Throwing javelins at zombies

I have drawn multiple layers of background art to create a parallax scrolling effect. Currently I have a desert and dark forest, with maybe two or three more to come. Despite the simplicity, this art style for backgrounds can be a challenge to pull off.

Javelins are working too. They impale and get stuck in the ground or an enemy's body part. I tested all this on a Samsung Galaxy to ensure the animations are smooth and the controls feel solid.

I want to finish all the art this month, and then do all the programming in March.

Meanwhile I have been testing and fixing my traffic game before opening it up to others for beta testing. I found a good soundtrack from Pond5.com: my usual source for royalty-free music.

Tentative icon

The cast

Introducing the cast of the next fantasy game, starring the paladin warrior on the left side...

Each enemy is introduced in their respective dungeon, discovered going deeper into Hell like the first of the Diablo series. For example, the ogre is found in the caves, and the mummy is found in the tomb. Probably there will be a final boss, and the entire game can be replayed at a more difficult setting using the same character.

I am still contemplating the design, attempting to strike a balance between innovation and simplicity. Perhaps weapons will be crafted using various pieces, versus the traditional design of linear upgrades of half a dozen types of weapons. Things are still up in the air.

Mobile bandwagon

It looks like I have returned to the mobile gaming bandwagon. Not only is the Ludum Dare port basically finished, but I have set my focus on a side-scrolling hack and slash game for handheld devices. Most likely it will be free to play, supported only by ads and sprinkles of virtual goods. Here is an early prototype screenshot...

First I want to get the underlying technology out the way. I license Corona, so that already gets me 99% of the way there. The two blue buttons on the left are for movement, and the right buttons will be for attacking and special abilities. 

Naturally I wanted to test the game with the keyboard in the simulator, but Corona does not support this. Playing just with the mouse in unmanageable because multiple buttons needs to be pressed simultaneously (normally two thumbs on the actual device screen).

My solution was to write a classic DirectInput application in C++ that records all current keys being pressed and saves the results to a file. Then in my game, I simply open and close the file each frame to handle specific key input. It is a complete hack! Yet it works!... And makes testing much easier. My chosen keys are on the number pad, so typing code does not cause the character to react annoyingly.

Secondly, Corona is bundled with a tool called Spriteloq for rasterizing a Flash movie clip SWF. This is great for most art assets, but I want my characters to have smooth paperdoll animation. I revised an algorithm I have written in Flash, that dumps rotation and translation from the transformation matrix of each body part as Lua code. In other words, I only need to import a tiny sprite sheet like this:

And use the dumped code for each body part, such as five frames of the warrior's back arm efficiently written as arrays instead of tables in Lua:

-- x, y, rotation

Anim_Warrior_armb = {

15.4,-31.35,-13.27, -- frame 1

15.35,-31.45,-13.27, -- frame 2

15.35,-31.65,-13.27,

15.35,-31.85,-13.27,

15.35,-32,-13.27,

etc,

}

Instead of monolithic sprite sheets like this:

It would not be feasible on memory constrained devices. I would need a whole new one just for a different weapon, and another at 2.1x the resolution for the HD version.

Contact me for any of this tech. I would post it now, but it really needs to be cleaned up first.

Heartstrung from GGJ 2013 at NYU

This past weekend I had the pleasure of participating in the worldwide Global Game Jam at NYU's Game Center. This is the largest host for the GGJ in North America, consisting of over 150 participants and at least another hundred more who visited to experience the amazing results.

I visit the city frequently, so what a better way to spend my time making a game within 48 hours in the presence of like-minded individuals, all while chowing down on some of the best food around. My comfortable hotel was located by the Manhattan bridge, so each morning I got to walk through Chinatown for heavenly delicious brunch on the go: Peking duck, pork chive dumplings, Hong Kong style noodles, etc.

The theme for this year was "heartbeat", or specifically the sound of a heartbeat. I met two others, Adam and Rob, and got to work on a game eventually titled Heartstrung.

Heartstrung is a two player competitive game with a retro arcade feel. Two hearts are both metaphorically and physically tied together, while words and sentences fall to hint the struggles of their relationship. The heartbeat is represented by the world itself: a dynamic cardiogram heart monitor machine. The letters are physics objects, either collected for points, or collided to strategically nudge the other player's letters away. The experience is open to interpretation, especially the ending.

I am very satisfied with the end result. The game was nominated and won the award for "best use of theme", so getting the opportunity to play and present to an overcrowded hall on a large projected screen is an unforgettable highlight of the trip. We celebrated at a nearby pub afterwards, so I got to taste local Brooklyn beers paired with the best sandwich I have ever eaten. Whether or not this was favorite game jam, it is going to be very hard to beat...

Here is to hoping... Toronto Game Jam 2013.

Ludum Dare Port

I am pleased to announce that my Ludum Dare compo entry "Goat Mechanic" did quite well! It placed #15 overall, and #5 most fun out of the thousand entries. Graphics ranked #19, but audio understandably took #169 because I only had 15 minutes for it. I mentioned earlier that I am participating in OneGameAMonth.com, so my first out of the twelve is going to be a port for iOS and Android with additional features.

The game includes a total of 18 items and 5 levels. It was suggested that I take this to touch devices, so here it is! The sub-theme of the Ludum Dare compo was "goats", so for this mobile version I gladly removed it. The game blends elements from the Scratch Tickets app I made last year. Realistically, although it only needs one more week of development for minor features and audio, it will be released in February because of all the extra time Apple requires to approve apps.

Defend Your Nuts 2 is sponsored

Defend Your Nuts 2 has been exclusively sponsored and released to the web by Nickelodeon - AddictingGames.com! Play it here!

AddictingGames is a great sponsor and I have worked with them a few times in the past. They assisted me in the final stages of the production process to ensure the game is fully playable without any major issues. Go play the game on their site, and then discover many others that they have!

OneGameAMonth.com

I will be participating in onegameamonth.com for all of 2013! It is a year-long event to encourage rapid and consistent creation of games basically with no rules. Currently my games consist of two-month development cycles followed downtime to test new ideas and technologies. I'd like to change all that and force myself to succeed in one game a month, potentially licensed out in Flash format, or put up in the app store.

The previous game jam taught me how to properly use placeholder art while adding and revising features at a rapid pace. Otherwise with no time pressure, I tend to conservatively revert to my traditional methods when it comes to design. Hmmm, probably this is why already I have a sequel for some of my most successful Flash games? I may resort to previous Ludum Dare themes for each month; somehow being limited by a particular theme makes me more creative.

On a related note, I am absolutely overwhelmed by the number of indie game developers that I have discovered in the midst of the recent Ludum Dare, and now this OneGameAMonth year-long event. I must have added at least a hundred developers to my Twitter, and about a dozen blogs to my Google Reader. I am so thankful to be part of this community.

Here is a clip from a documentary recently made on indie game developers. I got to watch an early showing in Asheville, North Carolina earlier this year. The DVD is available so go buy it!

Indie Game: The Movie Official Trailer from IndieGame: The Movie on Vimeo.