Do you capitalize "go"?
Also, I think I'm gonna start posting weekly on Saturdays. Just so there's some regularity here.
Anyways, I'm not feeling good. Not sick or anything, just not good somehow. I have been playing a few too many games (or a few games too long) and need to get back to work, again. I don't know which project I want to work on and I can't seem to get in a working mood in general.
Now my bro wants to make a game. He wants to get all his friends together and co-op a big project in XNA. Well, I could do the programming end for him; I know the construction pretty well, but I'm still in Gamemaker mode. Besides, as I'm feeling right now I don't think I could get anything done.
Current Projects
Technically, none. I simply haven't been working due to Terraria. I've accrued 100 hours already and need a break. Well...
-Cytomight is on hold, too many organic games are coming out so the novelty is completely gone.
-Epilepsy Man is good to go, just need to finalize some level designs and get a graphic for Dr. Strobe and I can release it in a week.
-My CastleQuest clone is dead. I can't think critically enough right now to make a puzzle game.
-New demand for my Pinball game. The physics are the hardest part, Gamemaker does not like curves. I could change languages, but that would defeat the spirit of it.
-Started work on a Lode Runner clone, but it died after about an hour.
I could work on any of them, but I just can't bring myself to work right now.
Other Projects
I forgot about my Rock, Paper, Scissors game. I could revisit this one since it's what I have the most artwork for. But, again, this is where I'd need a designer (or even an other person at all) to help me plan some stages.
My monster strategy game (which I don't really have a name for) has almost no programming requirements, it just needs mountains and mountains of graphics and writing... I simply don't have enough placeholders for this project. I could rip from another game, but even as a placeholder that feels cheap.
My original game (The first one. The one I started this blog for in the first place) is halted. A nice indie game called OutLand came out recently. While it has nothing in common with my planned story or graphics, it achieves all the platforming goals I had hoped to attain. I no longer have a "need" to make my game. It'll come back to me later.
Gaming
Wall to wall Terraria.
Also, I finished L.A. Noire... This is the future of AAA gaming, right here. The characters felt relatable, for the first time pretty much ever in any game. There are minor flaws, like different characters sound like they were recorded at different times (a production thing). But for the most part it was all done well. The only thing that could have made it more realistic sounding is if characters talked over each other occasionally and "correctly" raised their voices as needed... but as far as I know this is virtually impossible.
Other
Summary: I'm not feeling good, but am not sick.
It'd be nice if some people posted, either here or on the boards. I'm pretty sure I've mentioned my disability several times by now, it's very hard for me to concentrate when I'm not feeling good. I need direction.
I've been thinking of hiring an assistant or an artist/musician or something to help with my games. Local talent is bleak. What I need is another gamer who knows game design that we can bounce ideas between.
Grumble, Grumble; Lok
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Enough Games: Back to Work
Played through my entire Steam backlog. Ready to get back to work.
Current Projects
Well, technically nothing. But interest in Cytomight has peaked so I think that's what I'll concentrate moreso on. I still am not sure if I should make it a DualStick Shooter (like Smash TV) or a gooey platformer.
I tried writing some generic game music, but my musical experience is limited. I basically can just play bass, I'm not much for writing melodies or anything. I'm an expert critic though, so if I ever hear something I know will work it will hit me like magic. Even though I've been playing bass, when I tried to transcribe something using FL Studio (10 now) I found the process to be difficult for me. I'll just leave music to someone else.
Other Projects
Which brings me back to my very first project, my serious platformer. The game uses a musical theme as its basis (pentatonic tones in a specific note according to the element of the room). This is to help back up the theme, but I have no idea HOW to go about writing music like that. I only know that it's what I want (Yay, that means I'm a director now). I also need special graphics that I don't know how to do (Irridescence).
Some interest has been shown in a few of my concept games: The pinball shooter and Epilepsy Man. I still don't know what to actually do with them... and by that I mean I've completed the physics engine (I'm pretty good at this part), but don't have any ideas of WHAT to do to the characters to motivate them (if anything) or what challenges I can have them overcome. Or in the case of Epilepsy Man, a simple good single platforming stage.
I don't know what makes good level design, only I know it when I see it.
