Level Flow Diagram

Having done the basics of my platformer I started working on how the actual level would work.  Below is an image showing the level flow for the final beta, the alpha wont follow this structure exactly but rather test all the systems required to make the structure work.  Doing the flow diagram really helped me break down what the game needs in terms of mechanics.  I've still got a lot of work to do for Wednesday and with another major deadline on Thursday I won't be spending much longer on the game.

MacBeth Early Alpha Video

This video shows some of the basic mechanics of my MacBeth game, collision detection is obviously not very precise for the ladder but that's easily fixed. Still a lot of work to do on this for Wednesday but I'm getting there...

MacBeth Platformer Pre-Alpha from JohnnyJohnJohns on Vimeo.

MacB

I have finally started work on the MacBeth game, mostly trying to get organised and make sure I'm focusing only on what I need to in order to get the alpha done for next Monday. I don't have much time due to other assignments but I'm managing to fit some game work in here and there.

I did up my first sprites for the game and they're attached below, it wasn't as difficult as I had expected to get them running and jumping in game maker although the lack of animations makes their movement look very awkward but its fine for alpha. Not there yet on these designs, but almost!

Left sprite for moving and facing left(Right is a mirror image)

Back of sprite for when he's climbing ladders.

Tragedie

Enjoy!

Black Ops and the Magic Circle

Children's Games by Pieter Brueghel (circa 1560)

When I go online on the PS3 I generally hope a few friends are online so that we can join a game of Call of Duty together, its more fun to be in a game with people you know as opposed to complete strangers. Team Death Match with 5 friends is a great experience where you as a group perform better than individuals. After these games we remember the highlights, a great kill or a lucky shot long after the game is over, we remember great games even longer still.

These friends that I play Black Ops with are friends that I've known for about 7 or 8 years, we used to all Kayak together in Ireland and abroad, we've lived through some pretty intense experiences in the past. By our actions or inactions in the past we've all been responsible for each others safety and I can think times when one of us has saved another from serious danger. These are the kinds of friends who I've formed strong life long bonds with and who I can rely on if I need help. Unfortunately these days we don't see much of each other due to people moving on so Call of Duty helps keep us together and strengthen our friendship.

In the past when we met up the talk would be of some difficult river or dangerous situation that turned out o.k. in the end. Nowadays stories of Call of Duty games are starting to intersperse the conversation, I think the thrill and togetherness we once got from kayaking is being supplemented with games. After all both Whitewater Kayaking and video games are just games, right?

I think this sums up both activities pretty well:

"...the feeling of being 'apart together' in an exceptional situation, of sharing something important, of mutually withdrawing from the rest of the world and rejecting the usual norms, retains its magic beyond the duration of the individual game."

To me this describes both Kayaking and Video Games succinctly when groups are involved. Whats interesting about this quote is that it isn't about either, its not written by a contemporary game journalist or a sports psychologist, instead its written by Johan Huizinga, in 1938. His book Homo Ludens forms the basis of Play Theory and from the quote above you can see how relevant this work is today. So far the book has provided insight into why we play games and some of the varying forms play can take, I couldn't have asked for much more from Mr. Huizinga!

P.S. There's a bit of an Easter Egg if you click the image above.

Couple

So far, so good on my new game. At this stage I feel confident that I'll get it finished, my main issue will be in animating the sprites and music for it as I've no experience in that area. The images below are more so to show the characters as the scale is way off from what will be in the game. Hoping to get this done within a few days so fingers crossed everything goes ok tomorrow!

Board Game Done, Game Maker Next!

Our group board game Blobs is done, it took a little over 3 weeks and numerous playtests to complete, at the end of it I can say I was delighted with how it turned out. I think we worked well as a group, we all brought different skills and perspectives to the table and the final board game wouldn't have been what it was without input from every one of us. Last week we did a playtest with players from outside the group and it threw up a number of issues, without this playtest session our game would not have been as much fun as it is now. So thank you to our playtesters for helping make the game what it was.

With the board game done there's now a lot off assignments and projects due in the next few weeks, one of these will be something in Game Maker, I'm ok at using game maker but I think I might try spend some time over the weekend getting familiar with it. I found the Experimental Gameplay Project online and they have a challenge to make a game on the theme of night and day so I'm gonna enter a platformer that will hopefully be somewhat experimental. A video of my first prototype is below and to be honest its gonna get a graphical improvement based off some sketches I have here and add a few more game elements then release it into the wild!

Platformer prototype from JohnnyJohnJohns on Vimeo.

The Power of a Tubby Plumber

I grew up playing Super Mario Brothers, its one of my early gaming memories, to me Mario is the king of computer games and represents a lot of why I find games fun... Sonic would have been a contender but he never really seemed to make it into the 3rd dimension so Mario wins due to lasting appeal and a varied wardrobe!

I got my girlfriend New Super Mario Brothers Wii for Christmas last year and we had played it a good bit up until this summer. We've started playing again and it just feels great. The SMB games just have this amazing feeling of engagement with the world. It feels so natural to move Mario, to run and jump, to shoot fireballs or iceballs and smash enemies. This isn't the kind of engagement you feel in story driven games, instead you engage with the world and your place within it.

I had, until recently, felt that I was more the kind of person who enjoys story and narrative within games however getting back to playing Mario and game like Angry Birds, Plants Vs Zombies and Minecraft even multiplayer on Modern Warfare 2. These are the games that lately I've enjoyed the most and their all strong on mechanics, after all isn't that what games are about?

Some Aliens

Just though I'd post up a a quick image of the aliens for our group board game, I'm pretty happy although I think the mouth definitely needs some more work. If you like what you see you can read more about the development of the board game over at: http://theproject-x.blogspot.com/