I’ve started working on an ‘in-engine’ cinematics system. Initially, it will be used on Star Hammer, but it’s designed to be fairly generalised so it can be re-used in other games in the future. Although gratuitously long cutscenes can be quite boring, I do like games that have a bit a narrative, and that revel it to the player as they progress. I think mystery is cool, and having the mystery revelled piece by piece is a great reward, and compliments gameplay well. Being embedded in a story is definitely something I’m interested in myself as a player.

I’m planning on submitting a build of Operation: Star Hammer in the DreamBuildPlay competition. Entries close August 6, so I have 14 days (including today) to get the game polished up and looking good. However the DreamBuildPlay entry won’t be the end of development.

Instead, I’m focussing on getting the most important aspects of the game reasonably well tuned. I think some focus testing soon would be a good idea too. I got some great feedback when the game was shown earlier in the year, but their have been a lot of changeds and improvements since.

There have been quite a number of developments lately. I recently rewrote the AI that drives the enemy fighters – I think combat is more fun and engaging now. The move to 3D has allowed for simple cinematics, such as a take-off sequence when a new mission starts. Time, budget and ability providing, I’ll be expanding on that a bit after DreamBuildPlay. I’ve got a writer friend working on a new backstory and totally overhauling the missions and game story arc (more on this in a later post). I’m still having fun with shaders and cool effects.

The benefit of entering the competition is that it forces me to think really hard about what is important. I have a limited time budget, and I have to spend it wisely. It means having a strong idea of what the end product should look/feel/play like. Development has to be efficient. I like efficient.

It also means I’ll be able put together a video and show some new screenshots soon, something I’m looking forward to doing.

Anyway, back to work, I’ve got a competition to enter and a client to write software for.

I’ve created a new colour scheme/theme for the Black Lab Games site. The site is still very light on for content, but that’s because I don’t have much to say yet. That will change in good time.

I’m still undecided on what I want to use for a logo. The blocky ‘b’ is ok, but I’m not sure it portrays the image of digital games company. Much pondering to do…

Thoughts?

Last night was the first public airing of Operation: Star Hammer. It was also the first time people other than me have played the current iteration of the game. It’s always interesting to watch how other people play a game you’ve made (or are making). Developers tend to make assumptions about what people will or won’t know or understand about the game, especially when it’s partially developed and doesn’t have all of the instructions, tutorials, etc. So it was illustrative to see people play the game at the mixer showcase.

A couple of top level TODO’s came out of the feedback. The first is to make some changes to the controls. I figured that might be the case, but now I have more information to go on. There are some others that relate to guiding the player through the missions, making some things in the game more visible or distinguishable, etc.

Thanks to everybody who played the game at the event last night, and extra thanks to those that filled out a survey.

I’ve been away from home for the past two weeks. Now I’m back and looking forward to getting back into game development!

I attended the Independent Games Summit, which was held as part of GDC 2009. It was a really interesting, inspiring and worthwhile 2 days. There where plenty of highlights and some great sessions. The talk by Ron Carmel (from 2D Boy, creators of World of Goo) titled “Everything you wanted to know about indie game development but were afraid to ask” was excellent – there was loads of good advice. Petri Purho’s presentation about the value of prototyping was thought provoking. It was also great to meet some of guys from the XNA and XBLCG teams.

Last week I spent some time sightseeing. One of the places I went was Disneyland. Something I that really struck me was the attention to detail, and I think there are lessons here for game developers – attention to small details is important.

Disneyland is about fantasy, as in dropping into a fantasy world, be it a from a Pixar film or a cartoon series. From the moment you walk up to the gates to get in, no detail is overlooked to enforce the fanasty of being in a world of entertainment. An example is the construction sites inside the park. As parts of the park are overhauled or new attractions built, sections are fenced off – not with any old scrap wood or wire, but with themed painted wood sheeting, complete with posters that are themed to match the new attraction. They essentially say ‘under constructions, sorry for the inconvience”, but using wording, fonts and colors that fits with the new attraction being built. There is nothing generic anywhere in the park – everything you see or hear continues to re-enforce that you are not in the real world, but in a world of fantasy that the parks creators have built.

The top tier developers also do this. Whether it’s themed installers or error message boxes, creating a game that is a complete experience is something that the best developers get right. It takes time and effort, and it’s a lot harder than it looks, but I think that small details that are missing can easily overshadow or detract from the rest of the effort put into the game.