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Friday November 20th, 2020
We have recently come out of a fairly strict lockdown where I live. Looking back on these 2-3 months I really didn't make much progress -- let's not play the blame game though! Onward and upward!
Like everyone else in the world, I've been playing Among Us recently. I think it's a really clever game, and reminds me of games like Secret Hitler and Mafia. I enjoy playing with my friends and having good laughs about who is the imposter. But like many of those games it can be quite boring as "the good guy", and there is a lot of down time if you're not in the action (i.e. dead or completed tasks). This got me thinking and I've been working on my own take of a simple social video game, which tries to balance the game and social fun.
So long Google Sites
This site has been private up until this point, and just as a way to track some of my progress. It has become obvious that I need to be more social in the gamedev world (going to be tough for someone like me), but it needs to be done. To this end, I'll be moving away from Google Sites in favour of Itch.io. I will try to make some devlogs for my projects, and to kick start me in this process I'll enter the "1 button gamejam" which starts tomorrow! Here goes..
Tuesday August 25th, 2020
I suppose inspiration did hit me with regard to the gamejam. Came up with an idea on Saturday morning, and committed to implementing it on Monday. 7 days later I have a game I'm pretty happy with. It's currently voting period for the gamejam -- fingers crossed I go okay. After that I will release the source like usual, and perhaps make a mobile version. I think it should transfer okay.
Friday August 14th, 2020
Progress has been disappointingly slow on iwords. I think partly because it's a lot more difficult than I realised, and have run into a lot of issues I'd not anticipated -- which then causes doubts that this project is event worth pursuing. Trying to remind myself that this is still just a learning phase for me. Nevertheless it was quite a deflating week. So... tomorrow I will take a look at the Godot Wild Jam (https://itch.io/jam/godot-wild-jam-24-our-2-year). If I feel inspired by the topic I will get involved. It could be a kick start for some motivation, and encourage me to get involved in the Godot community.
Monday August 10th, 2020
Making some adjustments to my sites/profiles/etc.
Made a developer profile page on Google Play -- https://play.google.com/store/apps/dev?id=6647393996637874625. Waiting for name to change over from Puzz Nums, it can apparently take up to 7 days.
Read into changing my AppStore name from my personal name to SporkTank but it seems like I'll have to register as a business. Something I'm not really ready to do at the moment, perhaps later in the year.
Improved the itch.io page, put my logo and icon in relevant places -- thinking about going in the Wild Jam next week.. 😕
Sunday August 9th, 2020
Bit of a slow week. Not much progress on the new project.
SFP was however approved to Google Play and I think I had my first 5 star rating and review from someone who isn't a family or friend! :) Thanks to "The Minecraft Yoshi" whoever you are!
There was also a bug found by my cousin (he's a ruthless tester that guy), so I've had to re-release for both stores and am currently waiting approval.
Although this is a gamedev blog, there are some interesting mathematical/programming problems which come out of the SFPs. I might do a blog post about those -- a short snippet would be that there is only 1 unique path through Tax City which wins you the maximum amount of money. There are only 2 paths for the second best, and 3 for third best -- from a total of about 60k unique paths.
Anyway, let's see what the coming week brings... (5 weeks of lockdown remain)
Sunday August 2nd, 2020
Lockdown 2.0 happening in Victoria, used the extra time at home this week pretty well!
Introducing Sporko's Favourite Puzzles! My first app available on the Apple App Store, and (approval pending*) Google Play. A lot of steps involved in getting a simple app to this point, I think it has been a worthwhile experience though. Future project should be much easier to publish.
Outcomes for this project:
Godot project generator -- still needs some work, missing game title, add more robust versioning , general screenshot code, etc.
Available* on two major phone app stores
Better adherence to community coding conventions -- I'm not sold on the excessive use of _private variables
Managed to procrastinate and avoid creating social media sites.. I really need to get more involved.
Tossing up some ideas for the next project:
Infini-words -- a perpetual infinitely sized game of Scrabble, essentially
Some kind of side scrolling action runner game
Adventure game, Zelda inspired of course
Each project has its challenges, I'm getting a little tired of static single screen games, hence the last two ideas. But these is still plenty to learn in the first idea -- accounts, touch screen mechanics, ads -- so I'll be going with this one
Wednesday July 21, 2020
Bit of a lean couple of months.. I could list the excuses but lets not worry about that. :)
Managed to finish a very small app which can run on iOS, 4 Out Of 5 Dogs!
Outcomes for this project:
Better coding style, trying to follow conventions in the community (as much as I don't like tabs over spaces)
iOS export -- this was much harder than I expected, might make a post just about this process for others and my future reference
Icon and splash generation from Python script -- would like to flesh this out into a generic project starting point which has everything setup and ready to export to all platforms
Got my cousin to create a logo and avatar for SporkTank, I really like them and they are included as a splash screen on this app
I think I'm finally ready to make an app which will be released to the public. Before doing so I really need to get all the accounts setup (I'm also tempted to move this site to Itch.io, it's more gamedev friendly).
Accounts to create:
Email
Itch.io
Reddit
Godot
Discord
Instagram?
Twitter?
Domain registration?
Thursday May 28th, 2020
Two games in a month, what is going on?!
Check out my first attempt into 3d with this food delivery game : Take-away Trolley
Learned so much doing this game, perhaps the main bit being that I have so much left to learn. As usual, here's a list:
Godot 3d system
GridMaps -- these are not as powerful as I had hoped, hopefully they improve in new releases of Godot but if they don't I can see making a custom editor worth the effort -- for example, the spikes in world 2 will not kill the player as I couldn't work out how to determine they were the part of the GridMap involved in collision.
Basic lighting/shadows
3rd person controller -- did not get this working anywhere near how I would like.. there are some Godot issue with move_and_slide_with_snap, but I've also realised the slick/fun 3rd person movement is not trivial in 3d, any future 3rd person game will need a lot of work on this
Collision layers/masks/shapes/areas/etc.
Time to move on to the next learning project, it is going to be something very simple so I can concentrate on the exporting process. Running on all platforms, able to submit to app stores, perhaps pushed content and notifications. If I do submit to app stores I would need to have my social media and communication accounts ready to go. Here is a list I can think of:
website (this is not publicly searchable yet)
email -- probably just a gmail account
twitter? instagram? reddit? discord? itch.io?
Wednesday May 13, 2020
Announcing Hell & Back v1.0.0! See here.
The push/pressure of Covid lockdowns was a nice motivator to get this to a version 1. Most features I wanted are there (including up to 8 players), with some options like bowers and blind scoring left for future versions.
Thanks to everyone who helped me test (listed in Credits), it was a real buzz seeing a game I made being played by family and friends!
Some outcomes for this project:
Networked multiplayer (turn-based)
Co-routines + yielding + signals
More advanced tweening
MacOSX building -- with mixed success, only 1/3 Macs did it work on and I can't work out why!
GCloud hosting -- server, and static files for download
It's pretty clear that I'm using too many different providers for my content. There is Google Sites for this page, Git Hub for some of the previous projects (and code), and now Google Compute Engine for HAB server and some of it's content. One of the next few projects will be tidying this up along with learning correct export paths for Android and iOS (with the aim to eventually publish on stores). While doing all this it probably makes sense to register for social media sites, and register domain names.
No rest for the wicked.. back to work on Token Throwback.
EDIT: Someone asked me how long HAB took to develop, and I didn't really have a good idea. One of my goals for all this stuff is to be able to develop a publishable game in 1 month, I will try to better track the hours I'm spending on these projects.
Friday April 17, 2020
What a time in history, we are going through the CORONAVIRUS lock downs. Probably never forget these times. As tough as it is for the many people around the world, not too much is different for me. I've been winding down on work projects, and about to get 80+% of my time into SporkTank!
