1. A Pathfinding Project Pro: Navigating the Virtual Maze*

The A* Pathfinding Project Pro is a game-changer for Unity developers seeking seamless navigation for AI entities. Whether you’re creating Tower Defense (TD), First-Person Shooter (FPS), or Real-Time Strategy (RTS) games, this asset’s blazing-fast pathfinding capabilities stand out. Supporting various graph types, multithreading, and advanced features like local avoidance, it ensures your AIs effortlessly find their way through complex mazes. With 16 example scenes and comprehensive documentation, integrating this asset is a breeze.

2. Hot Reload | Edit Code Without Compiling: Revolutionizing Development Workflow

Hot Reload is a game development boon that allows instant code changes without the need for time-consuming compilations. In a world where efficiency is paramount, this asset supports a wide array of edits, from logic changes to asynchronous coding. Its compatibility with Unity versions and versatility in supporting different code structures make it a trusted ally for solo developers and large studios alike. With a user-friendly setup and impressive features, Hot Reload has earned its place among the Unity Awards 2023 nominees.

3. Final IK: Achieving Realistic Animations

For developers seeking the pinnacle of Inverse Kinematics (IK) in Unity, Final IK emerges as a comprehensive solution. Compatible with various render pipelines, it empowers developers to create cutting-edge, high-fidelity graphics across different platforms. The asset includes a range of IK solutions, from Full Body Biped IK to Interaction System, providing a robust toolkit for achieving realistic character animations. With over 30 demo videos showcasing its capabilities, Final IK stands as a vital asset for elevating game animations.

4. Easy Save – The Complete Save Data & Serializer System: Cross-Platform Data Management

Easy Save redefines how Unity developers handle save data and serialization. Since its introduction in 2011, it has evolved into a feature-rich system supporting encryption, compression, cloud storage, and more. Its versatility allows serialization of a wide array of elements, including GameObjects, arrays, dictionaries, and Unity object references. With compatibility across various platforms and integration with popular Unity visual scripting tools like PlayMaker and Bolt, Easy Save offers a robust and flexible solution for managing game data.

5. TopDown Engine: Crafting Seamless Top-Down Experiences *Personal Fave!

Developed by the creator of the acclaimed Corgi Engine, the TopDown Engine stands out as the most complete solution for creating top-down games in Unity. Whether you’re a novice or an experienced developer, this 2D and 3D engine provides a rich framework for top-down action games. Packed with features, including a tight character controller, advanced AI system, inventory management, and multiplayer capabilities, it caters to diverse game development needs. The engine’s commitment to game feel, extensive content, and constant updates make it an invaluable asset for crafting top-down games that truly resonate with players.

Game dev is hard, so anything we can do to speed up the process, meet our deadlines and release games is fantastic. What are your thoughts on the Unity Asset Store?

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Metro 2033 Images and Screenshots

The setting of the Metro series is a decaying version of Moscow, where people are forced to live in the underground Metro tunnels following a catastrophic nuclear war. The world above has become uninhabitable due to radiation, forcing survivors to create a new world in the dark and dangerous tunnels below. It’s a world of darkness, danger, and desperation where humanity is struggling to survive against a range of threats.

Metro Last Light Images and Screenshots

The imagery in the Metro games is stunningly realistic and evocative, capturing the haunting beauty of this post-apocalyptic world. The environment is rendered with incredible detail, from the grime and rust on the walls to the flickering of candles and torches in the dark. The art team has done an excellent job of creating an atmosphere that is both gritty and realistic while still being strangely beautiful.

Metro Exodust Images and Screenshots

One of the most memorable scenes in the Metro games is the moment when players first step out of the tunnels into the wasteland above. The world outside is barren and lifeless, with twisted metal and rubble everywhere. The sky is a sickly shade of yellow, and the air is thick with radiation. It’s a stunning moment that captures the horror and desolation of this world.

The Metro games are also filled with smaller moments of beauty and wonder that add to the overall atmosphere. Whether it’s the quiet moments of contemplation in the tunnels, the glow of a sunset through a cracked window, or the sound of a choir singing in a distant station, the games are full of moments that make players pause and take in the beauty of this broken world.

Overall, the Metro series is a testament to the power of great world-building in video games. By creating a detailed, immersive setting, the games transport players into a world that is both terrifying and strangely beautiful. The Metro games are an excellent example of how video games can be a powerful medium for storytelling and world-building, and a must-play for anyone who loves immersive, atmospheric games.

The post The Beautiful Yet Broken World of Metro appeared first on Gaming Debugged | Gaming Site Covering Xbox, Indies, News, Features and Gaming Tech.

Despite the many tools at your disposal, diving into 3D graphics designs requires patience and dedication. Check out our tips to learn how to get started.

Using 3D Software by Daz 3D for Gaming Graphics 

One of the best ways to get your feet wet with 3D graphics designs is by using free video game software like Daz 3D. Here you can create an entire 3D universe using a library of vibrant, detailed 3D content. You can discover new skills by watching design tutorials, building custom scenes and characters, or even render realistic-looking images.

Here are five tips on how to make the most of Daz 3D for gaming graphics:

Start Simple

Learning 3D graphics design can be overwhelming at first, which is why it’s crucial to start simple. Daz 3D is an easy 3D animation software that’s perfect for beginners like yourself. By starting out with simple designs, you can learn the essential principles of design and work your way up from there. 

Try Incorporating Your Own Touch

If you want to be a great 3D graphics designer, it’s important to incorporate your own touch into your designs. Fortunately, Daz 3D offers a huge, versatile library of 3D models for you to build upon. This makes it one of the best 3D animation software choices for new designers. Whether you’re looking for characters, hair, creatures, vehicles, environments, or anything else, you can customize the library models from Daz 3D and make them all your own.

Don’t Get Discouraged

As with any skill, learning the art of 3D graphics design takes time to master. Don’t get discouraged if you aren’t able to create detailed, complex designs right off the bat. You’ll need months (and years) of dedicated practice in order to create the best video game art—and Daz 3D will help you get there.

Use Daz 3D Wiki Documents

You’ll likely have many questions along the way as you’re learning these new skills. Maybe you wish you had an experienced video game artist there to guide you. Well, if you don’t, there’s still no need to worry. Daz 3D offers advanced instructions on how to use the software so you can always find answers to your questions as you continue to build upon your skills. 

Watch Free Video Tutorials from Experts

Wish you could learn from the best video game artists? Luckily, you can! Thanks to the internet, there are many free video tutorials from expert 3D graphics designers. You can find free tutorials on any topic by using Daz 3D. Watching these tutorials will give you helpful insights and put you on the fast track to success as a video game artist.

Design 3D Graphics Today

Now that you’ve learned some basic tips on getting started with 3D graphics design, it’s time to dive in. Head to Daz 3D to start creating. Whether you borrow from the extensive library of 3D characters, accessories, and environments, or build your own, you’ll be well on your way to building realistic, detailed 3D graphics.

