Challenge: Video Game Makers in the Playground

[Tyndmyr]

The rules are simple. By the end of a given month, make and post a link to a completed, playable video game. The only restriction is that it must be YOUR game...not a game you've copied from somewhere. Doing so results in fame, fortune, and your name posted here as completing the challenge. Failure to do so will result in no points, eternal dishonor, and may god have mercy on your soul. A theme will be suggested for each month, but it's strictly optional.

Month 1: August!
Theme: Retro space games!

Month 2: September!
Theme: Fun with tiles!

Completed:
Spectral Phoenix - Missiles (http://www.megaupload.com/?d=LJ63MNUU)
DragonSamurai77 - Space Invaders (http://www.filedropper.com/spaceinvaders)

Competing:

Feel free to post discussion, tips, questions, and whatever else you find fitting. If you find yourself in need of a place to upload your game to, hit me up, I have more web server space than I can ever use.

[Maxios]

This is a good site I just found that gives advice on making a Space Invaders style game. (http://scalablegamedesign.cs.colorado.edu/wiki/Space_Invaders_Tutorial_3)

[Tyndmyr]

I strongly advice checking out the XNA package from microsoft for a few reasons.

1. It's extremely well documented. Great tutorials. Step by step, with explanation. This is all kinds of awesome, as documentation for some things assumes a lot of prior knowledge.
2. It's entirely free on PC. This is...nice.
3. You can port them to xbox. This costs a little bit, but it's seriously still quite inexpensive. There's really no other comparable way to develop for consoles.
4. It's in C#. This is an actual language used in the real world. Damned handy skill to have.

VB is another solid option for getting started.

Lots of good languages out there. Any of the easy ones is great to get you started, once you've absorbed one, the next is always easier.

[Maxios]

What is the easiest programming language to start out with?

[Tyndmyr]

Well, it depends what you're trying to do, really. VB is probably the simplest for making a quicky windows app, for instance. Standard grey boxes, things like that. A solid choice if you're making say, a drug wars style game that's low on graphics, but you want it to still be a windows app instead of command line or w/e.

C# is probably among the easiest for 2d graphics thanks entirely to XNA.

Certain specialized apps like RPGmaker will be easier...but only for specific styles of game. If your game concept fits into such a slot....by all means, take advantage of it. It just doesn't work for all game concepts.

Honestly, the key is mostly picking a good, simple concept to start out with. Lots of retro games have such a thing...possibly with additional options built around it. So, cloning a retro game is a great starting place. Typically low graphics required, relatively simple gameplay.

[Maxios]

What's a good free (or under $10) program that allows you to create a very simple RPG?

[Tyndmyr]

Well, RPGMaker has a free trial.

Or, you can use a more generalized language...if it's a very simple RPG, you can aim for that with anything. I've personally built a reasonably complex RPG in visual basic(flipped into shooter mode in combat). I know there's a starter kit for making an RPG in XNA as well. You should be able to strip graphics off either the XNA site or the Torque site.

Links:

Garage Games (http://www.garagegames.com/): Makers of torque 3d engine, a few other fun things. Very powerful, documentation is sometimes lacking.

Milkshape (http://chumbalum.swissquake.ch/): My personal favorite 3d modeling app. Not as powerful as 3d studio or blender, but remarkably easy to use. Also cheap($25, IIRC). Note that you only need something like this if doing 3d.

Paint.Net (http://paint.net/): Free graphics app. It ain't photoshop but it beats the hell out of the standard Paint. And it's free.

RPGMaker (http://www.rpgmakerweb.com/): Specialized RPG app. Easy top-down RPG building, not particularly useful for other things.

Visual Studio Express (http://www.microsoft.com/visualstudio/en-us/products/2010-editions/express): Free compilers for C#, C, Visual Basic, etc. Microsoft is pretty good about such things. If you prefer linux, hit up Mono instead.

XNA (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/aa937791.aspx): The XNA library for C#. Grab it and the microsoft C# compiler and you're in business. I recommend the app hub for starters.

[Trazoi]

I was going to get back to learning ActionScript for Flash games anyway, so I'll join in. I'll try to do a blog-like walkthrough of what I'm doing so it's easier to follow (either here or linked to elsewhere; need to think about what's best). I might go through a few steps before getting to the retro space game, such as setup/Hello World, a dead simple game prototype, Pong, Breakout and then Space Invaders.


What's a good free (or under $10) program that allows you to create a very simple RPG?
rpgmaker.net has a list of engines. (http://rpgmaker.net/engines/)

[-skimmer-]

Challenge accepted.

[super dark33]

If i may be a judge assistence i would be happy.

[Maxios]

My Space Invaders-style game is going good, so far. However, I have run into two, very large, issues. First, I can't move to the right. Second, when I hit space, the laser isn't shooting.

[-skimmer-]

My Space Invaders-style game is going good, so far. However, I have run into two, very large, issues. First, I can't move to the right. Second, when I hit space, the laser isn't shooting.

What programming language have you decided to use in the end?:smallsmile:

[Maxios]

Not a language, per say. I downloaded a demo of this simple-game creation software called AgentSheets. I linked to a tutorial on making a Space Invaders game using AgentSheets earlier, though at the time, I thought it was for a totally different software. The problem is, it's not as easy as it seems.
Once I fix all the bugs, I know how to upload it onto the internet so you guys can play it.

[Tyndmyr]

If i may be a judge assistence i would be happy.

Certainly. I could use some help keeping track of everyone.

Basically, I figure as long as they made a game(it need not be an original concept...hell, you can follow a guide), and it can be played, it's a win.


Maxios, whatcha coding in? Want another set of eyes to look at it?

[Maxios]

I have good news, bad news, and ugly news a question...

Good news: I restarted the project, and it's going great.
Bad news: It's more like Pacman (with space marines and aliens!) then it is Space Invaders.
Question: Does it have to be like a retro space game, or can it just have a space theme?

[super dark33]

Im not sure about tyndmyr, but i dont mind.

