happy (late, again) Solarpunk Aesthetic Week!
i... made a game! yeah, really!
Jojo the Raccoon is on a mission!
When the humans abandoned the city, they left something special behind... and Jojo simply must find it!
What treasure could he be looking for? Help him navigate through the world that humans left behind to find out!
play Racc On now on itch.io!
(dev ramblings below)
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hi gang. soooo it's been like half a year since i've been active here? and that's because earlier this year i enrolled myself in a super intensive game design course! so yeah i've been in the programming-for-babies trenches all this time ;; it's great to be back though, even if just for a while!
Racc On is my most recent project, where we were tasked to make a 3D platformer within 6 WEEKS to learn about game physics. (and a LOT of math. i am not a math person.) it's my second attempt at making a video game ever, and the first time I learned how to 3D model (I made Jojo from scratch)!
note to modelling newbies: please don't start with a quadruped. PLEASE.
thematically, i do wish i could've made it more solarpunky, but with the bulk of classes focused on programming, i didn't have much time for aesthetics ;; still, i did try to inject a little bit of that into the final puzzle. when i have more time, i'll flesh out the lore more to make the game really come to life. for now, let me know what you think the story is about!
the game is still in it's baby prototype stage, and i'm sure there still are lots of bugs that escaped my radar (please let me know if you find any!). but considering everything, i'm actually quite proud of what i've made! feels really good to let it out into the world 🥰
to senior solarpunk devs, i hope its alright for me to take up a little space in the community! and for aspiring game designers (i know there are many of yall with super cool solarpunk game ideas), i hope Racc On can offer some inspiration. as long as you have the passion, you can definitely turn your ideas into reality!
if you do try out the game, i'd really love to hear what you think! please drop a comment, tags, ask, dm, anything! i'd really appreciate it <3
ok now i gotta get back to my next game project (no promises, but it miiight be tidalpunk themed hehe). stay hydrated everyone! 💕
or as the locals call it, the Bug Bus. (pills is bugs?)
squeezing in one last concept sketch for the week hehe
a note on the 'legs' on this guy: technically an isopod has seven pairs of segmented legs, which would've looked really cool and mecha-like in this design too! but i've been spinning the idea of a microbe-inspired vehicle in my head for a while now, and wanted to see what it'd be like if these two concepts were combined. it... kinda works?
the inspiration struck when i was playing a wonderful ttrpg called Wanderhome with a friend, wherein our characters came across a herd of giant isopod 'cows', just chilling, grazing, and rolling around in a wide open field. we could ride on them too! which got me thinking...
in my fictional solarpunk world, i envision 'herds' of these caravans gathered together on a grassy meadow, forming their own sub-communities outside the boundaries of the city. sort of like a car meet, or even a mini mobile town, since these vehicles also serve as an alternative home for those with wanderlust, or who prefer a more nomadic lifestyle. i imagine there aren't that many of these special vehicles, as each one is custom made with their own unique furnishings, aesthetics and quirks. maybe the people there swap homes every once in a while, so everyone gets a chance to experience the different themes each caravan has to offer.
i also think these guys would be great to take on wilderness expeditions! since they're built for navigating through difficult terrain, they'd be the perfect companion for a couple of scientists or rangers who want to venture into dense forests for their research (and probably stay there for months on end). maybe the 'ball mode' would then be a way to defend them from wild animals and natural hazards, or even a form of camouflage? idk, lots more to flesh out here 🤔
while this design was based on tiny terrestrial pill bugs, most isopods are actually much larger and ocean-dwelling, so i can definitely see this being reworked into some kind of submarine too! and since isopods also dig underground sometimes, perhaps another version has antennae that function as a drill, so they can act as construction machines, or even emergency rescue units. ALSO isopods are known detritivores, so maybe there's an isopod caravan clean-up crew, that collects and decomposes organic matter such as dead leaves as they drive through the city? yeahhh???
im just coming up with these as i type rn hfkjsh
OH and don't even get me started on the possibilities for their exterior colours, based on actual species variation of course! dairy cow, zebra, lava, panda, cappuccino, clown, RUBBER DUCKY...!!!! they'd all look so cute waaaaaaaagh
and its featuring all sorts of fun, fruity flavors! freshly picked from the food forests, blended and frozen into a familiar shape, then paired with a fancy floral cone. and all for free? F-YEAH
all the vendor asks for in return is to leave a nice message in the tags for him (or for his pet plant Pothony). so go ahead, choose your favourite!
