Tag Archives: creative

Further Developments…

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A lot happened this week. I should talk about it.

Firstly, demo for “Drew and the Floating Labyrinth” turned out to have a couple bugs in the menu system I didn’t see before. Thanks to the good people on REDDIT who pointed out the flaws. I don’t normally like to update demos continuously anymore, but it didn’t seem fair to leave the game as it was. You can try the demo if you haven’t already here: http://drew.fromdustscratch.com .

Secondly, a gameplay video that shows the levels seen in the demo (and one extra one from the trailer). If there was any question about gameplay, this should fix that. It can be seen here:

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Drew and the Floating Labyrinth updates – Giving Drew Some Color

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Some game development updates on “Drew and the Floating Labyrinth”.

First, realized that people have different input methods with computers. It’s one of the many reasons why computers are worse than consoles to develop for, because you have no idea what the gamer has with their computer rig, even if there is potential to make a better experience on PC than anywhere else. I’ve already had gamepad and keyboard+mouse+scrollwheel made, but also updated controls to work without the scroll wheel, best for people on laptops for example. I really should consider some form of touch controls too, just in case (but won’t until the very end). I probably won’t update the demos continuously with fixes like this, but we’ll see. Thankfully, Unity3D makes it really easy to update input methods: you can “define” a input button, then define several versions with the same name, each with its own real keyboard or gamepad button. Nice.

Also tried adding more color to Drew: her red hair.

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I Submitted My Indie Game To A Contest (Aftermath)

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(update 2: I’m using all the restraint I have not to swear here. I just found out my demo had a element incomplete: a level where Drew is supposed to change eye color was only half done. The judges are unlikely to notice, the eyes were barely noticeable even when they were there, but still, that’s incredibly frustrating. It’s probably too late to update the demos on the site anyway. No doubt this won’t be the first time this happens… anyhow, the demo has been updated for the rest of you to try.)

(update: Mitchell Lum kindly filled devs in that over 150 entries were in the contest this year. Not nearly as many as I expected, makes me feel much better. I still have a slim chance of winning, but you never know until you try. And given how few entries there were, I’ll be sure to have as many people as possible I know to enter next year!)

So I finally put an indie game into a contest.

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Game Developer Contest Deadlines

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When you make a game, project, research contribution, etc., where do you show it? Typically, you take to online and submit it to contests, conventions, conferences, and other places hoping for recognition.

I’ve been to a couple research conferences before, and they tend to be small events with dozens of awkward researchers saying hi to each other, while getting to make a powerpoint presentation of something they’ve dedicated years of their life towards while hoping in vain that someone else in the room is as excited as they are. Typically, this is purely meant as a resume booster, and I feel similar events are the same: it’s good experience, but it won’t change your life as much as you hope. When it comes to game development however, press and exposure is important even if futile, your game will not be seen if you don’t at least try to put it out there, and people won’t flock to you to see it without exposure elsewhere. Also, game conventions also tend to be exciting and get thousands of interested attendees, so the energy is better. The various online contests for indie games probably won’t get you attention, but can sometimes get you money if you win a prize, and can lead to your game being showcased elsewhere, all the better for you.

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Indie: The American Dream

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(I’m not actually American, but the phrase sounds better with “American” than “Canadian”.)

I’ve talked to a few friends over the last few weeks. Graduating from university, what will become of them? Some have landed very impressive jobs at various companies (and are very deserving of them). I’ve also heard disappointment and boredom with their jobs. I’ve heard plans of (eventually) getting a Masters degree, maybe a Phd, and eventually starting their own company.

Starting your own company… going “indie”…

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