CHA-CHA-CHA-CHANGES

A lot has happened in just a few days so this is going to be a fairly sizable update to go with some big changes to my game...

The other evening in my games session my Duck Pond game took a harsh beating from Brad (my games tutor). Rightly so I have to say, the game at that stage was very simple and there wasn’t much to it. In my defence I must say it has taken me this long (80% of the project time) to get to this far with the coding… and it’s been a one hell of a struggle! (thanks for the continuous help & tutoring with this Adam & others)

Negativities aside myself and Brad set about coming up with changes and additions to improve and add more depth to the game play. The set brief states my submission has to be a platformer; my game seems to be stretching the platform concept a little, so to drop it into that category I have given the avatar some movement. The position and perspective of the avatar has changed, the old lady now faces towards the pond from the bottom of the screen and she can move LEFT and RIGHT only (using the arrow keys). When she disappears off the stage in one direction, she will appear on the opposite side of the stage. This actions isn’t very ‘realistic’ I know but this ability will boost the game play somewhat.

I have also changed the crosshair as show in the previous post; to be honest I implemented the target crosshair on the fly just to test out the mouse over and out function. I didn’t realise until later that it gives off the wrong connotations... SNIPE THE DUCK!

I’ve now dropped the idea of a shop / store menu at the start of the game, only because the requirements to make this happen are way out of my coding league. Don’t get me wrong I don’t want to seem like the wuss who isn’t prepared to challenge himself but believe me when I say that this simple game concept is challenging my coding skills enough! To compensate for this loss of the shop menu I am going to implement a difficulty setting, easy (2 good ducks, 1 bad duck) medium (1 of each) and hard (1 good duck, 2 bad ducks) this I can accomplish easy enough with-in the time given.

My next step is to work out how to create selectable items, very much like an inventory or a weapons selection function. I’m going to have another item or two for the player to choose between other than just bread. This also makes up somewhat for the missing out the shop / store menu again.
IF I can get this function running it opens up a whole variety of different game play modifiers, for example I could have point based rewards if the players scores X amount.

Another bug has developed with-in the game, if a thrown item crosses over a duck before landing the score goes crazy! This happens because the ducks are repeatedly hit testing with the item whilst it’s still on the move, another issue to fix.

Play about with the current version HERE, it is a lot different from previous versions, use the LEFT & RIGHT arrow keys on your keyboard to move the old deer about. If you do play please leave a comment telling me what you think. It’s still very much in development but I can see an end in sight.

TODAYS ADVANCE

Today I accomplished some small additions to my game…

1. Pointer changes to crosshair on mouse over water area (image above)
2. Water area made click-able, outside of water area none click-able.
3. Enemy duck added (black duck) - that's not a racial slur!

It is starting to take shape, click HERE to play about with the current version.

TWO MAJOR CHANGES

Adam (one of my course mates) has really helped me out on the coding front. He has looked over and re-worked my script in several ways so now the whole game is looking a lot more… alive!

I’ve just spent the last few hours picking apart what’s been altered so I can fully understand the changes and how they benefit my game engine.

Apart from re-organising the script layout and generally scrapping the un-used code there are 2 major changes…

1. Getting rid of the trajectory of a projectile equation that mapped out the thrown items path. The main issue was that it constantly needed updating (looping code) to continue moving the thrown item along its path. Also this equation relied to heavily on velocity, trajectory and gravity, making the thrown item over hit or under hit the users clicked position 8 out of 10 times.

The thrown item now moves along a defined path using a Bézier curve, the Bezier code lays out four positions… initPos, EndPos, ContPos and perPos. The ContPos & perPos parts of the code can be altered numerically to increase or decrease the curved effect. The EndPos is determined by where the user has clicked the mouse, so this means the item travelling along the Bézier curve will STOP when it reaches the chosen EndPos… thus I can also loose the hidden platforms that I introduced a few posts back.
2 birds, 1 stone.

2. The problem of the duck suddenly taking flight and buggering off out of the game screen, never to be seen again, this has been a frustrating bug in my game since the very start of the project.

