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Hey all,

Yep, its more of that stuff 😛

I cannot praise iTween enough for its ease of use 🙂 In this update (version 0.31) I used it alot, I think some might say I used it TOO MUCH… but hey, its a fun toy, and yeah, i did overuse it a bit 😉

version 0.31 changes and bug-fixes:

  • Added a whole new level, just for the heck of it, I squeezed it in between level 3 and 4… 😉
  • Redid the code for the death/vanish sequence for the orbs. They now fade away and make a popping sound immediately upon collision with the ball. It gives a faster gameplay, I feel. (thanks iTween)
  • The breakable orbs fade into view when the level starts, and will bounce outwards whenever they are hit by the ball. (thanks again iTween)
  • Yellow Super Bouncers now give points (100 points for stationary, 200 points for moving ones). Also, when you hit a bouncer, it reacts by bouncing outwards and flashing in a white colour. (yeah, you guessed it… thanks iTween :p Seriously, this thing makes it so easy to do dynamic snazzy looking effects… )
  • Added Sounds to the Super Bouncers and tweaked it a little bit as well. (these are temporary sounds and will of course be changed for the final release 😉 )
  • Fixed a nasty bug that occured if you had only 1 life left when you hit the last Prismatic Orb (This would result in a game over, since your lives hit zero when the ball died… iTween didnt fix it though… I DID… but its gone now 😉 )
  • Added persistant Score. You now carry your points over from level to level. It resets whenever you start a new game.
  • High Score list… or… also known as: Highest Score list… since it only records 1 score.. yeah you guessed it… the highest score 😉 It will be expanded into a proper highscore list eventually though… 🙂
  • Added a couple more names to the Credits list… If you want your name to be there, then play the game, find some bugs and stuff , and then message me and ill put your name on the list as a little Thank You for your much needed help 🙂

Until next time! Have fun all!

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Ello All!

I started using iTween, a highly useful, while free, plugin/code addition to Unity. It basically allows someone like me, that doesnt have a great deal of experience with the more advanced type of programming… to add in some very nifty animations and movement or transformation effects to my games easily without building up a desire to murder anyone around me 😉

For my latest build I played around with iTween and used it to make the game logo bounce in place when you start the game and it also allowed me to quickly create a code that makes the score ingame shake whenever it becomes updated.

So yeah, I highly recommend this addition to Unity, as it can really shave off alot of time when delving a bit deeper in ones projects, and starting to add in polish and effects to the game.

You can get it here http://www.pixelplacement.com/iTween/ for Javascript/Unity 🙂

In other news… iSlack!

Yep, been spending alot of time lately with real life, I even had a chance to get out in the sun!!! *gasp* but but… nerds dont do sun!

This nerd does 😉

Stay tuned for more… the near future brings:

  • Save/Continue functions to the game.
  • Hall of Fame (Thats what we called highscores back in ye olde days ;D ).
  • Achievements! (Yeah, my plan is to add a couple of test-achievements to the game once I have the save/continue and the highscore system in place)

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Hello All,

had an entire weekend spent sick in bed.. meh… but on a positive note, whenever I wasnt confined to bed, I would fiddle with the code at the computer and get some updates done on Bump n Drop.

Many of the following features/mechanics were added to the game with placeholder graphics and sounds, but it will still give a general idea as to what direction the game is headed.

  • added title screen with a temporary game logo
  • play button added to the title screen, along with a little sound effect when you click the button
  • particle effects from the ball when it collides with an object. its a placeholder but will eventually be tweaked to look like sparks.
  • sound effects galore!! or… well actually, only 3 different sound effects… but still… 😉
  • added a whole new level… nothing fancy, and nothing permanent of course. 🙂
  • cleaned up the code in multiple instances that handle collision and scoring.
  • bug fix: no longer possible to need -1 or -2 Prismatics and then getting stuck permanently on the level.