I'd planned on starting a 3D project, in order to learn that part of the Godot ecosystem. However, with everyone being in lock down it seems to be the perfect time to work on online multiplayer games. So let's try juggle two at once, in the coming month I plan to work on:
Token Throwback -- another re-make of an old game to learn the 3D system
Hell & Back -- a simple card game my friends and family enjoy, but haven't been playing because of lock down
Sunday March 8, 2020
Annnnnd we're done! Puzz Mines P is complete and ready for play from Windows, Android, or Web/HTML5. I'm very happy with how the third project has turned out. Thanks to all my family and friends for helping/testing/encouraging. Learned a lot along the way and looking forward to the next learning project.
Speaking of which, I will be taking the next month or so to wrap up some projects at work, after which point I plan to spend 95% of my coding time on this site and the projects coming from it! Very exciting. :)
Wednesday February 26, 2020
Have just come off a very productive 2.5 weeks, definitely the most productive I've been in terms of Spork Tank work.
There is a complete playable version of Puzz Mines P here: Puzz Mines P
For my third project I'm very happy with how it's turned out. I've been telling people what my goal for this year is, I'd like to be good enough to publish games/apps by the end of the year -- hopefully this will continue to make me more accountable and I can complete 1-2 projects per month.
As usual, let's recap the outcomes:
Bluetooth controllers -- these are great https://www.8bitdo.com/zero2/ -- DONE, on both PC and Android
Tilemaps -- N/A, decided array of sprites was a better way to do it in this case
More sophisticated save states -- DONE
Godot signals -- SKIPPED, couldn't figure out how to do these when both the signal-er and receiver are dynamically created
Better OO design -- DONE
Sound? -- N/A, decided not to do
So in the version above there is just one tutorial level set, which is intended to teach the player all the game dynamics. I still need to make my own level set which can really test out the skills learned in tutorials. My Dad is also going to make a level set. I'll give us a week or so to do these then release the final version.
Some further notes:
HTML5 version doesn't seem to work yet, having trouble exporting the correct resources
Frame rate will gradually slow down while playing a level, then return to full speed on the next level. Can't work out what is causing this yet
Monday February 10, 2020
Two blog posts in one day! What is going on..
Time to start on the next project, although it will be a re-make of something similar I've done in the past I think it's time to get away from the "Redux" titles. This game will be similar to Emerald Mine, Boulder Dash, Superplex from the 80s/90s. The version I did was called Mini Mine, and as the title suggests it was just a miniature version/approximation of those games. See the screenshots below.
Working title for this one will be Puzz Mines P. "Puzz" relating to my only published game ever Puzz Nums (used to play Superplex with my Dad and Uncle who both liked Puzz Nums), "Mine" for obvious reasons, and "P" meaning precursor/prototype/prequel -- this is because I'd like to do a game like this in the future when my skills are better and actually release it.
Outcomes/objectives for Puzz Mines P (PMP):
Bluetooth controllers -- these are great https://www.8bitdo.com/zero2/
Tilemaps
More sophisticated save states
Godot signals
Better OO design
Sound?
Future version/expansion would try to include:
iPad compatibility
Two player
User level editor
Monday February 10, 2020
Made lots of progress in the last two weeks, enough so that I've been able to finish Break-Out Redux. There is now an apps page, Break-Out Redux, where you'll also find a link to an APK for Android users (not ready to tackle Google Play yet -- and probably won't share this with too many people).
As usual, I like to review the project outcomes:
Scene changes -- Done.
Saved states (highscores) -- Done.
Android deployment -- Done.
Basic UI -- Done.
A lesson I really learned throughout this project was how important a good design of scenes/objects is for development. Towards the end everything got very messy, and more upfront design would have helped. I'm not too worried though, because at the moment I'm still very new to Godot and learning so much as I go, early designs would probably be infeasible anyway.
Looking forward to the next project, already got a few ideas. Maybe another blog post soon!
Thursday January 30, 2020
Finding more time these days which is great. After some thinking about what project to do next, with considerations about the level I'm currently at, and what makes the most sense to learn next -- I've decided to go with another remake, this time (copyright infringing most definitely) Break-Out Redux!
As usual, here is an old screenshot.
