Regarding Blog Status

Hey guys it's been awhile. Sorry for not posting, I've been pretty busy with school to be actively on the blog to post content and such.

Few things

First, the status of the game. It's been on hold for a long time due to not having a prototype. I think it was too ambitious for our current skillsets. If you want to do a more manageable game, I'm all for it.


Second, for when we do make games, rather than using Gamemaker, we should switch to Stencyl. It is more robust and supports many platforms.


Third, you can keep doing the weekly game plays, but I think we should focus on learning to make games more. You can get a lot by playing games, but you can gain a lot more knowledge by just tackling the problem.

That being said

Last, we are doing monthly gamejam using whatever tool we have.

We're not necessarily doing it as a team either.
http://www.onegameamonth.com/

We're starting on the next gamejam date past the 28th. Try to learn programs until then, and see you on the next gamejam.

Discussion Week 8: Upsy Down

            http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=92923950
DEMO: http://www.kongregate.com/games/Kinglake/upsy-down-demo

Bit late but here's my review of an up and coming game called Upsy Down. Seems it takes a heavy influence from VVVVVV with the gravity inverting aspect with the difference that you can jump in this one. It feels like a more forgiving version of VVVVVV since it doesn't require very much twitch inversions to complete the puzzles but is still enjoyable for a playable demo. It seems there are some possible coding issues as the collision or hitboxes seem to have some of the crates causing instant death instead of slowly falling when inverted. This game definitely has potential with a little polishing of the mechanics, adding a bit of complexity and a storyline or some backstory to tie it all together would create a nice casual sidescroller puzzle-platformer.

Gabe Newell: Reflections of a Video Game Maker

I highly recommend this video not just for this group but just learning about the intricacies of organization in general, very enlightening and thought-provoking.

Discussion Week 7: Cart Life

http://www.richardhofmeier.com/cartlife/

Here is this week's game for discussion: Cart Life. The full game is totally free, but they seem to have some DLC and physical content for pay. I wanted to feature a game with focus on narrative content so I looked through all of the IGF Finalists for Excellence in Narrative. Honestly I question a number of their choices. 7 Grand Steps has a demo, dys4ia can be played in its entirety in about 15 minutes, and I really didn't like the execution of Analogue: A Hate Story which has a demo available on steam. Of all of these Cart Life alone was a game that I enjoyed. It is a refreshing narrative take on a genre (simulation/economy) that is typically lacking in story. Tell me what you all think and I'll post my thoughts on it later.

Weekly Indie Game Plays Rotation (Updated)

Hey everyone,

With the great influx of new members to this blog, welcome.

I am just updating the rotation of our weekly indie game plays.

For week of 1/21 - 1/27 Sam (Taking over for Brandon this week, since I don't know the situation with Brandon)

1/28 - 2/3 Jensen

2/4 - 2/10 Keith

2/11 - 2/17 Kenneth

2/18 - 2/24 Daniel

2/25 - 3/3 Johnny

3/4 - 3/10 Quan

3/11 - 3/17 Sam

Then the cycle repeats back to Jensen.

If you have any problems with the scheduling or if I missed anyone else who wants to join in, please let me know.

Edit: Sorry for the highlighting, I don't know how to unhighlight the text in blogspot goddamnit.

Project Deadlines IMPORTANT

So regarding the Orphan project, we need to get the ball rolling.
Skype meetings will not be held unless there are specific issues we need to figure out as a whole.

I am pretty busy myself, so I can't be keeping track of you guys all the time so email me at sonjool@gmail.com or send me a message however you want.

These are your personal tasks.

Johnny, how much do you think you can do programming wise? Let me know by Monday Night PST

Quan, let me know what you have found out about GML and if you started doing anything outlined in the design doc. Let me know by Monday Night

Jensen and Daniel, give me and Ann something to work with, give us something to read so that we can bounce ideas back and forth. Give us something to work with by Sunday Night

Kenny I need these by Tuesday Night
- Walking mechanic
- Running mechanic (run while holding down a button)
- Stamina mechanic (drains while running, slowly recharges over time when not running)
- Hitpoint mechanic (3 hearts)
- Collision detection when touching NPCs (so that you cannot move through them)
- Ability to interact with objects (just the ability to, it doesn't necessarily have to do anything yet)
- A start screen where story exposition will be given

Me and Ann, after receiving stuff from Daniel and Jensen, will work on assets.

By Wednesday Night we'll have a prototype that we'll be able to play.

Pixel Art Archive

This is just a post archiving various pixel art I do on my own. I am making these for fun and to practice.

Mori