[DevBlog #4] Corruption, Movement and Learning

Small snippet of the move system

Hello again for my soon to be changing DevBlogs. YoyoGames has finally fixed their server troubles with the recent influx of HumbleBundle users, I am proud to announce that I have finally gotten my hands on the software and am currently learning the basics as we speak. I will be spending the next few days learning most of the beginner tutorials and hopefully lick some of the intermediate.

But for now, using some of the basics I have learned so far, I have already developed to the basic movement system that I want for the game. WASD controls to move the character up, down, left and right, as well as the mouse aiming controls.

I was actually very confused at first how to get the sprite to rotate towards the mouse. I first thought I needed to do some math using coordinates and trigonometry, but soon came to find out that there were a few pre-defined variables/functions that made it so much easier. Thank goodness I looked before wasting my time.

Next, I am planning on developing the animations and attacks for the character... which I feel will be hard challenge to endure. I like the design I have above, simple and fits in well with what I have planned, but I might have to change it to better refine the look, as I do see some parts that bother me.

Finally, I have actually decided to create a secondary grass type that will be used near the castle (you'll find out once I flesh a better concept of the game). It's more of a darker blue/green tint that looks "corrupted."

Corrupted Grass tile

Anyways, for the next week or so, I will be dedicating most of my time learning the fundamentals and features GameMaker so I can get development up to speed!

At the end of the article, I added a small screenshot of the software and some of the features it has inside it. I also love the fact that you can mix code and D'n'D (Drag and drop) events easier than anything else I've used.

Beyond that, prepare for the next DevBlog to be much larger! I plan to have a working demo in the next few weeks if everything goes smoothly.

See you next time!

GameMaker UI

[DevBlog #3] Concept Planning

Hello again!

As of yesterday, I've been developing a concept MindMap to better track down my ideas as they come to me and despite my idea being fairly simple, I already have a lot of things I need to do. From creating the game tiles, to building the sprites and animations and finding ways to get some audio. I can already tell I'll have a lot to do.

However, despite the daunting task that I have ahead of me, the idea behind MindMaps have a definite positive influence on your motivation and desire... even if the list of items is almost limitless. It gives you a goal, it helps you organize and plan, and it's an amazing way to show progress.

Current MindMap, still in progess

It can be used for literally everything. Have a project that needs to be done at work? It's great for organizing your thoughts and action to do so.

Making a video game like I am? Organize the processes you need to do with sections like "Graphics," "Audio," "Levels," or "Characters." This is very important as it allows you to have all your goals in one place instead of trying to remember what you need to do later.

Hell, you don't even need to necessarily make a mind-map, but rather organizing your thoughts and goals will allow you to have a better sense of motivation and desire to succeed. Had I used this in high school, I would have done much better academically.

Overall, having organized thoughts is the key to success. That, and having the interest in whatever your doing is essential if you want to succeed. Keep that in mind as you go on with your life.

I plan on doing less frequent, but juicier DevBlogs as I get into more of the meat and beans of GameMaker. For now, they'll be small updates and personal thoughts on this project.

See ya' next time!

[DevBlog #2] Sandy Water & Stone

Finalized

Original

Hello again! I have spent a little more time on developing the basic tilesets for the first area of the game that will be apart of the demo. If all goes well, I might have a small prototype of the map to show everyone!

As of the moment, I have currently gotten a rough design of sand, water and stone. Sand was by far the most annoying one to make, as I had ideas but they never tiled well (you can see the grid way too clearly). I had decided to stick with a solid color as simplicity looked the best.

Additionally, I was able to add the corner piece to my grasstile set that allows me to create more complex shapes and paths. You can see how it works in the top right corner of tile test.

Despite the success of the sand/grass combinations, I still need to change my water tiles, which I had a lot of trouble with as well, mostly finding a good texture and having it repeat smoothly along the tiles. Also, I want to eventually add a small bit of animation to the waves and the current tile set would not work at all. So, for now, the current water tiles are for placeholders till I learn more about the function and capabilities of GameMaker.

And finally, I was able to complete a very simple tile now that I was able to get to it, but it does need a small bit of work having it fit in better with the transition tiles, but I feel that the design is on point.

Sand and Grass Tileset test. Corner piece in the top right

Sand, Stone and Water tilesets.
The water does not fit very well.

Stone tileset with the grass tileset.
The stone does not transition well
with the grass tileset.

Other than that, I have been working on a Mind-map to better organize my work, progress and goals and to ultimately turn the idea in my head into something I can look at.

Everything is going very smoothly and I feel very confident in finishing this game.

[DevBlog #1] Grass is Class!

Hello my friends! I created this blog to document the development and creative process that I am foretaking to create a small game. I will be using GameMaker to develop it, while creating most, if not all my own assets using Photoshop CS6 and a few other programs. I plan to have a small prototype/demo of the game in the next month or so. If everything goes good and without too much complications, I may plan on completing it. So, for now, I have gotten a little progress on the artistic side of the game while GameMaker recovers from a massive influx of users (HumbleBundle). For starters, I began with the tiling that I will definitely have in the game and like every great developer, they start with grass. It took a small bit of experimentation to find a good look for the initial tile, but once I got past that, I was able to move onto creating transition tiles. These tiles allow me to change scenery without making the ground seemingly "cut".

The first tile I created was the initial one, basically the one I will base the other grass tiles on. It took a small bit to find a good brush that would make the texture, but eventually settled down on a literal grass brush.

Secondly, I created a edge piece, would would be placed in the middle edges of patches and would connect to the initial grass and a corner piece.

Finally, I created a corner piece that would allow me to create rectangular shapes. I still need to create one more piece to allow more shapes to be created. And to top it off! I combined each tile together to create a rectangular piece of grass! I felt it looked amazing and will definitely be part of the game!

So, my To-Do list for now is to create another corner piece and to begin developing the new tile-types for the beginning area. If everything goes well, just like this tile, I believe I can make a really good looking environment.