pick a pop:
mango
lychee
dragonfruit
pineapple
coconut
durian
mangosteen
sour plum
lime
corn (not a fruit but too iconic to leave out)
i'm bald / i'm allergic to ice / other
Voting ended onDec 27, 2024
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loooong exposition ahead, bear with me ok
when i was a primary school kid (like 7), there was a row of bushes lining the garden outside our classroom. and on them were clusters and clusters of tiny red flowers, bunched together like pre-made bouquets. they're called ixora, locally known as jejarum (needle).
somehow, mini me discovered that if you look real close at the center of each flower, you'll find a little tab in the shape of a sprout (that's the stigma). and if you gently tug on that tab, you'll pull out a flimsy, needle-like stick (that's the style). and at the end of that stick...... was a dollop of liquid gold (it's nectar).
at that age? it felt like hitting the jackpot! my friends and i we were SET. gluttony Gripped us as we descended upon those poor little flowers, sucking up every drop of nectar we could find, leaving a trail of bright red petals in our wake. yet it was never enough. of course it wasn't.
yeah i'm exaggerating but it really did feel like i committed a massacre ok 😭 i don't know that child anymore i've grown!! left their insatiable little shell behind!!!
anyway turns out that secret childhood hack wasn't much of a secret after all. my mum confessed to doing the exact same thing decades ago when she was younger, and a quick internet search shows that apparently its a pretty common bad habit/funny memory shared among people here. rite of passage. doesn't lessen my guilt though!
so here i am, exposing my baby crimes to the world, and holding myself accountable by making ixora-inspired concept art lol. sorry to these cultural icons my bad queens
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speaking of school, here's another nostalgic memory: the ice cream uncle.
this wasn't just a singular guy, but rather a League of Guys, with one common goal: make a quick buck from oblivious kids who, once again, were enthralled by the power of gluttony's grasp, and would pay anything for a taste of the nectarous after-school treat.
no guilt here though, was worth every cent.
they always had a diverse selection of goods: ice cream in cones, ice cream in cups, classic ice pops on a stick... but once in a while, we get what is essentially the local version of freezer pops. we call them 'ais krim malaysia', and under the burning sun they were a MESS to deal with. if you weren't devouring your icicle within 5 minutes of purchase, you'd be going home with a sticky bag of juice and a stained school uniform. and yet, i've never seen a kid walk away from an ice cream uncle without a smile on their face.
nowadays, ice cream uncles are an endangered species. big name brands and their store empires are chasing local vendors out of their niche. not to mention the hardships they face under increasingly abnormal weather patterns. plus, even if they did make a comeback, there's the issue of all that plastic waste. which brings me to...
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this concept art i made! (yeah we're finally getting to it!)
once again, i'm partnering 2 very loosely related pieces of my cultural backstory, with a sustainable twist. in my ideal solarpunk city, we're bringing street-side popsicles back into style, and packaging them in biodegradable membranes. in fact, our local favourite seaweed gelatin — agar-agar (the name originated here!) — is already being used for this sort of technology.
the pops also come with a reusable cone in the shape of an ixora flower. this way, we can still keep the tradition of getting a sugar rush from within its petals, without. y'know. stealing the primary food source away from native bugs who depend on it 💀
the umbrella could serve a function too... maybe the buds that make up the ends of its wire frame could glow in the dark? that'd look cool. oh and i did draw a classic motorbike here for the nostalgia factor, but let's pretend its an old model that got modded to run on renewable energy instead!
in terms of fashion... i highlighted parts of the outfits that are ixora inspired, including the shirt and bandana made from batik, a dyeing technique invented in our region. some other solarpunk aspects include a photovoltaic wide-brimmed hat, a layered frankenstein dress, and that... apron-skort thing that i made up on the spot. and that weird shirt. people in this city just like chopping up and swapping fabrics i guess!
happy Solarpunk Aesthetic Week! today i give you: little concept doodle. tomorrow, who knows? 🤷
been thinking about what transportation would look like in the solarpunk noon story i've been slowly working on. rickshaws have long been a part of Asian history, and bananas play a huge role in our local culture, so i made them do the kiss and this thing was born! more details below~
is this rickshaw design functional from a technical standpoint? no, but it's okay. close your eyes. take my hand. let's imagine a better world i drew a trishaw that is anatomically accurate and focus on the fancy, scientifically-questionable features instead ✨
since in my region winter doesn't exist (yet...), my main priority was designing a vehicle that can make use of our 2 beloved seasons: hot and wet <3 i was trying to do something cool with the concept of evapotranspiration, but i don't reeeally know if this idea holds water (haha). so if any smarter folks wanna take a crack at it, i will love you forever
ok wait lemme show my inspirations
i definitely tuk some ideas from the Thai style Tuk Tuks, probably one of the most well-known modern versions of the rickshaw (the last time i rode on one my hat literally flew off in the first ten seconds. 10/10).
but my MAIN inspiration. the reason i came up with this idea in the first place...
