J.T.'s Gaming Blog

Publishing your Game and Overall Gaming II Thoughts

2009-07-31T10:42:00.000-07:00

Well it was quite a fun class. All the assignments we did were great to learn, especially the collision detection and platforming. I think I've become much better at coding this time around and am still getting better. The publishing your game topic was pretty much like the presenting your game topic all over again and think I did much better this time because I knew more about my game and had a much better slide presentation this time. Last time I was still imagining my game and this time I had a better idea of what it was which helped. Overall this was a fun class and plan to continue getting better at game design for the next one.

Platforming, Coding Enemies, and Testing

2009-06-30T10:14:00.000-07:00

These two plus testing were the toughest of all the assignments I've done so far but they were also the most fun too. Especially platforming, my game my not be a sidescroller but after doing this assignment it made me want to make one. Coding Enemies was tough just from all the new code to get used to but every game has enemies and mine's no different so it will help me out with making my enemies attack the player. The last topic was testing and debugging which plays a part in the process of making any game. It showed how to check for things going on the code, to make sure they're working.

Character Effects, Drag and Drop, and Running and Jumping

2009-06-11T09:53:00.000-07:00

These three lessons were fun to do in class. I will definitely be using character effects in my game with changing objects shapes and forms and also with character movement. At first I thought drag and drop wouldn't apply to my game but then I thought about it and I think I'm going to use it in my inventory menus. Running and jumping was fun to make but I don't I'll will be needing it in my game because it's a top down view game and running and jumping would apply more to a sidescroller. Overall they were very fun to learn and if I don't use all of them in this game maybe they make the next game.

Sound effect and Timers

2009-06-03T11:39:00.000-07:00

I think the things we went over in sound effects will help with making the sound play when I want it to and to raise and lower volume but unfortunatelly it wasn't about making sound effects. The timers in my game will be the overall adventure time which the player will be able to see, time limits in some mini games, and timit limits during certain events of the game.

Score Keeping and Collision Detection

2009-05-28T10:31:00.000-07:00

Now were finally getting into the good stuff. Both Score Keeping and Collision Detection are going to be very critical to my game. I will be using score keeping for all sorts of the things in my game like keeping track of experience points, keeping track of hit points, scores in mini games, and keeping track of the amount of inventory items the player has. So obviously it is very important and that's not even all of what I'll probably use it for, but this is an adventure game and the one thing that is very critical to the experience is the combat. In order to have combat generally the player must hit an enemy and that's were the collision detection comes in. Also I plan to use it for my buildings and pieces to my landscapes so that when I run into an object I'll stop or bounce off. Also it will recognize when your near a character so you can go into a conversation or engage in a battle and it will keep you from walking off the stage. Without a doubt these will be highly useful throughout the whole game.

Moving on a Path, Special Effects, and Scrolling Background

2009-05-28T10:18:00.001-07:00

These three lessons were interesting because I feel I can use each of these in some way in my game. Moving on a path was kinda like a refresher on making animations and tweening so it was easy and I think I can use it in making my animations or in cut scenes. Special Effects was cool, it really got me thinking about the portal for my title screen. I liked the different types of effects like blur and explode which I can use for my portal or the way my enemies die. The scrolling background will play a big row in my game even though it's a top down view game because as the player gets closer to the edge of the screen or travels throughout the room the view of the room should move so they can see were they're going. Overall I think each of these will play a role in my game especially scrolling background and special effects.

Intro to ActionScript, Programing Practices, Learning from Others, and Finding Solutions

2009-05-18T09:35:00.000-07:00

I think the different actionscript tips it showed will come in handy later but not right now. The programing practices was some good stuff to know and i'll will definately be using it to keep my coding looking good. The learning from others topic was just really kind of a reminder that you can check out someone elses code if your stuck in a spot on your game. To me the finding solutions topic was good to have and at the same time pointless as well because if I am in need of help I just google it or check youtube for a video on how to do it, unless i'm in class then I have others who can help.

Gaming 1 Overall Thoughts

2009-05-04T11:21:00.000-07:00

This class was awsome. I had so much fun this. The problems I had was learning actionscript, that of which i'm still learning. Drawing and animating my characters was so much fun. Also it was finally a game design class not just a class that had elements of game design so it was way more what I was looking for. Overall it was great!

