Prototyping a Game

I love prototyping a new game. However the prototype is not where the development of the game really started. Heck I don't start coding till I already have a good idea of how all the gameplay and fun will be attained. So the prototyping in reality is the realization of the fun gameplay ideal I have in my head, or on paper. It is more the proof of concept than the idea itself, it is also not a full game.

So once I have the idea of the game in my head I tend to put it down onto paper. This is not always a set regimen either, it varies how much I write on the type of the game and most importantly my familiarity with the genre. Shooters for example I tend to write less, but platform games I will write more.

Once on paper I start deciding how I will code the game if I go ahead. This always leads me to start actually coding the game and therefore the prototype. The prototype can be simple as well, as I only really need to prove to myself that the game is viable. Sometimes the control will simply not come along nicely and I will then abandon the prototype. If as is usual the control scheme feels good, then I get all excited and need to move along as fast as possible.

This is when it is exciting as I code in the details of the game to expand the prototype and start in on making it a complete game.

Laters
Da Voodoochief

Avatar Berzerkatron Initial Gameplay Video

I told ya i would post it, and here it is.



Woohoo! It's a mess. But messy is what it is about. Think about the name of the game and you will realise that it is a mixture of classic games. But in a whole new way (i hate that last sentence, i hate seeing it on other game descriptions too!). It is really a melding of two classic games that i love. Brought into a more modern and waaay messier look.

Hope ya like what ya see, and as this is a  PC video, well the avatar is a set of bones only. the next gameplay video will feature a temp sprite in his place i think.

Laters

Dreamland Chronicles for the WM7 platform

I got an email several days ago saying that the open submissions would start on November 3rd. well it is noevmber 3rd now. I have stayed awake to be ready for the off and Whammo get my Dreamland game out onto this platform.

I am lucky enough to have a friend who has done this port for me of my Xblig title. If it looks ok on the machine we will port some other of my games. However I am still unable to post at the moment.

I know they may have mean't 'sometime' during the day, but heck i am Pacific time, it should be now!! it is a new day.

I have been so excited about this all day as well. Guess i'll need to try and sleep :S

G'night.

Whats in a Name (partial Post Mortem)

Here is a post mortem on the name of my recent Xblig game.

It seems quite a lot really. Mostly it is funny how ya don't always realise what is right in front of ya nose.

Take for example my most recent game 'A Shooter'. I did quite a lot of research in game names that were popular for the iPhone. I found that a lot of games for the iphone name iBlah did rather well. In fact of the large list of games that started their name with the letter 'i', most had done rather better than other similar named games. How is this so? Well i don't know of course, but that wasn't gonna stop me using this information to make the name of my game better and more sellable.

But research is only as good as two things (well two that come immediately to mind).
1. Applying this research.
2. Attention to the details of the research.

I did not quite pay enough attention to number 2. I had all the right information, but i failed to notice one vital thing. I did not apply my research properly (number 1). I did it wrong and simply put i ... Well wait... Have you already figured out the mistake only a buffoon could make?

Let's give ya a clue....
Here is a few of the researched names.
 iShooter
 iFart
Ad here is the name of My game,
 A Shooter

So? did ya notice the difference? Yeah... I should have made the name 'aShooter' and NOT 'A Shooter'.

It may seem like a silly and subtle mistake, but it has had some dire consequences. For example, you cannot search for my games name. If you do, you will be inundated with so many fps shooter games it is insane. It is just not possible to find my game. This is really bad, and i would suggest anyone that is thinking of naming their game, they go do a simple Google search to see if it is still advisable.

Please take this as a cautionary tale. Think first,and before you act, think again.

I removed my Xblig reserved name today ("A Platformer"). i am sure you all know why.

g'night

Game and Menus systems

I have been rewriting the way my game is put together.

It is a royal pain in the butt, though i believe it will be worth it. ya see i have a hybrid system in place that another programmer i was working with introduced into my base system. Then he never quite got to finishing it all and i did finish it, only not quite consistantly (it wasn't my vision after all). so now i have decided is the time to do the big change i want.

Simply put i want to
Separate out the Menu system from the Game system. They can converse through some nice function calling to tell each other what is happening. One of the main reasons for doing this change is that i really want my options screen to be able to appear while the game is running underneath (though paused i am sure :) ). I cannot do that the way things are in A shooter. It is work and doesnt feel like i am being very productive with the small amount of time i have. However it will make my future stuff more consistant and i believe faster to create.

I now have all the menu code ripped out and introduced a much more succinct naming system for acessing other classes etc. Getting it to compile was a pain, as i am used to C and C++ and just cos C# says it doesn't have headers, it might as well. It's all the freaking same in the end.

Anyway, time for bed for me.
G'night