Tweaking your game with Google Spreadsheets
by Kyle Carter · 02/02/2009 (12:59 pm) · 8 comments
Life is good here at PBLabs. For our Grunts: Skirmish game, there are a lot of parameters that have to be tweaked just so in order to make the game fun. Damage, movement speed, firing rate... to name just a few of 200 parameters.
We had an in-game tweaking tool (not nearly as nice as the Plastic Tweaker ;) and some XML files, too, but they were all too complicated and error-prone for casual tweaking.
How'd we solve the problem? Using some good ol' Web 2.0 ingenuity. :) I posted about the whole thing on my blog: Tweaking your game with Google Spreadsheets
The post talks about in the context of Flash, but I think doing the same in Torque wouldn't take you more than a day - and save you hours and hours of wasted time.
We had an in-game tweaking tool (not nearly as nice as the Plastic Tweaker ;) and some XML files, too, but they were all too complicated and error-prone for casual tweaking.
How'd we solve the problem? Using some good ol' Web 2.0 ingenuity. :) I posted about the whole thing on my blog: Tweaking your game with Google Spreadsheets
The post talks about in the context of Flash, but I think doing the same in Torque wouldn't take you more than a day - and save you hours and hours of wasted time.
About the author
#2
02/02/2009 (4:00 pm)
Thanks for the kind words, Mich. :) I hope it's useful! 
#3
02/02/2009 (5:46 pm)
Hells yes! PBE Beta, w00t! Been looking forward to checking the PBE engine out for a while. Very cool stuff! 
#4
Anyways, a great approach to your problem. I dig it.
02/02/2009 (8:23 pm)
Cool stuff Ben. I recently struggled with your CrossDomain.xml issue while developing a Flex app at work. Simple fix when you have access to the server. I'd love to see that proxy script though... hahaAnyways, a great approach to your problem. I dig it.
#5
@FireVein: Make sure you sign up at www.pushbuttonengine.com :)
02/02/2009 (8:50 pm)
@Patrick: I added a paragraph at the end of the post w/ a link to the script. Check it out. And thanks. :)@FireVein: Make sure you sign up at www.pushbuttonengine.com :)
#6
02/03/2009 (10:24 am)
@Ben, Thanks, heading over to check it out now. 
#7
If it'd ever come to connecting the two, your article will save many hours for me. Until then, I'll just feel good about choosing the same tools as black-belts. ;)
02/04/2009 (8:23 am)
Ben, this is really cool! Although I'm not developing a flash game, I've already been using Google Spreadsheets for balancing my game - not directly connected yet though, but it's still of great use. Especially the collaborative side of it is worth gold. If it'd ever come to connecting the two, your article will save many hours for me. Until then, I'll just feel good about choosing the same tools as black-belts. ;)
#8
02/04/2009 (8:06 pm)
Well, we're doing this too so its true that great minds think alike, Fools seldom differ. 
Employee Michael Perry
ZombieShortbus