Every time the duck hit one of the invisible walls that was boxing him/her in, a new random direction was generated. Because I didn’t declare the numbers as integers (a number that has no decimal places) the game engine couldn’t calculate a random direction from numbers that had so many decimals in them, thus breaking the code and leaving the duck to break free and carry on travelling in its current direction. Now that the numbers generating the new directions are declared as integers, nice simple round, decimal free numbers, easy for the game engine to handle.

Big thanks Adam for helping me out. Your name has valiantly made its way into the game credits along side myself and others.

The following are issues that I am tending to next...

a. There can only be one item upon the water at any one time, so the player has to wait till the duck eats it and then the player can throw again. I’m looking into making it so multiple items can be thrown, say 3 or 4 at the most.

b. At the moment the user can click anywhere on the game screen and the item will be thrown to that mark, I am going to limit the ‘”click-able” area to just the water sector, where the duck swims about.

______________________________________________

Click HERE to play about with the current version.
Its still very minimal & flawed but its alive!

PHUX0R AS3

I’ve come to a point in the project where I have the code for every main function of the game, in theory I should be able to get the game up and going.

I’ve developed the code for each action separately, each function being produced in its own .fla project file, I did this because it made constructing the code easier, free from conflicts caused by other functions in the script.

Now I’ve come to the stage where I can piece the blocks of code together to make one “working” game engine. After doing so half of the functions cess to work, great. Odd thing is I get no errors spat back at me from Flash… creepy. I’ve spent the last few days working out what could be wrong with it, no joy.

Since it’s the weekend and the coding work isn’t going anywhere I decided to re-work my character designs, please see below…

ABOVE: the hero of my escapade.

ABOVE: good duck & evil duck.

Another function that I can tick off my list is the pre-loader, see screen shot below. I plan to have some audio in my game so that means I MUST have a pre-loader or else it’s doomed in terms of accessibility (slow connections…etc) My pre-loader’s source came from an awesome tutorial that I found at Newgrounds.com here, very easy to understand and customise.

X+Y+Z = 3D

I’ve come up with a way of making the items that are thrown into the pond stop when they hit the surface of the water. The big problem with this project is that I’m trying to do a 3D physic in a 2D environment… let me TRY to explain…

Clicking the mouse activates the old lady to throw an item across the screen, this involves the X axis (horizontal, length) and the Y axis (vertical, height)… pretty simple… until I came to the stage where I wanted to land that thrown item onto a flat surface, the Z axis… X+Y+Z = 3D… my game is 2D with a side on view - DOH!

I could have gone back and re-designed the whole perspective of the game, maybe make it isometric. Instead I decided to put tiered platforms into the area where the thrown item travels through. I then applied a hitTest variable to these platforms so the thrown item can land on any platform it connects with.

Man I found that hard to explain, hope it made some sense. I’ve printed a screen shot to try and further explain my solution, please see below. Obviously the platforms won’t be visible in the game.

*** Addition *** as feared it seems my explanation wasn’t as crystal as I’d hoped. Adam’s comment prompted me to add the additional image below to expand on my explanation, hopefully it shows what I mean by the action that I was trying to achieve was a 3D one. No worries now though, platforms to the rescue!

PIECING IT TOGETHHER

OK… update, 3 things to show you…

1. In this version I have the duck swimming about his pond (random direction generated every time) The countdown timer is working, along with the score / points system. Also the avatar throwing animation is working (click anywhere over the pond) The avatar doesn’t have the ability to actually throw any items in this version, but I have placed a piece of bread already on the water just to demonstrate the score system at work, the duck will eat it pretty quickly. Click HERE to view this version.

2. The above image illustrates what I am trying to achieve with this version, for the item to stop on the line of X. The line X is determined on the user clicked position. This whole action is what I’ve been trying to crack for a while now but it still isn’t as I want it. Thanks to Danny’s & DD’s help I’ve managed to get the old dear throwing items based on this equation below, trajectory of a projectile... maths PAH! Click HERE to view this version.

