Today was busier than I thought, so I only had time for a couple things. First off, since I added zooming capability, I decided to try the game out, build what I thought would be a cool route system, and see it from an aerial view. Let me tell you, it was beautiful. It looked organic, like veins splitting every which way, and the people passing through it made it look alive. I was blown away by my own handiwork. I am proud. Every once in a while you need to step back and be amazed by your own creation.
However, this was still with the placeholder graphics. When I add the real graphics to the game, it's going to blow the world away with its magnificence.
Afterwards, I added the xbox controller capability, which is pretty nice. It's nice to be able to scroll at variable speeds and directions, whereas the keyboard has eight directions and one speed. Also, I used the two shoulder triggers for zooming. The right one zooms in and the left zooms out. I started adding rumble support when I got caught up doing something else, but I'm almost done with it, so the buildings will give a little rumble when they finish. Of course, in the end, I think I'll only do a rumble when your routes are destroyed because a rumble for each building could get annoying.
Something I was thinking about today is sound. I have Audacity, which I hear is a decent sound editing program, but I really have no experience with sound, so I'm not sure where to start. But I'll figure it out. Ideally I'd just happen across someone with such experience, but at the moment I know nobody.
In fact, the only person I know (under fifty) interested in software development is one person (I'm at a small university where all computer people are interested in everything but). And that person has a busy life. I'm going to make a training game with him this summer for our university library, but that's for pay and it doesn't entail nearly as much as Sever does. He just doesn't have the time for an effort without guaranteed return (and without any development schedule).
But when it comes down to it, I enjoy knowing that everything in the game was made by me. Plus, I learn so much more that goes into putting a game together (besides project management and team dynamics).
clevceo
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Last Night
After I posted last night, I made some real progress in the user interaction in the game. The user can now choose which node to branch from and what kind of node to build. Also, he can zoom in and out by pressing the minus and plus keys. I also added some cool highlighting to the nodes that the mouse hovers over and a cool red highlight behind your cursor if you're trying to build a node too close to another one. Next, before I add multiple players, I'll have to allow the user to delete nodes, thus destroying all routes and nodes that branch from them.
Anyway, I'll probably be working on it for most of today.
After I allow multiple players I'll looking into online multiplayer. After I do that I'll add the menu screen and maybe some maps, and then I will look into AI. And if the AI works out, I'll make the single-player campaign. Along the way, here and there, I'll make some graphics and do a little research into pixel shading. There's some work ahead, but I can take it.
clevceo
Anyway, I'll probably be working on it for most of today.
After I allow multiple players I'll looking into online multiplayer. After I do that I'll add the menu screen and maybe some maps, and then I will look into AI. And if the AI works out, I'll make the single-player campaign. Along the way, here and there, I'll make some graphics and do a little research into pixel shading. There's some work ahead, but I can take it.
clevceo
Friday, March 30, 2007
Progress
I've made progress. I spent the greater amount of the past few days finishing up the base structure of the game and just today, I got everything on-screen. I even made a virtual camera that moves around, zooms, and rotates. When I first ran it, I kept getting null reference errors (if you're a programmer), one after the other. The code made sense when I wrote it, but I had it all wrong. Then the second problem was that people were passing the people in front of them, and cutting in line is unacceptable.
Anyway, I fixed all of the above errors, and I've allowed the user to build a chain of nodes that the route will travel through. I'm still wondering how the heck I'll implement the AI. Another challenge in the near future is the graphics. I've worked with bitmaps and I can get the game looking decent enough will just that, but I could make it look loads more awesome with some pixel-shading and some other stuff. At the moment, however, I'm stuck with placeholder bitmaps.
Right now, after I finish this post, I'm going to finish the user-interaction stuff, then add the ability to have multiple players on the map. Of course, every player besides the human player will just "exist". Nevertheless, it will be a step forward. I'll also probably add xbox controller capability, just for fun. Eventually, I'll need to develop custom maps to play on. At the moment, the map is an open playing field with no obstacles or anything.
