Content Libraries

Well i needed a way to manage the content for my shooter War Torn so i looked to the XNA content libraries. They provide a way to store and access all my content in a consistent manner while storing the data in simple XML files. The brilliance of a content library is that it can be used by my other projects as well with the same result. The basic design premise is to have a collection of content based class then serialise them into XML files which can be accessed by your game class.

War Torn Update

Well i have worked hard on my third person shooter named War Torn. So far drawing, animation, controls and basic interface including a cross hair have been created. An item editor has also been made so that items can easily be made and saved out. I currently am working on collision detection to prevent objects from moving through other objects. More updates soon but this is turning out to be quite an exciting project.

War Torn

Since i have moved over to c# and started learning Microsoft's xna I have begun work on a real project I call War Torn. It's a third person sci-fi future based in a universe of my own creating. So far things are progressing nicely with basic camera, controls, inventory, equipment and animations functioning its looking to be quite a promising project. I have some dedicated artist on board who share my vision and are willing to work hard toward completing this project. I'll have more updates soon.

My move to c#

As part of my studies at unitec I have become to learn the c# programming langauge. Finally getting into some real proffesional type languages has greatly improved my knowledge and desire to learn about programming. I will continue to develop my .net experience which will hopefully expand my game developing abilities. I am experimenting with the xna framework which will allow me access to the windows, xbox360 and zune platforms for powerful games development.

Games4You

Well you must all be wondering what Games4You is well its my latest idea or venture. As of today i am beginning work on a professional website and assembling a team of individuals to work games for this website called Games4you. Games4You will be a sort hub for users to make requests for custom designed and developed games. Simply put you present us with and idea, a story, a game play mechanic or any sort of creative material. Well talk to you about the direction you want with the game and assemble some ideas. Then we will go over the material and based on your feedback assemble a prototype of concept game. If satisfied we will continue development through to completion. We aim to produce small to mid sized games that will require our services for short periods of time IE 3 to 6 months although through negotiation we will take on occasional large projects exceeding 6 months. We will keep the fees to a minimum and the final product will be all yours to do with what you want. Prices could be any where from 20 dollars to 200 based on how much work is required of your game. Keep posted as ill continue updates here.

Mystic Dream Update

As this project has become my fun pass time it has seen less work than my other projects however its still alive and recently I have been making some major developments. I decided to re-work the scripting system to operate in a global way and to allow more powerful access to the game features. I also set out to standardise all file formats so that they would easily be modifiable and understood. Core values for items, powers, npcs etc are stored directly in the script file with functions or chunks of commands that can be executed to give the selected content special functional qualities IE when executed the function for a health potion will restore the set value of life for a player. Ill continue to expand this and keep users updated on my progress.

Red Rings Of Death!!!!!

After having my second xbox360 give me the red rings of death and having it sent away for repair it is finally fixed and on its way back to me. Although frustrating and very common I'm still very satisfied with what the xbox360 can do. I'm hoping that this will not cause me any more troubles as My box is the elite version and I would expect it to be more reliable. If Microsoft can fix the hardware issues they will be solidly place in the market for a long time to come.

Force Warrior

Here to announce a new casual ie pick up and play title im developing. Essentially you control a small character from a top down view. You have no weapons all you can do is control the forces to defeat enemies and reach your taget. Players will be thrown into a fully physics controlled world where they can grab, push, pull, throw, explode and manipulate objects and enemies using their physical powers.Hordes of enemies will charge at you and you decided how to stop them from throwing blocks at them to pushing a group into each other to droping them from large heights. The world is your play toy and you grow stronger as you learn.

World Building

Currently something of great importance is of course world building. It comes in many forms and there are an amazing supply of tools out there if you look hard enough. Yet I'm still very puzzled as to what I should use to meet my own development needs. I see two issues with this firstly I want to be able to mould, deform, paint and manipulate my world on a global scale. Secondly I want this to be an easy and GUI controlled experience that integrates well into my projects and can be used by those who play the game. Finding something of this nature made me realise that what I need is not going to be found.

So I did what I could and that was to design my own tool now i didn't have much experience and I'm still very limited in my knowledge but I believe that I can achieve my goals. My software will look at game worlds on a global scale as the map will be broken up into sections that are still connected but not all on screen at the same time. This way I can fly around the world and find the spots that look like they need work. This also means that other users can visit their favourite cities and either develop them or completely wipe them out and start fresh with their own ideas.

Mystic Dream Show off

Well thought I would just drop off a few screens and links to videos to enjoy. Games going well only editor left is the world editor which is now 80% complete. I have stripped the main game engine down so its limited on media and mostly nothing to do until I rewrite each of the core systems to use the formats I have created but otherwise its in very good condition.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4727971413054494989

Just one last note to say that I have found a way to create animations easily so i am currently animating a heap of combat maneuvers already have a few done.

Mystic Dream Update

Well been a while since I have posted anything but here goes. I finished my item editor a while back which Is a great feat. Now I have almost completed the magic editor as well it is officially at 95% done. The magic editor uses similar controls and layout to physically construct and alter magical powers. You can add effects, manipulate animation and qualities of the powers then export them. My next editor will be the world editor allowing the construction and modification of environments plus it allows you to place items, enemies and objects in the world.