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Time Invested or Wasted?

When we think of long and engaging experiences, one of the first titles that will come to mind for most gamers is The Witcher 3. Often held up as an example of an open world done right, The Witcher 3 can take around 52 hours to beat for the main story alone according to How Long to Beat.

Add on the extras, and this completion time could easily be doubled – yet, even on this longer level, the game is considered a masterclass. It accomplishes its esteem by offering fleshed-out side stories that manage to be both interesting and appealing despite being offered in smaller bite-sized chunks.

Compare this to a game the Shadow of War, the sequel to the fantastically well-received Shadow of Mordor. Despite being less than half as long as The Witcher 3, Shadow of War is infamous for its dragged out and monotonous end-game. Rather than offering an alternate avenue to explore Tolkien’s work, Shadow of War relies on busywork and grinding, which was naturally not as well received.

Directed or Expanded?

Extrapolating from the idea of padded length, we also need to consider how it can be better to offer shorter game-lengths with more direct stories. Consider The Last of Us 2. We loved the game, but there were multiple points where it could or even should have ended, rather than dragging out more hours to continually hammer home the same message.

Compare TLOU 2 to a game like Undertale. Internationally lauded for its story, Undertale takes around seven hours to beat yet never feels rushed or undercooked. Unlike TLOU2, Undertale adopts brevity yet still manages to convey its message effectively.

The Turnaround

On the development side of the spectrum, we have the issue of turnaround time. On the efficient side of this, consider the multitude of games available from William Hill casino. From slots games like Wolves and Epic Ape to table games like blackjack and roulette, these titles are small and dedicated to a single purpose. Because of their targetted nature, the turnaround time is short, allowing for an enormous selection that still maintains quality.

On the other hand, we have a series like Final Fantasy. From 1987 to 1997 there were seven main series games released. From 1997 to 2007 there were six main series titles published. From 2007 to 2017, only three games released, with one being a re-release of FF14. In cases like these, games have gotten so immense that fans have to wait enormous periods of time for the next entries, which many are loathe to do.

The Question of Why

Painting the picture as we have, you might be wondering why developers and publishers keep making games bigger. In some cases, it’s a matter of pushing for the best graphics and largest worlds to appeal to users. Even if this idea is misplaced, it can drive up development time significantly.

Other times, larger worlds are the result of developers wanting to give players the longest experience possible. This can be great for those who love specific games, or when games like The Witcher manage this well, but it’s a difficult balancing act.

Ultimately, this is a trend that is in some cases unsustainable, but it’s likely to continue anyway. Game development costs have been ballooning for years, and the likes of microtransactions and season passes are the price that players have to pay. Whatever your stance, at least we live in a new era of indie gaming. Whether you want the biggest titles or find these games exhausting, there’s always something for you.

The post Are Games Getting Too Big? appeared first on Gaming Debugged | Gaming Site Covering Xbox, Indies, News, Features and Gaming Tech.

During my hour with Lynne, we took a trip right through her early career after leaving University to working for a giant such as King, to setting up new businesses and nurturing new talent.

Our discussion was truly insightful and was packed full of useful hints and tips for both budding young artists and those taking on a role as an art director. Whether it is brainstorming new ideas, or motivating a team to finish those more mundane tasks, Lynne tells her story and the lessons learned along the way.

Lynne also offers advice for those looking to work with artists, such as game developers, directors, producers and companies eager to create 2D/3D art or animation. From early concept sketches to being honest with your budget, Lynne offers developers invaluable advice for this looking to outsource their art needs.

For more information on Lynne Liu, please check out the links below:

Artstation: https://www.artstation.com/lynneliu
Behance: https://www.behance.net/lynneliu
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lynneliu/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lynneliuart

The post 3D Game Art to Art Director | Lynne Liu Interview appeared first on Gaming Debugged | Gaming Site Covering Xbox, Indies, News, Features and Gaming Tech.

GameSalad

This tool allows a developer to create a game quickly and easily without writing a line of code. Features include:

• Wide behavior library
• Visual drag and drop interface
• Integrated physics engine

The behaviour library allows a developer to create the actions that he prefers from a library of advanced and basic game behaviours. Students can use simple logic to determine the actions and behaviours of game objects. For example, if you wanted to make a player graphic move left on the press of a button, users need only drag the behaviour onto the button.

The free version of GameSalad allows creating, previewing and publishing games to the iOS and web platform. The pro version allows monetizing the game and publishing it to Windows 8 and Google Play Store.

Stencyl

Stencyl offers a wonderful toolset and vast platform support. It does not require coding and it has an excellent drag and drop interface that is inspired by MIT Scratch project. Developers remodeled MIT’s project through adding other features. Code blocks dragging and dropping has never been this simple.

The software allows innovative game developers to write code, import libraries and develop their own games. They can also build worlds and design scenes with the software’s nifty Scene Designer. Apart from the world editor, there is an Actor editor. This is a tool that allows one to create NPCs and characters and alter their look and behaviour. With Stencyl one can create wonderful games like slot machine online 2017.

Stencyl Basic allows creation and publishing of games to their site. Publishing a game to Windows, iOS, Google Play and Mac requires one to pay 199 dollars per year.

GameMaker: Studio

This is the widely used tool for both newbies and professional developers that can create beautiful 2D games assisted by its built-in script library (game creator language). Developers can import character sprites, animations and fonts and thanks to a large community of artists and developers, there are a plethora of resources available online.

GameMaker can produce solid, high-quality physics-based games with the help of its Box2D physics engine and shader effects.

Its export modules let developers create a game and several executables that can be exported to several platforms by just pressing a button.

FlowLab

This tool allows budding developers to create iOS and browser games directly in the browser itself. It has every tool that a student would need and since the toolset is kept online developers can share their games easily.

FlowLab has a unique programming that allows the user to connect behaviours in order to come up with refined game logic. It also contains built-in drawing and animation tools that let users create animations, characters and NPCs.

The free version of FlowLab contains fifty objects and five levels and it allows users to create three games only. Its pro version has unlimited levels and objects and it allows the creation of an unlimited number of games. It also allows publishing games to iTunes.

Sploder

This is an online tool that allows amateurs to develop web games with several toolsets. Users can create space adventures, arcade games, shooters or platformers. Every genre has its own tools and there is a physics game developer for developing physics-based games. There is also a graphics editor for creating pixelated characters.

Sploder allows publishing games to the site to have them rated by others.

The Choice is Yours 

It is worth trying out the different programs and creating a simple game in each. This way you can get a feel for the engine, its behaviours and pick the one that suits your skillset. Either way, these will give you a taste of game design and development that can lead to more advanced programs and a career in game creation.

The post Free Game Development Tools For Students appeared first on Gaming Debugged | Gaming Site Covering Xbox, Indies, News, Features and Gaming Tech.

In Destiny, I have cleared the available planets, conducted countless patrols, completed the side quests and the latest Taken King update. However, when I re-visit the planets there is no evidence my game ever took place. This would have been fine in the old ways of gaming and they were simple levels, but this is supposed to be a living breathing galaxy.