[-skimmer-]

I have good news, bad news, and ugly news a question...

Good news: I restarted the project, and it's going great.
Bad news: It's more like Pacman (with space marines and aliens!) then it is Space Invaders.
Question: Does it have to be like a retro space game, or can it just have a space theme?

I think pacman still qualifies as retro....also, how that game of yours can be like pacman and then like space invaders is going to bug me all night....

[super dark33]

Ok i thought of stuff that can help us to judge this easier.

Innovation
Creativity
and Gameplay

1 to 10, where 10 is the highest ranking.

[Maxios]

More good news and bad news!

Good news: The game is done, and it is awesome!
Bad news: I don't know how to upload the game anywhere. There is an official site for games made with AgentSheets, but apparently it's for some college or high school in Colorado :smallsigh:

Official Game Summary:
The Aliens have invaded the spaceship you're in! As Space Marine #43.64, it is your duty to collect the batteries to power the Death Ray that will wipe out the Aliens! However, the Aliens have spilled acid on the floor, making it impossible to backtrack! After you end up trapped- or dead via aliens-count the remaining batteries. If there is 30 or less batteries left, you have gotten enough batteries to power the Death Ray and you win. If not, you can always replay the game.

[-skimmer-]

try to upload it on megaupload (http://www.megaupload.com/) or similar storage?

[Trazoi]

Ok i thought of stuff that can help us to judge this easier.

Innovation
Creativity
and Gameplay

1 to 10, where 10 is the highest ranking.
I'd recommend making this more of a personal challenge than a contest, as everyone will be at different skill levels. Absolute beginners shouldn't be concerned if more experienced developers want to join in.

I'd also advise putting too heavy an emphasis on creativity or innovation for beginners, because it's a challenge enough to learn the basics of programming. That's one of the reasons why making a retro game clone is recommended - the game idea is already there for you, go ahead and learn how to make it.

[Maxios]

Screenshot time!
http://i777.photobucket.com/albums/yy59/maxios5/Alienpacman1.jpg

[Haruki-kun]

I have a question. When you say "Retro Space games" what exactly do you mean? What are the limits here?

[-skimmer-]

I have a question. When you say "Retro Space games" what exactly do you mean? What are the limits here?

Do you really want exact limits? Just go with whatever you consider old time space themed game....

[Maxios]

I just went to the libary, and checked out roughly around 10 books on Programming video-games :smallamused:

[Tyndmyr]

Ok i thought of stuff that can help us to judge this easier.

Innovation
Creativity
and Gameplay

1 to 10, where 10 is the highest ranking.

I'm thinking just a simple pass/fail every month, perhaps with kudos for people who have made something really awesome, or shown solid improvement. Nothing necessarily all that formal, just a way of recognizing what people are doing, and giving each other a bit of help.

Retro space games, I was thinking things like astroids, space invaders, missile defense...but really, almost any game could have a space theme. And the theme is optional anyway. I'm not even quite sure what I'm doing myself yet.

For those in the Baltimore/DC area...I have a small library of coding books myself, a lot of which are game coding. Always fun getting people started and what not.

[leakingpen]

looking at agentsheets, you end up with a .jar file, is that correct?

[Domochevsky]

...hum, i might actually lend general purpose art assets to this challenge for people to use if there's need. Just tell me what you'd be interested in. :smallsmile:

[Tyndmyr]

looking at agentsheets, you end up with a .jar file, is that correct?

That sounds like Java to me. Solid language to learn. And yeah, a jar is a runnable file if you have Java on the system.

[leakingpen]

tyndmyr, thats my thought, but they'd still need a host.

And damn me, I just canceled my spare url and host package for lack of money, since I hadn't done anything with it, or id host em for people.

[Tyndmyr]

A jar can be run locally, so all you need is a file server. I can arrange hosting for that. As in, I've got a server with ludicrous bandwidth and unused capacity.

[-skimmer-]

So I've spent last 2 hours just flying around like this with nothing to shoot at.... (http://www.newgrounds.com/dump/item/85fdcd1bd92324311392cb3ee5642b07)

[SamBurke]

Is it possible to be a judge as well?

[spectralphoenix]

As I understand it, this is an unjudged challenge rather than an "Iron Programmer." If this is to be a competition, we're going to need a much clearer theme and ruleset. Further, I would recommend that the judges be people with a good understanding of programming themselves.

On that note, I'd like to give this a shot as well. I'm thinking of making a Missile Command game in Microsoft Silverlight.

[SamBurke]

True, but still.

If we're talking about code, I'm not an expert. At all.

However, judging/rating/ranking/critiquing games/art/play etc, I can do.

[Tyndmyr]

Yeah, I'm thinking more personal challenge/learning exercises than a competition. It might be a fun idea later, but I feel like we have a lot of people here interested in learning, and working on that is probably best for now.

That said, hopefully people will toss up their games for others to play, critique, etc. I'm thinking about doing a missile command knockoff...or a top-down flying game. Or a moon lander game. Still indecisive. It'll definitely be 2d in C#, though. I've already got the parallax working for layered backgrounds.

[super dark33]

So I've spent last 2 hours just flying around like this with nothing to shoot at.... (http://www.newgrounds.com/dump/item/85fdcd1bd92324311392cb3ee5642b07)

The lack of enemies isnt that bad.

its pretty good, the background stars, the closer stars, the spaceship itself looks nice,

7/10 overall.

[-skimmer-]

The lack of enemies isnt that bad.

its pretty good, the background stars, the closer stars, the spaceship itself looks nice,

7/10 overall.

You realize it wasn't my entry yet:smalltongue:

[super dark33]

yup, still rating that to make you feel happy.

[Emmerask]

Well, RPGMaker has a free trial.

Or, you can use a more generalized language...if it's a very simple RPG, you can aim for that with anything. I've personally built a reasonably complex RPG in visual basic(flipped into shooter mode in combat). I know there's a starter kit for making an RPG in XNA as well. You should be able to strip graphics off either the XNA site or the Torque site.

