perfect the Cutscene Editor, we'll turn our eyes next to the full-fledged Battle System. Yep, that's right - the labyrinth of skills, equipment, items, smacking people, throwing things, and falling dead on the battlefield are all on the docket. We'll update you as the beast comes to life, so tune in for more Arcadian Atlas goodies!
And as always, for goodies in-between, check out our Twitters for little gems like the following:
