I've got a feeling. A bit of an Inkling.

So full disclosure: I'm a little more tired than I was expecting, but I had to do something to fill in the 2 hours I have to wait before this international skype conference. Plus I've had this Inkling for like 2 weeks and hadn't even tried it yet. It seemed like the perfect thing to fill the time. Of course, when it came time to actually draw something I had absolutely no inspiration, but whatever. Ninjas.

So obviously on the right we have a badly taken mobile phone photo of the sketch, on the left we have Inkling's interpretation.

All up it's a lot better than I was expecting... Some bits are obviously missing and I guess I must've bumped the reader at some point, but as a base that I can then go over in photoshop it could be pretty useful. Also I should've had a better book to draw in probably.

I have a feeling I'm also too reliant on ctrl+z these days as well.

Prototype 1 - Ninja-San: The Tea Party is over!!!

Okay, so let's type critically about things.

First things first: The first prototype I made after getting GameMaker was Ninja-San: etc, etc. Play it here.

What it's all about:
You're a ninja, you can only leap to get around, and you can stick to walls and ceilings. You have to get from the start location to the end point as quickly and safely as possible.

How it came about:
The phrase has been in my head for as long as I can remember. I like the idea of taking something stupid, or something that doesn't immediately lend itself to being a game and then making a game from it. If possible, that would be the entire point of every game I make. I also like ninjas and tea parties.

What works:
The gameplay itself worked pretty much as intended and I (at least) enjoyed how it worked. Controls needed some refinement but the idea was there. I'm pretty sure this kind of gameplay works well for mobile devices. It was also what I did while learning GameMaker, so at least I learnt something. Fuck yeah ninjas.

What doesn't:
Gameplay is super simplistic and there's not a great deal there (not actually adding in any other gameplay elements didn't help, of course). Ninjas are kind of over-saturated and not everyone likes them (spoiler: those people are crazy because ninjas are great). The core gameplay mechanic is also pretty weak; There's not much in the way of risk/reward and there's really only one skill component to the game. Lastly, because I started this while learning GameMaker, I've done some pretty stupid things just solely because I didn't realise there was a better way. Also while thinking about the game I tended to go a little nuts with the scope when I really should've been trying to keep it as simple as possible.

What's missing/what can fix it:
All the art, possibly with different tilesets for variety's sake. A better skill mechanic around the jumping (which would be increased speed/power for jumping within a short timeframe after landing, not the other control options). Other level mechanics/obstacles, such as: Fake/trick walls, guards, pits, moving platforms, switches, etc. Maybe a secondary mechanic for scoring, like collectables. Many additional levels. Menus and progression screens. Monetization options (maybe). Bug fixing.

What's bad:
Level layouts are fine but take a lot of time and testing. Additional tilesets may also require a fair amount of time. I'm not sure it really works outside of mobile games, but maybe could as a web-based game (side note: I need to get out of the mentality that I should only be making mobile games).Monetization could be tricky, but not being free to play could limit reach. I wasn't considering monetization during the initial design phase so the core gameplay exists seperate to any intended pay points. Maybe I could do a demo/unlock model (first act is free, everything else is paid), but that does mean having to cram more hook into the first act... and having enough of a distinction between acts.

Conclusions:
I'm pretty confident I can make this a game I'd want to play, but realistically there's a lot of work there. Pretty sure I can do it in 12 months, and pretty sure a ninja/anime styled game would get attention at AVCon.

So, there we go. Have I missed anything? Am I lying to myself about anything? Am I not being critical or harsh enough? Let me know!

Road to AVCON 2014 Pt. 2

Ok so: Revised plan.

I have about 3 prototypes in GameMaker plus 2 more concepts that I'd be interested in doing maybe. However, I'm not even going to consider making prototypes for them at the moment, but only if I don't feel I can salvage the ones I've got already.

Of course, there are also a few other things I need to get around to as well. I really regretted not having a swag business card to give to people at PAX, but I can't really have that without having a proper logo and website.

So current plan:
- Assess current prototypes.
- Assess whats needed to be done.
- Do the things.

I had to stay up for a skype call, plus Summer Games Done Quick (which is both amazing and awesome) is on, so I also added CL4P-TP, R2-D2 and Squirtle rather than do anything too productive. Also, I think this is going to be a thing now.