On of my suggestions is to have a ‘1 year’ story cycle in which the story starts at launch (encouraging more early adopters) and plays out for a year. Gamers can complete the story quests, enjoy the patrols and side quests and after a year the world updates. Planets that are now ‘safe’ have their scenery updated a little, the quests are more about rebellion and internal struggles and new planets/areas are opened up. Players in this model would know that the following year, all their hard work would be shown in the new update. Additional buildings or settlements can appear and the mess of war can be tidied up. The quests can still be the ‘half an hour of fun’ but with a couple of added story tweaks.

At the moment, lower level players can see ‘The Taken’ roam the lands which is a start but updated character models are a little on the lazy side.

Alternatively, the game’s story can evolve over the course of the year and the battles and scenery get updated throughout the year. If players join the game in the middle of the year they join mid-battle and mid story. Certain areas have already been freed or completed and the new players jump into the latest struggle. This would encourage gamers to get the game early to be part of the first wave of players. In this model, games can enjoy seasonal updates and get weather updates which could change the whole look of the map. Quarterly updates similar to what is offered in season passes would move the universe forward and keep players interested throughout the year.

I can see this working well in Ubisoft’s Division as players know that in a year’s time, the whole city will get an overhaul. Cars and rubbish might be tided up and life might start returning to the city. Players can feel that all their grinding has made a difference.

It makes sense to me, but means a lot more work for developers. However, with digital games becoming long term platforms for gamers it seems like a great way to merge classic gaming with long term MMO’s.

Let me know your thoughts…

The post An Idea For Long Term Games appeared first on Gaming Debugged | Gaming Site Covering Xbox, Indies, News, Features and Gaming Tech.

I will start by saying that I loved the game and whilst I discuss issues, they are not deal breakers and I am still excited to play the game. Obviously it’s slightly annoying that it’s £45 for a disc and £55 for a digital copy.

I will begin with the negatives. They are only small criticisms and missed opportunities.

The Bad

Peter Dinklidge’s Robot Voice

It’s possible that he may be a scapegoat for a bad script but I am jumping on the bandwagon and saying his performance doesn’t set me a light as with other games.

Bigger Sub Bosses Are Just Bullet Sponges

I understand that its a first person shooter and that bosses are usually just bullet sponges, but Destiny really could have been smarter as it melded RPG elements into the game. Just take a look at the bosses in Zelda and Kingdom Hearts for just a couple of examples. When the first sub boss crawled out of his hole I got excited but soon realized that hiding and shooting a few times dispatched said enemy in no time at all. Similarly, the use of the term wizard confers that the game intends to use magic and mysticism but really it turns out to be a floating boss who just needs shooting like the rest. the fact they are a wizard means little and they missed a great opportunity to mix mind bending side games which could mirror that of Batman: Arkham City when the scarecrow messes with Batman or even in Watchdogs where the digital trips take you to a hell based level crawling with flaming headed demons. Both feel very different to the main game and yet have relevance in the narrative.

Spawning Enemies In The Same Spot

In Halo, the large set pieces in the single player campaign contained wars of enemies and an array of enemies in particular places. This gave the impression that the enemies existed whether the player was part of the story or not. By having ever spawning enemies pulls the player away from this narrative style and makes the enemies less part of the story and merely just grind fodder.

Doesn’t Bring Anything New To The Table

The idea of mixing Halo’s gunplay, Borderlands progression and Mass Effects Citadel sounds awesome on paper and it even works amazingly in practice but ultimately it  just mixes popular ‘been there, done that, mechanics and fails to bring something new. Despite Titanfall’s failings, the team at Respawn did manage to make the FPS feel different with the addition of walk running and the sheer speed of the game.

Dancing On Flagpoles

Maybe it’s just me but I was all ready for an adventure through space and time on a journey to save the universe. However, when you see other players sitting cross legged on a flag pole or dancing on precipices in the tower you can’t help but be removed from the narrative lessening its impact.

Good

The GUI

The user interface is designed around the thumb sticks perfectly and really shows a deep level of understanding. The UI designer from Halo 1-3 worked wonders considering he had not had to build a RPG focused UI before. Gun customization is easy, NPC interaction feels seamless and considered and text content is easy to use and navigate. I am really looking forward to seeing more.

The Public Matches

There was a definite flutter of excitement every time a public match was announced. I saw other players going about their business but there was little or no interaction. However, when a public match is announced it was great to see swathes of people get stuck it. It gave me a great feeling of camaraderie and I felt the need to look out for my fellow guardians.

The Shooting Precision And Gun Variation

The shooting side definitely feels like Halo and in turn feels different to Titanfall and Call of Duty. At first it felt slow but once I found my rhythm I was able to strafe and jump like I was back playing Halo 3. The control system feels comfortable and the different weapon types each feel distinctly different. Obviously upgraded weapons don’t feel different to their previous incarnations but the fact that you can customize and upgrade your weapon gives the world a much more borderlands feel. Knowing that other players in the world will have a customized gun takes it beyond the standard weapons of Halo and throws in a handful of uncertainty.

The Story (Or Lack Of It)

You wake up dead, scavenge for an old wreck of a ship and go off into the solar system to take on an alien army known as the Darkness. The snippets of the story we were privy to sounded fantastic and it leaves so many questions unanswered that I can imagine that there will be so much lore and side stories created around the central theme. Bungie have always been great story tellers but it feels that they have stepped up their game in Destiny to encompass a huge universe of adventures.

The Training level

This was hands down one of the best ‘tutorial’ levels in any game. The cinematics were fantastic with sweeping pans and amazing establishing shots. The lessons subtle and the different functions were drip fed to the player in a way that it supported the narrative and did not break character. Within a few minutes you were jumping, shooting and interacting with objects with ease. Whilst most gamers will have been familiar with the FPS setup, I felt that this introduction level made the game much more widely accessible.

The Unknown

Obviously, there is a lot of aspects that we don’t know about the game which could make or break it. Below are what I consider to be the biggest unknowns.

• The Story
• The size of the game
• The level cap of the players
• The amount of players within the world per session
• Any DLC or extended universe stuff

Overall, I am really excited about this title and expect to lose many hours of my life when it comes out this fall.

The post The Positives and Negatives of the Destiny Beta appeared first on Gaming Debugged | Gaming Site Covering Xbox, Indies, News, Features and Gaming Tech.

In most cases, games need set rules and laws to govern play. These rules allow players to learn and get better at the game. If you think of tennis for example, the rules are set and anyone can play. However, only those willing to put the effort in truly excel. If randomness is introduced players would not seek to become professionals as they could never truly control the game. In some cases, such as XCOM randomness is introduced at the very beginning in the placement of the enemy aliens. This randomness works well as it changes the game from memorizing where the aliens are, to a more strategic game where the act of playing requires skill.