The Mystic Dream Item Editor

Yes it is nearly complete infact 95% to be exact and as of this day it is fully function in the sense that it can make items and save them out ready to be played with. Yes thats right there will be no more changes the item files that this editor makes will be used in the final official full game. All that remains is the finishing off of my point system which determines how powerful you can make your items. It is a very powerful tool with a simple interface so easy anyone will be able to make their own items. All the game editors will be packaged up with the game when it releases meaning straight away people will have the chance to have their say in the gameplay.

A look at 2008

I know we have just entered the year but I wanted to take the chance to post my hopes, dreams and visions for this year. I see 2008 as a big year for myself with Mystic Dream on the edge of completion my hard work is finally coming to fulfillment. My main project Mystic dream although still in development is very much functional and given a bit more work the final systems will fall into place. The biggest advances have been the creation of editors and applications which I can use to develop the game in a simple and quick environment. I'm looking forward to running tests early in the year and release later in the year.

I would also like to point out that some more powerful tools mainly to do with direct x 10 are coming out and with these tools I plan to build a new project targeted at the latest hardware and the most up to date technology. I have plans on what and how I'm going to do this but will not announce anything of yet. I also look forward to what is and will be developed by other amazing companies and groups out there. I am proud to be part of such a great community and I look forward to the challenges, joys and changes to come.

Happy New Years

Just wishing all a happy new years and hope you all have a great holiday. Play lots of games, drink, eat, party or just sit in a corner with a book either way enjoy yourself.

The Magic Editor

Mystic dream features quite a hefty magic and ability system. I wanted an easy way to create powers and abilities not only for myself but for the players as well. My magic editor does exactly this. Using a simple interface and a point and click control system users can manipulate objects to build the desired effect they want painting each object with its own unique animation sequence and applying sounds. The editor also allows users to add and modify the effects of a spell. A list of different types of effects is loaded and users simply click the ones they want. The effects are then added to a list so they can be tweaked and manipulated to the users desire. Powers can then be exported into a special magic file that is read in and understood by the game engine. This editor offers great power and speed to any user it is proving to be a valuable asset to myself even though I'm still perfecting its design.

Non linear questing

Recently I talked about interaction and briefly about quests. In order to create a new experience for users the quest or task based systems should be non linear and should be story driven. But how can we accomplish this with the time and resources available. I feel firstly that most quests involve killing and/or collecting of items as a main focus. This will not expand our gaming experiences in any way. Exploring new options like helping to rebuild a colony, fulfilling a job in a certain town I.E. serving as a smith or fisherman for example, conquering and ruling your kingdom and many other paths. If we open up our minds and view anything as possible we can make it happen in our own virtual worlds. I aim to include as many non linear or unique quests in my project Mystic Dream as possible but I also give my users the tools to create experiences that I couldn't even imagine. Let me know your thoughts and feelings on this.

User created content

User created content and game customisation are definitely features which set one game a part from another. Role playing games have been allowing players to create their game character for many a year but now some games are allowing even more in depth control. Items, environments, weather conditions even game mechanics are opening up new ways to interact in a game world and allowing new experiences from old ones. So how far could this go and when should developers say this level of control is too much? What sorts of ways can we allow users to have their impact on a game? Just things to think about I would love your comments on this topic.

Mystic Dream Progress 6/11/07

Well I though this would be a good time for another update on my project. All is coming along nicely the core functionality of the game engine is coming together and im nearing an announcement to reveal just what my engine can do. I have rebuilt how weather and locations are loaded and handled by the system also adding in support for sky types which include both day and night although I have yet to devise a system to transition between day and night skys yet. All the player to non player interactions are complete but i still have to re implement my quest system and add the improvements. Items have been redesigned and added to the engine although there is a bit of work to be done with them before I would call it complete. So the last task will be finishing quest system, items and of course my magic system.

The Universal editor

The key to any sucessful game is the design and implementation of appropriate editors to develop that game with. The content and arrangement of this content must easily and quickly be layout out and the information saved into a suitableformat. My project in a bid to maintain ease of use yet still hold great control over the system has condensed all control into a master editor. Users can add characters, items and objects to the world with a simple drag and drop interface. By using this system anybody can change the gaming experience and it also means the game can be developed fast. There can be great benefits from indies and pros using external tools to develop their games with.

Video replay in games

With halo3 released and on of its main features being the recording and replay of users games I want to know people feelings towards this. There is no doubt about it everybodys game experience is different when they play the same game. Sharing the bizarre, amazing and funny moments during a players game can be great fun. Not only that but having videos of certain functions in action developers can more readily fix bugs and glitches rather than trying to find out what the problem is.

I feel that developing a system to record worldly data and use it to reconstruct all of my users game experiences could be of great value not only for me but for other computer games as well. If I made the system open enough and flexible enough it could be adopted as a common way of handling video replay. Feel free to contribute your views on this as I will take your input into consideration.