Links:

Garage Games (http://www.garagegames.com/): Makers of torque 3d engine, a few other fun things. Very powerful, documentation is sometimes lacking.

Milkshape (http://chumbalum.swissquake.ch/): My personal favorite 3d modeling app. Not as powerful as 3d studio or blender, but remarkably easy to use. Also cheap($25, IIRC). Note that you only need something like this if doing 3d.

Paint.Net (http://paint.net/): Free graphics app. It ain't photoshop but it beats the hell out of the standard Paint. And it's free.

RPGMaker (http://www.rpgmakerweb.com/): Specialized RPG app. Easy top-down RPG building, not particularly useful for other things.

Visual Studio Express (http://www.microsoft.com/visualstudio/en-us/products/2010-editions/express): Free compilers for C#, C, Visual Basic, etc. Microsoft is pretty good about such things. If you prefer linux, hit up Mono instead.

XNA (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/aa937791.aspx): The XNA library for C#. Grab it and the microsoft C# compiler and you're in business. I recommend the app hub for starters.


Another link to add:

turbosquid (http://www.turbosquid.com/) which is pretty awesome resource for textures and 3d models, some of them cost money but there is tons of free stuff which can be used in freeware/shareware applications without a problem.

And yes paint.net is pretty good especially if you install all those nice plugins.

I personally would stay away from the free visual studio version since it lacks some key features you really want to have to speed up development time.
As far as I remember (it is some time now) you couldn´t even auto generate getters and setters and there was no auto completion or refactoring.
The normal version is great however.

Instead I would use sharp develop (http://sharpdevelop.net/opensource/sd/) which is a complete ide and not just half of it

For java programming either netbeans (http://netbeans.org/) or eclipse (http://www.eclipse.org/) work both just fine and have all the features you want.

[super dark33]

So hows your progress on these games guys? (and gals)

[dragonsamurai77]

Definitely interested.

[-skimmer-]

So hows your progress on these games guys? (and gals)

Slow but steady....plenty of time until the end of august though:smallwink:

[Tyndmyr]

Yeah, same same. Lots of idea making and preliminary poking about. Digging for graphics and what not(may have to make em all...bleh. Hate doing that). Actual coding starts once I know what Im coding precisely.

[super dark33]

Programmers, whats your status over?

[Trazoi]

Programmers, whats your status over?
Status: sick and taking it slow. I did however managed to get all the tools for ActionScript games in Flash set up.

The thrilling mandatory first program!
http://img829.imageshack.us/img829/4494/blogentry82273077782600.png (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/829/blogentry82273077782600.png/)

[dragonsamurai77]

Programmers, whats your status over?

Status: composing very basic soundtrack, trying to think of attack patterns*

*I'm making a danmaku ("bullet hell") continuation of Space Invaders, but am having trouble thinking up some bullet patterns. Any suggestions?

[SamBurke]

Erm, bullet patterns? Not sure what you're asking.

[Domochevsky]

If in doubt, go with flowers. :smallwink:

[dragonsamurai77]

Erm, bullet patterns? Not sure what you're asking.

Basically, the main point of danmaku games is that the enemies don't simply shoot at you; they carpet the entire screen with layers of bullets. To program such a game, you need to think of beautiful and deadly patterns for them to follow.


If in doubt, go with flowers. :smallwink:

If I can figure out how to program them, I certainly will.

[ShiningStarling]

I have a simple game of this genre already made, but it is a file, how would i show it?

[spectralphoenix]

I have a simple game of this genre already made, but it is a file, how would i show it?

Depends on what kind of file it is. If it's an executable, just put it on a free web hosting service. If it's a .swf or the like, it might be easier to just embed it in a site and talk to one of the people who offered to host games in the beginning of the thread. If it uses third party software to run, make sure you link to the site where that comes from.

[dragonsamurai77]

I am ready to present the first demo of my game, featuring 5 of the 20 bullet patterns it will eventually have. It's not very hellish right now, because I plan for the patterns to start simple and get much worse as they go on. Any thoughts and ideas will be very appreciated.

Controls:
Arrow keys-move
Hold Z-fire
Hold Shift-move more slowly

Download:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=TGP5DOSX

[Domochevsky]

I am ready to present the first demo of my game, featuring 5 of the 20 bullet patterns it will eventually have. It's not very hellish right now, because I plan for the patterns to start simple and get much worse as they go on. Any thoughts and ideas will be very appreciated.

Controls:
Arrow keys-move
Hold Z-fire
Hold Space-move more slowly

Download:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=TGP5DOSX

First thought: Z is always a crap key, since it sits somewhere else on non-english keyboards. (in the top row, to be exact, switching places with Y.) :smallsigh:

Second thoughts:
That is one big invader. oO
Space for slowdown doesn't work.
Hitboxes don't corespond with the ship size?
Damage to the enemy is not implemented yet, i presume.

Onwards! o/

[super dark33]

I am ready to present the first demo of my game, featuring 5 of the 20 bullet patterns it will eventually have. It's not very hellish right now, because I plan for the patterns to start simple and get much worse as they go on. Any thoughts and ideas will be very appreciated.

Controls:
Arrow keys-move
Hold Z-fire
Hold Space-move more slowly

Download:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=TGP5DOSX

its temporerly unavailble for me. to download.

[dragonsamurai77]

First thought: Z is always a crap key, since it sits somewhere else on non-english keyboards. (in the top row, to be exact, switching places with Y.) :smallsigh: It's standard for these types of games, because Shift is usually used for slowdown. (see below)

Second thoughts:
That is one big invader. oO
Space for slowdown doesn't work. Oops, meant to say Shift.
Hitboxes don't corespond with the ship size? Correct. The hitbox is only one pixel, in the center.
Damage to the enemy is not implemented yet, i presume. It is, there's a health bar on the bottom.

Onwards! o/

Responses in bold.


its temporerly unavailble for me. to download.

Try refreshing it a few times; that fixes it for me.

