So far in Pixel Life you can basically create a character and move around in a pre-made level. but I've been working on the building system do you can do things like build your house and edit community lots. My brain has been fried several times while working on it. My tutor seemed to make it look easy when creating a demo for me to use as a base.

Originally i wanted to use the mouse and convert its location to the world and place objects. but to make things simpler and less catastrophic to my brain, i'm letting the player take control of a highlighting cube which you move around the board using the arrow keys, when you want to place an object you place it with another key.

Its taking some time to be able to figure it all out, but my tutor has given me the starting point.

Also i managed to change the character creator so instead of spam clicking buttons to change outfit, you have nice menus which you can see all the clothes and their alternative colouring.
You can see my progress in my Snapchat and Instagram if your interested!
Snap & Insta: @RedGindew

I've spent the past day updating the visuals to offer more freedom in the different outfits. I did this by simply scaling up the current assets and adding additional detail. Below you'll see the new Promo Banner I've been using on my Twitter, only its been updated with the new Logo and Characters. 

One of the things that really bugged me was the strange resolution of the character. it was 32x40px. Scaling it upwards allows me to put more detail and variation into the outfits like the Scarf. adding that diagonal line made it pop.
So its exsactly the same designs before hand, just scaled and detailed.

Another dilemma i faced was how i wanted to tackle the building system in Pixel Life. i was inspired by The Sims mainly. But now I've chosen to go a different route, by having the interior on a separate level to the exterior. 

These are by no way the final designs. these are the base set which i can use to make all of the others. These might be used for the Basic Set, which is one of the first you'll use since their cheap.
Now i've upgraded all my assets i just need a hand from my Tutor on a few of the more complex mechanics like Building and the world map.

Just a brief update on the character. Characters will soon be able to face all 4 directions instead of just front. It was making it difficult to make interactions and movement easy for the Player.
Other than that I've been thinking about additional features to come possibly much later on. Its important for Pixel Life to have lots of things for the Player to do, but none of them should push themselves onto the Player. For example; The Sims 4's Lot Traits, they offer the Player some challenge in their new Apartments by giving them new attribute to affect what happens in the Apartment. But to me these invade on my experience, what if i don't want these traits. you might be able to turn them off somehow but that's not the point. The point is, i shouldn't have to look to turn a whole mechanic off. This is one of the goals i set for Pixel Life: Have lots for the Player to do, none of it will be necessary or intrusive.

Today has been another head-scratching grind in Unreal to finish the Character Creator. I've spent while looking up ways to allow the Player to create new people even after their initial Player Character. I think i might have to leave it till i get back to Uni to get help.
Right now I'll focus on adding more assets to the Creator. But again look into the Town Maps.
Each Town will be fully customizable using the provided Tiles and objects. you can see a vague blur outline in the image as to what it might be like.
You can also see a sneak look at the career outfits, the Cook and the Builder. I'm still working on the system i want, i'd like them to be interactive so you'll go to your employment and actually perform the tasks like "Cook the Orders" or "Build a Chair".

Tommorow I want to spend designing how the House Building will look and play out.

Again if your interested in following development follow my Instagram and Twitter (@RedGindew)

Yet another brief look at what I've been doing, I spent most of the past 2 days playing Civilization VI with my friend, so Unreal hasn't seen much change.
As you can see in the image above, Characters now have fringes, different expressions and a new arm pose. easy stuff, but the addition of fringes seems to add so much character. I'm adding this all to Unreal tomorrow hopefully. In other news, I'm presenting Pixel Life at an upcoming Convention! its called Megacon and hosted in my home town of Carlisle, Cumbria. Even though i have a University Exhibition in June, this seems too good of an opportunity to miss out.
Because i'll be hosting a live demo at the event the major work is going into the Character Creator to make it as polished as possible. Tommorow's task is to throw in the new assets and get them all working. As usual I'll post my progress on Instagram and Twitter (@RedGindew) if your interested.