The Best Part of Game Programming

Here is what I think is the coolest part of programming games. Nothing beats getting something done. Yeah, the feeling is awesome when you get a single little part to work. It can be any little thing, as long as you are focused on the small and not the entire project as a whole you get the gratification of feeling like you completed something without having to complete the large project.

I just spent a little time getting some guns to work with particle effects and I have to say it was fun. It took less than two hours to put the entire system together, but it is a neat thing to see when you know it exists because of your work. I cannot wait to see what it feels like to finish the entire game of Gang Land and begin playing it myself. That should be an experience every computer geek should shoot for.

Creation of your ideas is simply the best part of programming games.

Current Project: Gang Land

Ok, so I think I am a developer. Here is a few screens from my upcoming release, Fall 2007, of what I am currently calling Gang Land, an Evolving Band of Warriors. This game is a strategy game based on your career as a new gang leader. You are the coordinator of a gang of warriors that when hurt in battle can gain skills, lose eyes, have limbs torn off, and much more. Each injury and horrific thing that happens to each member in battle will change their abilities to fight and sometimes lead to the gang members retirement from fighting.

Your gang members will gain XP from fighting battles and improve as they fight. This allows for a gang member to go from new recruit to backbone of your gangs offensive and defensive actions. Be warned though, a gang members life is very violent, one bad battle and your member could be crippled and down to one leg, or hand. This will completely change how you will have to treat this member and use him in battle.

This is the current Title Screen of Gang Land. The title screen basically combines sound and particle effects to put you into a simulated battle with gun shots all around you in 3D sound.

This image is of the main menu screen of Gang Land. Gang land has several unique features for a strategy game. On the right hand side of the main menu there are a series of portraits of randomly generated gang members. In the game when you start off or get a new recruit that new member will have both a unique name, as well as a completely unique face. You will be able to recognise your gang members by their face token, as well as enemy gang members by theirs as well. This shot also shows the ability, in some menu screens for you to shoot holes in the menu by clicking the mouse off of any buttons. This is interestingly fun.

I will keep you all posted here on the development of this new title. Plus in the future look for me setting up the Games homepage for a more in depth look at the game itself.

Project Motivation and Productivity

This is one simple thing that I do to make sure that my productivity is up and my moral is up when developing a project such as a game. I call it my design docs.

What this is, is simply small documents that I type up in Word to tell me what I need to accomplish on my next programming time period. These documents help keep me on track and give me simple easy goals to acheive on a daily basis.

You do not want to shoot for everything in one day so make these documents concentrated on a small goal. The smaller the goals the better. I usually try and develope a new game object or screen in one sitting or coding period. This allows for a simple means of feeling like you are even closer to finished on a large project. Setting very small goals keeps you motivated and feeling good about the progress of the project.

Nothing is worse than coding for days and not knowing if you are closer to done or not. Also, simply having what you want to get done in print form is very good for productivity. Since I started this practice I have increased my productivity by at least double. It will keep you focused and working right down the list. Plus, if you don’t manage to get the document coded you know exactly where you left off for the next time you start back up.

The key to completion of any project is keeping motivated and advancing through the project. You must stay on top of where you are at in the project at all times. Keeping good documents of your current goals and completed goals really keeps the project andvancing. I hope that this simple practice can help somebody else with a project they are trying to finish or even start.

If a game is made it will sell?

I was thinking. Yup I was. See there is no way to tell if something you put your time into will sell. But, I do it anyway. I am coding my second game now even before the first one has all its content ready for release. I figure that if I make them they will sell. This might not be the case, and in fact might just waste my time. But, one thing is certain, if I don’t make them they will not sell.

This keeps me going and enjoying what I do. I really cannot wait to release some of my ideas to the public and if it sells two copies it will be well worth the fun of doing it all. I guess I just look at my one-man crew of game making wackiness as a true way for me to give it a shot. I may never make the next DOOM or make one million dollars at game making, but that is not certain as long as I try. We should all be trying to create and make whatever we know and love.