Road to AVCON 2014

So due to popular demand I've decided to set my goal on having at least one game ready to show off at AVCON 2014 (AVCON being Adelaide's premier anime and video games convention).

Admittedly, I had intended to flounder on this step for some time before actually doing anything worth while, based on not actually knowing the date would be for some time. However, even a cursory glance at the website shows that they've already picked the date for it... So I guess I have really no excuse here.

So, looks like I've got just under a year to do something. Totes achievable. Let's rock.

Also, Robocop and Judge Dredd included for no reason what so ever. I just had to check I could still use a tablet. Seems like its been a while.

The Usual Suspects

I don't want to make another "Oh no! Look at all the days I've missed" post so let's just gloss over that.

Now that the prototype is done, I want to just hammer out a bunch of art and effects to make it look pretty and take it to alpha. I had figured that it might be best to actually do some concepts before deciding on a design, but I don't think I'm going to come up with anything cool in a rushed lunch hour, so maybe it's just better to go with it this time? It's not like I'm trying to convey some kind of particular idea to a different artist or anything.

I do have some things in mind though:
- I have fallen in love with the idea of having multiple player characters that control differently and have different bonuses, but I'm also lazy and don't want to have to do multiple versions of the sprites. It's time to take a page out of the great ninja guidebook that is Mortal Kombat, and just pallete swap some sprites. The colour schemes and colour areas need to be easy to support in that respect.

- To keep things interesting, I want to ensure there are male and female player characters. But again, I'm lazy so I'd like to keep the base sprite fairly androgynous and maybe make a couple of attachments (Long hair, thicker arms, etc) to separate the sexes.

- I am extremely aware that I'm likely to be cheaping out on animation, but there needs to be some movement on the screen to make it look pretty. I'm looking at effects and stuff that can be reused but trailing objects (tassles, ribbons, hair, etc) might be an easy thing to add that can give a few more frames difference to the movement.

- I'm also a little torn between the over all theme. I was kind of working from a traditional stereotypical ninja type look, but I've also been thinking about scifi-ish cyber ninjas, or even something with a modern twist (like the anime Samurai Champloo).

Oh I've been told these posts can get a little depressing... I just figured that was my gimmick but I'll endevour to lighten the mood a little bit. So with that in mind, I'll try to end every post with a ninja joke, at least until I get bored of it and slump down the spiral of game development depression once more. So:

Q: Why did the ninja cross the road?
A: What ninja?

Thank you very much I'll be here all week.

Ninja-san the prototype is over.

Just a screenshot. 

Prototype updated! Check it out here:

http://www.bigstompyrobots.com/ninjasan/

(Also, just because I didn't make it clear last time: Click anywhere (or tap if you're on a touch screen) and the ninja will leap in that direction. You have to make it from the green "S" block to the red "E" block as quick as you can)

So, I know I seem to be saying this quite a bit, but I think I'm done with the prototype now. Now added:
- This incredibly classy and stylish start screen.
- Converting the timer into minutes and seconds.
- More refined jump checking based on how you are grabbing the block.
- Level resetting.

This also brings a lot of things with it that have the framework in place but not specifics (i.e. different game states and the ability to tweak the controls). I've also gone back through all the code so far and tidied and documented everything so I (hopefully) don't forget what I'm doing when I come back to it. That also managed to iron out a few bugs and odd things, but hasn't eliminated all the known bugs. I am still aware of:
- Ninja occasionally side grabs walls upside down.
- Ninja seems to get stuck rotating in his leap frame if you jump precisely as you collide with a block.

Despite going through the code and tidying stuff up, I still have no idea why these two are happening... But I think at this stage that's a problem for another day.

A true ninja always aims for the heart.

So... Missing days like it's going out of style.

The timer system has been added, but it's very basic so far. VERY basic. Touching the start floor (green block) will start the timer, touching the red block will end the timer and reset it. The timer is in seconds but doesn't display with minutes/seconds/milliseconds, so that's something still to do.

I've also had a look at the jump controls to try and make it so you can only jump away from the walls, but I may have been a little too spartan in deciding what a valid angle for that jump should be. Maybe I should also have it sort of self rectify and take the lowest angle jump regardless in the rough direction of the player input?

I'm also going to be heading out of town next week... I'll have my laptop but I'm wondering what exactly I'll be able to do from up there.