3. To give my mind a short break from baffling maths and AS coding I decided to start working on the animated menu screen. The image below is a sign that I have designed for the game’s title screen. Mouse over each button to trigger a different animation, the buttons don’t lead anywhere… yet.
Click HERE to view this current version of the menu screen.

I’ve also decide to re-design the pixelated ‘old lady’ and ‘duck’ characters due to various comments about how they don’t mix well with the smooth vector background. I seem to agree after taking a 2^nd look.

The plan is to merge these several versions with their different functions to make a finished game. It’s tough going and I’ve done a couple of Flash game projects before. I'm currently devoting 110% of my time at the moment to this… sorry 3DSM, I haven’t forgotten you.

CODING

Accomplished… countdown timer function added and throwing animation on mouse click added.

The game is slowly starting to build up and take shape. I’m struggling like hell with the Action Script though but I’m gradually picking things up here and there. I’ve had some great help from Mazoonist on actionscript.org, thanks!

Click the image below to play about with the current version, it's still VERY minimal...

CS3/AS3 PROJECTILE PROBLEMS

I’m having major issues programming the main action of my avatar, throwing items (bread…etc) into the pond. I’ve been doing some research into how I can go about this in CS3, as far as I can understand it involves this AS3 code – angle=Math.asin(g*d/ (v*v) / 2 – this code is based around a trigonometry equation which can be explained… here.

I’ve managed to get a simplified example of what I’m trying to accomplish using good old CS2, click the image below to try it out. This isn’t exactly what I’m intending to do though, I’d like to achieve a realistic looking gravity effect on the final version.

AIRSOFT FPS

I recently found these photos on an old CDR, there from an awesome day of Airsofting at my then local paintball site in West Yorkshire.

I’m posting these really to go with a conversation I had last week with someone on my course about what a great video game an FPS Airsoft game would make, if it was done right… of course. It would really have to convey the game of Airsoft fully, rather than just be another throw-away FPS.

Rockstar pulled of an awesome table tennis game, Rockstar Table Tennis, that’s how it has to be done, felt more like a simulator staying true to the game rather than a generic sports game thats been taken in the totally wrong direction.

(I’m the 3^rd one in from the left in the group photo below…
...oh boy I got so many kills that day)

This guy below with the scope was lethal!

WATCH THE DUCK

I’ve started construction on my Flash game, re-designing some of the visuals and implementing the basic action of the ponds primary inhabitant… the DUCK!

To keep the duck moving with-in a boxed off area I have used the HitTest technique as discussed and illustrated in a previous post below.
(Thanks for the help of with this DD)

There is an issue, a small bug which has generated a game of its own… WATCH THE DUCK! It's a riveting game i promise you. The duck in the current version (below) sometimes escapes his invisible boxed off area and just fly’s away, right off the screen, cheeky bastard! Guess its natural for ducks to do that though… even in the virtual world so it would seem. Not a major issue though, nothing an extra wall or two wont fix.

Click the image below…

DECONSTRUCTIVE DEVELOPMENT

One of the last parts of my duck pond sim thing to analyse and break into building block pieces is the HUD (Head-up Display) This all sits at the top of the game screen in my current design, as shown in the image below.
I’ve added the time count down function, this gives the player a set amount of time to deplete ALL their item stocks and feed the ducks ALL their bread.

Each section that makes up the HUD (items, clock, name, score) will be created using Dynamic Text fields, which are linked to Variables... when the value of one changes so does the other.

The figure below is a flow chart of the various game screens and how they are linked together, pretty useful as a quick reference for when I’m constructing my Flash project.

DRIFTING & COLLISIONS

The more I try and adapt possible game ideas to fit in with this Phidget sensor Flash game project the more I like my initial duck pond model. I have ‘doodled’ out a good few concepts, most seem to have been done before in one way or another though, yawn!

I’ve used the theory of ‘natural mapping’ for the game play interaction, an obvious link with the hardware control and the visual outcome on the game screen. (e.g.) touch this position on the touch pad and that’s the position you touch in the virtual game world (on screen) This type of mapping is easily learned and always remembered.

