9.25 Update

It's been a weird month in terms of progress. I've been feeling like I haven't put in nearly as much time as I should have on making games however looking back on what I've actually accomplished is more than I would have thought. While that makes me kick myself for not putting in more time and getting even MORE done, it's still a small victory!

I think that me getting more used to using GameMaker and developing within that environment has a lot to do with it. Being able to use time efficiently is great! As I move in to my "polish" phase on my new project, I'm sure there will be a lot more sticking points than what I've hit so far. I'm hoping to make this game look and feel great by the end of it, and I still have much to learn in terms of getting the little details right and cleaning-up my code.

My new "TapSlam" project (TapSmash? Smashy Boom-Boom? smashwhatever....) saw a little love and I'm happy to say I hit a solid milestone in the development. The overall game loop is pretty much complete! (at least roughed-in) Basic start screen, main gameplay loop, and an ending. Now it's time to get to the tough stuff, the "polish" phase (like making something shiny, not the country). The longer and more grueling part of development.

Just to give some more insight in to the process, I've included a couple screenshots above. Obviously this looks terrible, but it's all still placeholder art while Dustin, my artist, gets settled after moving practically across the country. I wanted to get this all roughed-in so he has enough to go on and can start developing a look & feel for the game universe. We've had a couple of talks so far and we've sort of settled on a theme, but as the character and settings develop along with the art style, we may see that evolve quite a bit.

The first screenshot above is the start of the gameplay. The "1" at the top is the last of a countdown timer from 3 and taken right before all hell breaks loose. The gameplay is fast so players will need some warning to get situated after coming in from the start screen.

The second screenshot shows off something I'm excited about and a unique feature. This is the end-game screen and, based on the final score you get, will be different each time you get to it. The screenshot is what I currently have in place if you get a low-score. Your character explodes in to chunks that fly off the screen in random directions. My goal is to deliver a fun, ridiculous, quick, and satisfying experience each time you pick-up the game.


In addition to this new game, I also have a brand new version of my current game Doge Ball: The Quest for Coins in the works. This new version is not meme-based and instead, will be an original theme for Halloween (one of my favorite holidays)! Details for that are soon to come in another post. I'm aiming to release this in early October.


I'm going to end this rambling post with the video that inspired my new game, a talk by Martin Jonasson & Petri Purho called "Juice it or Lose It". It's a REALLY fantastic talk and some really great advice from two indie developers. Even the simplest games can become a fun experience if you put-forth the effort!