Experiences with adding sound, animation, interaction, and navigation

2009-04-15T11:30:00.000-07:00

This was great. It allowed me to finally start making a game in some sense. I enjoyed working on animations for my characters moves and attacks. Adding sound was pretty cool too except I might have to make my own sounds eventually, so there's originality to it. Navigation and interaction were the tougher of the subjects we did. Navigation gave me some problems in making my button take me where I wanted to go. I'm still mastering getting the code to make my character move. It's been giving me some problems but hopefully I can work them out. Overall it hasn't changed the design of my game, its added more fun and some challenges to making it.

Experiences in Flash

2009-03-30T18:59:00.000-07:00

It was cool drawing in flash. It allowed me think more on the look of my characters as I traced my paper prototype. I added my own tweaks here and there to my original drawings to give it a cooler look. Mostly i've been using the pencil and brush tools for the drawings by I plan on using the pen tool in an animation I'm working on. Overall flash wasn't too hard to figure out and navigating it was easy considering I'm very familar with Photoshop.

Paper Prototyping

2009-03-02T12:18:00.000-08:00

I thought in a way this was a good method to prepare your idea and layout it out so not only you could see what it might look like but others as well. This helped layout what the game would be like for me because my vision of the game is a full 3D action rpg with quick flowing action battles and lots of stuff going on at once. So this helped me put it in a more realistic perspective for this class. Fortunately the paper prototyping didn't cause me change too much, but it did allow me work out some of the kinks on how the combat would work and sparked some ideas for how the story would progress as well. So far the game is as I originally planned story wise except now I've thought of some more to add to it and back story also and that's my blog for today. Keep checking it out, there's more to come.

Imagining Your Game

2009-02-11T12:30:00.000-08:00

This was the best part so far in Gaming I. I mean I finally got to start thinking up my idea and bringing it together for my game. This was a great topic. Also Flash wasn't hard to figure out so far but I'm sure it will get a little tougher.

Impressions So Far in Class

2009-02-04T20:28:00.000-08:00

At first I was so pysched about this gaming class and now that i'm in it I haven't been dissappointed. This was also the first time I ever had to make a blog but it wasn't hard to figure out. It might actually cause me start blogging more often on other sites. Setting up the profile wasn't bad either and when I wasn't sure I just checked someone elses code to see what they did. Thus this class has been great and fun and I can't wait until we really start designing a game.

Social Issues in Games

2009-02-03T16:12:00.001-08:00

Almost every game has some kind learning aspect to them. Some games make it more obvious then others and some designers make it there goal to have there game revolve around a certain issue. A game I played which had an issue it revolved around was Darfur is Dying. The issue it is about is living in a bad environment, different health conditions, and poverty. In the game you can play as different characters of a community and do different tasks like search for water and grow crops all while there is a bandit group that can attack your village. The game is somewhat fun to play though there is nothing that compells me to play it. I strongly believe a game can explore a social issue of some kind and still be fun based on the way they implement the issue into the game, possibly gameplay, and story.

Game Reviews

2009-02-02T12:29:00.000-08:00

In my latest assignment I played and am now going to review two games. I never really thought about it but I do this all the time. The first game I chose was Katrina Tempest in Crescent City. It is side scolling adventure style game which is pretty fun. The controls are simple to learn and after the first level you've got it down. One thing I found cool is that throughout each level there three or four side mission that are completely optional to play. This is pleasing because the game is very linear. Each level involves a point a to point b style. Overall it is well made game with good graphics, easy controls, and an interesting story. The only downsides I feel are the levels are too short and as I said before too linear. The second game I played was Free Rice. It's a simple word game. It displays a word and gives four other words, one of which is a synonym to the main word. The object is to pick the synonym and as you get correct answers the words get tougher and if you miss a word it gives you an easier word and eventually the word you missed will pop up again to give you another chance at it. Overall the controls are point and click which is easy for anyone, they could change the colors of the page as the difficult changes though, and the words can challenge all ages of people. Also if for every correct answer ten grains of rice really are being donated to poor people then it makes you feel a little bit inside and your getting smarter from playing too.

My First Blog

2009-01-22T11:53:00.000-08:00

Hey all whats up? This is my very first blog . I'm so pysched about this gaming class. I think I'm most excited about that I'll get to finally start designing a game. My only fear is how hard it actually is to make a game but I'm sure it's a challenge that can be overcome. Hopefully this course will be the building block that transforms me from a simply gamer to a great game designer.