Nay Saga Devlog 2: Video Game Prototype & Card Generator

I've been working on my card game, Nay Saga, more. Even though I know this was meant to be a physical game... well, I decided to create some digital programs as well to help with development!

I decided it would be easier to prototype and test by myself if I made a digital video game version. So I started with one of the versions of the game rules where you draw 8 cards and have to guess a character from the group after asking questions about the characters. I was able to get a basic version of this up and running in one day!

To start out, I wrote some basic JavaScript to prototype and test it faster, then I converted it all into RPG Maker.

I wrote a for loop to draw each card, then a do while loop to make sure the cards are random and no two cards are ever in the same set. After that, it pushes the random card into an array until there are 8 of them.

I stored some information like their Types and Traits in Classes/Armor/Skills in the RPG Maker Database so I could reference them at any time as well. Then I set up the clickable pictures with some basic prototype pictures and plugins. I got it functional where it'll give you points based on how fast you guess the character.

Then I started to think about how I plan to create hundreds of cards... and of how that PSD file would be huge to manage. So I decided I should make a program to help automate some of this! I started by creating a p5 JavaScript project to show the picture elements and then with the click of a button, compile it all, and save it as a PNG. This was a way for me to auto-generate cards. It worked pretty much how I wanted.

My next task was to figure out how to import the data. While this is a faster method than using Photoshop to type elements in, I'd still have to type data for hundreds of cards and click the button and save them out individually. I tried to import data from my spreadsheet with the information, but due to some preloading complexities with image files in p5, I wasn't able to figure out how to actually make this work.

I decided to move on to RPG Maker to see if I could solve it there. I've never saved images out of RPG Maker before, so I went on a hunt to find plugins that may do what I need. Unfortunately nothing existed that was exactly what I wanted. I found the KC_CompositeBitmaps plugin which saves out composited image files, but you can't choose the X/Y positioning of them or export text. I was also directed to the OrangeMapshotMZ plugin which can save out tileset maps but not pictures. I spent some time trying to interpret the code and see if I could combine them and update them for what I needed. I've never written an RPG Maker plugin before though, so I wasn't able to figure out how to achieve it.

So I ended up deciding to go with the Composite Bitmaps plugin for the time being. I made a workaround that would allow it to work for all of the elements aside from the character name text at the top, so I thought that I may just use a combination of importing the final card into Photoshop (or p5) if I have to. It'd still save me a lot of time that I would spend lining everything up in Photoshop.

From there, I started to build the code I needed to save out multiple cards with this plugin. I set up variables to pull data (like the Type/Traits) from the RPG Maker Actor Database and plugged those in to save out card elements based on what's in there (named character images, Types, etc.).

Then I created a loop that adds to the Actor ID variable so it'll save out all of the specified cards at once. I've tested it with 2 and it actually worked pretty well! Everything exports with my vision other than the text.

I took a break from the exporting process and came back to the playable game. I created a rough layout for elements I wanted to be tracked on screen to help with testing.

From there, I added UI elements like showing how many guesses you've done and your total points. I also added an animation for text to pop up if your guess is correct or incorrect to accompany the sound. Then I animated the chosen card for 30 seconds at the start instead of showing the text. This is still pretty placeholder, but works for now!

And then I started to think about how much additional work adding the text elements would be if I went with my RPG Maker method... so I went on another hunt to find an easier method. I started out with Dextrous. I kind of got some elements working, but I couldn't quite get the quality to match up with my Photoshop files, and had to do a lot of manual movements in the browser. So I decided to move on after a bit of testing.

I thought I might have to go back to my RPG Maker method, so I looked into how I could import my data from Google Sheets to RPG Maker. I found the official Database ConVerter on Steam. I created a bunch of new formulas in my Google Sheets to convert my data into numbers that could be read by RPG Maker.

So then I imported the data in... and had a lot of errors. I posted on forums and did a lot of searching online, but no one could seem to figure out the solution to the problem. It might be Google Sheets-related since I don't have Excel, but I'm not really sure why. It would import the data, but then make my game unplayable and remove the player start permanently from the game.

I did a lot of testing and research, and finally found a weird workaround. If I import the Google Sheets database into a dummy project, then Ctrl+C/Ctrl+V the entire Database over (in RPG Maker) to my actual project, it seems to import correctly. I'm not sure why it corrupts the data otherwise, but this is probably what I'll just have to do for now.

After all of this, I knew I still needed the data in RPG Maker for the digital copy of the game, but I was still determined to find a solution to the issues with exporting out files. I wasn't quite satisfied with how I was doing it in RPG Maker, if it would require me to still bring files into Photoshop and do manual work. There had to be a better way... so I found one. It's called nanDECK.

I was reading a lot of reviews about the software and they said it was a steep learning curve and the UI looked kinda older. I decided to try it out anyway, and it ended up working out to be exactly what I needed! It was a more coding approach and gave me much more control over positions and making edits, while still keeping the quality I wanted and everything. It has a visual built-in editor that you can use for previewing cards as you change code too, which is nice and allows for quick prototyping. I ended up making my entire card layout in there in about a day and it turned out exactly how I wanted!