I thought of a new way to handle game difficulty. Kinda similar to what Star Fox or Goldeneye/Perfect Dark does. The same world, but higher difficulties affect your objectives and start/exit points, maybe even the character you play as too. Only by playing all sides do you get a feel for exactly what's going on behind the scenes of the game.
Gaming
Just finished my Steam backlog as previously mentioned. Mostly this is:
-SimCity 4 (Which I thought sucked compared to earlier games)
-Wings of Prey (Poor controls in regular, unreasonable expectations in realistic... Look up Fighter's Anthology sometime, that's how you do a flight sim)
-Crysis and Crysis Warhead (Surprisingly good, aside from several script bugs)
-Dead Space (Derpy controls at first, annoying enemies at worst... it's like if you make a horror game about frogs, they aren't much of a threat or that scary, but it'd be annoying if you had to kill all of them to open a door)
-Borderlands (Of course, I maxed this out on the 360... now to do it again, great game..)
-Serious Sam HD (Has a similar annoying enemy design as Dead Space, but is more fun to clear them. First Encounter has an annoying number of enemies sometimes, but Second Encounter does it right.)
-Command and Conquer 4 (Worst. RTS. Ever.)
-Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3 (Pretty fun so far, but it breaks a few minor rules of RTS's, IE: make sure you can tell the units apart in a hurry. This could have been fixed by giving a few of the more samey units a stronger tint)
-Dungeons (It's not Dungeon Keeper, if you are expecting Dungeon Keeper then stay away.)
For other games I played Hydra Castle Labyrinth (quick jump before I let the LP spoil me). Good balance. Could use a few tiny tweaks, but a good game overall.
I'm now level 77 in Progress Quest.
Other
In completely unrelated news, I'm losing weight. Yay me.
Questions or Comments? Post them. Tinkering on my games is really all I have so anything to break up the time would be nice.
New Construction Options, Lok
Current Projects
Well, technically nothing. But interest in Cytomight has peaked so I think that's what I'll concentrate moreso on. I still am not sure if I should make it a DualStick Shooter (like Smash TV) or a gooey platformer.
I tried writing some generic game music, but my musical experience is limited. I basically can just play bass, I'm not much for writing melodies or anything. I'm an expert critic though, so if I ever hear something I know will work it will hit me like magic. Even though I've been playing bass, when I tried to transcribe something using FL Studio (10 now) I found the process to be difficult for me. I'll just leave music to someone else.
Other Projects
Which brings me back to my very first project, my serious platformer. The game uses a musical theme as its basis (pentatonic tones in a specific note according to the element of the room). This is to help back up the theme, but I have no idea HOW to go about writing music like that. I only know that it's what I want (Yay, that means I'm a director now). I also need special graphics that I don't know how to do (Irridescence).
Some interest has been shown in a few of my concept games: The pinball shooter and Epilepsy Man. I still don't know what to actually do with them... and by that I mean I've completed the physics engine (I'm pretty good at this part), but don't have any ideas of WHAT to do to the characters to motivate them (if anything) or what challenges I can have them overcome. Or in the case of Epilepsy Man, a simple good single platforming stage.
I don't know what makes good level design, only I know it when I see it.
I thought of a new way to handle game difficulty. Kinda similar to what Star Fox or Goldeneye/Perfect Dark does. The same world, but higher difficulties affect your objectives and start/exit points, maybe even the character you play as too. Only by playing all sides do you get a feel for exactly what's going on behind the scenes of the game.
Gaming
Just finished my Steam backlog as previously mentioned. Mostly this is:
-SimCity 4 (Which I thought sucked compared to earlier games)
-Wings of Prey (Poor controls in regular, unreasonable expectations in realistic... Look up Fighter's Anthology sometime, that's how you do a flight sim)
-Crysis and Crysis Warhead (Surprisingly good, aside from several script bugs)
-Dead Space (Derpy controls at first, annoying enemies at worst... it's like if you make a horror game about frogs, they aren't much of a threat or that scary, but it'd be annoying if you had to kill all of them to open a door)
-Borderlands (Of course, I maxed this out on the 360... now to do it again, great game..)
-Serious Sam HD (Has a similar annoying enemy design as Dead Space, but is more fun to clear them. First Encounter has an annoying number of enemies sometimes, but Second Encounter does it right.)
