{TINIEST TOWNS}

[Nightdrift]

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, I suppose, so I am here to talk about a 3D world idea I am slowly working on.

The quick and dirty context/rationale for this project:
- Everyone's work is incredibly inspiring. This is honestly the main motivator, I've been so in awe of what I've been to exposed to here, and I want to take a crack at it too.
- I have been curious about Blender for a while, and a little less curious about Unity.
- Virtual worlds seem like a lot of fun, and I'd love to see more worlds grow for people to just chill on the net/computer.

Over the last few days, I threw together a project concept that I hope will allow me to learn Blender, learn Unity, and create a tiny virtual world for folks to loaf around in when they feel like getting away from the humdrum of life...all hopefully with a scope that will not make me turn into a maniac. Anyhow, without further ado, let us dive into...

TINIEST TOWNS

_{A tiny key visual. While the style or contents may change, I find it helpful to have
some kind of key image to establish mood as I start working, even as the concept evolves.}

If I had to describe what TINIEST TOWNS is, it's basically Tomodachi Life with a bigger focus on world exploration (still a VERY tiny world though), while maintaining all the...really surreal shenanigans. You (yes, you!) are the visitor to a tiny world-town, where you can wander and sit around three different biomes (just like in real life): a forest, a town, and a beach. My intention, as someone who is hardly game development savvy (yet) is that the main focus will be world exploration and being able to immerse yourself in a idyllic little location.

Of course, the less idyllic half of Tiniest Towns are the residents... You will see them roaming about the different biomes depending on the time of day, doing their own weird thing. They won't usually bother you, but if you bother to bother them...well. I'll talk more about that later, as I get to concepting some of the interaction ideas I have in mind.

For now, I have been starting with the bare basics: getting acquainted with Blender, and getting acquainted with Unity. Blender is admittedly the much more intuitive half for me, as someone who vaguely is considered an art type, but I am planning to start stumbling around in Unity this week.

<sub>I stumble through Blender like a desperate clown (12.2.21)


Testing some very basic anims. I guess he is like, a bird shape, and also kind of potato shaped? (12.2.21)


Learning how to drop a character into Unity. This was made more stressful by the fact I thought it would be "fun" and "clever" to go back and do a proper UV wrap and texture paint on the model, a process which ended up taking me more time than figuring out Unity. Blender is...certainly a trip. (12.3.21)</sub>

More developments to come as I slowly make my way through filling my brain with all this...brain knowledge. My next goal is to focus on building a world that I can walk around in, likely using some temporary assets, before jumping into the process of actually concepting and modeling some of the different biomes. I want to avoid working on too many character things too early, as again, their interactions should be limited, but they will ultimately likely all follow similar behaviors. I started with a character, however, just to test if I could achieve the visual style I am hoping for, which is "simple and doofy" ;P

Ideally I do want to try make this a web "game", but I do not think I have the experience to make that decision with certainty yet. Ultimately, if I am able to build this project at all, deliver it to the world, and get a bewildered laugh out of one person, I'd be plenty happy enough.

Until next time!

[Melooon]

This looks interesting I look forward to seeing more about it; I have to admit, I kiiinddaa get the idea, but it'll be clearer when you've got some world pictures.

From the looks of things you're already quite competent with Blender, if you're that competent with Unity you'll have no trouble at all! The character animations look very natural :O

I think if you keep that poly level and simple textures throughout the game you should have no issue making it a web game, although that also depends on how much stuff ends up in your world!

I have a few questions on my mind (Particularly because you compare it to Tomodachi Life), but I think Id like to see a bit more before asking a bunch that might not fit what your thinking. So I'll hold them for now! One thing that would be cool to see is a world map, and maybe a list of some of the interactions you'd like the player and villagers to have.

Otherwise it seems like a solid plan, thank you for posting about it, it'll be fun to see how it evolves

[cinni]

woahh i'm really loving this concept so far!

i think your character designs are charming and totally impressed with how far you've gotten in blender! i think you can pick up unity in no time. i'll be keeping my eye out for updates!! this seems right up my alley

[Nightdrift]

Thanks Melon, Cinni! The idea is definitely still in its infancy stages (maybe a little as old as two weeks as of this post), but I'm definitely hoping to have more works in progress to share soon that can provide more concrete context.

@Melooon I appreciate the assessment for what could make or break the web game experience! I’ve been sitting on it for the last few days, but I’m moving towards the camp of hoping this can eventually go on one of my sites as a playable/explorable area. I am a little wary of getting the visuals of the environment looking just right, but...that will be a fun challenge for future me to figure out.
I also agree that I think things will be clearer once there are more defined pictures of the world, and how I imagine play to work – and when that time comes, I look forward to answering any questions or ideas I can at least say an aspect of Tomodachi Life I want to try replicate and expand upon is when you go to various different locations on the island, and see your Islanders puttering around…I always wanted a bit more interactivity in those parts (it did make for great photo opportunities, but even the camera controls/angles were so capricious). It’s all baby steps for now though…

@cinni I appreciate the vote of confidence; I feel like I have been just trudging through Unity hahaha (I complain about Blender a lot, but I miss it so much now that I’m focusing on Unity) I think the last game making platform I used was RPG Maker 2000, so it’s been a real shock just how powerful Unity really is...maybe even too much power for me, at my current stage of development haha. The amount of documentation available online has been incredible though, and it’s definitely making the learning a lot smoother

[putorila]

Likewise! I can't wait to see how it looks!

[grubbyfox]

Ooh, how is this going? I loveeee this idea. cute lil 3d worlds online are so fun, I really miss that when hanging out online. I used to hang out at some place that was similar in concept in the very early 00s, but it's more or less scrubbed from the internet, sadly.

anyway, i'm rootin for ya!