It took a little getting used to, but I really like how it works. And I really prefer it being a software rather than browser-based. I will admit that the documentation is a little rough to get through, and even though the community is fairly small, they seem very dedicated. I was having an issue getting the first name and last name to position next to each other properly on the card, so I joined the Discord server and asked about it. Within a few hours, someone helped me out a ton and we got it all working!

So overall I'm making a lot of good progress! I almost split this into two posts, but it all felt relevant enough to keep in one. I'm glad I was able to get some automation working for the card generator. Even though it took me awhile to figure out the right approach, it'll automate so much and save me a lot of time in the end when I'm iterating and making a lot of big changes.

Nay Saga Devlog 1: Planning & Concept Card Layouts

I'm back with another devlog series for my 2024 project: Nay Saga! It's a card game that I decided to create as my year-long project. Similar to my 2023 project, The Nays Origins, I'm writing these blog posts over a year ago but posting them now to showcase my process of the project. I'll be posting these every week to talk through the whole production. These will also be from the perspective of the time, so sometimes I'll talk about ideas and directions I'm going, but that may not reflect the final version of the game (as these are scheduled and not updated after writing them initially).

I have a massive document with all of my game ideas and it was actually in November 2023 that I was browsing through it and remembered my idea for a physical board/card game. I was talking about the idea with my roommate and I had a burst of motivation to make it for my 2024 project.

I brainstormed ideas for how the game would play and I had a few different ideas for how it could go. I figured I would test all of them after I had some paper prototypes and see which one was most fun and made most sense. My idea is to potentially include all of them as variations in the rule book so players can kind of choose which way to play it, or it'll be a series of rounds where each round plays differently. We'll find out!

Right now my idea is that it'll be a card game that involves statistics about a bunch of characters in The Nays. Back in 2014 I started this project called Nay-A-Day where I would draw a character from The Nays every day on their birthday. I continued it for awhile so actually ended up drawing a lot of the main characters and even some background ones through it. 

Back in 2019 I had this idea for a game called "NAD Saga" where it would be about all of the more background characters that I drew and I would use those drawings for it. It didn't really go anywhere, but it kind of inspired this. I decided that I wanted to use those drawings as the art for the cards! I probably won't have all 1037+ characters in this game, but I could have a lot of them and it could be something I could keep on adding to as I draw more of these!

So this inspired me to draw more of these Nay-A-Day drawings so I could have some more updated art. I just continued where I left off and, though they took a lot longer to draw, it was a great way to make new art for this card game!

Then I gathered my inspirations of card designs that I like. I knew I wanted to have some kind of statistics to really tie into the characters' personalities. So I was taking a look at how many different stats are typically displayed on cards in the games that I enjoyed playing. I deduced it's generally 4 at maximum on average (outside of the name of the card and the drawing of the character). So I decided to make 1 type (which determines the color) and then 6 "traits" that differ from character to character. By making them all just 1 category of traits, it makes it easier to keep track of and technically means I only really have 2 aspects (just a bunch of different trait icons that could match up).

So then I started to concept some ideas in my sketchbook. I started out really rough. Tiny thumbnails to get my ideas out there. I love starting this way because it means I can quickly iterate and don't spent a lot of time on them. It really helps me get my ideas out there.

I decided to trace some bicycle cards to get the actual size and dimensions of the cards so I could prototype a little bigger but still rough. I was starting to like the layout of having the traits as icons and the type being the color scheme.

Then I decided to go onto TheGameCrafter website to research the exact templates. I downloaded the Poker cards because those seemed like the most standard cards and were biggest of the three options. So I brought it into Photoshop and started to concept some ideas.

I started with one of my more recent NAD characters and arranged some elements similar to the concepts I liked from my sketchbook. I started to realize that this looked pretty good with this character, but might be awkward with more square-shaped proportioned drawings.

I took a few characters of different sizes that I had already drawn to try and find a layout that could fit for all different sizes. I moved some elements around and was starting to get somewhere.

I still wasn't sure how I felt about the characters who are much taller than wide; it just felt like a lot of empty space to me and I wasn't sure if I liked that. So I tried another layout idea that has a higher res version of them from the waist up basically and then a tiny image faded of the full body. That way it could kind of be rearranged however works.

Then I started to put together the spreadsheet so I could figure out which traits I was going to use. I was trying to come up with ones that could be universal enough to be used by multiple characters, but also specific enough to describe the character. It was challenging and I hope I don't have too many options.

I showed the concepts that I did to my friends and they gave me some feedback, like trying to turn the full body versions into more of a background or maybe swap and have the close-up in back. So I started to sketch out some new concepts on paper based on some of the ideas that they gave me.

Then I started to digitize those and come up with new ideas. I was starting to like the idea of having a straight line that all of the traits are in, to keep them organized in one row rather than pairing them up. It felt a lot cleaner to me.