Absolute. Bootleg. Absurdity. are you seeing this???
okay so this is in Melaka, and they are obviously tourist traps, but i love them ok. i Love them. look at how far we can push the boundaries of our silly, of our creativity. we could have this sort of whimsy EVERY DAY!!!
plus, the uncle who drove my family around last time was so enthusiastic about taking us around! he infodumped non-stop about the history and cultural significance of every landmark we passed, while laughing the whole time, and i just think that's beautiful.
and what's more solarpunk than stuffing a local beca to the brim with all the little things that we love?
look at this. imagine if they were Real, Living flowers. imagine hopping into one of these every morning. a little roving, rolling garden, taking you wherever you wish to go. each beca frame lovingly customized, harboring their own unique little ecosystems. tiny worlds to discover. imagine that subtle floral fragrance accompanying you, as you chat with your driver on the way back home. maybe you're the driver. maybe you're just a passerby, but a glimpse of that interaction is enough to make your day. maybe this can be our life. are you sold? i'm sold.
oc-tober 2024
day 16: draw with eyes closed / non-dominant hand
HEEEEELP LMAO
oh this one was fuuuun. ngl drawing with my right hand was TOUGH i was fr sweating and my hand was shaking by the time i finished. then i tried it with my eyes closed, took a peek when i was done, and laughed for like 2 minutes hddjdiejs like what HAPPENED there
then i showed my mum and we laughed even MOREEEE 😭
ANyway this little scrunglo is Dillon Norris, my chaotic silly tiefling college of spirits bard!! i'm honestly surprised i haven't posted any art of him here yet, seeing as he is my Very First and Most Beloved dnd character hehe. will probably be forever til i get to play him again, so live on in wacky doodles he shall!
oc-tober 2024
day 10 & 11: personality & symbolism/themes
the kids you probably need to worry about
more leftoverse babies! they're definitely opposites personality-wise, but they both also happen to have the most symbolic roles throughout the story i think? lets just say their journeys include pretty strong pseudo-religious allegories hh
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first up is Mia, or registered alias 'Illumia', who will also go by the codename 'Chamialeon' (hence the symbol) during the... not so bright parts of her future career. Which is ironic, because glowing brightly is kind of her main thing! though due to light manipulation, she can also turn invisible, which is why the moniker stuck. she eventually also figures out how to temporarily siphon her target's powers (literally 'stealing their spotlight'), giving her another layer of camouflage.
Mia is high energy even in her broodiest moments (many such cases). among the main cast, she easily draws the most attention and speaks the loudest, even without ever using her voice! she has a wiiild arc as far as archetypes go, changing from spoiled princess to ruthless rebel to spiritual leader by the end of things. she would be a leia stan yeah
alsoooo that is not the actual cover image for 'It's My Turn Now' but there's no way im putting the d*sney logo anywhere near my art lol. i don't know who that man is. Sorry to miss palmer
also2 yeah mushrooms aren't flora my bad. sunflower then
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next is Pepin, who usually goes by Piper (and Clyde calls him Pip sometimes). he's the forever baby of the group and my poor precious good boy who can do no wrong!!1! 🥺💚 ok that's not true, he always tries his best and has an empathetic soul, but life's hard when you're the unwilling Chosen One who has to constantly dodge prophecies and legacies while carrying the weight of the world on your tiny shoulders. he goes through sososo much :( i love him sososo much :(
Piper's a real laid-back, pacifist type that keeps getting bombarded by Stress and Duties. as such, he's no stranger to skipping classes/responsibilities to go chill somewhere hidden away from the world, which is usually in a forest due to his affinity with nature. many think his thing is controlling plants and healing, and it certainly looks that way, but more accurately its cellular regeneration control. a talent this impressive puts many targets on his back, but luckily he's in good hands until he decides his own destiny <3
The squad is complete! (well mostly, i miiight draw Nishay properly again at some point.) But today's focus is on Tiffany Brightwood, who is most definitely not a catgirl but uses the image to her advantage anyway!
She is, however, the it-girl of my dnd campaign, going from background character to central plot device to beloved recurring npc relatively quick!
This version of her isn't meant to show up until waaay later in the (now on indefinite hiatus) story, and i was actually planning to bring her in as my own pc at some point! it's the same round face and smug expression that the party's familiar with, but now she's got a sort of... roguish charm? 🤨😏
anyway! this horndog (horncat?) is known for having her fingers in quite a few romantic pies. what started off as a frisky love square situation has now evolved into a deeply committed quad polycule, bonded together by love and trust. and trauma. and Tiffy's riiiight at the center of it all!