I’ve done an illustration (see below) that looks at the natural mapping interaction... click to enlarge.

The figure below shows the possible use of the HitTest actionscript command... click to enlarge.

Breaking down the game into functions and layers like this helps me understand what the essential building blocks are.

TODAYS PROGRESS

I’m ILL … sucks! Felt guilty about being strung out for the last few days, forced myself to do some ‘poorly’ 3DSM work.
Observe the dazed progress below.

I’m working on the left hand side of the body, then using symmetry to create
a matching right hand side, hence the missing leg.

AND IT CAME TO THIS

It’s still very rough and early on into the model but you get the theory… ME!
I’ve started adding detail around the upper arms (pit) area but everywhere else is a layout, for now. I'm slowly chipping away at it and improving my skillz all the time... well most times. I’m starting to understand the use of shapes more during every session I model.

(I like my Lego neck there...)

DUCK POND (hero)

I’ll hold my hands up straight away and state that this is a development on someone else’s notion, SB’s for that fact, check it out here (play the game at the end)

You play an old lady; this particular old lady likes feeding the ducks, but every time she goes to her local pond to feed them, a crazed wild duck bullies the others out of any food (bread).

After the initial menu screens, play, options, input player name…etc you visit the convenience store and stock up on items before you head off to the pond. You only have £10 to spend and 3 item spaces to fill. Bread is essential for gaining points... see concept image below, click to enlarge.

This image below is a design of how the game screen could look, none of it is set it stone but I like the overall look so far. Basically the aim of the game is to feed the nice ducks bread and stop the nasty duck bullying all the food for him-self, via the use of your chosen items. Click to enlarge.

This concept image below shows the hardware interface (controls) and how they relate to what’s happening on screen. It also labels each element just in case anything on the game screen seems a bit vague in the personality dept
... click to enlarge.

PHIDGETS

Chief project this term is to design and produce a Flash game, a five minute (average) level / stage, based around Phidget sensors used for the player control interface.

“Phidgets are an easy to use set of building blocks for low cost sensing and control from your PC. Using the Universal Serial Bus (USB) as the basis for all Phidgets, the complexity is managed behind an easy to use and robust Application Programming Interface (API). Applications can be developed quickly in .NET, Visual Basic, VBA (Microsoft Access and Excel), LabView, Java, Actionscript, Delphi, C and C++.” - phidgets.com

The game must work with Phidget controllers and entirely with a standard keyboard and mouse input also, doing so permits for a mass accessibility.

As an exercise I have developed my Asteroid Storm game from last year, keeping in mind the player reviews from Newgrounds.com and the Phidget hardware I have tried to add to and improve the design.

Check out my concept design below, click to enlarge image…

ANALOGUE 2 DIGITAL

After the initial success (a fair working game system & pleasurable to play) of my card game I decided to start work on a digital version of “Connect Wars”. The two main advantages of a digital version is accessibility (more people can access and play) and playability, basically the game system is enhanced by the pros of it being on a computer.

Below is a concept design of how the Connect Wars game screen could look…

TEXTURING AS GAME PLAY?

Forza Motorsport 2 has a unique facility with-in the game that allows the player to take a photograph from ANY angle at anytime during a single player race. Then if the player is hooked up to Xbox Live they can upload their photos to the web, allowing PCs and other devices to download and view them. (The whole process takes seconds)

What makes taking and uploading in-game photos “worthwhile” is that Forza 2 also has a massively deep paint box tool that allows players to paint and customise their rides layer upon layer, like how Photoshop uses layers. This combined with a vast library of material at the user’s disposal makes for creating very unique looking cars every time… like a Texture Artist would texture a 3D model. (I’m sure there’s much more to the job role than that)

Below (1^st photo) is my Audi TT, its my first car in the game as I’m a n00b!
I’ve spent little time in the paint shop on it, more of a test really.

Bottom (2^nd photo) same Audi... moments later... I’ve just slammed it head on into a brick wall… nice damage effects…

CONNECT WARS!

As promised… a printable deck and rule sheet... enjoy!
(click the file image below to download)

If by some miracle anyone does decide to download, print, cut-out and play my card game, let me know what you think!

