I’ve been wanting to post this for awhile.  Below you will find several prototypes I created in GameMaker to prove out the ideas I wanted to see in the final version of 1942: Joint Strike.  But first let me write a mini-postmortem about the prototype development.

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Life is filled with everything but meaningful progress.  At least it feels that way sometimes.  I’ve been swamped at work and haven’t been able to put in great amount of work into my current prototype.

When we last left off… I had just started my new game idea.  I’ve made some initial progress.   I have the player character’s base abilities in.  Well, like 2 of them.  I have now moved on to making the enemy move around.  That is my new challenge.  What I’ve realized is that I shouldn’t build the enemy from scratch.  I’ve done all this collision and jump magic work for the player character, why would I rewrite that.  So, Plan B…which really should have been Plan A.

Build with modularity in mind.  I’ve heard this before, and but I needed to start it that hard way for it to make sense.  I’m not sure how I can break out my player character code into modules or scripts that can be shared.  That is the next big chunk of work that must happen.  Hopefully I can do that soon.  We’ll see how it goes down.

I got an article from a friend that will help with solidifying my engine architecture.  I have a programming background, but I haven’t really been a programmer.  I’ve been focusing on design more.  This is an attempt to marry both those experiences.  I’m not the strongest in either but hopefully this will strengthen my skills in both areas.

I’ve started working on a project again.  A branch off the “action prototype” with the purpose of making a new game.  It’s an idea I’ve had for awhile.  I’ve been scared to really pursue it before, however now I’m making a bit of progress.

I’m trying not to think on it too much.  The more I think about it the more I talk myself out of it.  When I think of all the little things that need to be done to make the game complete I get discouraged.  I want to make the engine easy to understand but really that just delays the creation process.  To make progress, I must continue to move forward even if the implementation is ugly.  I can always go back and clean it up. I must remember that.

Marcus

Moving platforms were a headache.

But it’s done-ish. Read more

A minor update.

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I’m not an artist.  This has been mentioned before.  So I have to seek reference sometimes for my motions.  Google images is great for basic body motion like ledge grabs or running.

When looking for melee combat I go to Hong Kong action, anime, manga, or fighting games.  In this case, Cody from Street Figher IV is awesome.

I’m currently trying to create melee attacks.  I want something that looks good.  So, when I’m tired or unsure about the visual impact of the pose, I utilize the work someone else has done.  It allows for quick creation rather than struggling with body poses.

Unfortunately, the punch animations I did don’t seem to have enough reach on them.

Currently in the game I can punch someone, but given where the hit occurs you have to be really close.  If I were making a true fighting game, this reach would be part of the character’s fighting style, however, in a brawler (Final Fight-esque) it is better to have a bit of extended reach.  It makes it easier for player to attack.  Anything to make it less frustrating.

I hope to make some progress on the melee attack system this week.  However, my current solution is turning out to be tedious and cumbersome.  My current understanding of Game Maker shows a lack of extensive support for hit boxes.  Executing a fighting game doesn’t seem to be the strong suit of the engine.  I’m going to continue looking into different implementation strategies, but it may end up that I will have to do the heavy lifting myself.  As a result we may not see a significant game update for a couple of weeks.  Hopefully it won’t be that long.

Wish me luck!

Update!!

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Sometimes it’s hard to stay motivated. Hah…let’s be truthful, for some it is extremely difficult. I personally struggle with my motivation everyday. How does this apply to games?

Games don’t make themselves.

One of my favorite sayings. Without motivation how does the game get completed? I struggle with motivation everyday.

Just like a rocket blasting off into space it takes a lot of fuel to get started. With long project cycles it feels like we are forever just trying to break the atmosphere. Burning a minimal amount of fuel, and finding it insufficient for lift off. Ok, I’ve beaten this metaphor into the ground.

How do I combat my lack of motivation? I’ve yet to find a sure fire method. But typically it’s one of the following things that gets me back on track:

• Break the task into smaller more achievable parts.
• Reassess the task. Make sure it’s the appropriate focus.
• Look for inspiration outside of the work.
• Procrastinate until my mojo comes back.
• Shut up and do it.

More often than not it’s a combination of the last two that unstick me.  Unfortunately those are the methods that take the longest to execute.  Procrastination is more my style.  And finding the energy to shut up and do it is hard to do most often.  Life and its moment-to-moment events detract from the focus needed for the project’s tasks.  Ultimately, I need to prioritize the project higher in my life priorities.

Well, this weekend the winning motivational method was shut up and do it….with a little bit of change of venue.  I got out and hit a cafe.  While killing time, I reassessed what I needed to do.  I made some real progress this weekend.

Let’s hope I can hold onto that fire.

Marcus

I never know how engineers decide whether a software version is a 0.1 or a full on 1.0.  So, we’ll make this up as we go along.

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I’m not an artist.  Let’s get that out of the way.  I learned how to do designer art from my former design boss Tetsuya Iijima.  Love that guy.  His art was awesome.  Tetsu used to draw these stick figures that had so much expression.  I’ve imitated his style, but it never had the same flavor.

I’ve been using my limited artistic skills to create art for my prototype.  Stick figures work really well for a non-descript feel.  It determines the characters as humanoid but without attaching too deep of a personality.  Especially my limited skill keeps there from being too much expression in the animation.

Here are two animations I’ve created, the run and the jump.

I typically try and sketch out my actions in a sketchbook or a piece of paper.  Then I use Inkscape to create the actual art to use in Game Maker.  I love Inkscape.  It’s like a MS Paint for grownups.  I create each individual frame in Inkscape, but then use GIMP to create the animated gif.  It’s a cumbersome process, but works for the moment.

I want to make some attack animations and some wall jumping animations next, but that may be a little way off.