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ok let me tackle explaining the relationship chart in a second reblog bc its waaay too long hh
ok here we go! explaining the chart!
(heads up: suggestion of sexual relationships below!)
Soulmates
→ T & N: same age (range), same town, same class, same job, same boyfriends, need i say more?
→ P & A: their threads are thousands of years long and yet fate still has them intertwined at the same place and time
Heat of the Moment
→ P & A: turned the hateful energy from a heated confrontation into something else
→ P & T: losing a bet and getting teased got them in the mood
→ P & N: she got back after years away from home, and they tried to rekindle their friendship, among other things
Childhood Friends
→ N & T: shared a lot of their firsts together: first day of school, first exam, first trip, first dance, first kiss...
→ P & N: a class prep and a street rat. surely they have nothing in common. right?
Rivals to Lovers
→ P & A: leader of a gang community patrol looking for suspicious characters vs. recluse vampire that refuses to entertain inspection. aALsoOoo Pan's dad spends more time with Alaric than his own son? so that causes a Whole bunch more of issues
→ P & T: street rat vs. street rat. dares, bets, the pettiest of squabbles
→ A & N: at odds due to disagreements in academic subjects and the pretentiousness that comes along with it
Living Together
→ T & A: Tiff stayed above Alaric's bookstore while working for him. we loooove the erosion of work-life boundaries!
→ N & T: in the distant future, they own a house together! relying on each other in life <3
→ P & N: in the near future, they co-rent a room to make it easier for the... ah... co-parenting.
Workplace Romance
→ T & A: they're cooped up in that dark, quiet bookstore all day and night. access to each other's schedules. of course things happen
→ A & N: mutually beneficial arrangement. a changing of goods, touching of hands. maybe even a proper date to celebrate
Trauma Bonded
→ N & A: over gifted kid burnout, abandoning the high life, yet never quite giving up on it
→ N & T: over... everything. bad school life, bad work environment, bad situations that are yet to come... and boyfriends!
→ A & P & T: oh man... honestly this is spoiler territory that's so heavy even i'm not ready to talk about it yet. its a Lot!
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there you go! pls feel free to ask me about any of these relationship angles, i would LOVE to loredump about them!!! except that last one hh
The squad is complete! (well mostly, i miiight draw Nishay properly again at some point.) But today's focus is on Tiffany Brightwood, who is most definitely not a catgirl but uses the image to her advantage anyway!
She is, however, the it-girl of my dnd campaign, going from background character to central plot device to beloved recurring npc relatively quick!
This version of her isn't meant to show up until waaay later in the (now on indefinite hiatus) story, and i was actually planning to bring her in as my own pc at some point! it's the same round face and smug expression that the party's familiar with, but now she's got a sort of... roguish charm? 🤨😏
anyway! this horndog (horncat?) is known for having her fingers in quite a few romantic pies. what started off as a frisky love square situation has now evolved into a deeply committed quad polycule, bonded together by love and trust. and trauma. and Tiffy's riiiight at the center of it all!
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ok let me tackle explaining the relationship chart in a second reblog bc its waaay too long hh
On the left is Axis, a serial hater girlbossfailure who leaves scathing reviews on everything she sees for 'enrichment'. On the right is Clyde, who has learnt to weaponize his 'cursed fuckboi energy' in order to taunt miserable people with whimsy. they both hate each other's guts /affectionate <3
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Clyde likes...
crafting handmade jewelry! mostly friendship bracelets for some reason, how this passion came about is lost in his memory though
collecting knickknacks for aforementioned jewelry (he's a junk hoarder)
batik, aloha shirts, or any regional equivalent
singing and dancing and dashing and prancing
traveling! seeing the world!
running! as a sport
running! movie marathons
running! from commitments and responsibilities
destroying everyone with a chain of UNO draw fours card games!
ttrpgs too probably. he'd max out whatever the system equivalent for the Charisma stat is at character creation without doubt
entertaining people generally, he knows he's funny
helping people too! he's got a big heart with so so so much to give
so so so much
Clyde dislikes...
Axis
wet blanket people in general
desk jobs or being locked into any committed position
not having space to stretch his legs
schedules and deadlines
feeling trapped or stuck or silenced he just needs to MOVE, man
yeah yeah. adhd
hard labor. he's a big strong guy and can handle it, but he'd much rather be relaxing
sour candy
tangled threads
memory loss
not being able to help. helplessness. no sense of direction or purpose or destination in life
socks
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Axis likes...
hoodies
being curled up in bed
the smell of fresh laundry
windy days
colourful fruity mocktails
bell-bottom jeans and y2k fashion
physics! worked as a lab assistant (the experience was awful but the science was fun!)
fixing things! worked as an apprentice mechanic (fun!)
bragging about her skills and expertise
her on-and-off adorable girlfriend Simmer <3
fluffy pastries and decadent desserts
moments to herself. quiet. silence. peace and tranquility
...
company
Axis dislikes...
