Tuesday, 29 January 2013

Upgrades: Done!

So I finally got all the upgrades done. As the game progresses, the player can buy features for the character. Some upgrades make the character jump higher, some advance the story. Also, all player-related upgrades make cosmetical changes to the character.

Upgrades!

I'm still battling with myself on whether I will add more upgrades to the game. I'm a bit worried that too many upgrades will destroy the game balance. Of course, cosmetic upgrades do not affect the gameplay, so maybe I will use those! Of course, the game doesn't need them, so maybe I'll consider putting them in when I upgrade the game.

So far, the gameplay in running mode has a few bugs, but it's already quite a fun little game. I'm still trying to make it even more fun. Onward to sounds!

- Ron

Tuesday, 15 January 2013

Runner mode: almost done

So, the runnermode is just about ready. Most of graphics are in place, and most of the objects are in place. Still a few things to do: The game is still missing "happenings" and upgrades. The happening will be random things that happen within the game. More on the subject as I finalize them. Upgrades will be stuff you can for your character, such as the ability to jump higher. Upgrades will use "hearts" that you pickup within the game.

It's playable! Also: Hearts!
Now, the progress in the game has been relatively smooth. I'm still trying to decide a few things, such as can the player buy costumes for the character. The game itself is already quite a fun little game. Loading times are reasonable, and the main running mode doesn't have any loading times, which is quite good.

Still ways to go, but soon I'll be ready to show the improved adventure mode. Until then.

- Ron

Friday, 11 January 2013

Progress

The first version of the adventure mode is ready. Parts of the graphics have also been added to the scene. There's not much to see right now, but here's the rundown: By tapping the scene, the player moves to the point of the tap. If there's something to do, the player can tap the object on the scene to use it. This mode brings a welcome change to the endless runner mode. It also advances the story of the game.

Adventure mode.
A new character can also be seen on this picture. A old hag who helps you during your game. She also sells you upgrades to make your game progress smoother. 

I'll continue to work on the game as fast as I can. Next time I'll have the running mode ready, with graphics, if everything goes to plan. 

- Ron

Monday, 7 January 2013

The basic gameplay

The basic engine for the game is now ready. There's the main layer that scrolls endlessly, there's the player character, and an obstacle. The player jumps by pressing your finger on the left side of the screen. The longer you keep your finger down, the higher the character jumps.

Dark gray: player and floor tiles. Light gray: bg-scroller. Red: Obstacle.
The first obstacle is also ready. If the player hits the obstacle, he gets kicked back, and the game ends. The game ends when the character drops out of the screen, so a pushback can throw the character out. The obstacle will also be used as a collectible.

Tha platforms are placed randomly on scene. Also, the longer you run, the faster the scene repeats. A pretty basic endless runner stuff.

All in all it looks pretty good. Right now the game runs great, 60 frames per second on an iPhone 4. We'll see how well it runs after all the elements, such as graphics and sounds, have been added.

That's it for now. Next, graphics, adventure mode, and more stuff!

- Ron

Thursday, 3 January 2013

From concept to reality

The first creature of the game has is ready! This is the most important creature in the endless runner, since it actually has something to do with the plot of the game. I call the creature "unireaper". Basically, it's a creature that taunts those that have wronged other people.  This creature will be the basis of all the monsters in the game.


The sketch and the final creature.
I'm really trying to keep with that Amiga look in the games' objects. That's also one of the main reasons for the color pallette I have chosen for this particular object. At points, there will be quite a few of these monsters flying around. I'm quite happy with it. The final creature was done in Pixel, which is quite a nice pixel drawing program. Especially since it isn't as buggy as before.

Next, if everything goes to plan, I'll have the first playable version of the game running. Until then.

- Ron

Wednesday, 2 January 2013

Choosing the style

My design process for a game is pretty straightforward. First I create an idea, how the game will work. Then I choose the gameplay elements. At this point, I will also start creating the "world" of the game: Plot, creatures and so on. This will continue through the project. When my basic pitch for the game is ready, I will start designing art for the game. This includes the concept art and the actual game art. Then comes the rest, music, effects and so on. Finally, the most obnoxious part, the testing and fixing the found bugs, comes into play. It's just iteration there, and this part is some really boring work.

Right now I'm choosing the game style. I have decided that the game will be an endless runner. I chose an endless runner -type of game because project AH will be released for iOS. Endless runner seems like a good fit for iPhone and iPad, and since I have not created that kind of a game before, it will also be a learning process for me. However, the game will also have an adventure game vibe, in a way that I have not yet seen being used in a game. So, in some aspects, the game will be experimental.

Here's the first quick sketch I made. It's really simple, no real details, just the idea and the basic outlook.

A REALLY quick sketch.

It's real basic, but don't let it scare you. It'll evolve.

Now, the next thing is to start creating the plot, and start creating the first working version of the game. Here I will also start testing how different gameplay elements will work together. If something doesn't quite work, It's better to remove it BEFORE I have created the art and other elements for it.

Right now I'm in the final stages of designing the adventure -side of the game. It includes pretty much everything even slightly adventurish. I have a text file, where I have contained every idea for that side of the game, and now the ground work is almost done. Next, I will start combining the two sides: the endless runner and the adventure game.

Until next time.

- Ron




Tuesday, 18 December 2012

Project AH

One of my favorite computers of all time is Amiga 500. I never owned one, since I was a C64 -guy at that point, but when visiting a friend who had one, I was always impressed by it's audiovisual quality. Ultimas, Pinball Dreams/Fantasies, Alien Breed, Lotus 2, Shadow of the Beast... So many quality games.

One of the main selling points of Amiga were it's graphics, which were instantly recognizable. The limited (But still huge!) pallette gave the games of the era a certain... Something, that I feel is missing from todays games.

This is where Project AH comes in.

Project AH is a game for iPhone that I'm currently working on. What I'm trying to do here, is bring back that certain Amiga flavor, for iOs. Granted, it won't be 100% Amigazed (Is that a word?), but I'm really planning to bring that retro-coolness back. Time will tell, whether I succeed in this project.

I have attached the first picture from the game in this post. This will be the main character of the game.


I'll continue updating this blog as the project evolves.

In the next posts, I will talk about the game mechanics and the genre of the game I'll be developing. I will have something new to show by then.

- Ron