Games like the original Mario and Sonic games required the user to play the levels and memorize the layout in order to achieve the best outcome. Whilst fun, it left little playability after the levels had been completed. More recently, games have introduced additional elements to extend playability such as three different star achievements which are achieved when certain criteria are met. This feature does extend the game but only by a factor of three.

One such random occurrence in modern games is the infamous winged blue shell in Mario Kart. The blue shell is a power-up given to the last place player and pretty much instantly, takes out the player in the first place. The game itself is fantastic and has spawned a slew of clones but one thing that does stop it from being a fully playable game is the blue shell. I know it is part of a range of balancing measures to keep the game fun for all players but it ultimately punishes good players and those who have attempted to master the game. When you see gamers play Mario Kart at a competitive level you will notice that a tactic has emerged where played actively try NOT to be in the first place and that by sitting in the middle of the pack is the best strategy when competing.

I don’t think I have explained myself fully here but the moral of the story is that if you intend your game to last, and tempt players to really invest time and effort in your game, then keep randomness to the absolute minimum. It will just turn players off and pigeonhole your game with many others in the ‘good fun for five minutes’ bracket and lose players who will follow and promote your game. Obviously, some exceptions to the rule exist but trust me; my logic is sound.

The post Randomness and Video Game Design appeared first on Gaming Debugged | Gaming Site Covering Xbox, Indies, News, Features and Gaming Tech.

Let’s take a look at 10 great games with their own style.

No More Heroes

One of the few games that showed gamers the Wii was more than just playing Tennis, No More Heroes is a classic. With a distinctly Japanese feel, quirky graphics and easily one of the best-looking titles on the Wii, it’s something a lot of gamers will remember. If you haven’t played it before, you can easily pick it up and play it on the Wii U – there’s also a sequel, too.

Limbo

Indie games like Limbo don’t have the same sort of budget as the Call of Duty developers but, they still manage to pull off great things. Limbo’s dark and atmospheric look helped sell the game’s experience, which was excellent. It’s like playing something completely different and its unique style really helps to tell a story.

Jet Set Radio

One of the better games on the ill-fated Sega Dreamcast, Jet Set Radio was just plain awesome. The first game to set-off the cell-shaded movement, it was a triumph and gamers everywhere will remember the fun they had in the game’s urban environment. Games are supposed to send us places to escape, and Jet Set Radio did just that. You can now play the game on your smartphone if you missed it on the Dreamcast.

Rez

Rez not only played differently to every other game on the PlayStation 2 but, it also looked very different. With simple vector-type graphics and vibrant colors, Rez was a fast-paced roller coaster all about music. The game’s visuals really helped sell this new type of gameplay. Thanks to the low-fidelity yet charming graphics, Rez was able to put a lot of information on screen. Making it as much of a visual feast as it was a musical one. If you’ve got a PS2 lying around somewhere, why not try eBay and pick up a copy? You won’t regret i.

XIII

This was one of the first games that made the industry realize that shooters can tell a story, too. On the surface, this was yet another first-person shooter but, the comic book graphics and 1960s story made this so much more than that. With offices you might find in a Lancaster PA Web Design Company today, XIII was a great game and a high-profile entry into pop culture. It was also one of the first games to achieve acclaim on both PC and Consoles, bringing gamers that little bit closer together.

The 2008 Prince of Persia

The Prince of Persia franchise has been many things over the years, a quality Sega Mega Drive game, a hit mobile game and even a Hollywood blockbuster. However, gamers will remember the 2008 “reboot” of the game that features a whole new style. With cell-shading and soft, mythical colors, the game was something out of a storybook. Not everyone liked the new Prince however, which sadly led to the franchise being put on hold.

The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker

Nintendo’s Zelda franchise has become a top-tier selling game over the years and this was one of the biggest entries in the series. Wind Waker featured the protagonist, Link, as we had never seen him before. Everything looked like it was from a cartoon and had a completely new feel to it. Opinion was divided, and many die-hard fans were turned off by the new look. However, it was one of the best games on the GameCube and has recently been re-released on the Wii U as The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD, so how bad can it have been?

Journey

Much like other indie games, the experience in Journey is what counts. You have to journey through the desert and other pastel-colored environs that look like a painting to get through the game. However, the unique style doesn’t just stop at its graphical look. The story is told without words through pre-rendered cutscenes. Leaving the player to “feel” the game, as oppose to being told what’s happening.

Okami

Okami is truly a visual feast unlike anything you have seen before. The game is like an ancient Japanese painting come to life. Set during classical Japanese history, Okami merges various Japanese myths, legends and folklore to tell a tale of how the world was saved from darkness by the Shinto sun goddess, called Amaterasu, in the form of a large white wolf. It’s graphics will have you in awe as the levels are painted out in front of you with a celestial brush.

Machinarium

Machinarium is one of the best point and click adventures for a long time. The graphics create an atmosphere of a cold, mechanical world in which your tin protagonist must venture. The look and feel of the game is fantastic and looks more like an old and highly detailed painting than a video and is well worth a play.

BioShock: Infinite

The hit 2013 game that introduced players to a city in the clouds is known for the most unique setting used in a video game for years. A re-imagining of post Civil War USA, it puts players in the town of Columbia, set up high in the clouds. Floating along with a beautifully crafted fantasy world, gamers often talk about the game’s setting rather than its fantastic story and gameplay.  Whilst the graphic style is the same 3D first person style we see time and time again, this game is set apart by its sheer attention to detail. This is not just realism but hyper-realism.

For years to come, game creators will continue to develop unique experiences. As we enter the next-generation of games consoles, developers will be able to try new things and once again push the boundaries. What will the next XIII going to look like? Who will make such a game? Only time will tell.

The post 10 Great Video Games with Unique Graphic Styles appeared first on Gaming Debugged | Gaming Site Covering Xbox, Indies, News, Features and Gaming Tech.

Do you have what it takes?

If you want to become a successful video game designer, there are two paths you can take—the creative path or the computer-programming avenue.

The creative option requires you to have natural artistic ability, while the programmer needs to have a mathematical bent and a good grasp of logic and sequence. These skills can be further honed through education, but an innate inclination is required.
Some of the skills that can be learned include problem-solving, a knowledge of computers and technology, scripting languages, narrative skills, and creating digital images.

What subjects should you take in high school?

If you want to become a well-rounded student that has the perfect background for video game design, you should try to take as many of the following courses as you can.

• Visual arts
• Computers, including scripting languages like Basic, Pascal, and C/C++
• Mathematics, including calculus
• Physics
• Creative writing

You may also like to learn about game developing software such as GameSalad, Corona, Stencyl, and Construct2. The more you know the further ahead of the competition you’ll be.

Should I bother with college?

Quite simply put, yes. It will better equip you to compete in a field where a huge number of people are fighting for a small number of jobs. Plus, your degree will give you something to fall back on if it turns out that this career choice isn’t for you.

While you’re in college, you will be able to build up a strong portfolio that you can use in future job interviews.

