Ludum Dare - Right Near the End of Day 1

Well, the first day of Ludum Dare #21 is almost over for me.

Sorry I didn't post earlier (when the compo began) but I was tired.

So, here's my ten-second idea for a game:

1. You are a dude in a room (good start, huh?)
2. You have to escape from the room
3. You don't have very much time; you have to move quickly
4. There is stuff in your way

The title is Hazard. I'm expecting to have basic platforming gameplay and a handful of rooms at a bare minimum.

I will probably eventually pick this up again after the compo ends.

Today, I got a few things done. I have a bunch of boilerplate as well as a player model with a full animation skeleton and a cruddy hand-painted texture.

Here's a render of the model:

Peace, love, and sufficient rest,

--- Henry

Thoughts About Ludum Dare #21

Ludum Dare #21 begins tomorrow night. I'm very excited for this one. I know what I want to do for it, I have a solid strategy, and I have the tools lined up for it.

Unstoppable.

I'm probably going to do a platformer or a top-down game unless the theme strikes me otherwise.

It will use procedural content if that proves to be workable for the theme, otherwise it will be, well, a prototype.

If I can shoehorn my current platformer into the theme, I'll toss what I have of it and use Ludum Dare to prototype it.

Tomorrow, I'm probably going to play my DS, hang out in IRC, and probably post on here once or twice with plans or thoughts.

Peace, love, and the drive to compete,

--- Henry

Today Isn't So Lazy After All

Well, it turns out that today wasn't a completely lazy day. I've gotten started on a 2.5D platformer which I will work on more after Ludum Dare.

It's a very simple game about a fox girl who navigates procedurally created levels using her natural fox agility while fighting baddies using hand-to-hand combat.

It's kind of a platformer and kind of a beat-em-up. I like the idea, myself.

But, that's going to be done after Ludum Dare. I've got some of the boilerplate, but that's about it.

Well, I've got something to do after Ludum Dare, anyway.

Peace, love, and the simplest possible solution,

--- Henry

Today is Pretty Much a Lazy Day

So far today I've gotten almost nothing done. Staying up last night was a mistake.

Today might well just be a lazy day for me. I'm not sure what I can get done. I'm tired. Not sleepy, but tired nonetheless.

So there might not be much that gets done today.

Peace, love, and lessons learned,

--- Henry

My Role as a Game Developer

I have thought a bit about my role as a game developer. This is important to me because I want to be good at my hobby.

I have realized that my role is to bring people emotionally satisfying experiences. At the core of game design and development is that fact. The player should feel satisfied after playing your game.

My forte in this (if I have one) would seem to be making small, relaxing games. My best games have been that sort. Though I've tried to write larger and more exciting games, I'm really best at relaxing games.

So from now I suppose I will work toward that goal.

I recently added a fish pond gadget to the top of my blog page. I intend to leave it there as a symbol of what I mean by "painting with code." It sums up my goals very well. (Mind you, I didn't create that gadget, but it still represents my goals)

So now... I don't know what I'll do today, to be honest. But hopefully I'll have something in mind later.

Peace, love, and a sense of purpose,

--- Henry

Musings About Small Games

I've been thinking a bit about small games. It seems like smaller games are often more fun than larger games. In fact, I think that I enjoy small games more than large games.

This is in conflict with my larger projects. I guess I don't know how I feel about those projects right now. This is tough for me.

Here's what I'm thinking. Smaller games are easier to make and often easier to play. They can be more fun because they require less effort to play. They have more compact premises by their nature, which creates more fun by having less clutter.

So why am I working on large games? I don't quite know.

You folks can expect some smaller projects from me, though. I promise you that much.

Peace, love, and early morning ideas,

--- Henry

A Third Project

Okay, so... I've decided that there is a third project that I want to work on. That makes three.

This "third project" is an overhead shooter called Cave Runner, which is about fighting through procedurally generated caves in a little ship that the player constructs by putting together parts. The ship is made up of a nose piece, a rear piece, and two side pieces. These pieces are unlocked as the player plays the game more. Many of these have weapons, and all contribute to the ship's armor and speed. Mostly, the nose has weapons, the rear has speed, and the sides have armor and weapons; there are exceptions to this, though, including side thrusters and rear guns.

I will work on this more today (it's around 3AM here as I'm writing this), and it will hopefully come out well.

I know that I want to make this an artistic game. I will be able to find some source of artistic merit for it, I'm sure. That being said, that'll be for later today.

Also, I will be working more on Afternoon Adventures today and hopefully have some kind of prototype of map movement by this evening. (By "map movement" I mean movement in the world between battles)

Here's hoping today is productive, huh?

Peace, love, and lots of work to do,

--- Henry