GBGames - Thoughts on Indie Game Development http://gbgames.com/blog An Indie Game Developer's somewhat interesting thoughts Mon, 30 Aug 2010 16:56:58 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en My Game Design Prototype Toolbox Last year I posted about my shopping trip to a hobby store to buy game design prototyping tools. Some weeks ago, I bought even more items, such as tiny wooden barrels and glass beads. These tools are great for doing quick and easy paper prototypes of game designs.

I’ve been keeping them in small plastic bags, . . . → Read More: My Game Design Prototype Toolbox]]> http://gbgames.com/blog/2010/08/my-game-design-prototype-toolbox/ LD18: Stop That Hero! Ported to Win32! I’ve updated my LD final entry page, but I wanted to let you know that I finally created a Stop That Hero! Windows port (2.2MB)!

Now you have no excuse not to play! Well, assuming you don’t use a Mac. Or some other OS. Then you have an . . . → Read More: LD18: Stop That Hero! Ported to Win32!]]> http://gbgames.com/blog/2010/08/ld18-stop-that-hero-ported-to-win32/ LD18: Stop That Hero! Development Time Lapse! Here’s the time lapse for my 72 hours of development on Stop That . . . → Read More: LD18: Stop That Hero! Development Time Lapse!]]> http://gbgames.com/blog/2010/08/ld18-stop-that-hero-development-time-lapse/ LD18: Stop That Hero! Is Finished! I apparently needed sleep and a third day to get this game completed, but here it is!

So far, the Stop That Hero! Linux version (1.6MB) is all I have. I just started using CMake for my build scripts, so please let me know if the game won’t run on your computer. Get the Stop That Hero! . . . → Read More: LD18: Stop That Hero! Is Finished!]]> http://gbgames.com/blog/2010/08/ld18-stop-that-hero-is-finished/ LD18: I’m In the Home Stretch I’m at the final iteration!

Basically, the tasks I have left:

create instructions screen add sound effects package this baby up!

In the last iteration, I was play testing and balancing as best as I could. I decided that the bat was too expensive, so I moved it down in front of the slime in . . . → Read More: LD18: I’m In the Home Stretch]]> http://gbgames.com/blog/2010/08/ld18-im-in-the-home-stretch/ LD18: Let’s Keep on Jammin’! I missed the deadline for the main compo, but I can still submit my game to the Ludum Dare Jam. The deadline is 24 hours after the end of the compo, so I have until 9PM tonight to finish this game.

After a good night’s rest, I woke up with bug fixes. Seriously, I was lying . . . → Read More: LD18: Let’s Keep on Jammin’!]]> http://gbgames.com/blog/2010/08/ld18-lets-keep-on-jammin/ LD18: Missed the Deadline but Continuing On I got to Iteration 3 by scrapping some of the art and animations I had planned for Iteration 2. Those story points go back into the backlog.

Iteration 3 was a bear. It was where a lot of the advanced AI had to be implemented. I’ve never done A*. Most of my AI was very simplistic, which . . . → Read More: LD18: Missed the Deadline but Continuing On]]> http://gbgames.com/blog/2010/08/ld18-missed-the-deadline-but-continuing-on/ LD18: Good Morning, Ludum Dare!

I went to bed after 5:30AM after getting some rudimentary AI in. I don’t know why the ground-based characters have no second-thoughts about going through the trees and mountains. If anything, they should want to avoid them. I’m sure there’s a bug in the implementation.

I woke up feeling fairly crappy, but I know what will fix . . . → Read More: LD18: Good Morning, Ludum Dare!]]> http://gbgames.com/blog/2010/08/ld18-good-morning-ludum-dare/ LD18: My, What a Fancy World You Have There!

What you see is the game’s rendering of a small 50×32 image, blown up below:

Besides creating a world tile map, it also figures out where to place towers, chests, and the castle. The black spot is the hero’s spawn point. Red squares represent chests with health in them, and yellow ones represent chests with weapon upgrades. . . . → Read More: LD18: My, What a Fancy World You Have There!]]> http://gbgames.com/blog/2010/08/ld18-my-what-a-fancy-world-you-have-there/ LD18: Lots of Work Left and LD Is Halfway Through?! I had some fig bars as a snack as the evening wore on.

My fantastic and amazing girlfriend made me a taco dinner, which was so delicious that my taste buds were fist-bumping each other.

I went to a party my friends were hosting so I could take a short break and get some much-needed social time, . . . → Read More: LD18: Lots of Work Left and LD Is Halfway Through?!]]> http://gbgames.com/blog/2010/08/ld18-lots-of-work-left-and-ld-is-halfway-through/