You have three possible college paths that you can take.

1. Pursue a degree in Video Game Design.
2. Pursue a degree in Fine Arts, Animation, or Graphic Design, making sure to include computerized animation or graphics.
3. Pursue a degree in Computer Science including courses in software design.

Image courtesy of: David Michael Morris via photopin cc

What schools offer the best programs?

When it comes to investing a wad of serious dough into an education, you want to do your homework and thoroughly investigate potential schools and the programs they offer. Thankfully, the Princeton Review and GamePro Media have teamed up to compile a list of the schools with the best programs in Video Game Design.

The Top 10 are:

1. University of Southern California
2. University of Utah
3. DigiPen Institute of Technology
4. The Art Institute of Vancouver
5. Michigan State University
6. Worcester Polytechnic Institute
7. Drexel University
8. Champlain College
9. Rochester Institute of Technology
10.Becker College

If you dream of creating the next video game sensation and possess the right skills, you can enjoy a successful career as a professional video game designer. Yes, you can create virtual worlds that will fascinate generations to come—and get paid to have a whole lot of fun.

What tips do you have for aspiring video game designers?

The post So You Want To Be A Game Designer? appeared first on Gaming Debugged | Gaming Site Covering Xbox, Indies, News, Features and Gaming Tech.

Keep it simple stupid (KISS)

Don’t try to do too much with the logo. You don’t have to take into account all the aspects of the company and the logo doesn’t have to be a straight representation of the services or products on offer. The McDonald’s logo doesn’t show a cheeseburger and Apple’s doesn’t have any link to computers. New versions of old logos have trended towards a simpler approach, subtracting any redundant elements but leaving something that still makes sense.

Get the design process right

Once you have a brief from the client and understand what needs to be communicated, it’s time to start sketching out ideas. Literally. Sketching is faster for those initial ideas; then you can boot up the computer. Use Illustrator to produce a vector image that can be easily resized with no loss of quality. Important things to take into consideration during the design process are whether the logo will still be effective if it’s all in one colour, if its colours are reversed, if it’s tiny or massive. Ask yourself: are you doing something new or imitating your favourite designers?

Make it future-proof

A logo design has to last for many years and still retain its identity when it gets a modern update. For this reason, it’s best to avoid trendy typefaces and styles that will date quickly. A company that is recognized for a specific product or service might completely change its identity over the years; so, again, steering clear of literal logos is a good idea. If a logo consists of just a typeface, such as Kellogg’s, then it can be easily modified or modernised in the future.

Test it internationally

It’s often overlooked but if your company has a global reach the logo needs to appeal to a variety of audiences. This is why a simple approach is generally recommended. You can never be sure whether something that looks fine to a Western audience might offend other cultures. In 1998 Nike released the Nike Air Bakin but had to recall thousands of shoes because Arab-American groups thought that the typeface used for the word “Air” made it look similar to the Arabic word for “Allah”.

Consider a type-only approach

It can help to use the strength of typography alone. There are so many fantastic fonts out there that can conjure up varying emotions – elegant serif can give the impression of style and professionalism, a handwritten cursive gives a fun feel. When opting for a type-only logo it’s beneficial to think about good use of negative space, an example of which is the FedEx logo.

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Nathan Drake

The most swoon-worthy of recent leading video game men, Nathan Drake has it all. Rugged good looks, a great sense of humor, athleticism and good aim. He’s the epitome of a perfect video game guy; he even has multiple women swooning after him, for good reason.

The Prince

The Prince from Prince of Persia is as suave as he is cunning. We’re talking about the one from the Gamecube glory days in the Sands of Time series. He was smart, also athletic (I mean, you can’t pass that trait up) and later in the series, had that brooding charm that some ladies are into. Besides, you can’t mess with an actual prince; that just ups his attractiveness.

Solid Snake

Snake is the man with the plan. Also, the man with a full arsenal. He’s as fit as they come, whether its young Snake or old, he’s always been a bit of a badass. For those who like someone with a bit more edge, Snake is the definite man for them.

Chris Redfield

The man punches rocks. If that isn’t an indication of being fit, what is? He’s fought zombies, mutations and Wesker himself. You can’t ask for a more well-rounded guy.

Kratos

Kratos is the fittest of fit and he truly has to be. After all, he is taking on gods. And although he might pale in comparison to the size of these deities, if he stood next to the average person, it’d feel like he was just as big as they are to him. And he isn’t a bad looking guy, when it comes down to it. As long as war paint isn’t a problem.

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New Game+

This option has popped up on more and more in recent games and creates a very strong sense of replay value. This choice lets players restart the game but often with the same items and level from the previous play through. This has been expanded even more in games like Mass Effect where your character and his or her choices are carried over.

A “Home”

This is a mechanic in quite a few long-term games, Skyrim, Minecraft and Dungeon Defenders being great examples. Having a home, where you can store things you find, trophies you collect, can change and add to as you move on in the game, is a nice added element to reward you for your efforts in a way you can visualize.

Skipping Cut-scenes

Another great mechanic for replay value, being able to skip cut scenes makes replaying a game with a lot of stories easier. We all like to indulge in our favorite cut scenes from time to time, but otherwise you are usually trying to move right along in your second playthrough, so being able to hit a button to move on is a small but needed mechanic.

Minimal HUD Design

To increase immersion, a lot of games are doing away with HUD design, especially first-person and third-person shooters. Take for example Dead Space, which lets you just see your health on the back of Isaac’s suit. Or Metro 2033 and Far Cry 2, which make it far more immersive without being told every little detail.

The post The Best Newest Game Mechanics appeared first on Gaming Debugged | Gaming Site Covering Xbox, Indies, News, Features and Gaming Tech.

[Update] Below I have listed a number of programs that can help beginners. However, I have also written a number of other features that focus on more advanced software tools for beginners as well as the top 3D modelling programs should you want to look beyond Blender 3D.

Scratch | Mac | Windows | Linux

Developed by MIT Media Labs, Scratch is ideal for creating stories as well as games that are interactive. The use of animated content makes it especially appealing for children as young as 8 years old. The programming ‘language’  it uses encourages children to learn computational, as well as mathematical concepts and to make games that hold their own individual stamp.

Sploder | Flash Enabled Browser

Sploder is a browser-based creation tool that uses flash to create games very quickly. This software really is for the novice developer as it’s more of a level builder than a creation tool. There are four game types to create and plenty of assets to drag and drop but your creation is limited to what the software can create. However, it’s easy to use and you can create a platforming hack-and-slash in a matter of minutes.

Alice | Mac | Windows | Mac

Meant for older children learning computer science, this object-orientated programming language has been developed by Carnegie Mellon University. In Alice’s interactive interface, students drag and drop graphic tiles to create a program, where the instructions correspond to standard statements in a production-oriented programming language, such as Java, C++, and C#. This is a great tool for designing 3D video games.

