Since starting on Overgrowth, I have committed myself to some long-term goals when it comes to being an indie game developer. As I learned more about indie games it became obvious that there are areas that I need to work at to improve. One of the first things I identified as a pressing need was that I should learn how to tell a good story, and so I started working on the Overgrowth Comic. Several years ago, when John and Jeff started focusing on the Humble Bundle, I felt the need to learn more about how people learn about games and why they buy them, and most recently I noticed that I had gotten a little behind with state of the art tools for making game content, and so I set out to fix that problem too.

I spent time researching different tools. I tried out new Versions of 3DS Max, Modo and Blender, and new sculpting apps like 3D Coat. I picked up and learned how to use new automation tools like dDO. I bought a new PC to replace my old one which has a new OS, and a new Cintiq 24HD to replace my aging 12wx. I also upgraded from my 8 year old Adobe apps to the new Creative Cloud versions.

Getting better gear is pointless without the skills to use it, and so I also started on an intense period of improving my core art skills. I completely replaced my workflow process for Overgrowth assets using a more modern sculpt>retopo approach. I also started looking at inspiring artists and drawing a lot more. One of the results of this experimentation are the new Factbook videos.

While I still have a lot to learn, I finally feel confident enough with my new tools to go through our entire art pipeline without any major snags. The new art matches the old assets, but now I am able to produce them a lot faster!

I have some other things I'm excited to show off once they're done, but are not ready yet, so stay tuned!