So I’ve been mulling over possible ways to add weight gain graphics into a game, and I’ve been unable to find the tools I need to make them procedurally without forging the code myself, and I really don’t have the time nor experience to do that.
So the alternative is to have premade images of a character at all the stages of weight gain. But the problem with that is I can only have so many premade images, so I’d have to pick between:
Having a smooth and gradual transition between each phase, with the character gaining a few pounds or less at a time.
Having players be able to choose between gaining weight in different body parts separately in unique combinations, for example having the character be more pear shaped
So I’m curious what people think is more appealing in a game, having a granular set of transitions for a character slowly gaining weight, or a flexible set of images at significant milestones so that every time you play the game you can have your character gain weight differently and have different body shapes.
This is actually a difficult question, I personally are more into the small and gradual aspect of weight gain but there is something very nice about creating your ‘ideal experience’. So I think I prefer the second one better, mostly because all of us may have a better experience with it.
Oh boy this is a tough one, especially because at the end of the day, both are pretty good options. This probably isn’t an option but could the player pick what their dream shape is at the beginning (like the glorious pear), and then it gradually gains in that direction? If not then I vote selecting the dream body at milestones
Having the player pick a body shape at the start would be a possibility, but it still couldn’t be too gradual in order for there to be enough options for players to choose what they prefer (though having only a few body types to choose from rather than full customization would be a more middle ground option)
The setup that Tainted Elysium had might be difficult to replicate but was pretty appealing. I’d love to see an attempt at that but with a front profile instead of side-on style.
Yeah, Tainted Elysium has the ideal system since its procedural, but it must’ve taken a load of work to do and I don’t have the experience to make anything like it, I doubt most people here do. If I did I’d try to replicate it for sure, even just as a little application for people to mess around with
I mean, animating tools to track and interpolate lineart for animation exist now, so it should be fairly easy to do… both, but if you’re using like pixel art-tier sprites, it’s not for you. Also, making thousands of pre-loaded images would make a game terribly unoptimized, so one would have to find a way to make the stages proceedurally as the character gains weight and thats a terribly complex story.
Personally, if I have to choose, it really depends on the game itself and how it plays.
I’d personally say number 1, though that does seem to put me in the minority, lol. There’s just something really appealing about seeing a steady, gradual gain, regardless of the body type, that draws me in.
I think it may depend on the game at hand, like an RPG-style game with steady weight gain makes sense because you can get stronger over time as you get fatter, or something. So long as the fats are nice, ultimately I think it’s all good, but if I had to pick, I think it’d be the second one. Tough question, though.