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Title: Dirk Dashing 2 progress
Rustybolts 7 Nov 2010
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Dirk Dashing 2 progress

Dirk Dashing 2 Production Update

Despite having fewer hours to work on it, I still made some good progress on Dirk Dashing 2 last month.

First, I've given Dirk a new move: the ability to hang from wires like clothes lines, telephone lines, etc. He can move left and right along the wire, and can either let go and drop or jump off the wire. This adds some variety to his moves, and opens up some great new architectural possibilities for level design.
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Second, I've been working on some of the building interiors for level 1. One of the comments I occasionally get about the first game is that the building interiors are too sparse. So I've been drawing some furniture pieces like desks, tables, filing cabinets, and so on, as well as decorations like clocks, paintings, light fixtures, etc. I've also been experimenting with the new lighting effects to add some variety to the rooms, so some rooms are dim and some are brightly lit.
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Third, I've been drawing the animation for some of the new characters. Above, you can see the new drawing for Agent K. She didn't need her winter parka for this adventure, so I had to redraw her. And below, you can see the artwork for one of the new bad guys. You'll be seeing a lot of these guys in the game. On the left is the raw pencil drawing, and on the right is what he looks like after I scanned him into the computer, inked him, painted him, and applied cel shading. It took over 40 animation frames to bring him to life, and I had to repeat this process for each individual drawing.
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And here's a screen capture of him in the game. You can see him on the right, taking a shot at Dirk.
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At this point, I have 3 of the 4 maps in level 1 completed. I'm currently working on some of the new characters and traps that will be introduced in the last map in level 1. I'm hoping to completely finish the first level by Thanksgiving. Then I can start cranking out the rest of the levels.
This game reminds me of Blues Brothers (Amiga/ PC/ Atari ST)
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Hamish 8 Nov 2010
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Re: Dirk Dashing 2 progress

Quoting: RustyboltsThis game reminds me of Blues Brothers (Amiga/ PC/ Atari ST)
How many Amiga games did you end up playing back in the day anyhow?
Rustybolts 8 Nov 2010
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Re: Dirk Dashing 2 progress

Boxes and boxes of 3.5" floppy disks mostly pirated. :shock: Pocket money only stretched so far.
Liam Squires-Hand 8 Nov 2010
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Re: Dirk Dashing 2 progress

I had about 500 different floppys for games on the amiga...it really was awesome.

Your right it does look a lot like it. A wee bit like lethal weapon too - ish.
Rustybolts 4 Dec 2010
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Taken from My Games Company news letter
Dirk Dashing 2 Production Update

I reached a major milestone in November: I finished building the first level in Dirk Dashing 2!

The first level introduces Dirk's new abilities and most of the new features, so it took a number of months to finish. But that means most of the programming for the new features is done. Now I can focus on animating the rest of the new characters, drawing the new background art, and building the remaining levels. This is the fun part for me!

A lot of people have told me that they really appreciate the stealth aspect of the first game. They like the way Dirk can sneak past enemies when they look the other way. So I decided to play up the stealth aspects for Dirk 2. Some levels will require Dirk to sneak through undetected. I've added alarms and security systems like cameras, laser tripwires, and such that Dirk must avoid. Also, enemies have the ability to pull alarm switches if they see Dirk, and I've added some cooperative AI so that enemies will work together to try to get Dirk once he has been detected. Tripping the alarm will cause more enemies to appear and certain parts of the level to get locked down, making it tougher to finish the level or get 100% of the treasure.

One of the features of the new security system is the camera. Cameras will be posted throughout many of the levels, and Dirk will have to avoid being seen by them. I had some trouble with the animation for the security camera as it pivots back and forth - it was difficult to get good movement using hand-drawn graphics. So I got creative and built a little model.
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The result is a security camera with smooth animation and a realistic path of movement. It looks pretty cool in the game! And it only took one day to do it all!

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