Aww yeah, it’s fun (pretending) to be a game developer.
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Adventures in game development
Messing around with my game a bit more, I decided to replace the placeholder sprites with my own art. Fantastic, right?
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This is the third time I’ve posted a random screenshot of this thing, but I’m enjoying making it and want to share bits and pieces. I don’t know why, but it’s really really fun. I’ve added a melee-esque attack for when the player runs out of ammo, and changed the game stats around so they appear easier to read, and at the top of the screen.
Oh, that larger gravestone towards the top? I made that. It’s bad, but I’m proud.
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Remember how I said I was making a really bad game? Well, I’m still doing it!
I’ve had to start from scratch, but it’s meant simplifying things and taking a different approach. Now instead of using the arrow keys to move, and ctrl to shoot, you aim and shoot with the mouse. Movement is still done using the arrow keys, but I’m going to eventually add the option to switch between those and WSAD.
Right now the major bug bothering me is that zombies will stick to gravestones and sometimes to each other. This seems to be a problem in the new versions of Game Maker, but I’m looking for a work around.
In other news, HEY YOU CAN PLAY THIS THING. Not sure why you’d want to, it’s terrible. If you can’t already gather, it’s in it’s early stages. I’m still working on it, but I wanted to test publishing and uploading it. Let me know what you think of it, yall.
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Well, after a bit of research I found out the reason for the zombie glitch is because that particular series of functions that allow objects to move around solid objects (motion planning) is not present in Game Maker HTML5 or Studio.
Asking at the official GM forums, I have been told that there are currently no plans to enable this for HTML5 games, but the option should still be present for other platforms.
Mother. Fucker. I haven’t felt so disappointed in a long time.
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While a lot of people have left Google+ in the dust to go back to their boyfriend Facebook, I’ve stuck with the service. I like it’s design (despite all the white space), and it’s proven easy to have conversations in.
To confirm these feelings, last night I got in contact with someone through complete chance (mutual circling) who was promoting his blog on game development, aimed at users of Game Maker. I joked that if he posted an alternative to motion planning, I would follow his website. I was surprised when he asked for some more specific details, and explained to him about my bug with the zombies sticking to gravestones.
A bit of back and forth, and a few hours later he posted a script that fixed the problem. Through using the script, I’ve learned a bit more about Game Maker and the features it has for games.
I’m indebted to the man for coming up with the solution, and showing me I need to work a bit harder to learn the nuances of making detailed areas of the game. One of my plans is to learn some basic trigonometry, which apparently is extremely useful in making games.
But the point here, is that if it weren’t for Google+ and how easy it’s made talking to new people, I doubt I’d have found this gentleman and gotten his help.
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Today I’ve updated the Zombie Stories prototype game thingy. Thanks to the genius behind http://uselessprogrammer.blogspot.com.au/, the issue of zombies sticking to solid objects is now gone, and progress can be made as a whole. If you’re into Game Maker I suggest you give his site a look.
The other changes to the game are fairly simple. Now when the game starts it takes you to a primitive menu where you can decide between using the arrow keys to move, or WSAD. Related to that, I made the character look in the direction of the mouse only when shooting the gun. When not shooting, he’ll look the way he’s walking. I got sick of moonwalking about the place just because I didn’t point the mouse in the right place.
If you would be so kind as to give the game a go, I’d be really happy. If you think of something that would be awesome in the game, feel free to comment and mention it. I have plans to eventually add different enemies, maybe some item pickups, and eventually make less bland levels. There’s lots to do.
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Todays achievement was merely whipping up a little menu screen for Zombie Stories Prototype Thingy. I don’t think it came out too badly, so the game has been updated, naturally. Right now clicking Info does nothing, but later on as the game gets more defined I’ll write a page for it.
The title font is Earth Kid, made by some guy.
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I’m sitting here, wondering how exactly I’m going to implement a score system for Zombie Stories Prototype Thingy. I’ve been planning on having one since the beginning, but now I’m realizing I don’t know how to set it out.
I know there’ll be a) a score for kills, and b) a bonus for time surviving. I plan for there to be multiple levels in the game (Not just a graveyard), so scores might need to be separate for each level (A high score for map1, another high score for map2, etc). Beyond that, I don’t know. I don’t know what the bonus for time will be, or whether there’ll be other bonuses taken into account.
Just throwing some thoughts out there. If you’ve got any input on the subject, then please feel free to comment; I want to hear what other people think.
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Today I decided to dive in and attempt my first ever mini Ludum Dare competition. Basic idea is to make a game in forty eight hours according to specific requirements. The requirements of this particular jam is to create a game with an unusual resolution. The list has examples like 128×128, 4096×4096, and other weird ratios. I took on the 64×18 option, as it sounded challenging.
In the first hour and a half (I started at 9pm), I’ve created the abomination above. It’s a zombie platforming game. The premise is shoot zombies, don’t get eaten. The player starts off with 3 health and if he gets hit three times, that’s it. Players merely have to kill the zombies and advance through the level. It will be infinite, randomly cycling through a series of levels. Basic stuff, but it’s been really fun whipping up.
The image above is the only “level”, so far. I’ll probably do more tomorrow and hopefully even finish it.
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