Gamesalad | Mac (Mainly) | Windows 

Gamesalad is a great tool for game development as it requires no prior programming knowledge. It has an easy-to-use drag and drop interface and movements and interaction are all controlled by ‘behaviours’ where the user adds rules to govern what each element will do. This game is free to try and publish online but also has a powerful compiler in order to create games for iPhone, iPad, Android and Nook. This feature, however, does come with a small price tag. For those with a talent for art and animation, this is definitely one to start with.

RPG Maker | Windows

This is a great resource for role-playing and can turn out amazing games. It is not only free but also quite easy to master. You can use this extremely popular software to produce games that have your own music, characters, story as well as dialogues. Over the years, various versions of RPG have been created and you can expect to pay around $25 for the standard software.

Stencyl | Mac | Windows

This flash-based games engine is growing in popularity and has created many great indie titles. This tool is very similar to Gamesalad in many respects, in that, it uses behaviours to control the different elements of the game. It does, however, use tile-based levels which is great for creating large complex levels but with low file size. This has both a free model to get you started and a paid version for additional features and the ability to export games to mobile devices.

Game Maker Studio | Windows (mainly) | Mac

This is probably the most advanced software on the list offering a wider variety in the types of games that can be created using it. It has both a drag and drop system along with its customised programming language. The feature list is vast and if you are willing to spend around $300 per platform you can create builds for everything from iPhones to Xbox One. This would be a great starting program for those truly serious about game development.

Phrogram

If you are familiar with Visual Basic or even Microsoft.NET, then Phrogram is the best option for you. It can help you to gain knowledge about traditional programming by way of easy to comprehend examples and tutorials. It is not a freeware but you can utilise a 30-day trial period.

Pygame

This makes you familiar with the Python programming language which is used by large corporations like YouTube and Disney. It is more appropriate for those people who seriously wish to get more knowledge on technical aspects of programming rather than just the fun of creating one’s own games.

Construct 3 | Mac | Windows

Construct 3 supports a number of platforms but it seems geared mainly towards HTML5 development. There is a free version to get you started and a tiered price range that goes up to around $400. Construct 2 is ideal for 2D games and there is a thriving community supporting it.

Adventure Game Studio | Windows

For those looking to specialise from day one why not try Adventure Game Studio to create a point-and-click adventure like the classic Monkey Island series. It’s only on PC and obviously, you are limited to one game type but if you have a passion for story and point-and-click adventures this is really fun.

Recommendations

Obviously, you can choose any of the above for your next game project but if you wanted my opinion I would say that you can’t go wrong starting with Gamesalad or Stencyl if you want to create mobile games or simple browser-based games or Game Maker Studio if you have your eyes on the consoles.

Next Steps

Once you have your program of choice then you not only need an idea but graphics to work with. If you are not skilled with art programs then here is a handy list of places to get game art and graphic assets.

Conclusion

All of the above game design software offers a simplified and interesting introduction to the world of programming along with providing the satisfaction of creating customised games. The added advantage is that it helps to form the basis for a more advanced career in computers and programming. One can easily access a number of tutorials that can help the novice game maker to become an expert in this field. A career in game development can be one of the most rewarding if one has the requisite knowledge and expertise in the various programming languages. This software can be the first step forward in this field. Besides, you can even learn to make your own 3D video game at summer camps being organised by professional companies such as ID Tech. The camp organisers also provide you the software you will need to design your own games. The basic game-making fundamentals that you learn in the camp or build through software paves a strong foundation for the future.

The post Game Design Software that can Help Beginners Create their Own Games appeared first on Gaming Debugged | Gaming Site Covering Xbox, Indies, News, Features and Gaming Tech.

The games graphics is reminiscent of the classic ‘Ghosts and Goblins‘ but it adopts a ‘rogue-like’ game-play mechanic, meaning every game is different. Mix that with a selection of humorous children with such ailments as color blindness and irritable bowel syndrome, and you have all the ingredients of a fantastic game

I managed to drag the Lee brothers away from their final tweaks and test to ask them a few questions about their latest title, the journey and game development in general.

How long have you been making games?

Hey, my name’s Teddy Lee, and I’ve been making games with my brother Kenny on and off for about 5 years now?

But before working with my brother, I’ve been making games on the side since I was probably around 6, first working with Pen and Paper, and then going up to RPGMaker and other things. Left on my own, I’d probably still be making games with RPG Maker since I can’t code or draw for my life.

Are there any developers or games that inspired you to get into games?

I don’t remember a time when I didn’t want to get into games, so it’s hard to say.  But there are a few developers that I look up to. Shigeru Miyamoto for sure because he’s constantly on the creative forefront. Pikmin, Zelda, Mario, Nintendogs. All of those games are completely different from one another, and they all spawned their own franchises and genres.

What tools did you use to make your games?

Kenny wrote the game entirely in C#, using XNA. It’s a custom engine, so he did a massive amount of work for this game. The largest by a fair margin.

When did you first come up with the concept of ‘Rogue Legacy’

The game sort of came together in pieces. We had the general idea for a children mechanic, but we tied everything together in a pretty fluid fashion.  It’s pretty exciting, working on a game for a year, hitting a block, and then trying to design your way out of it. Not really.  It’s pretty horrifying, and definitely leads to nightmares, but that’s how we roll I guess.

How long has ‘Legacy’ been in production?

1.5 years.  My brother worked on it full time, and I worked on it part time up until about 3 months ago. We’ve also hired artists and musicians down the way.

Glauber Kotaki is our amazing Pixel Artist.

Gordon McGladdery is our musician and sound technician. He makes some amazing stuff.

Judson “Tettix” Cowan is another musician on the game, and we’ve worked with him on our other projects. He is always top tops.

How many ‘children’ are there to choose from?

The children are randomly generated, you get to pick from 3 every time you die, so there’s no real limit.  I guess there’s a theoretical limit but I don’t know the math.

Children are composed of 3 major modifiers.

CLASS – Each child has their class preference, so you could be like a Knight, or an Assassin, or a Mage, etc. All classes have base modifiers applied to them, as well as their own custom “special ability”.  So a knight can block with his shield, and he has very strong base stats.  An assassin has low health, but a really high critical chance, and he can become smoke, allowing him to walk through enemies.

SPELL – Each child has their own preferred spell, so you don’t go into a game with your choosing. And there’s a bunch of spells, and certain spells are locked to certain classes.

TRAITS – A child can have upwards of 2 traits. So you could be both nearsighted and color blind which would be brutal.  Or you could be Endomorphic (fat so you don’t get knocked back far), and Gigantic, making you this immovable giant.

All of these are applied onto a child, making every play through unique.

How did you decide their ailments?

We just come up with them as we go along.  Some of them we come up accidentally due to a bug in the game, which we then polish off into a feature.

How many levels/bosses are there?

The games not made of levels. When you enter the castle the castle is always different, so it’s not like you beat the castle, and then level 2 starts.  There’s defined zones and bosses, but we don’t want to say how many just yet.

What has been your biggest hurdle and how did you overcome it?

