You may be wondering why the progress on my project has been so slow. The main reason for this is that as usual, I bit off more than I can chew. It's a much larger project than anything I've done before, and it's somewhat beyond my abilities - that's what makes it such a good learning experience.
I'm not making just a game, but a game engine and a set of tools to go with it. This means that for every feature I want to implement, I have to generalize it. For example, with the weapon aiming system I've been working on, it's necessary to allow any character made in the character editor to be able to aim, and each character will have a different set of weapons that they are able to use. This makes the problem much more difficult to solve than if it only applied to the main character, for example - then it could all be hard coded. I also try to implement each feature that is exposed in the interface in a way that's easy to use when creating content.
When it comes to programming, I look for solutions that are simple and keep the level of complexity low so that it doesn't turn into a maintenance nightmare in the future. In fact I have a hard time getting any code written if I'm not satisfied with the plan I've come up with. This means that I spend a lot of time working stuff out on paper, but it also means that when I do get around to coding, it often works the first time and cuts down on the time I spend debugging.
All of this, plus difficulty concentrating, results in really slow progress. I'm enjoying the process though, and I'll keep chewing on it as long as it's fun.
P.S. I now have access to a camera, so expect more unrelated photos with my posts.
5 comments:
Hi, I've read your blog a few times (linked from MM's blog) you might have seen me in Soldat (under the name teh_ham). I was wondering if you have any info on the game you are making? I've gone through a couple of the older posts here but I didn't find much.
I haven't posted many details about the game because nothing is certain at this point, and because I have been focusing on the character editor. There will be more info about it as it develops. All I can really say right now is that it is strongly influenced by Soldat (mainly the technical aspects) and I will be incorporating elements inspired by the Zelda series, especially Wind Waker.
"mainly the technical aspects"
Such as the skeletal animation?
That would be pretty cool - providing you don't make the actual characters too large, skeletal animation only looks good if the characters aren't too defined (imo).
How long have you been developing the character editor?
It's been two years, this is the fourth or fifth version of it. 2D skeletal animation has its limits, but it's good for creating and animating things quickly. I'm also going to see if I can combine it with sprite animation.
Wow, this sounds exactly like me on my yet-unfinished Dejeweled project! Good luck on your game. :) If you can finish it, maybe there is hope for me.
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