Ultimately, if everything works out and I can get some kind of AI going, I'd like to create a campaign with a story. First I'll have to come up with a premise. I already have some ideas, but I'll be bouncing them around until I get there. The more thinking time, the better.
clevceo
Anyway, I fixed all of the above errors, and I've allowed the user to build a chain of nodes that the route will travel through. I'm still wondering how the heck I'll implement the AI. Another challenge in the near future is the graphics. I've worked with bitmaps and I can get the game looking decent enough will just that, but I could make it look loads more awesome with some pixel-shading and some other stuff. At the moment, however, I'm stuck with placeholder bitmaps.
Right now, after I finish this post, I'm going to finish the user-interaction stuff, then add the ability to have multiple players on the map. Of course, every player besides the human player will just "exist". Nevertheless, it will be a step forward. I'll also probably add xbox controller capability, just for fun. Eventually, I'll need to develop custom maps to play on. At the moment, the map is an open playing field with no obstacles or anything.
Ultimately, if everything works out and I can get some kind of AI going, I'd like to create a campaign with a story. First I'll have to come up with a premise. I already have some ideas, but I'll be bouncing them around until I get there. The more thinking time, the better.
clevceo
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Sever?
This is my first entry in my development journal for Sever. Spring break just ended, so I have less time to work on it, but I’m filling in the gaps as much as I can. Over the last couple days of spring break, I came up with the idea for Sever. At the beginning of the week, I was beginning development of an RPG engine, but I figured it would be nothing original and too much work, so took the advice of Chris Delay at Introversion Software: minimal content. An RPG is 95% content. Chris's latest game, Defcon, is purely multiplayer and very very simple. But the design is so original and clever that the game pulls it off. That is what got me wracking my brain for a simple game like Sever.
It was actually going on 11pm when the idea came to me. Of course it was vague and fuzzy at first, but I beat it and kneaded through the wee hours until I had something close to what I have now. Then the next day I began development. I finally got to the point where I could show something on-screen. And I did, but it was only minimal. Then the next day (yesterday or the day before), I started over with some better ideas of how to implement it. I am now about a third done with the underlying structure of the game.
The game is an RTS, but a very different form of RTS. You build a route system. The one resource is people, which travel through the routes, and build the routes and nodes (route waypoints). The point of the game is to sever the enemy’s routes with yours, thereby destroying everything beyond the severed route section. To win, you’ll sever the route connecting his two central nodes, which produce his people.
The real challenge of course will be creating the AI. I am fairly inexperienced with AI, so I feel pretty intimidated. Another challenge would be supporting multiplayer. I have nill experience with that as well. However, that at least sounds doable.
That’s the story so far. I hope you stick with me as I progress. Thanks for reading! Please comment. I need the encouragement. If you have ideas don’t hesitate to share them.
clevceo
It was actually going on 11pm when the idea came to me. Of course it was vague and fuzzy at first, but I beat it and kneaded through the wee hours until I had something close to what I have now. Then the next day I began development. I finally got to the point where I could show something on-screen. And I did, but it was only minimal. Then the next day (yesterday or the day before), I started over with some better ideas of how to implement it. I am now about a third done with the underlying structure of the game.
The game is an RTS, but a very different form of RTS. You build a route system. The one resource is people, which travel through the routes, and build the routes and nodes (route waypoints). The point of the game is to sever the enemy’s routes with yours, thereby destroying everything beyond the severed route section. To win, you’ll sever the route connecting his two central nodes, which produce his people.
The real challenge of course will be creating the AI. I am fairly inexperienced with AI, so I feel pretty intimidated. Another challenge would be supporting multiplayer. I have nill experience with that as well. However, that at least sounds doable.
That’s the story so far. I hope you stick with me as I progress. Thanks for reading! Please comment. I need the encouragement. If you have ideas don’t hesitate to share them.
clevceo
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