[Domochevsky]

That standard is crap. Are A, S and D not good enough? :smallfrown:

(The health bar didn't move as i was shooting the big invader, so i concluded that there was no health for it yet. Hum. >_>)

[dragonsamurai77]

That standard is crap. Are A, S and D not good enough? :smallfrown:

(The health bar didn't move as i was shooting the big invader, so i concluded that there was no health for it yet. Hum. >_>)

The healthbar goes down incredibly slowly because of the boss's massive health. As for the controls, I suppose I could add WASD as options, but then I'm not sure where to put the shooting and slowdown.

[BladeofOblivion]

Yeah, I managed to get it down to half health before I finally died. I'll note that the Spiral Pattern was actually fairly difficult. The Spacebar command seems to do nothing, however.

[dragonsamurai77]

Yeah, I managed to get it down to half health before I finally died. I'll note that the Spiral Pattern was actually fairly difficult. The Spacebar command seems to do nothing, however.

Yeah, that was a typo. Should have been Shift.

[super dark33]

For some reason i cant download it.

i hate megaupload.

can you try some outer site i can play this? skimmer is using newgrounds to host her stuff.

[dragonsamurai77]

New version: 5 more bullet patterns and a pause button (P).

Download: http://www.filedropper.com/spaceinvaders

[super dark33]

"File does not exist".

i guess downloading websites hate me.

[lesser_minion]

I could use the experience, so I'll bite.

I'm not a professional and I'm not even that experienced at coding for a hobby (and even worse at art), so don't expect any masterpieces.

Now to decide on precisely what to make and how...

[bothi73]

Dude, can we have next months be a general game making challenge? I just found, this, wish I found it earlier -.-

[super dark33]

Well, you can post whenever you want.

when this will die, we will start a contest, like iron avatarist, but on programming.

(and maybe i should start one of animation, but im not sure)

[Domochevsky]

Yah, the challenge should probably be enforced better, with each participant posting daily/weekly what they acomplished by then, either written ("did this, added that") and/or in programs. :smallsmile:

[Ashtar]

Well here is my submission of a design document for
"Perseides! Asteroid Shower!"


Background:
You are an astraunaut on a resupply flight to the ISS during an asteroid shower. The ISS has boosted its orbit high up to avoid a particularly bad perseides shower. Unfortunatly, your computer guidence system died to an unexpected solar flare. You will have to survive successive intense 30s to 90s rounds of asteroid showers before arriving at the ISS.

Gameplay:
A spaceship, controlled WSAD or UP-DN-L-R has to dodge successive waves of falling asteroids. Initially, they come from the top of the sceen, but gradually asteroids will start having oblique trajectories through the screen, too.
As an added difficulty, the first crash will diminish manoeuvrability of the ship, the second will cause the ship to gain a slight inertia in control, the third is fatal.
Damage is indicated to the player, either on the ship, or by red warning bars appearing around the playfield.
Rounds last 30s to 90s.
Optional: A computer indicator up top of screen indicating arrival vector of next asteroids.

Necessary graphic assets:

Spaceship with (up-down-left-right-static) movement poses
Optional: Damage indicator on ship asset // Damage indicator on screen
Variety of asteroids
Backgrouds (optional) - Possibilities, a view of earth scrolling down to give impression of velocity


Necessary sound assets:

Music: BMG Loop
Computer voices (Danger!Danger!, Incoming asteroid shower!, Warning!Damage!)
Damage sounds (crash!)


Extras:

Splash screen with New Game A (Normal) / New Game B (Hard) button
Pause button
High scores
Game over screen


Iteration steps:

Ship on background, movement U-D-L-R with animation
Asteroids following vectors through screen with adjustable velocity
Collision detection - damage
Damage effects modelling
Background scrolling
Rounds
Sounds, BMG
Game over, Splash screen, New Game
Polish + High scores

I'm going to be doing this in flash, as a way to expand my repertoire. I already did a Tetris following Emmanuele Feronato (http://www.emanueleferonato.com/)'s blog and book to learn about flash.

I hope I'll be able to put time aside to do this little project.

[lesser_minion]

To be honest, it would probably be cool if we did this in a format similar to tigsource's Assemblee competition (where the first phase has a group of artists slave away to produce a set of graphical resources, and the second has a group of devs slave away to turn those resources into a game).

Otherwise, I'm currently ruminating on a design. I might have a bit of RealityTM to (mis)handle soon, but I'm still hoping to have something hacked together for the end of the month.

[Ashtar]

Update 1 of Perseids!

- Background image present (thank you NASA)
- Rudimentary ship present
- Up - Down - Left - Right movement of ship
- Framework in place for next steps

So basically half of point a) on my list.


Location of flash file http://www.megaupload.com/?d=YGF9I77D

Screenshot:
http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/2825/perseidsscreenshot1.png (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/225/perseidsscreenshot1.png/)

[lesser_minion]

Well, I've successfully mishandled that bit of reality, but I'm no closer to actually getting this done. I'm pretty sure I do know what I want to do, however, which may be an improvement.

Art-wise, I'm hoping to scrape by as far as possible on primitives, at least this time around.

Gameplay-wise, I'm looking at an arena-esque shooter, with some similarities to Asteroids.

[dragonsamurai77]

I've made no progress since my last update, because I don't have enough ideas for bullet patterns.

[super dark33]

triangels and ponies.

[SamBurke]

I've made no progress since my last update, because I don't have enough ideas for bullet patterns.

Fireballs on impact. When it hits, it creates shockwaves. Boomerangs. Multi-shot. Flaming shot. Chain shot. Shockwave shot. Lots of great things here, man.

[bothi73]

Fireballs on impact. When it hits, it creates shockwaves. Boomerangs. Multi-shot. Flaming shot. Chain shot. Shockwave shot. Lots of great things here, man.
Easier said than done. Wait, Sam, are you making your game from scratch?

[Helanna]

Wait, how haven't I seen this yet?! I wanna join!

I'm about to start my second year of college, for the major of game design, and I've been told that it's very important to have some good examples of stuff you've made, and this sounds absolutely perfect for padding out my portfolio . . . besides, I really need the practice since I did almost nothing over the summer.

Since there's only 10 days left, maybe I'll just work on remembering how to get a movable ship on the screen . . .

[Domochevsky]

Hm, lots of spaceship usage here... so here's something you might be able to use:

The Left Hook (ship)

http://wildwestscifi.net/Misc/Challenge/Challenge_Ship_LeftHook_L.png--http://wildwestscifi.net/Misc/Challenge/Challenge_Ship_LeftHook_C.png--http://wildwestscifi.net/Misc/Challenge/Challenge_Ship_LeftHook_R.png


Shields
http://wildwestscifi.net/Misc/Challenge/Challenge_Ship_Shields_1.pnghttp://wildwestscifi.net/Misc/Challenge/Challenge_Ship_Shields_2.pnghttp://wildwestscifi.net/Misc/Challenge/Challenge_Ship_Shields_3.png


Not entirely up to snuff, ruler-wise, but might be usable to you anyway. :smallsmile:

(Dunno if i should also make bullet/laser types. Those are usually easy enough for yourself to make.)

[lesser_minion]

I've managed to implement a ship flying around an empty screen -- it runs to about 200 lines of code, some of which is currently superfluous (for example, the ship has a collide method, even though there's nothing for it to collide with).

At some point today, I'm hoping to implement something for the player to do, figure out some sort of UI and game state management, and introduce some actual obstacles.

Since this competition started midway through July, should we think about deciding on a theme for September?

[Tyndmyr]

Heh, I also whipped up some filler art for folks to use...I'm afraid yours is much better, as my graphics skills are weak at best, but hey, coder art is better than no art.

http://travislerol.com/Graphics/Blue-starfighter.png

Sub out the Blue in the link for Green, Yellow, Red, Maroon, or Grey as desired.

Edit: A September theme sounds great(remember folks, it's always optional). Would you like to do the honors Lesser Minion?

[lesser_minion]

Edit: A September theme sounds great(remember folks, it's always optional). Would you like to do the honors Lesser Minion?

Hmm... good question. I'm pretty sure most people interpreted "space game" to mean a real-time game with pixel-based movement, so something tile-based or turn-based would make a good contrast.

However, I'm not sure what to suggest that would make that more specific.

[Tyndmyr]

Tile-based or turn-based could be a theme, sure.

As always, there's a *lot* of ways to do such a thing.

I do think I have some tile graphics laying around I could make into useful things, though.

[lesser_minion]

OK, how does "Fun with Tiles" sound as a theme then?

[super dark33]

Tiles of fun?
this could be good.

[lesser_minion]

Today's update:

As far as August's entry is concerned, I haven't really made any more progress beyond cramming everything into Fossil. I do have the start of a game state manager done, however, and I'm thinking through how best to implement the next stage (things to shoot and things to shoot at).

For September, I believe I have a concept, but I don't really want to start on it until everyone's agreed on the theme.

[Domochevsky]

Something turn/tile-based, hm? Might work, but these things tend to be fairly extensive. This will require some solid planning, unlike arcade type games. :smallsmile:

[Ashtar]

Update 2 of Perseids!

Asteroids are present, collisions are handled.

I need to do the rounds, damage and all that. Not had much time since I did a surprise trip to Prague over the week-end.

Tile/Turn-based would be a nice game, it can cover things from chess to wesnoth to card games... But always start with something small.

[lesser_minion]

Something turn/tile-based, hm? Might work, but these things tend to be fairly extensive. This will require some solid planning, unlike arcade type games. :smallsmile:

Well, the main objective is to release something playable -- it doesn't have to be amazing, and IMHO, there's nothing wrong with a demo or a prototype as long as a decent amount of work went into it.

While not as abundant as you might expect from the internet, free tilesets do exist. You can also make an ASCII roguelike, which falls under "fun with tiles" theme practically by definition.

[spectralphoenix]

Alright, I put together a Missile Command-style game for Microsoft Silverlight, available here (http://www.megaupload.com/?d=B8U9YSFZ). A, S, and D select from the three guns (left, center, and right, respectively,) Left click fires a missile, and R resets the board. The goal is to get as many kills as possible before all of your cities are destroyed. Remember to lead your targets by a fair bit, friendly and enemy missiles travel at the same speed.

To run, simply unzip the folder and open MissilesTestPage.html IE should already have the Silverlight plugin installed, Firefox may need to get it from Microsoft before it can be played.

I may post the source code for this later (I was teaching myself Silverlight as I went along, right now it needs some serious refactoring before it's fit for polite company.)

[Tyndmyr]

OK, how does "Fun with Tiles" sound as a theme then?

So it shall be...

I'll announce a list of successful completions at the end of the month...for next month, I'll also put out a "made progress" summary at the end of each week for those who posted things(good feedback, btw!)

Also, I'll see if I can't whip up some basic 64x64 tiles for people to use if they wish. Nothing fancy, but adequate for placeholder graphics and the like.

[Emmerask]

While more then likely I won´t be able to participate due to workload
I have some pretty good knowledge in tile/round based game programming (currently working on a more or less complete d&d boardgame for my master thesis in java).

So if anyone is in need of assistance for stuff like line of sight calculation feel free to contact me.
I´m also okayish at 3dstudio so I might be able to provide some models or rendered tiles if time permits

[super dark33]

And if you post your entry, try not to make it downloadable.
i have somthing aginst downloads you see, it killed my computer (not this one).

[Domochevsky]

And if you post your entry, try not to make it downloadable.
i have somthing aginst downloads you see, it killed my computer (not this one).

Eh, i suggest ignoring this statement. Having it be downloadable only would decrease the possible tools you can use to basically flash, silverlight and unity and by extension decrease the amount of people willing/able to participate in this.