Tons of other changes that I’ve probably missed along the way… I should probably start making notes WHILE doing changes, so that i have a proper, semi-professional looking changelog instead of sitting here for hours trying to remember which things i changed and which i didnt 😉

Anyways, until next time! have funz! :p

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Hello All,

Fairly large update to the mechanics of Bump n Drop, not a whole lot of visual changes or anything else that would make you go: ooooh! 😉

Also, I’ve updated the link panel on the blog so that each game/demo has its own button, making it easier to access.

As for Bump n Drop… here is the list of changes in this version. 🙂

  • Added a bounce-barrier to the top of the level to prevent the ball from flying out of the top of the level and causing the player to die.
  • Tweaked the mechanics of the ball, making it move faster and bounce harder, making the gameplay a bit faster.
  • Added Prismatics (currently shown as White Orbs). Currently there are 3 prismatic orbs on the map, and when you hit all 3 of them, the level completion has been fulfilled.
  • Text Popup mechanic added, its currently only when you complete the level. But it will of course be updated/changed for later mechanics, such as announcing Combos, Game Over, Extra Lives, Special Trick Shots, and more thingies 😉
  • Changed the colour of the barriers and walls.
  • Added a Super Bouncer (the yellow thing), it gives the ball a larger push than the normal orbs, and doesnt disappear when hit.
  • Changed number of lives/balls to 10, it will of course be changed later, just as the actual level design.

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Hello All,

Been doing alot of thinking and planning for my latest game development project. In particular, I have thought about how to keep a game interesting while keeping the accessability high, so that more players can enjoy the game without feeling that the game is too easy, too hard, too boring 😛

Now, I am not saying that I found the perfect way to do this… However, I will say that if I can look at my game, play itself, without my interference… for more than 2 minutes, without getting bored… then I am pretty much on the right track, because I tend to get bored very quickly with games that arent skill based.

Having looked more into the concepts of Pachinko (a japanese gambling pinball type game that dates back to… i think… the early 1900’s … I’ve seen Pachinko machines from 1920) and become quite fascinated with the Pachinko-game itself. I have tried to use some of the aspects from the Pachinko game and incorporate them into the game design of my own game. Also, when you see the Pachinko, and then try out Popcap’s game Peggle, you will see immediately where they got their inspiration from.

There is just something oh so mesmerising when it comes to watching little steel balls bouncing around inside an enclosed area with nothing but your own outbursts of ‘GO GO GO LITTLE BALL!!!!‘ to guide it on its way to a successful point-booster! 😉

Anyways, for those of you who havent actually tried out the game-demo-display thingy that I have here on my page, I’ve made a video that you can watch, and it will give you a rough idea where this game is headed 🙂

As you can see, the game now has 4 different colour orbs which I’ve decided to name Fire, Earth, Water, Air. Hitting these orbs will add points to your score, and later on, they will also add Mana (a sort of fuel or energy for powering certain special abilities) to your player.

For example, hitting 3 Water Orbs will add Blue Mana to your player, thus allowing you to use some of your Water Based abilities (I admit, everything is just on the idea stage currently, but I have a feeling this could prove to become quite interesting once i figure out how to code all of that :p )

So… basically what I am aiming for is a kind of Peggle-Clone with Fantasy/Roleplay elements in the shape of gaining Experience Points to level up your player-avatar. Gathering Mana while completing a level, and using said mana to cast spells and abilities that will allow you accomplish your goal of completing a level easier… Think Healing spells that give back lost balls, or throwing fireballs that allow you to target a specific area of the screen and blow up any Orbs in that area of effect. 🙂

A bit confusing in text, perhaps… but rest assured, It will all make sense once you try it… that is… once its done… that is… when its done… that is… ah well… Stay Tuned! I’m thinking and tinkering!

This game will rock when its done! and if you disagree, then by all means, chip in and add your comments and constructive critisism! I would love to hear your opinion on this concept and on my game ideas 🙂

Thanks for reading!