Some outcomes/goals from this project:
Scene changes
Saved states (highscores)
Android deployment
Basic UI
Monday January 20, 2020
Finished! Well good enough for now.. See Bird Racer Redux for a playable version of the first re-made game. Some 20+ years later. Source code will be available from https://github.com/sporktank/birdracer-redux later.
Thanks to some family and friends for a little play testing, and inspiration to keep pursuing these projects. Looking back at the outcomes for this project..
Learn 2D mechanics of Godot
Re-familiarise myself with Git/Github
Create first page under "Apps"
Publish as HTML5, probably
.. I'd say all of these were accomplished. Time to think about and start designing the next project and its list of outcomes. Probably another re-make.
Thursday January 16, 2020
Made some good progress on BRR today, probably only a couple steps to go which I'll document below.
Newest version can be played from the Apps / Bird Racer Redux page.
Next steps:
High score (in-session only)
Restart key
Pause key
Tweak obstacle layout, speeds, etc. to make it slightly more fun to play
Upload source code to GitHub
Tuesday January 7, 2020
Well.. where did the last 3 months go?! Work has been busy, and the silly season too. Picked up a couple more projects at work, but really that's no excuse. This is something I really want to spend time.
Thinking of some motivation options.
Setup old (my) old games on the laptop
Read and learn more puzzles for inspiration
Play retro games
Setup Switch controller on laptop for all of the above -- actually started this today, so perhaps that's something to start the year. Really good link: https://github.com/Davidobot/BetterJoyForCemu
Wednesday September 25, 2019
Lost a lot of motivation recently, I suppose other stuff happening in life. This blog/website/gamedev is something I want to continue, so here goes again.
Managed to fix the power issues with the laptop (MetaBox support staff were super helpful), and now it seems to be running pretty smoothly.
Barely any progress on the BRR (Bird Racer Redux), but here is a screenshot to show where we're at -- yes it's a plane at the moment but that was the best free asset I could find.
Sunday September 15, 2019
Laptop has arrived! Having some issues (BSOD) immediately, but hoping this is just a driver issue. I've updated Windows and all drivers to those recommended from MetaBox -- fingers crossed.
Anyway back to some gamedev stuff..
Made a start on WIP: Bird Racer Redux. Slow learning with Godot, but gotta go through the process I suppose. Serving HTML5 using https://pages.github.com/ which was super easy to setup. And source code is also on GitHub (private for now).
Wednesday September 11, 2019
Created GitHub account https://github.com/sporktank, and a repository for the first project https://github.com/sporktank/birdracer-redux.
This will be a re-make (loosely speaking) of my first ever graphical game, Bird Racer, haha! I was in high school when I created this, and have even managed to dig up some source code -- think Visual Basic 5, DirectX 6, and some Windows API stuff. You were basically a bird who dodged trees for as long as you could (let's ignore the flawed logic of trees moving on the ocean). Later in school I did a version 2 and even re-did version 1.
Side note: Urgh, inserting images in Google Sites is not nice. They need their own section and have to be uploaded, i.e. can't simply be pasted from the clipboard.
Moving on. The first project will be a game like this using Godot Engine, perhaps taking some ideas from Flappy Bird games. Some outcomes/goals from this project:
Learn 2D mechanics of Godot
Re-familiarise myself with Git/Github
Create first page under "Apps"
Publish as HTML5, probably
Friday September 6, 2019
So this turns out to be very true -- https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Naming_things.
But let's not let that get in the way, SporkTank will do for now. It conveys the same idea about creative game/app development.
I'm tidying up a few projects with my current job, and will be dialing back my hours over the next month. It's been a long time since I've done any game/app development so I'd imagine the first few projects are just to get back into the swing of it. Spent some time reading about the fantastic Godot Engine, this is where we'll start.
Thursday September 5, 2019
First post!
Been a long time coming, this website represents a storage/presentation for game/app development I've been wanting to do for years. Here goes!
Purchased laptop last night from https://www.metabox.com.au, should arrive next week.
Setup this website using https://sites.google.com, nice and simple and will do for now. Just a place to document the beginnings of this adventure. 😊
Edit: And in doing so have realised that Spork Labs has been used by other organisations -- should really check this stuff first!
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