We want this to be as accessible as possible. :smallsigh:

[lesser_minion]

Well, Real Life (coupled with a stupid forum discussion where I managed to act like an idiot) happened again, so I haven't made any more progress with either of my projects.

And while it's fun seeing things come together and figuring out how to make them work, I can't really say I'm a fan of arcadey space games, which might also have made a difference. I'm pretty sure I've put more thought into the game I'm planning to make for the end of September than into this one.

As far as making everything web-playable... yeah, I'm sorry, but I don't think I can really manage that, certainly not for the August project.

[Tyndmyr]

Eh, i suggest ignoring this statement. Having it be downloadable only would decrease the possible tools you can use to basically flash, silverlight and unity and by extension decrease the amount of people willing/able to participate in this.

We want this to be as accessible as possible. :smallsigh:

Right. I don't want to place many restrictions on technology. I mean, web-tech only really limits a lot of game types.

Ima give an extra day for uploading, so things posted on Wednesday count too. With month long projects, it can take a minute to get the install working and online if your hosting/buddy's hosting hates you or something.

[Ashtar]

I'm going to try and finish it for Wednesday, but Real-Life is interfering quite a lot. Helping my gf find a new apartment in Paris before the end of this week is a challenge.

I've got the game basics, but need to add collision counts (damage), levels, sound and better graphics. I will finish the game, hopefully before Wednesday. I'll also post the full source code in Flash for anyone to use / hack and learn from when I'm done.

Tile-based sounds like a good September one. Anyone else doing some flash?

[Trazoi]

I've been hacking around in Flash/AS3, but I'm mostly a newb at ActionScript and have been spinning my wheels a bit. I've been trying to work from basics but in retrospect it hasn't been the best strategy and I've let time slip away from me. I'll see what I can hack together in flixel quickly and see if I can a game together by the end of the week (admittedly a few days late. Hopefully I can get a skeleton done within the time limit).

[lesser_minion]

I'll try to get something together for Wednesday, although it will not be a masterpiece. And it will probably involve copious amounts of tea.

And yeah, I've been working from basics as well, although in Ruby (http://www.ruby-lang.org/en/)/Gosu (http://libgosu.org/).

It hasn't been too hard, although I suspect that when I start on the next stage (enemies), I'll run into some kind of nightmare. Handling spawning has already provided at least eight different kinds of entertainment over the last week or so.

[Tyndmyr]

Yeah, I didn't actually get beyond the "sketch things out" point until this past weekend. Im gonna have a busy day or so.

Coding lesson #1: The definition of "crunch time".


There's actually a competition elsewhere called "game in a day". It's basically a 24 coding marathon. Definitely possible, though a bit on the rough side.

And extra day for uploading means things posted THURSDAY count as well. Dunno why I was a day off on month's end.

[Helanna]

There's actually a competition elsewhere called "game in a day". It's basically a 24 coding marathon. Definitely possible, though a bit on the rough side.


I think my school participates in something like that. You can get a small team together and you basically can't leave the room until you have a game.

As for my game - well, because I really needed a simple way to get back into practice, I just made a simple clone game. There's a ship, you move it around the screen, and asteroids fall from the sky. Now I've got the ship moving, and the asteroids fall randomly like I wanted, and the ship shoots bullets alright, and I've borrowed one of Domochevsky's shield images (thanks for those!). I even learned to make a bar in the corner that will run down if you use the shield, collapses the shield if it reaches 0, and starts regenerating properly after you let it go.

Now, it might be playable if I could get the collision detection to work properly . . . :smallannoyed:

[lesser_minion]

So, remember that nightmare I predicted?

Just implemented a turret enemy. It does nothing but fire unled shots at you until you or it dies.

Unfortunately, collision detection is monumentally broken, and currently it seems like you can completely own the game just by flying in circles and shooting. If you stop shooting, you die in short order. Bullets are too small and too fast to see, and I'm not sure the enemy bullets are being drawn at all.

So... definitely needs improvement. And more refactoring. If nothing else, I'm pretty sure I know what I should be doing differently, and why. So this exercise won't be a total loss either way.

[Ashtar]

I was searching for some background music and found a guy who allows his songs to be used if you credit his website: http://danosongs.com/ .

I'll be using Matiere Noire Vibrante (http://www.danosongs.com/music/danosongs.com-matiere-noire-vibrante.mp3) [direct MP3 link] as a background music.

Any programming you do is never a loss as long as you do a postmortem after a project and reflect on what went wrong and what went right. And also take the time to copy-paste the best pieces into a code repository (sorted by language / subject) so that you can keep them as reference for a next project. Thus building up your portfolio of snippets.

Also Here's a quick guide to adding sound in flash:
Sound handling in Flash
//Note: This assumes you place the MP3s in the folder next to the flash flv. I'm not embedding them in the file so they could be exchanged.

//Imports (at top)
import flash.media.Sound;
import flash.media.SoundChannel;

//VARIABLES - GLOBALS
private var sndChannel:SoundChannel;
//Background music
private var music:Sound;
private var musicPos:Number;
//Sound Effects
private var SndEffect1:Sound;


//LoadSound Function
public function LoadSound():void
{
music = new Sound();
music.load(new URLRequest("danosongs.com-matiere-noire-vibrante.mp3"));
music.addEventListener(Event.COMPLETE, SoundLoaded);

SndEffect1 = new Sound();
SndEffect1.load(new URLRequest("schlup.mp3"));
}

//Start playing in a loop the main BMG as soon as it is loaded for 100x
public function SoundLoaded(e:Event):void
{
sndChannel = new SoundChannel();
sndChannel = music.play(0,100);
}

// Code Snippet to Pause BMG music and Resume it after a pause at the same place
if (paused == true)
{
paused = false;
sndChannel = music.play(musicPos, 100); //start playing at position
}
else
{
paused = true;
musicPos = sndChannel.position; //Record sound position
sndChannel.stop(); //Stop all sounds in channels - clears ongoing sfx
}

//Code Snippet to Play the sound effect immediatly
SndEffect1.play();

[lesser_minion]

Eh... In my case, I'm tempted to leave the space game project where it is. It's not fit for public viewing, mainly thanks to a couple of stupid bugs (including at least one where I definitely should have known better), but it is (theoretically) a game, and I'd like to get a head start on the next project.