-Command and Conquer 4 (Worst. RTS. Ever.)
-Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3 (Pretty fun so far, but it breaks a few minor rules of RTS's, IE: make sure you can tell the units apart in a hurry. This could have been fixed by giving a few of the more samey units a stronger tint)
-Dungeons (It's not Dungeon Keeper, if you are expecting Dungeon Keeper then stay away.)
For other games I played Hydra Castle Labyrinth (quick jump before I let the LP spoil me). Good balance. Could use a few tiny tweaks, but a good game overall.
I'm now level 77 in Progress Quest.
Other
In completely unrelated news, I'm losing weight. Yay me.
Questions or Comments? Post them. Tinkering on my games is really all I have so anything to break up the time would be nice.
New Construction Options, Lok
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Extremely Important News This Week
I got a new computer so I'll be playing all my Steam games, especially the ones I've never played before, in a row. This means I won't be doing any work for at least a week. Apparently they added achievements to Counter-Strike: Source so I'll start with that.
Friday, April 22, 2011
I Think I'm in a Zone of Some Sort
I've just completed my book. It was quite detailed and seemed have been written with people like me in mind... Extra-patronizing at the beginning, scarily laconic at the end.
Using the book, I created (technically re-created) two of the examples; Zool and Shadows on Deck. Shouldn't be too hard to figure out what the book was. It taught me a lot about efficient code. For example: If a value has to be between two ranges, use a MEDIAN calculation... It's cut almost 2/3's of my code down (not median alone, but the tricks in general). I also learned how to use nPr and nCr in AI calculations, faster collision detection, extended Boolean symbols and such from other sources during this time.
It recommends I buy some peripheral software to assist in my game making. Photoshop CS3 (at the time, I think they're at CS5 right now) and Anime Studio Debut 7 for example. I can't really afford either... if I had money I'd probably go to school. So I'll be using GrafX2 (I stand by this program), GIMP, and Pivot.
Another thing. I've always treated graphics and story as extras that aren't a core part of gameplay, but the book showed me how designing graphics and story can lead to emergent gameplay. While making the sample game Zool I noticed how much the graphics were the life of the game. When I make a platformer the placeholder graphic I use is always the Game Maker default Bronze Lock. It's square, transparent, has a visible core and is non-symmetrical... BTW: Game Maker is now up to version 8.1, yay.
I've also started italicizing titles. Not required, but it looks nicer.
Current Projects
A competitor is making a new flash game and I promised I'd match his production schedule. He released a simple demo today and I'm not that far yet. But, since I know I'm making a platformer I think I might just release the physics engine as the demo to see if anyone likes it. I know people like to be able to adjust their jump height, but I prefer fast fixed jumps so there are no mistakes. I'll probably include a second/third character who has different wall and jumping physics. But for the demo I'll stick to what I like. Of course, I don't know where I can put the executable where people can play it. I've uploaded engines to Yoyo Games before, but they're in .gmk so a person would need Game Maker 8 Pro (or 8.1 Standard) to run them.
PLACEHOLDER: If I find an upload site I like I'll replace this line with the link.
Other Projects
I've been thinking of reviving Cytomight, but based on YET ANOTHER very similar game recently commercially released I'm going to have to rework it completely. I know no one is stealing ideas, it's just one of those coincidental things. My Castlequest clone is going well, I've fixed the graphics buggies through new tips from the design book. I've been thinking of making a simple dual shooter zombie game (they're popular) to get a "something" released. Also, since I've been playing Transcendence a lot I've been thinking of making a 2D space racing game. I remember such races from Operation: Inner Space. I can hear my bro playing Blood & Magic on his PC, which reminds me I have a monsters game project way way back on the backest burner.
Gaming
Played a little Left 4 Dead 2 and some Magicka, but I've been concentrating on my work lately.
This
About the blog. I want more hits so I think I might use the ads thinger. Should I allow unregistered users to leave comments? I like comments, they give me direction. People could email me too, but I rarely read my emails due to the mountains of automated messages I get intentionally (I could opt out, but I'm watching for sales.)
Anyways:
Since it took a while to finish the book I've gotten into the habit of working on my projects every day and how to make a good design document. If I could just figure out how to use Celtx I could be on my way to my first release (of a game).