LIP SYNCING

3D modelling and audio by Andy Love (NTU)
Animated by Gav Cooper (ME)

WARNING: integrated swearing ahead... F&@*!

FINAL DECK PRODUCED

On Wednesday I produced my final deck of cards. The image below doesn’t do my cutting out skills justice, but it shows you what the final product looks like.

I’m still trying to refine my rules so that they squeeze onto 1 side of A4, so I thought I’d experiment with photographic diagrams… does a picture say what 100 words can’t?

ABOVE: You can play the SPRAY card on top of any of your opponent’s suit cards; this instantly changes it to one of your own symbols.

ABOVE: A BOMB card is played into an empty space, exploding in one turns time. On explosion the BOMB takes out every connecting card.
This card can be DEFUSED.

LIGHTING

In a seminar this week I was given a dark room to light in 3DSM.
With some guidance from Andy I placed 3 lights in the room, an omni light
(in the bulb), a spot light (above the lamp shade facing down, to reinforce the omni light) and a rectangular spot light coming out of the TV set.

... and then Gav said – “let there be light”... *see below image*

CARD GAME

My main project at the moment is card game – “To devise, design and refine an original Game System to be used in a non-digital card game.” A brief written by my games tutor Brad Warren of Free Radical Design.

On first impressions I thought this brief would be a walkover, but… on first attempts I fell flat on my arse… so to speak. My initial card game was a weird mutation of Magic mixed with Top Trumps, it was awful. I only played it with a few people and I’m glad I didn’t show it to any more than I did. *shudder*

Defeated, I went back to the drawing board and after weeks of playing many casual games… Solitaire, Hexic, Chess, Go, Tetris Attack… just to name a few, I finally came up with a card game system I was happy with.
I prototyped the game and played it out countless times with various people, changing and adapting the rules to produce an all round fair, enjoyable and tactical game.

Here are the final designs for my cards. I’ll be posting a printable deck along with the final rule sheet around hand in time. I do have to say that I really like the outcome of my efforts on this project, I love playing my card game and it seems the people I play with like it too…

VERTS & POLYS

Spent the last two days working on my 3DSM skillz. Started back at the beginning learning the basic toolsets and trying to build my confidence with modelling. Below is a park bench I made as a bit of possible level scenery for an FPS or 3D adventure game. Managed to get a stick to a low poly count (122) and still get some good shape in the bench. I didn’t copy the reference image exactly, used it more as a guide, I think it looks pretty cool.

After some research I found out how to set up reference images properly with-in 3DSM. I found some pretty sound head profile images HERE and started an attempt at modelling them. (There is a special box to be used for a human head. This box must have one length and width division, and two height divisions - read that in a tutorial.)

I’ve taken screen shots at regular intervals to illustrate my progression, see below image. I’m find the facial features pretty hard going… best keep at it.

POOP IN MY MOUTH

As per usual I’m fighting to comprehend 3DS Max.
Andy Love (my animation tutor) has been great, helping me model and rig my first character. Below is a screen shot of said character, he’s some sort of weird slug type thing and yes Andy… he is looking pretty cool.

Recently a friend pointed me in the direction of some great video and walkthrough tutorials by a freelance games artist, Ben Mathis.
(example of his work shown in below image)

I’m finding them a little hard to follow at the moment, but I’m determined that my understanding will increase. Check them out HERE, right up your street if you’re into 3DSM!

DEMO POST - NEWGROUNDS.COM

I haven’t posted for a little while, I've been busy…
One of the projects due for hand in this December is a Flash game; my creation is called “CLICK”. Its simple really, the user clicks on the correct symbol, as indicated in the upper left corner of the screen.

It’s a game designed to test the player’s reactions and observational skills. I’m still in mid production with it, but I thought I’d push a demo out there to see what people made of the concept. I got some great reactions along with some positive reviews. (even had a few people ask me to e-mail them with the final version of the game, as they liked playing it that much, which is a nice feeling)

Play the DEMO by clicking on the above "PLAY THIS GAME" image, which will take you to newgrounds.com where you can launch the game. If you do play please leave your comments and feedback, this is a work in progress and I’m wide open to hearing your thoughts / suggestions...