[spectralphoenix]

Reuploaded the Missiles game, along with my source code. I didn't really get around to making the code nicer, but I commented it, so it's there if anyone wants to have a look. To run the game, just open "MissilesPage.html"

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=LJ63MNUU

[super dark33]

Reuploaded the Missiles game, along with my source code. I didn't really get around to making the code nicer, but I commented it, so it's there if anyone wants to have a look. To run the game, just open "MissilesPage.html"

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=LJ63MNUU

Ahhhhh... reminds me of an old disk i once had....
it had many games, adn one like this one.
memories...

Its not a 'Shoot it untill it dies'', its anticipateing the missals and that i like.

7/10 overall for me.

[Ashtar]

Reuploaded the Missiles game, along with my source code.

Thanks for the full source, I was curious about the code. Pretty compact. I hadn't seen any silverlight game code yet.

On Perseids, there's been no progress. I'll do a last push tomorrow night to get something out for the challenge and I'll take a little week-end time (long train ride ahead) to polish it.

[Trazoi]

I was planning to see what I do in a single intenstive development session, but computer problems nixed that. Once I get it fixed I'll spend a weekend slamming out a space game in Flash, but it'll be too late for this month. I'll also be able to look at your Win games when I'm not on the Mac. :smallsmile:

[Helanna]

Ehh, I have a working game now but I probably won't bother uploading it, since it's just a clone game, and thus disqualified in any case. It worked wonders for getting me back into practice, though, so I can go back to school next week and not feel like a moron.

So . . . tiles this month, eh? Hmm, gotta think of an original idea this time . . .

[lesser_minion]

I've started trying to get a design down on paper for this month's project. I'm using Ruby again, since it's still the language I feel most comfortable with. Not totally sure how to do output this time, however.

[Tyndmyr]

No joy on finishing for me...curse you procrastination!

Month 2: September!
Theme: Fun with tiles!

August Completions:
Spectral Phoenix - Missiles (http://www.megaupload.com/?d=LJ63MNUU)
DragonSamurai77 - Space Invaders (http://www.filedropper.com/spaceinvaders)

Congrats to both!

[Domochevsky]

Oh yeah, as theme for the month after this one (tiles) i suggest Tower Defense. :smallwink:

[Emmerask]

Hm I don´t really see why a tower defense game could not also be done for the tiles month, seeing that most of these games (I have played) actually are tile based ^^

/edit but maybe I have a wrong expectation of what tiles mean

[Ashtar]

I know it's late to submit for this month, but I will still submit Perseids, with the full source code, too.

It's a flash game, but I've got no space to host it yet, so open up the zip on your hdd and play the flash file Perseids.

The source code is in AS3 for FlashDevelop, I used part of the tutorial from Chris Moeller (http://chrismweb.com/2011/01/26/creating-an-asteroids-game-part-1-setting-up-flashdevelop-and-planning/) and some parts from around the web.

Zipped game http://www.megaupload.com/?d=RHKRJEYV
Source code http://www.megaupload.com/?d=21ZBBU2K

There's two intro voices (one male and one female) that read the intro text after a few seconds. The game starts after any keypress. You have to avoid the asteroids for as long as you can. No real endgame beyond surviving.

[Eledragon]

I know it's late to submit for this month, but I will still submit Perseids, with the full source code, too.

It's a flash game, but I've got no space to host it yet, so open up the zip on your hdd and play the flash file Perseids.

The source code is in AS3 for FlashDevelop, I used part of the tutorial from Chris Moeller (http://chrismweb.com/2011/01/26/creating-an-asteroids-game-part-1-setting-up-flashdevelop-and-planning/) and some parts from around the web.

Zipped game http://www.megaupload.com/?d=RHKRJEYV
Source code http://www.megaupload.com/?d=21ZBBU2K

There's two intro voices (one male and one female) that read the intro text after a few seconds. The game starts after any keypress. You have to avoid the asteroids for as long as you can. No real endgame beyond surviving.

I tryed it. It was fun, and I got into space before I decided to see if I could fly offscreen.

...A brave ship was lost that day.

[lesser_minion]

Welp... I'd love to put a progress report in this post, but I haven't made any progress worth reporting. I'll see if I have any more to add when I'm less sleep-deprived.

[Ashtar]

For my September game (which I know I'll deliver mid-October since I always slip by deadlines), I've started the following design document:

Tower of Ruin - Tactics - Design document

Using the system: Warrior, Rogue & Mage

Background
You are an unnamed protagonist delving into the tower of Ruin, where the terrible sorcerer Ranalth lives. He threatens to destroy the world, you have to defeat him before he can put his plan to execution.

Gameplay:
Using the freely available (and slightly simplified / adapted) rules of WR&M, you navigate your way through a top down tactics game, room by room. Each room can have multiple exits and you need to visit them until you find the stairs to lead you up. At the end of the dungeon you will fight Ranalth. Combat is on a turn by turn basis, where you have a certain number of action points, moving costs 1 point, attacking and magic end your turn. A basic inventory is available.

When not in combat, the player can move freely on the grid.

Screen has: A game map area, a combat turn indicator on the side, a player recap with player stats and health at the bottom of the screen. Actions are selected from a menu on the vertical sidebar.

Graphic assets needed:
Land graphic times for the dungeon floor
Character assets
Item assets on the ground

Sounds needed:
Dungeon music
Magic sound effects

Extras:
NPCs with dialog
Helpers you can recruit in dungeon

Iteration steps:

Basic state machine design for the game
1 room, with character moving
2 linked rooms, map scrolling
Combat system, turn by turn, turn list on side of screen
combat system implementation (attack)
combat system menu
Character creation
Handling level ups
Magic system implementation
Inventory system
World definition from files
Enemies defined from files
Saving progress
New game screen
Music, sound effects and polish


It is quite ambitious, I probably won't be able to deliver a full game like Perseids for this one. But hey, aim for the moon, you might hit the sky.

