My First Game
by Michael Perry · in iTorque 2D · 08/19/2011 (2:47 pm) · 7 replies
Greetings all. I've been asked by a couple people to produce screenshots of the game I'm working on. I've had this idea for a while now and decided it's time to execute on it. The true test of evaluating your engine is trying to make a complete game with it, far beyond a simple one or two day game jam.
Currently there are only two people working on it, neither of us are artists. I'm using placeholder art for everything, primarily because I have not secured an artist yet. Also helps to build suspense and discussion on what the game might be:
Prototype:
Proof of Concept:
We are handling development in a very aggressive, fast paced manner. We both worked on failed side projects in the past, so we have a few hard rules that cannot be broken if we want to finish:
1. No design Hell. Too many games I wanted to work on never even saw a single line of code. I wanted no more than two one hour initial meetings. One to present the idea, two to make a plan of action for 1 month of coding.
2. Get to the core game play as fast as possible. If the base mechanics are not fun, we will find out early on. It needs to be fun and appealing, even if there is hacked code. Don't get stuck on little tweaks or making perfect systems.
3. Iterate, iterate, iterate. Once the first play tests are finished, we will sprint 1 week at a time. Small goals that can be accomplished in two or three day sessions are what we want. Each stable build will be handed out for play testing to make sure we do not go down the wrong path.
4. Cannot be worked on during core working hours. Aside from this one post, no work on the game can occur (coding, art, biz dev) during the day (Mon-Fri). That leaves nights and weekends, which is going to become major Hell if we aim for the Halloween release date.
Well, there ya have it. Marvel at my blocks!
Currently there are only two people working on it, neither of us are artists. I'm using placeholder art for everything, primarily because I have not secured an artist yet. Also helps to build suspense and discussion on what the game might be:
Prototype:
Proof of Concept:
We are handling development in a very aggressive, fast paced manner. We both worked on failed side projects in the past, so we have a few hard rules that cannot be broken if we want to finish:
1. No design Hell. Too many games I wanted to work on never even saw a single line of code. I wanted no more than two one hour initial meetings. One to present the idea, two to make a plan of action for 1 month of coding.
2. Get to the core game play as fast as possible. If the base mechanics are not fun, we will find out early on. It needs to be fun and appealing, even if there is hacked code. Don't get stuck on little tweaks or making perfect systems.
3. Iterate, iterate, iterate. Once the first play tests are finished, we will sprint 1 week at a time. Small goals that can be accomplished in two or three day sessions are what we want. Each stable build will be handed out for play testing to make sure we do not go down the wrong path.
4. Cannot be worked on during core working hours. Aside from this one post, no work on the game can occur (coding, art, biz dev) during the day (Mon-Fri). That leaves nights and weekends, which is going to become major Hell if we aim for the Halloween release date.
Well, there ya have it. Marvel at my blocks!
About the author
Programmer.
#2
08/19/2011 (3:12 pm)
GG Employee Stalker Avoidance Simulator? 
#3
08/19/2011 (4:03 pm)
Replace "Stalker" with "Student" and you got yourself a big fat deal! :-)
#4
@Johnny - You're thoughts are the closest out most guesses I have been receiving.
@Steve - Ha! There is no way to simulate that. It's natural learning.
I should also point out that some improvements from this game have already been bleeding into iTorque. For example, this game project drove me to simply a project structure (simpler directories, less scripts). I liked it so much that I moved it over to iTorque 2D 1.5. As I mentioned in the first post, this illustrates the phrase "eating your own dog food." This isn't a request from anyone I work with or report to, just something I thought would make my life easier as an iT2D user and an iT2D developer.
08/19/2011 (6:23 pm)
Thanks for the comments guys. @Johnny - You're thoughts are the closest out most guesses I have been receiving.
@Steve - Ha! There is no way to simulate that. It's natural learning.
I should also point out that some improvements from this game have already been bleeding into iTorque. For example, this game project drove me to simply a project structure (simpler directories, less scripts). I liked it so much that I moved it over to iTorque 2D 1.5. As I mentioned in the first post, this illustrates the phrase "eating your own dog food." This isn't a request from anyone I work with or report to, just something I thought would make my life easier as an iT2D user and an iT2D developer.
#5
I like it, keep us posted!
08/19/2011 (7:50 pm)
My guess: looks like a mix of a tower defense and Atom Zombie Smasher.I like it, keep us posted!
#6
08/20/2011 (9:43 am)
Good luck Michael, as most of us know - getting a game on to the app store is a lot more than a bit of prototyping with the engine ;) 
#7
Congrats on the game.
Right. I found the default template too complicated and full of code that I don't really needed, so I did a simpler one
Torque Minimal Template -- Part 5. Levels and sound
In the next couple days I will update this resource with a fully functional template with
1) multilevel switching
2) "automatic" iphone and ipad support
3) iAd
If there is GG interest in providing this template with the next 1.7.5 release, fine with me :-).
08/20/2011 (9:54 am)
@MichaelCongrats on the game.
Quote:For example, this game project drove me to simply a project structure (simpler directories, less scripts).
Right. I found the default template too complicated and full of code that I don't really needed, so I did a simpler one
Torque Minimal Template -- Part 5. Levels and sound
In the next couple days I will update this resource with a fully functional template with
1) multilevel switching
2) "automatic" iphone and ipad support
3) iAd
If there is GG interest in providing this template with the next 1.7.5 release, fine with me :-).
Torque Owner Johnny Vo