Development news.

A lot has happened during the month of June!

The most exciting news is a talented game developer who goes by the nick e-dog (http://ranmantaru.com/) has begun work on a Python interface to Sproxel.  This has the potential to be extremely cool, since a variety of functionality could be quickly prototyped and distributed.  Think custom file importers and exporters, custom voxel generation (terrain), and even custom UI widgets!  I would not have had the chops to do something like this on my own, so e-dog's help is very much appreciated!  Look for the Python interface in an upcoming version of Sproxel.

A couple of artists have expressed interest in using the project for media other than video games.  One of them, Metin, over at http://www.sevensheaven.nl/ has suggested literally dozens of new features to improve Sproxel.  He has also contributed a few images to be used in the promotion of Sproxel.  These are much appreciated, as I've found I'm really no good at creating voxel models of my own.  Check out his webpage for some great voxel-based illustrations!

In other news, thirty people have downloaded contributor's Ryan Mast's OSX build of Sproxel.   His contribution was a total surprise, and I'm glad people are using his work.  Sproxel is now in the top 5 google results when searching for voxel model editor.  And I'm heading back to Wisconsin for a much-needed vacation with the family.

Enjoy the summer, northern hemisphere'ers!

Sproxel v0.3 OSX!

A kind UC San Diego student named Ryan Mast compiled sproxel v0.3 for Mac OSX 10.6.  It's 64-bit only right now, and it seems to have all the dependencies included, but if you have any problems with the DMG, please drop me a line on this blog or via the sproxel project page.  We will do our best to get it working for you.

Download it in the usual place.

Sproxel v0.3 Released!

Yet another version of the Sproxel editor has been released.  New features include:

• Proper Save/Save As/Open/New file behavior.
• A new Sproxel data file format in addition to CSV.  This new format saves a voxel grid as a single PNG image so you can pop it open and edit it in your favorite image editor.  It stores the voxel dimensions in the tEXT meta-data chunk of the png file.  It's relatively experimental for the time being, so expect it to mature as time goes on.  This feature was added by request.
• OBJ model export!  This one also comes by request via the feature request wiki.  The implementation is a bit naive at the moment (it exports more triangles than it needs to), but I have successfully imported the obj geometry with materials into Maya 2012.  If the OBJ does not appear to load in your favorite modeling package, please drop me a line and we'll work together to figure out why.
• Some behind-the-scenes work has also been done to make the UI more configurable in the near future

The download is available at the usual spot (following the "Download Sproxel" link on the right side of this page will also take you there).

Sproxel v0.2 Released!

A new version of the Sproxel editor has been released.  New features include: A new toolbar, CTRL+F frames the entire voxel grid, & new mouse button behavior!

The download is available at the usual spot (following the "Download Sproxel" link on the right side of this page will also take you there).

Sproxel Used in its First (Mini) Game!

My buddy Joel likes participating in the Ludum Dare game development competition.  It sounds like a blast, but my love of sleep has won out over my love of development every time.  This last time around, Joel made a quaint Zelda clone using graphics designed in Sproxel.
Click here to check it out!

Tools Similar to Sproxel.

Before I started writing Sproxel, I was made aware of a tool named Cube Kingdom.  It seems like it's pretty cool!  Is anyone aware of other sprite-voxel editors out there on the web?

I like the menus and the general feel of the Cube Kingdom.  At the moment, Sproxel feels a lot more technical.  This may be a good thing or may not.  I'll get a better feel for things as time goes on...

Why Create a Sprite Voxel Editor?

Lately there have been some great "indie" games popping up here and there.  Many of these games take risks with gameplay, graphics, level design, or all-around-style.  One of the more risky styles has been to represent elements of the world as voxels.  It's difficult to match the level of surface detail in the latest polygon-based games with voxels, but voxels allow for tons of neat effects since the world is represented as a volume instead of a collection of surfaces.  Minecraft, for example, has gotten a lot of mileage out of the technique.

It wasn't Minecraft, though, that inspired me to create Sproxel.  Minecraft represents the world as voxels, but it doesn't go whole-hog with the technique.  It still overlays polygon characters into the world - they're blocky, but they're not created out of the same building blocks as the land.  It took a yet-to-be-released game named Fez to really pique my interest.




Fez uses a technology they call trixels to create an entirely new gaming experience.  One second you think you're looking at a relatively low-resolution 2d game, the next you're looking at a bunch of 3d representations of the pixels you thought were flat!  A second later, you're back to an ortho-2d view of the world, and your brain grows accustomed to thinking of the data as pixels again.  This was such a good combination of retro, modern, and new game design that I just had to get in on it somehow!

Another game with a similar all-voxel approach to gameplay is Voxatron.  Voxatron is also still in development, but it too is looking like it's going to be great.




Another youtube video shows Voxatron's own sprite voxel editor, but it hasn't been released yet, and I just couldn't wait to give game developers a tool they could mess with between now and when Voxatron comes out.

If you haven't seen these videos yet, hopefully they inspired you as much as they did me.  With any luck, some talented engine designers are already working on their voxel-based engines, and Sproxel will help them make their dream a reality.