I've also got an idea for an other game, but I'm keeping it under wraps for a new competition which would fit. The name would be "You are the boss"... guess the game :smallbiggrin:

[spectralphoenix]

For my (as yet untitled) game, so far I've built a fairly simple random dungeon generator that creates a dungeon level of 7-10 rooms and strings them together with corridors. My next step is to add in a protagonist who can move about the level.

[Tyndmyr]

Hm I don´t really see why a tower defense game could not also be done for the tiles month, seeing that most of these games (I have played) actually are tile based ^^

/edit but maybe I have a wrong expectation of what tiles mean

Really, can be anything you want. Hell, it could be a game about installing ceiling tiles, if you wished.

Remember, the theme is optional. So, if a game doesn't get finished in one month, you still get credit for the following month if you submit it later. Finished games are finished games!

[Ashtar]

Managed to do a little progress on Tower of Ruin. I prepared a generic State engine in Flash so that I can now control execution flow in an easier way. As a test, I have now a logo screen that gets shown before the transition to a main menu.

Next part is to prepare the overview map and start the movement of a player and scrolling. Also, I need to verify my way of passing Key and Mouse events to the state machine is done in a way to support me without issues. In effect, I'm sending a lot of time on a framework that I expect to be re-using for later games.

Update: 8 Sept 04:53
I'm making progress in leaps and bounds, now have a complete mouse and keyboard support all through the state engine. I have also started on the map rendering, supporting Square, Skewed and Isometric projection on the same simple codebase. (I'll also add Hex rendering as an exercise, even if I have to tweak another ruleset for that.)

The "Hero" can move around the map, checking for inaccessible squares before movement. There is a mouse overlay to indicate which floor tile is under the mouse (not shown in screenshots).

Please ignore the horrible programmer art in there (Mostly the Tower of Ruin menu screen). The logo squirrel was made for me by my talented girlfriend and the character art comes from http://www.squidi.net/three/entry.php?id=121 where I took the idea for a skewed world representation. I'm not yet settled on which one I'll use (or if I'll allow players to switch in battle?). Each of the scrolls on the main page goes to a different representation (square, skewed, iso) of the world.

Progress image spoilered for size
http://img827.imageshack.us/img827/9088/towerofruin.png

Next part is multi-room support and map scrolling, plus other user interfaces like the status bar and the combat tracker. Mouse click support to come.

[Tyndmyr]

So, what kinda isometric view do ya'll think is sexier for a tile based game in which you control a character?

Edge on or 45% angle(the corner shot)?

Getting some feedback via chat atm, but more is always good.

[spectralphoenix]

With 2D art (or 3D with an orthographic lens) definitely go 45. 3D with a perspective lens can go either way.

[Domochevsky]

isometric is probably the way to go, depending on how complex you want this to be. :smallsmile:

[Tyndmyr]

First Week Status Update.

Ashtar has made some progress on Towers of Ruin, screenshots above! Also, he submitted Persids (http://www.megaupload.com/?d=RHKRJEYV), a completed game, guaranteeing completion of the challenge this month. Source listed above.

SpectralPhoenix has made a random dungeon generator!

I've been playing with minecraft. I've learned how to make custom blocks thus far...the goal is to get nice, thin blocks(think like snow) that are...tiles! I'm aware that this is more mod than game, but I'll include something that extends gameplay as well. Details to be determined.

[Ashtar]

A mini-bump and a progress update:

Tower of Ruin is advancing very slowly. I implemented the base rules (characteristics, skills, weapons, armour, attacks, dice rolls, damage, movement and hitpoints) for the game system. I also have room switching where I can have multiple rooms with exits to a new room and rooms can be larger than the screen because I've got very basic scrolling capability.

Next step is to build the:
Combat system, turn by turn list on side of screen
combat system implementation (attack)
combat system menu

So that I have a real mini-demo to show. My guess is that will be it for the month. I'm focusing on Top-Down view while I get the rest of ToR sorted out and I'll get back to other rendering schemes later.

Formulas for each type of map, if anyone needs them.

for (var i:int = 0; i < mapHeight; ++i) { //y coord
for (var j:int = 0; j < mapWidth; ++j) { //x coord

Square Map (Top Down view)
Map: Tiles disposed by X = j * Width, Y = i * Height
Mouse coords to tile: Xtile = Math.round((Game.mouse_pos.x - TILE_WIDTH / 2) / TILE_WIDTH)
YTile = Math.round((Game.mouse_pos.y - TILE_HEIGHT / 2) / TILE_HEIGHT)

Iso Map
Initial displacement is to put the map far away from the edge of the screen
InitialDisplacement = (mapHeight * TILE_WIDTH / 2);
Map: Tiles disposed by
X = (InitialDisplacement + ((TILE_WIDTH/2) * (j-i))
Y = (TILE_HEIGHT/2) * (j+i)
Mouse coords to tile:
yTile =Math.round((2*Game.mouse_pos.y-(Game.mouse_pos.x - InitialDisplacement))/ TILE_WIDTH);
xTile = Math.round((2*(Game.mouse_pos.x - InitialDisplacement))/TILE_WIDTH + yTile )-1;

Skewed Map
private const SKEW_OFFSET:int = 13;
Map Tiles disposed by
X = ((TILE_WIDTH - SKEW_OFFSET )*j) + i * (SKEW_OFFSET + 3)
Y = TILE_HEIGHT*i
Mouse coords to tile:
yTile = Math.round((Game.mouse_pos.y - TILE_HEIGHT / 2) / TILE_HEIGHT);
xTile = Math.round(((Game.mouse_pos.x - TILE_WIDTH / 2) - yTile * (SKEW_OFFSET + 3)) / (TILE_WIDTH -SKEW_OFFSET));