Clyde
people who talk too loudly, too much, too quickly (Clyde)
people who get all up in her personal space (Clyde)
people who get over-invested in personal issues that does not concern them at all (Clyde)
people
crowded markets
rain
✨depression ✨
cooking. augh. Disaster
unfulfilling lesbian situationships (and yet...)
being in tall places where there's a risk of falling
"The trophy wife prince to gay wine vampire pipeline is not real and cannot hurt you." ← words that did not hold up, especially for Cassius di Verde, better known by my D&D party as Alaric!
He's the mysterious vampire spawn NPC of the town who also happens to own an obscure bookstore that opens only at night. He's got centuries of knowledge and experiences, yet that still wasn't enough to help deal with how rowdy the party was when they trashed his place hdksjhs
Unbeknownst to most of my players, he's actually the last surviving royalty of a kingdom lost to the world. As in, it literally sank like Atlantis. He got turned against his will right before the disaster hit, and has been spending his immortality trying to collect artifacts from the remains of his home ever since. (The bookstore naturally became a side gig as his collection grew.)
As you can imagine, there's a whole lot of tragedy in his life, but I'll spare you from all of that! In recent years, he's really started to embrace the whole classic fancy vampire image, and has decided to settle down for now in a quaint town with people he's grown to care about! He still hasn't completely given up on the luxurious lifestyle, but at least he's swapped out his stiff regal garbs for something more local (and period accurate).
whoops super late! so i decided to take my time with this one hh
my mostest favouritest self-insert oc ever, Cay Rustwood! i usually drop them into whatever game i'm playing as my MC, notably Roadwarden (their Home) and Arcade Spirits (where they were born!). but recently I started playing a cool text rpg called CyberPunkDreams, so this was a perfect opportunity to give them a sci-fi redesign in the game's style!
i'm only 10 days into the game so they don't have many clothing options yet ;; but it's exciting to see how they'll grow and change with time (if they survive)! their go-to outfit style is still western though hh
little bit about cpd!cay: they're constantly cancelling out their natural rizz by rummaging through trash for scraps. great conversationalist as long as they keep their mouth shut. love to cause situations, hate to be near them really. undiagnosable
bonus? old test/doodle of cowboy!cay i was gonna post for yeehawgust and... forgot? for comparison i guess, even though there isn't much of a design here dhdjdsks
someone play roadwarden and cyberpunkdreams with me pretty please
whoops super late! so i decided to take my time with this one hh
my mostest favouritest self-insert oc ever, Cay Rustwood! i usually drop them into whatever game i'm playing as my MC, notably Roadwarden (their Home) and Arcade Spirits (where they were born!). but recently I started playing a cool text rpg called CyberPunkDreams, so this was a perfect opportunity to give them a sci-fi redesign in the game's style!
i'm only 10 days into the game so they don't have many clothing options yet ;; but it's exciting to see how they'll grow and change with time (if they survive)! their go-to outfit style is still western though hh
little bit about cpd!cay: they're constantly cancelling out their natural rizz by rummaging through trash for scraps. great conversationalist as long as they keep their mouth shut. love to cause situations, hate to be near them really. undiagnosable
posting some old art today! as a forever GM, i rarely have a chance to play my own characters, so these guys are from two different oneshots that my lovely friends ran a while back <3 my poor goofy babies are gathering dust, i miss them so much 😩
On the left is Prince Marigold de Clair, or just Rigo! He's a kalashtar wizard who dreams of being a baker but has zero baking skills oops. They ran away from home because they have the whole ✨worldussy✨ Made for a DnD oneshot about acquiring the recipe to apple pie!
On the right is Esme Swinney, a rat bastard (affectionate) miner made for @ashleys-doodle-corner's Cairn oneshot! (She's also the one who rendered Esme's drawing — our first collab yay — and did the alt text! thank u bestie <3) Esme has 1 HP :)
This is Blue (last name i forgor), the very first oc i can remember creating! I was maybe 9 lol, and i'm gonna be real with yall i have no idea what her deal is 💀 like there was definitely a plot for sure, but that was 15 years ago now and i cannot recall a damn thing
i think she had powers? what powers does she look like she would have? based on vibes only because i gave her a fresh new outfit to reflect the late 2000s era she was created in hehe