INSPIRATION SURROUNDS US

Inspiration surrounds us in everyday objects. I have chosen two hardware interfaces to look at and examine. These two objects have found their way into my hands on a lot recently… if you know what I mean.

1. Xbox 360 Wireless Control Pad

On first impressions this current game pad from Microsoft looks very similar to the first Xbox pad before it, but with some slight alterations. Most game pads seem to have evolved into this sort of boomerang shape, smoothing out over the years from boxy hard edge devices that kind of hurt your hands over long periods of gaming, to smooth polished devices that are a pleasure to hold in comparison.

This pad is divided up into two main sections, the right hand side and the left hand side. On the right your thumb, index finger and middle finger have the X,Y,A,B buttons, Right Stick, RB Right Trigger and Start button all in range. On the left you have the D-Pad, Left Stick, LB, Left Trigger and Select buttons all with-in scope.

Having owned many different console’s in the past thus using a wide range of diverse game pads it didn’t take me long to get familiar with the 360’s pad layout. I use it on daily basis now and I find it feels very natural to interact with. The wireless feature works great and it’s a first for video games.

2. Nintendo DS Lite

Nintendo’s DS had been out for 12 months or so and had gone un-noticed by myself… that was until Nintendo re-designed the whole system and re-launched it as the ‘DS Lite’… put it this way… I certainly noticed it then!

On first impressions I was amazed at how small and slim it felt in my hands.

The whole system is smoothed off and is very neat. It reminded me more of an I-Pod instead of a next generation Game Boy. Personal I’d prefer the ‘power button’ and the ‘volume controller’ to swap positions on the device.
My reasons are that the volume slider would be in a more ideal position to alter when playing games and that the power button would be tucked out of the way, making it less likely for the user to switch it off accidentally, which has happened a few times with myself.

Also I noticed that there are minimal icons on the system itself, e.g. – One of the DS’s big selling points and major game play factors for most of its titles is the touch screen (bottom screen) that is operated by the stylus pen. If I had been totally oblivious to the DS and had just picked one up for the first time, I’d be clueless about the fact that the bottom screen is different to the top screen… maybe a ‘touch screen’ icon would help?

MY FIRST RENDER

Since the start of the multimedia course I’ve avoided 3DSM for a number of reasons, but now it seems like it’s now or never… so now it is then.

Here is my first render of a weird blob like character, it’s not much but I am finally getting to know the lay of the land when it comes to 3DSM’s interface. I need to devote more time to the program really, no more running away and hiding from it.

GAME CITY 2007

Since last Thursday (25^th) until this Sunday evening (28^th) Nottingham has been host to Game City, a four day festival hosting a boat load of different video game related events and displays. Firstly I regret not going to as many as I could have, but I did end up a good number of shows and events including an exhibition put on by our very own Andy Love showcasing some interesting level design for the Unreal FPS game.

I also went along to a talk by Alexey Pajitnov, the creative mastermind behind probably the most played game in the world… Tetris! It was very interesting, talking about the mechanics behind Tetris and other puzzle games alike. I managed to ask him a few questions as well… he’s a big World of Warcraft fan so it seems and a really nice chap.

Nottingham's Market Square hosted a big tent with various consoles running inside, to be honest I wasn’t that impressed with the titles “on play”. The only game running that stood out for me was Guitar Hero, it’s been out for a while but this was my first exposure to the addictive button bashing, rhythmic frenzy that is Guitar Hero, such such fun!

I made some good contacts and swapped MSN addys with some guys from De Montfort University, Leicester, who were stewarding some of the events and are also studying games design, always good to know people in the field.

To round everything off myself and my girlfriend (Claire) managed to get our names on the guest list for a Microsoft party. Free beer, some freebies and I got my arse kicked on Gears of War (after spending 3 rounds out of 5 teaching my n00b opponent how to play, typical, I should have just PoWnEd him from the off) I had an awesome night and Claire won herself an Xbox 360 Elite in a prize draw… WOW!