Just getting the game to where it is now has been quite the challenge. There is so much in the background running in this game that’s easy to take for granted. For example, there’s a dynamic scaling system, which works into the Procedural Map Generation.  There’s a drop system, a chest system, economy links, and this whole slew of other stuff, which all tie into the Procedural Map, with their own rule sets and what not.  We put a lot of time into making the game as “fair” as possible. If we just let the game build itself without any checks and balances, it’d be all over the place.

Can you tell us more about how the levels are all unique?

Every time you die, your castle is rebuilt from the ground up. Each room spawns their own set of enemies based off a logic system, they scale dynamically to the castle, and on top of that, bonus rooms and room linking is all applied dynamically to this system as well. We do have some “special” logic rules built into the game world which will help people recognize patterns in the randomness, but they were all implemented purposefully.

From your experience developing this game what advice would you give to those trying to do a similar game?

Never make a game PURE random. PURE random is bad design. Controlled randomization is very important.
Also, never mistake procedural as an easy way out. It’s a lot more work then expected.

Do you have any plans to port the game over to any other platform?

There’s some feelers, but nothing confirmed yet.

Whats next for Cellar Door Games?

Well, either a new game, or bankruptcy. We’ve made this game with our own money so if it doesn’t do well, we’re pretty much screwed…

But we do have plans in the future if we can sustain ourselves. A couple of projects that we had stopped previously for budget reasons and such.

Also, hopefully we get an Oculus Rift.  We’ve been waiting forever for our kit. And we had some really cool things we wanted to try out on that.

Do you have any words of advice for budding young developers?

Make a small game and finish your small game. There’s a huge difference between almost finishing something and actually finishing it.
Also, don’t try to do something “better” than someone else.  Be original.  Otherwise it’s just a quality battle, and there will always be teams bigger than you.

How do you plan to market the game now its nearly complete?

No idea. We are so thankful to the Reddit community for picking it up the way they have.
We do plan on releasing a HD version of the trailer someday.  It looks way better running at 60fps then it does at 30 (YouTube cap).

 Help give this game the ‘GREENLIGHT’ on the Steam website here >>

The post Interview: Cellar Door Games | Creators of Rogue Legacy appeared first on Gaming Debugged | Gaming Site Covering Xbox, Indies, News, Features and Gaming Tech.

The Citadel from Mass Effect

The Citadel is one of the largest space stations in the Mass Effect universe, home to all kinds of species from human to hanar, and a great place to experience life in the ‘verse. With casinos, night clubs, arcades and a shopping district, there’s always something to be done on the Citadel. Just make sure you don’t run into trouble with C-Sec and you’ll have a great vacation.

Columbia from Bioshock Infinite

A beautiful town, even if it has its flaws. But if you are just stopping by on vacation and not planning to stay there permanently, there’s nothing cooler than visiting a floating city in the sky that even has its own man made beach. Take in the sights of 1912!

Hyrule from Zelda

There is a lot to see in the land of Hyrule, from temples to the castle grounds, mysterious forests to beautiful horse ranches. Although there is some dangerous wildlife, if you stay on the main roads you should be just fine.

Skyrim

Aaah, the beautiful land of Skyrim. Home to five major cities and an abundance of small little towns, it is the adventurer’s vacation spot. As long as you keep a good eye on your gold and tip your tavern bartenders well, you will love everything Skyrim has to offer. Just keep a wary eye out for dragons.

Mana from the Secret of Mana

Mana is a gorgeous place, rich with beaches, forests, towns and magic. The fauna and flora, while somewhat violent, are also awe-inspiring. You’ll want to take plenty of pictures in this magical place.

Albion from Fable

Albion is the place to go for those who love quaint little towns and a simple life. When you need to get away from the hustle and bustle, consider a stay in Bastion, or in the calming lands of Oakfield.

Liberty City from Grand Theft Auto

Liberty City is the psuedo-New York. While it’s not a perfect replica, it’s your cheaper, much more interesting version of the city. There is always something wild going on in this big city and if you’re lucky, you might spot a cop chase or two.

Mushroom Kingdom from Super Mario

If you love activities, look no further than Mushroom Kingdom. There’s kart racing, tennis, giant board games, and often coins just lying about for the taking. The residents are all a little unique in their own way, but once you get used to them, you’ll love hanging out among plumbers and princesses.

Paradise City from Burnout: Paradise

If long scenic drives are your thing, check out Paradise City. It’s amazing how easy it is to just hop in a car on the side of the road and get driving. Cross the bridge and drive into the winding mountains or spend some time going through the city streets.

The Island from Far Cry

Want wild adventure? The unknown? Possible insanity? The check out The Island. The Island always has something different going on, but the expanse of jungle and beach will be a real treat.

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The appeal of Ouya is that it is run on the Android Jellybean OS, something that many developers are familiar with. It allows even the smallest of companies (or maybe even single game designers, dreaming of making it big) to use the system as a development kit. Anyone can, from the 12 year old kid down the street to Bioware. This opens the console to a plethora of potential new games and exposing smaller companies to a larger audience at a fraction of the price it takes to develop for the PS3 or Xbox 360.

Who are the big guns on board? Square Enix has announced Final Fantasy III will be a launch game for the console. The former Creative Strategist at Infinity Ward, Rober Bowling, announced that his new studio Robotoki would be the first developer to commit to creating a game exclusively for the Ouya. If the Ouya can carry some appealing exclusives, it could give people a reason to buy one.

Will the Ouya replace other consoles? Maybe not. For the small price, it might be a good addition to a household but may not end up the primary console of choice. Still, their sales could be potentially huge, so we’ll have to wait and see how much of a dent they can make in the market. But it might be the step forward that other console companies will have to follow if they want to stay relevant.

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The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker

A huge portion of this soundtrack will work wonderfully for chilling out (or just putting yourself in a happy mood!). Aside from battle music, a lot of the town music, like Dragon Roost Island or Outset Island makes for perfect, upbeat but not distracting music. The theme itself is cheery and beautiful. You really can’t go wrong with a few of these tracks. I mean, the game is all about sailing on an ocean and what’s more calming than that?

Final Fantasy

Ok, that’s a broad statement, but there are plenty of beautiful songs from a variety of games in the franchise. Aerith’s Theme from VII is probably one of the most popular and recognized of the Final Fantasy slow songs. Another choice to match with the slow and powerful piano ballad genre is To Zanarkand, the opening music for Final Fantasy X. Waltz for the Moon from VIII is a more upbeat and equally as recognized tune as Aerith’s Theme, perfect if you need a little more energy to get through those notes.

SimCity

Another great score for designing, developing or studying? While the new game might have a slew of server problems giving it a bad name, it’s music is still easily accessible on a lot of mediums, even Spotify. And if there’s anything true about Sim games in general, it’s that they have some really great ambient music. You’ll probably find yourself inspired more than anything!

