I've taken a break from game development for a few years now, with the craziness of the pandemic and LIFE.
I'm working on writing a new story for a game idea I've had for a number of years, with the goal of finishing up the story (at least) before the new year. I feel motivated and excited to finally be finishing this up. I am going to try and post updates here... but we'll see.
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After creating a few games in AGS, spending a month at a time on each, I'm excited to spend more time on a single project.
I worked with my partner a few years ago on a story for a full-length game, and I'm ready to jump back in. Initially I had hesitated as I wasn't sure how I wanted to code it (AGS, Wintermute, Unity, etc...). I was worried about failing or making stupid mistakes, as there is so much information out there. Three years later, I still have nothing done. I've realized that if I want to do this, then I need to stop worrying, and do what I love to do. So I'm moving forward with our game project, using AGS. I've really grown to love working with AGS. I've been learning Python, and really loving it. I created a simple Slack bot for work. So I looked into making games with Python, specifically Pygame. It seemed like there wasn't as much development of the tool, which was disappointing.
I forget how, but I stumbled onto Lua next. Coding in Lua was a bit like working in Python, in that it was easy and I could get things up and running pretty quick. Which led me to the Love2d (or LÖVE) framework, a 2D gaming framework for Lua. I've really enjoyed coding in it, and I'm currently working on a new game. A lot of programmers have created love modules in github. It's been fun being able to contribute to some of these, as I've been learning. While working on my newest game, I've been learning the Entity-Component-System framework. I've been using a ECS module specifically made by LOVE developers, and shared in github. Two actually, both with their own strengths (lovetoys and tiny-ecs). Coming from a data background, I really like the ECS framework. It's data-oriented, rather than object-oriented. Anyways... as always I'm trying my best to finish a complete game, and increase my game dev skills. Which isn't easy when you have a full-time job and responsibilities at home. But I really love this stuff! I'm trying out a new game engine in hopes of creating some 2D games. I was super excited to hear Unreal engine is now free for Indies, but I needed something more useful for 2D. Unreal was just too complicated for me to start with, but I hope to get back to it eventually.
For now I'm liking Godot, and I can't wait to finish my first game. I love MAGS. One month to make a full game, and I want to play again. So this month's MAGS theme is called 'Cross Country'. "Basically, create a game focused on a journey and a physical destination. Maybe it's a high-speed race, or maybe just a vacation. Pick a place to be and let your imagination fill in the details."
I'm trying to come up with an idea, and I don't like to spend too much time coming up with one. MAGS doesn't allow for taking too much time on anything. I found myself thinking of an old plot I had almost 12 years ago, when I was an undergrad. An adventure game where your character wakes up in a car, on the side of the road, in the middle of the desert, and he/she has no idea who they are. I never finished (or really started) this game, so maybe this is my chance. It would be part adventure, part mystery. So perhaps this time I'll focus more on storyline, than game play. We'll see! To be continued.... Waaay back in the early 90's, my parents got their hands on a Tandy 2000. Our first family computer. I fell in love instantly. The PC came with a handful of Basic text-adventure games. Once was about vampires, one was a darts game, another one had you fighting bulls... lots of fun scenarios. But my absolute favorite one was about killer bees. Killer bees were attacking the U.S. and you were responsible for protecting the country. It involved using different offensive and defensive strategies that resulted in killing bees, and/or causing casualties. A pure strategy game, with some elements of a simulation game. Two of my favorite genres.
I haven't played it in over 20 years, so I'm just going off of memory, but I basically want to create an updated version of this game. Currently I'm working on mostly the logic of the game, and the different options that will be given to the player. I'm excited to see this game come into fruition. It's a real favorite of mine, and I think other strategy fans will love it too. More details to come, as I work further on it. I'm trying to create a game for the February MAGS competition. I haven't been working on it as much as I did last month. Last month I put A LOT of hours into it, because I was afraid I wouldn't finish, being new to the engine. I like my idea, but it's been harder to implement than I thought it would be. Luckily I found an AGS module that has saved me a lot of time in scripting the game. This time around, I wanted to focus more on sound, voice, and animations than scripting technique. Since I'm so new to creating art though, it's taking me more time to finish. But so far I like the look of my backgrounds and animations. I don't want to write too much now, in case anyone is reading this prior to the end of the contest. :) It has to be a surprise! But I hope people like the animations and horrible voice-acting. Oh, and the gameplay is okay too. It's been quite awhile since I've seriously written code to IDE. Certainly over the years I've had ideas, and I've tended to them, and often written them down in one of the many notebooks I leave lying around. I'd think on them fondly. And I'd design in my head, when driving or waiting in line at the grocery store.
But I didn't really code. Building a game from scratch, and have it be something I deemed presentable, seemed impossible. Then one day, I was 'surfin' the net.' You know, like we do. Hopping from one google term to the next. And at some point I thought... what's the deal with game engines? I mean, are they even around anymore? I really didn't have a clue. My idea of a game engine was apparently still stuck back in 1995 or something. And as I went from one site to another, I realized I was missing out on so many powerful engines. I always had this idea that using game engines was 'cheating' or just not powerful enough to do what you wanted. Well, okay, I'm kicking myself now. In the space of 2 hours, I downloaded about four engines and read/watched about two tutorials. The next day I read even more, and narrowed down what engines I most likely would want to use. Unity, AGS, and Wintermute. AGS (Adventure Game Studio) would allow me to make the adventure games I've always wanted to play. And the same for Wintermute. AGS is especially great because of their active forums and amazing collection of adventure game fans. I was hooked immediately. Unity has all the tools (and documentation) I need to create the non-adventure games I've been dying to make. So I'm excited to say that I have my dev hat on again. And I'm pulling my old notebooks of game designs out, so I can finally bring these ideas to life. This is going to be fun. |