I’m already looking forward to next years Game City and I really want to get involved, something that I am aiming to achieve.

YU SUZUKI

Recently I was asked to choose someone in my prospective industry that I admire and value, and then compose a short blog presentation about him / her.

Yu Suzuki works for AM-2 (Sega Amusement Machine Research and Development Department 2) He first worked for Sega as a programmer and then quickly moved onto the role of a producer, working on such classic titles as Space Harrier (1985), Out Run (1986), After Burner II (1987) plus many more… In 1993 Suzuki directed his first game, Virtua Fighter, a 3D computer graphics fighting game, which became enormously popular and spawned a whole series of sequels.

My favourite game series that Suzuki has created is the infamous Shenmue (1999). Original planned to be set over 16 releases (we are currently on number 2 btw) it follows the story of Ryo Hazuki who is on a quest to find his father’s killer. In this frustrating world where “ever game must fit into a category” (FPS, RPG, RTS…etc) Shenmue mostly falls into the RPG genera, but it’s not just an RPG, it’s a world that transcends games. Suzuki describes his own concept denoted as "FREE" (Full Reactive Eyes Entertainment)

The majority of the game play mode is spent moving around the atmospheric, life-like eastern locations in a third-person 'chase cam' mode (talking to people, searching for things, solving puzzles, and so forth), it is interspersed with many 'mini-games', including forklift and motorcycle races, bar fights, chases down crowded alleys, full versions of old Sega arcade games such as 'Space Harrier' and 'Hang On' (both originally programmed by Yu Suzuki himself), dart games, and 'free fighting' sequences. Despite all of these user interactions and the fact that the whole project cost 70 million USD the game has a simple control interface, so even children can pick up and play.

My favourite aspect of the game is something called “QTE” (Quick Time Events). During QTE sequences, a button will flash on screen briefly and the player must press the relevant button or combination of buttons to trigger Ryo's actions. The story (thus also the game) can take on a different direction depending on the players success in QTE events. It made me wonder to myself when playing…“where would I be now if I had succeeded in that last QTE”… not unlike real life maybe?

If I ever accomplish a back catalogue of work like the mighty Yu Suzuki I will be a very happy man indeed.

PLAY TIME

Second year studies are slowly starting back up again at NTU and I’m yet to have my first ‘Games’ lecture and seminar, which I’m much looking forward too. I’m still working on my text adventure… slowly… but for now I thought I’d post about what I’ve been devoting most of my “play time” too. I use to PC game a lot and still do from time to time, but I’ve recently been playing Microsoft’s 360 console and Nintendo’s DS Lite (mine's black)

Ghost Recon Advanced War Fighter (GRAW) – Ubisoft

Although this game is getting on a bit in terms of shelf life (I picked my copy up for £8) it’s an amazing game and one of the first benchmarks in “next gen” gaming. It’s a 3^rd and 1^st person tactical shooter with some great movement controls that allows the player to move and use cover in a very realistic way. Apparently the soldier’s outfits, communications kit and weaponry are based on actually items in development for the US. (maybe it’s an insight into what we might see being used in Afghanistan and Iraq before all that comes to a close?) The AI is pretty tough, moving for cover when needed, attacking in numbers, flanking… etc. Graphics are outstanding with dazzling dynamic lighting really setting the visuals off. The controls take time to get familiar with, but once I'd mastered the basics I was hooked for about 6 hours in my first sitting. I’m a big fan of army related tactical shooters and this is easily the best I’ve played. Watch the review below…

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass – Nintendo (DS)

I’m just a Zelda fan boy and I wanted to plug this game! Although it isn’t out till this Friday (19^th) I wanted to post a review I’d seen to reinforce the how much I’m looking forward to its release. From what I have seen it looks like it’s taken the DS to a whole new level of interaction with the touchpad and stylus controls. Watch below...

