Wicked Edge

I have so many game ideas in my head and I want to do them all.  Currently, I am making a game for BlueLid Labs. (follow them on twitter @BlueLidLabs)  That game, though I cannot divulge anything about it, is going to be awesome!  I am having a lot of fun creating that one. 

So for my own personal hobby game project (when I have time) will be a simple game, a nice platformer in the tradition of Mario Brothers where you get to explore a new world, kick the butts of bad guys, and have a good ole time.  It will be kid friendly.  It will be a good time.  More updates later and perhaps a sneak peak demo.

Game making has been on hold for awhile fo a number of reasons.

1. I have a real job.

2. We added a child to the family.

So game making has been on the very back burner, but hopefully I will be able to find some room to move it up a little closer to the front.

-Management

I am always looking for "the better way".  Today I discovered The Game Prodigy blog/site and am glad that I did.  In several of the posts, the author (Brice Morrison) discussions the Game Design Canvas. 

From his introductory post:

"Through analyzing countless independent and corporate titles over the course of the last several years, I’ve come to believe that there is a standard way of designing and studying games.  Changes in the industry don’t disrupt it.  New companies, new genres, and new controllers don’t change it.  Independent or corporate, these rules are the same.  These are systemic laws that are immutable.  Developers ignore them at their own risk.

This approach is called the Game Design Canvas.  It is made up of five different components: The Core Experience, Base Mechanics, Reward and Punishment Structures, Long Term Incentive, and Aesthetic Layout.  The Game Design Canvas’s goal is to provide a powerful analytical and planning tool for developers, independent and industry veterans alike.  All games have aspects that can be represented in the Canvas, and through it, it is possible to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of any game for the purposes of study and improvement on future projects."⁽¹⁾

Right off the bat this approach has spoken to me.  Not an expert yet, but I will be using the Game Design Canvas in creating my games.  In fact, I have already started using it in designing my current game. 

I've started to define the Core Experience, which Brice says:

"This is the feeling that the game is trying to evoke, the .inner emotion that the player is going through as they play."⁽¹⁾

It is fun to do this and very liberating and empowering.  It gives me direction, which gives my enormous confidence in the game.

I suggest you read the article and the subsequent ones on the topic of The Game Design Canvas.

⁽¹⁾The Game Design Canvas: An Introduction. 

I stayed up late into the night working on my game, and in it I want certain sprites, when touched by the player, to go to a certain spot in the HUD and stay there;  I apparently need to learn more about vectors and the math associated with them.  So for now, they are just going to magically appear there with no seeking.  Eventually I will.

The game is coming along well; I have a system using Tiled map editor to create the levels and actionscript code to put them on the screen.  Pretty slick.  I am using flixel, which makes it incredibly awesome and easy, and for the basic tile map import I am using code from this lithander.  I have enemies in the game, some things to help you out, and (the best part so far) sound effects.

Coming along!

I have started building a platform game; All the details aren't hashed out yet and I don't have any stellar graphics, but the prospects of a fantastic game are looking good.  The game will be in the traditional style of platformers: run, jump, avoid and kill enemies, get powerups, etc.  A simple idea, but one that I think will work.  There will be a story line, which we are hashing out.

Here is a first screen shot.  Nothing amazing, but proof (and commitment) that a game is in the works!

P.S. The player is the red square