Sections are WIP, I'm finishing the rest of the site first!

Zot Theory - How do you use your Zot?

Part One: Games, games, games.

Part Two: A Better Perspective

This section is a bit more advanced than the others, as it involves what I deem "Zot Theory - The Art of Two Dimensional Games".  Or just Zot Theory.  Here you'll find helpful tutorials on more involved methods of Zotness, like perspectives and alpha channels.  I'll try to simplify anything I can for you, and if you're confused you can always ask!

The wonder of Zot is: which game type to make?  I mean, think about it, Zot supports overhead, isometric, and sideview.  You could make Oids, a sidescrolling platformer, an action-adventure sidescroller, or a top-down RPG.  Ahhhh, decisions, decisions!

First I believe we should take a look at these types and how to impliment them, as it is key to understand what you're running your game on before you can understand Zot Theory.  I'll provide a quick breakdown of each of the major three types, anda couple of screenshots to give you some visuals.

1.  Top-down, vector/thruster style.
     This type is your stereotypical Blasteroids clone, your sprite character can rotate based on how many angles you set, and fire in any of those directions also.  Your movement is based on thrust from behind your sprite, propelling it forward and picking up speed as it goes.

[Image coming as soon as I make one!]

2.  Top-down or isometric action/rpg.
     Skeezix has already demonstrated some of this type with BombZ, so you've probably got the view in mind.  Here your character can move freely in 4 or 8 directions, unless you use angles, and there's no gravity or friction to worry about.  This mode is typically easiest to work with, and could make many types of games ranging from Zelda (also a Skeezix showcase :)) or Phantasy Star roleplayers, to Total Carnage and similar action/shooters.  This mode could theoretically be used for a space shooter akin to Zap!2010 also.

3.  Side-scrolling.
     Side-scrolling mode offers more than just Mario-esque platforming!  Sideview shooters, action-adventure games and maybe Missile Command types are very doable in this mode.  Here your movement is affected by physics, and you can freely move left or right, or maybe crouch.  You can also fire in all 8 directions, akin to Gunstar Heroes of the old Genesis days.  My own game, MK2D, is this type, and as you see it's very flexible:

Don't be fooled into thinking that "perspective" and "view" are the same thing.  They aren't.  In fact, though they are related, they are tremendously different!  Perspective is the key to getting a good feel out of your game, no matter what type it is.  If your game is a sidescroller, maybe using alpha tiles for ledges and making foreground architechture (like columns or trees you walk behind) can add alot to the feel of the game.  Getting a good psuedo-3D out of an isometric view can wow the crowd, and make your game stand out from the rest.  I'm not saying you'll need graphically amazing artwork, but the way you use it counts most.

Here's a quick example I made, proving you can get a top-down isometric view of a city line without sacrificing detail by using a pure top-down angle:

Although it uses flat brick textures, you can still see the perspective well enough.  There is a problem here though, can you spot it?

If you truely are looking down at a sloped angle, then you wouldn't see both sidewalks!  You could go for a realistic view and eliminate the wall there, then make the ledge and maybe rooftop top-layer, so you can walk under it.  Later I'll talk more about some neat alpha effects you can use to make walls like that translucent, and you won't lose track of your character!

The Third Dimension

Remember all of those old SNES games, that had depth to them?  They were still 2D, just like Zot, and it's all about perspective.  Trying to achieve a 3D look is very complicated, requires precise artwork and lots of sprite work, but it looks great in the end.  Here is a situation a friend of mine asked me about when we were discussing perspective:

Now, this may look perfectly fine, but when you take into account your character's movement...

Here lies the problem, huh?  You're trying to create a feel of depth with flat images, and it may look impassible at first, but it isn't.  You need to use sprites and some special artwork to do it, but it can be done.

[Once I actually do this in practice and perfect it, I'll post the exact formula for it!]