From there, I got more feedback and continued to iterate new designs. I sketched out a few more tiny thumbnails to come up with ideas on how I could maybe slightly curve the line instead of it being straight. I also wanted to pull the type up next to the name since I was having trouble fitting it in other positions in my previous concepts.

So then I made a few more digital concepts based on those. I realized something I liked about my sketchbook concepts was not having a full border around the cards. I played around with that a bit and ended up liking that more.

Right now I'm leaning towards the two above, but still not 100% sold. I'm going to think on it for a bit and see how I'm feeling when I come back to them. I'm happy with the progress I've made and looking forward to coming up with final icon designs and colors!

2025 Plan

It's 2025! Time to talk about my goals for this year and where I'm planning to take my projects.

Before I get into that, here's the updated image that shows my art over the years:

This post builds upon my previous post where I recapped 2024 and what my previous goals were. I'd recommend reading that post before this one to understand some of the context.

Recap

I talked a lot about travel and burnout last time and how that's affected my projects. I truly enjoy traveling and I'm thankful that I have the opportunity to do it, so I'm not saying I'll travel less or anything, but I do want to be more mindful of my time and schedule those travel breaks in more. I plan on keeping those travel times on my schedule and keeping a week before and after travel as "break" weeks where I don't expect myself to work on projects. I naturally do this, so I should definitely plan for that.

I also want to work on my schedule of when they're happening. The excessive amount of travel in November/December was really draining, so I'm already planning to work with my managers on limiting work trips during that time to try and help manage my sanity a little better.

Brainstorming

I also talked about how last year I overscoped a lot. In my Global Game Jam project and in my Nay Saga board game (especially the digital version). This caused me to overwork in some areas and then when I realized there wasn't enough time, I was then disappointed in myself. That led to the burnout feeling and just not wanting to work on projects at some points.

I'm hoping to mitigate that this year by truly scoping things out early and organizing my Notion page and monthly goals earlier on. I did have monthly goals, but didn't usually meet them due to travel. Or I would actually meet them, so I'd start to pile more tasks onto myself because I thought I had extra time or really wanted to polish something up. I'm going to try and let go this year. I need to scope down and really just finish early rather than continuing to add on even if I'm done early. If I finish early, I can work on other projects instead like The Nays.

I really want to find ways to speed up some of my processes more as well to help with this. For example, I've found shortcuts to organize my RPG Maker notes more efficiently so I don't have to search through bookmarks or documentation as much while I'm developing. I've also slowly been trying to find ways to speed up my drawings (especially the coloring phase) so I can produce more Eventure Twines than 2 a year. I still haven't found a solution there, but I do think I'm getting a bit faster over the years, the more I do.

Another area that may have led to my burnout last year was doing one type of task exclusively for long periods of time. For example, I drew a lot at the beginning of the year, then worked on the card design for awhile, and programmed mostly at the end of the year. Game dev is great because you can switch between these when you're burnt out on one of them. I didn't take advantage of that enough. Part of it might be because there weren't as many areas to switch between on a card game when most areas were visual. But I'm hoping to hop around more when I'm feeling burnt out in one area.

I also realized this year, I didn't write much at all. I only wrote 2 new Eventures and barely read any. This really put me out of touch with The Nays and was probably a huge reason why I was so unmotivated and never really felt like I was in the mood for The Nays. My inspiration mostly comes from reading what I've written or writing new parts of the story. This was probably a huge reason that this year was rough in terms of burnout, because I wasn't paying attention to that. This was in the top 4 lowest writing years I've had since 2008, where I only wrote 2 Eventures this year vs. 9 last year and 15 the year before. I really need to get back into writing.

2025 Goals

I put together this list of goals that I'm hoping to accomplish this year:

Write more than 2 Eventures (2 together, more than 2 solo).

Create at least 2 Twines.

Write most of the Eventure Trailer scripts.

Create a solo game (either progress on an existing one or a new game).

Make progress on game dev portfolio, updated resume, and/or game dev vlogs.

My main goal here is that I want to work on The Nays more and really focus there. The past few years, my yearly game project became the focus, and it really pushed a lot of my progress on The Nays to the side, which just didn't feel right. I really want to dive back into The Nays as my main focus for this year and then a game or side project can be secondary.

Because of this, I kind of combined some of the game dev stuff together for that last goal. I don't expect myself to finish my game dev portfolio and resume, but I do want to make some progress on it. Whether that's just creating a game dev vlog or two and uploading them on there, or just adding a new game that I made since then. Just minor progress to keep it up-to-date. I also removed the goal of publishing to Steam for this year. I do want to do that still, but maybe not this year when I'm focusing on The Nays more. It may come back as a goal for next year though.

I had a lot of goals last year, so this year I'm trying to tone it back a little. I want to get back on my feet again and make a lot of progress and feel motivated and inspired to work on The Nays a lot more. By trimming down my list of goals, I'm hoping this will leave more free time to work on that project more and I won't feel as guilty taking time away from other projects for it if that's what I truly want to do and what makes me the most happy.

So yeah, I'm looking forward to 2025 and hoping it'll be a productive year for The Nays!