I'm on my way, Lok.
Using the book, I created (technically re-created) two of the examples; Zool and Shadows on Deck. Shouldn't be too hard to figure out what the book was. It taught me a lot about efficient code. For example: If a value has to be between two ranges, use a MEDIAN calculation... It's cut almost 2/3's of my code down (not median alone, but the tricks in general). I also learned how to use nPr and nCr in AI calculations, faster collision detection, extended Boolean symbols and such from other sources during this time.
It recommends I buy some peripheral software to assist in my game making. Photoshop CS3 (at the time, I think they're at CS5 right now) and Anime Studio Debut 7 for example. I can't really afford either... if I had money I'd probably go to school. So I'll be using GrafX2 (I stand by this program), GIMP, and Pivot.
Another thing. I've always treated graphics and story as extras that aren't a core part of gameplay, but the book showed me how designing graphics and story can lead to emergent gameplay. While making the sample game Zool I noticed how much the graphics were the life of the game. When I make a platformer the placeholder graphic I use is always the Game Maker default Bronze Lock. It's square, transparent, has a visible core and is non-symmetrical... BTW: Game Maker is now up to version 8.1, yay.
I've also started italicizing titles. Not required, but it looks nicer.
Current Projects
A competitor is making a new flash game and I promised I'd match his production schedule. He released a simple demo today and I'm not that far yet. But, since I know I'm making a platformer I think I might just release the physics engine as the demo to see if anyone likes it. I know people like to be able to adjust their jump height, but I prefer fast fixed jumps so there are no mistakes. I'll probably include a second/third character who has different wall and jumping physics. But for the demo I'll stick to what I like. Of course, I don't know where I can put the executable where people can play it. I've uploaded engines to Yoyo Games before, but they're in .gmk so a person would need Game Maker 8 Pro (or 8.1 Standard) to run them.
PLACEHOLDER: If I find an upload site I like I'll replace this line with the link.
Other Projects
I've been thinking of reviving Cytomight, but based on YET ANOTHER very similar game recently commercially released I'm going to have to rework it completely. I know no one is stealing ideas, it's just one of those coincidental things. My Castlequest clone is going well, I've fixed the graphics buggies through new tips from the design book. I've been thinking of making a simple dual shooter zombie game (they're popular) to get a "something" released. Also, since I've been playing Transcendence a lot I've been thinking of making a 2D space racing game. I remember such races from Operation: Inner Space. I can hear my bro playing Blood & Magic on his PC, which reminds me I have a monsters game project way way back on the backest burner.
Gaming
Played a little Left 4 Dead 2 and some Magicka, but I've been concentrating on my work lately.
This
About the blog. I want more hits so I think I might use the ads thinger. Should I allow unregistered users to leave comments? I like comments, they give me direction. People could email me too, but I rarely read my emails due to the mountains of automated messages I get intentionally (I could opt out, but I'm watching for sales.)
Anyways:
Since it took a while to finish the book I've gotten into the habit of working on my projects every day and how to make a good design document. If I could just figure out how to use Celtx I could be on my way to my first release (of a game).
I'm on my way, Lok.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
April Tweet 2 - I Got A Book!
Bought a school text book on game design. Gonna run through the entire book (quite thick, like 1200 pages). It's not a how-to guide or an instructional... it's more like a children's math textbook with quick how-to's and problems to solve with an answer key in the back. I will be solving this book over the next few days which will help getting me into "Good Work Habits" and programming regularly.
Friday, April 15, 2011
April Tweet - New Game Idea
Minor update.
I got a brilliant idea for a game while watching some footage of Alien/Devil Crush. A cross between a pinball game, and a Shoot 'em up.
You'd move the ball around like a normal pinball (flippers and paddles), BUT you got guns which you control like Smash TV (Dual-Stick Shooter). Shoot enemies and bosses and stuff.
I got a brilliant idea for a game while watching some footage of Alien/Devil Crush. A cross between a pinball game, and a Shoot 'em up.
You'd move the ball around like a normal pinball (flippers and paddles), BUT you got guns which you control like Smash TV (Dual-Stick Shooter). Shoot enemies and bosses and stuff.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)