Engine Prototype 01

Full View

This is my first prototype of the Dejeweled physics engine. So far the engine supports simple rod constraints in two flavors: rigid and springy. Next up are pin constraints.

The ragdoll here is a slightly modified version of the one from my earlier Ragdoll Control Prototype, with a new physics engine and some shiny new graphics in the Dejeweled style.

Click the window to start. Then use the arrow keys to move the stick figure around.

left - rotate left
right - rotate right
up - raise arms
down - spread legs

For slow motion, hold down the space bar. Click the meters to adjust the physics settings.

Let me know if you find anything interesting. ;)

Engine Screen 01

Here's a quick screen shot of what I've been working on. I've just refitted my old Ragdoll Control Prototype with a shiny new physics engine, the Dejeweled Engine. So far I've got both rigid and springy rods working, as well as some decent slow motion. Next up are pin constraints, and then collisions.

As you can see in the picture, I've been playing with some graphical effects. There's a white inner glow on the ragdoll body, some glow on the blue lines, and a sort of reflection or shadow below. I'm trying to get it to feel more like a 3D figure in an endless white field, rather than of a 2D bunch of lines on a computer screen. Not sure if any of this will end up in the final game, but for now I'm just playing around. It's fun. :)

Once I add pin constraints and make the physics settings adjustable, I'll release the prototype here.

Inspiration Series 02

In my last post, I mentioned that Dejeweled is about carving out your own reality from a blinding white field of full-spectrum light, all possibilities at once.

This image, from the upcoming LEGO Universe MMO, is a perfect example. These construction workers are not building a universe out of dark nothingness, they are carving a universe out of the infinite potential of the fresh, white page. They are removing, paring down possibilities, until something tangible can remain.


I love this picture.

Inspiration Series 01

Dejeweled is about carving out your own reality from a blinding white field of full-spectrum light, all possibilities at once. That's the feel I want to convey in the art style. You create by subtraction, by taking away, by defining constraints. Like layers of ink on a blank page. The opposite approach would be additive, building up a universe one spark at a time from the cold, infinitely black void, or a cursor blinking on a dark computer screen, waiting for your first command. That's not Dejeweled. Dejeweled is white, bright, light, sliced into actuality.

I originally got this from The Matrix. Here are a few more examples I've found.

Click the images for the full-size originals.

I hope to make Dejeweled feel like this.

Why I Just Do White...
SL Portal Collab Entry
sail to the moon
cyber pepper