TEXT-BASED ADVENTURE GAME

To keep myself occupied on the creative front I have been looking into creating my own text-based adventure game. I came across a great program whilst searching the net that constructs your text-based game for you, minimal programming talents are required and it’s simple to use.
Check it out at www.adrift.org.uk

I’ve spent the last few days trying to come up with a suitable narrative to base a text adventure game on, but after coming up with nothing but generic fantasy themed stories I came to the conclusion that conjuring up exciting, gripping narratives isn’t one of my ’skillz’. (also made me realize why 95% of MMORPGs are fantasy based, the narrative writes itself).

Without a narrative, a text-based adventure would simply be a series of puzzles. However, the reverse is true; without at least the odd puzzle, there isn't much to do except wander around, waiting for the story to expose itself. So I decided to put the story telling aside for the moment and focus on the puzzles that would make up my text adventure. This method of writing the game has proven to be much more manageable, focusing on the gameplay first then building a narrative around that. I have posted a quick screen shot of what my text adventure looks like so far, no exciting 3D graphics here...
this is old skool!

My finished game will be posted up here for download as soon as I have completed it, watch this space.

ASTEROID STORM

* game my take a few seconds to load *
* there is audio *

* also available to play HERE @ “newgrounds.com” *

This game is the result of my spare time over the summer months.
Produced using Flash it’s a side scrolling space game inspired by such titles as ‘Zero Wing’ (Toaplan) and ‘R-Type’ (Irem).

There are 3 stages with-in the game which I have designed to progress in difficulty as the player advances. (stage 3 is my favourite)
I’ve also added a little sub story, mostly to support the game’s object and end goal, but also to attempt to draw the player in a little more and add to the overall feel.

My friend (Edd) produced the music which I think really sets this game going.
I also had some great help from my tutors, which without I’d still be sat here scratching my head.

See what you think… it’s my first game and my first valid project using Actionscript… I do have to say that I’m pretty proud with the end results, it makes me hungry for more! Please DO leave a comment letting me know what you think, you are my public after all...

ZELDA

A quick update about my game progress and also an excuse to show you a Flash game gem that I stumbled across whilst browsing the net.

My game is coming along nicely, adding the finishing touches and piecing the last parts together. Also a good friend of mine from Leeds has done some great 8-bit music for it, which really gives off the feel of an old 80's Sega game!

Until my game reaches this domain check out this funny take on the Zelda style games, just click the link below to play. I’ve really enjoyed playing through some of the Nintendo Zelda Classics on my DS this summer...
IT WAS RESEARCH!

The Legend of Zelda: The Lampshade of No Real Significance - Get the lamp to the temple...

I'm looking forward to this for the DS...

SLOW SUMMER PROGRESS

As the title of this post suggests, I’m making slow, slow progress with my summer project. I'm keeping up contact with various tutors via e-mail, mostly crying out for help with my Flash game that I’m struggling along with.

This is all I can offer at the moment, a few screen shots of what I’m working on, a side scrolling space game. It’s as basic as you can imagine, working under the generic title “Asteroid Storm”.

More to follow…

GAMES

It has been longer than normal since my last post (like anyone but myself reads this damn blog anyway!) I have moved out of my overcrowded accommodation in Nottingham before I butchered everyone there with the dirty kitchen knife - (‘nuff said)

I’m back north for the summer, seeking work and hoping to get some cash saved up for this coming September, when I’ll be moving in with my wonderful girlfriend Claire - (big smiles all round)

My end of year presentation went better than expected; it gave me a chance to reflect on a rough first year and also to make goals and targets for my second. As predicted my chosen pathway is Games Design, I’d be lying to myself if I chose any other and BOY am I looking forward to it!

Since moving back home I have been working through a very interesting text book, Gary Rosenweig – “Flash MX, Actionscript for Fun & Games”.
My summer project is video game developed with actionscript programming, it’s going slow thus far, but I’m enjoying every frustrating second of it. I’ll post my progress here as and when.

Here is a little gem for my fellow game geeks out there; it’s a short comic strip in homage to probably my favourite video game series of all time
(oh when will the 3^rd be coming out?!) only the enthusiasts will understand this one…