Halo

Whilst some of the more familiar tunes are quite epic and grand, there are a plethora of low-key yet enchanting tracks which are perfect to design, develop and study to. As the franchise is so big now there is four or five albums to choose from.

You can find most of these tracks on YouTube playlists, or free on Spotify but if you don’t mind having someone else pick a lot of the tracks you can get StreamingSountracks.com online, through iTunes and through other music services.

Do you have a favourite game score that you like to listen to? Add your comments below.

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In print design, you are limited almost exclusively by materials and colours, but designing for online is a lot more limited, as it must take place within the architecture of online content, whether it’s a website, an e-flyer, a video or a game. To make things more complicated, each user uses a different browser, smart phone or computer monitor to view digital content. Cross-platform design is all about understanding the contrasting design considerations and ensuring that designs look good on a range of devices.

Colour Format & Conversion

The biggest difference between print and digital is colours. Colour printers use the CMYK format, with each colour being made up of cyan, magenta, yellow and black. Digital media, however, is based on the RGB colour format – using red, green and blue. Think carefully about the colour format needed your designs. While it’s relatively easy to convert CMYK to RGB and vice versa, it can result in a loss of colour information. If designs are being used both in print and online, design in RGB.

RGB files are around 25% smaller than their CMYK alternatives, and some filters and functions in Photoshop can only be used for RGB designs. The RGB colour gamut is also more extensive than CMYK, meaning there are more colours to choose from. RGB images are web-ready, and can still be converted into CMYK for print purposes with relative ease.

Font & Typeface

In print designs, there is a really wide range of fonts available. This also applies to some online design, specifically those which are image-based. Problems arise when text is expected to be read by search engines, or appear as real text rather than as an image on site. The HTML of a webpage merely contains the text and reference to the font that should be used, so unless that typeface is installed on a user’s machine, it could be replaced with Times New Roman – or, even worse – Comic Sans! For web pages, try to use common fonts, or use an image or a flash file if you want to use a particular typeface. This means you can maintain control of the way a web page appears.

Layouts & Code

Website layouts are limited by the tools and code used to build them. HTML is not like Photoshop; elements need to be coded in a simple way which means particularly extravagant designs can be difficult to pull off. There is also findability to think about. Search Engines expect websites to be constructed in a certain way. Certain layouts can confuse search engines and mean that rankings for the website are detrimentally impacted.

Summary

Design for online doesn’t have to be completely different from print, and the two aren’t necessarily juxtaposed. Recent research has found that digital and print catalogues serve completely different purposes. Designers can have the same amount of control over an individual image, but must consider what platforms the designs will be displayed on. Designers need to understand these platforms if they are to design effectively for them. Online design is influenced by performance and functionality as it is by look and style.

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It seems like every time I boot up illustrator to complete the assets I fire up Gamesalad as well in some faint hope that I will be able to start the development side. Yet at the end of my hour (my lunch break) I have not yet been able to take the graphics and put them into Gamesalad. I have to force myself to concentrate and just do the game graphics first as this will save a lot of going back and forth further down the line.

Reducing the scope
I have decided to move forward with just six levels to begin with instead of my planned twelve. This will allow me to get cracking on the actual gameplay. I would like to offer the player two game modes: a simple arcade version which is just for getting high scores and a bit of fun and a challenge version where you unlock levels, fallers and goodies.

A quick look
The screenshot above should give you a pretty clear idea of the game and its graphic style. I am going for a soft color scheme and simplistic graphics due to the time frame and although you might think it looks uninspiring I hope the simple, one mechanic gameplay will make it fun for a bit and the unlockables will keep you playing. If I have any time left at the end I will add the additional levels, characters and extras.

Fingers in pies and plates in the air
A positive side effect of being so motivated to create games is that the enthusiasm and motivation is seeping into other areas of my life as well. I am eager to find time to hit the gym, I am blogging a whole lot more and I have a list of game graphics I want to create for my online shop graphic-buffet.com, which is as long as my arm. The only issue with all this is that I don’t have enough time to do all these things which is a real shame. I know I just need to focus on a couple of things but it’s hard not to use motivation on all the other projects. One such distraction is the re-building of AppTrawler.com, a game review site that was popular a couple of years ago but changed hands. Now I have it back I wanted to resurrect it… But more on that later.

Start your engines
Now the initial graphic work is done I will fight with my urges one more time and sit myself information of the illustrator to finish any niggles before I export all the elements for the game engine on Friday. I will export for iPad and iPhone at the same time so I am ready to port it over later on.

It seems you need a lot of self-motivation AND self-discipline when creating games. If you don’t put in the groundwork then your project is sure to sink… Lesson learned (or being learned)

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A little explanation

Just in case the title has left a few of you with blank faces I thought I should explain myself. Overscoping is when you make the ‘scope’ of the game bigger than it needs to be. Does it need to be a third-person shooter with full script, voice acting, interactive weather, in-game shopping and the ability to upload your photo or can the game be just as much fun as a single room, top down, two-dimensional pickup and play game. Sometimes our ideas and aspirations are greater than our abilities. Feature Creep is when you are mid-development and you start having additional ideas which sidetrack you off the task in hand whilst elongating the development time

So how do you reign in the scope of a game into a move manageable size?

Personally, I think that breaking the project into releases is a good start. Put the core functionality and basic gameplay into the first release and then categorise all of the other functionality, features and additions into levels of importance 1 being the most important and needed in the initial game and 3 being the ‘nice to haves’ that you can live without on launch day. This is not only a great way to organise your thoughts but also to give priority to certain to-dos. There is no point spending lots of time and energy on trying to make certain features such as ‘the weather effects gameplay’ if really it is in column 3. Similarly, this list of versions can improve the longevity and lifespan of a game as it gives you a road map for future updates of the game meaning it keeps people playing and (if you’re into all that) keeps earning you money.

Time frames

By employing a strict time frame for the development of the game you essentially add a cap to what can be done. When a game has a ‘finished when its finished’ attitude it can linger for months and ultimately you may lose your enthusiasm and shelve the entire game.

The cut-off point

Features are much easier to add in the game at the beginning. Trying to crowbar in extra gameplay elements once you are in the coding stage can lead to all manner of issues. I find that if I limit new features to the end of the design phase I can realistically meet my deadlines as well as ‘design them in’. Ideas I have after this time has to be added to release two or even the sequel.

Be task-driven and not vision driven

When you have decided on you game, outlined its gameplay, levels, look and feel break down all the things to do into a task list. This makes game development more manageable and less overwhelming. By ticking off tasks you will get small feelings of achievement throughout the project making it a much more enjoyable experience. By constantly thinking of the game as a whole it’s easy to miss bits, add bits and makes the goal ambiguous. By clearly defining and completing tasks you can see the project move forward is sizable chunks making it easier to meet deadlines and complete games.

It’s gonna happen anyway

Feature creep is inevitable and so you should expect it, and even assign time to it. This will make you more adaptable and flexible when developing games. The trick is to manage it and not let it manage you.

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