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Hello All,

Still havent added any actual control-mechanism to the bumpndrop2 game concept. However, I have a much more (in my opinion) solid design for the actual play. Its less spazzy and more enjoyable to watch. At least thats what I prefer to think 🙂

http://netherclift.net/eli/bumpndrop/

Feel free to check it out, but keep in mind, as it is now, you’re merely a spectator. So enjoy the peep! 😉

  • Completely changed the colourscheme and layout
  • Bouncing properties for the ball has been tweaked to make it more realistic
  • Added a more customizable code for the Bouncers which now has a random factor, allowing a bouncer to knock back the ball with varying degrees of power.
  • Score counter to keep track of… well… score 😉
  • Lives counter, which I reckon will be changed soonish, to display the number of balls left. Rather than displaying number of lives. But thats merely a cosmetic thing 🙂

Some of you may or may not see the resemblence to the Popcap game, Peggle … I am of course quite heavily inspired by it, but I will try to add my own spin to it as well… and lets not kid anyone here, its not like this game will ever reach the godly quality level that is… Peggle Extreme 😉

Hehe, check it out at http://www.popcap.com/games/peggle its quite a fun game 🙂

Anyways… More to come in the near future! so stay tuned for my updates on the Bump n Drop game 🙂

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Hello All,

There’s a technique or method, called ‘Kill your Darlings’ .. or at least something close to that. And essentially what it is refering to, is that a creator should be prepared to rethink, or tweak… or even KILL something in his creation that he is fond of… (that is, if it is not working… of course 😛 No reason to remove something that just plain rocks! unless you can replace it with something equally rocks-worthy! 😉 )

Basically I have played around with the Bump’n’Drop mechanics for the past few days, and it just doesnt strike me as being as much fun as I originally thought it coulda/woulda been 🙂

I cant quite put my finger on it, but I think it has to do with the way that I am trying to enforce steering on the ball, with something that is not visible… as in.. clicking the keyboard keys to somehow push and shove the ball, but the shoving only goes straight left or straight right… and it just doesnt seem ‘fun’ or sensible to me…

So I did some thinking and ended up with a different control mechanism that I THINK might turn out to be more fun. But of course, being me… I will have to implement it and try it out before I can really sense wether or not this is a fun way of controlling a ball or not 🙂

My thought is that I want for the game to be something similar to this description:

  1. game takes place on a single screen, a level constructed with gravity in mind, and multiple bouncers as well as bonus objects
  2. a bouncer will make the ball bounce and rebound, so it can both help and hinder the ball in doing its job
  3. a bonus object is needed to complete the level. There will be more bonus objects on the level than needed to complete a level. allowing the player to try for different paths to finish a map.
  4. The ball starts at the top of the screen at a location selected by the player.
  5. the player cannot control or touch the ball except for the following:
  • At the start of a level the player uses his mouse to position the ball at the top of the screen, and then lets it drop/fall
  • After the ball has dropped the player uses the mouse/pointer to create either a push (think of an explosion/shockwave type of push) by tapping the mouse somewhere near the ball.
  • or a Pull, kind of like a whirlpool, vacuum sucking the ball towards the mouse, by holding down the button.

The game concept has been done in many different various before… ranging from breakout/arkanoid back in the early days of computer gaming… to Peggle and Sushi Cat in modern day gaming. So dont worry, I know im not exactly inventing the wheel here 🙂 However, I still feel that I can bring something new to the genre, and even if I dont do that… then at least I’ll have fun making a game 😉

And when I say fun… I’m actually refering to seeing my friends, family and testers try out the things I am working on, and providing me with feedback and their thoughts! Cause the actual programming part is about as much fun to me as trying to climb a glass wall with silk-gloves 😛 … meaning its probably more fun to watch the silly faces I make when I get stuck with the code 😉

Feel free to comment, leave your thoughts!

Thanks for reading! 🙂

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Ello All,

Not really time to play, as the Bump n Drop project doesnt really have much of a playable element to it yet, unless you’re into bouncing a pill-like object around in a little enclosed area whilst listening to a monotone bump sound (which I made with my mouth and then butchered in Audacity, an audio editting program :p )

Try Super Early Bouncy Endless Test Version of Bump n Drop!

Remember that you will be needing the Unity Web Player download (dont worry, its quite small and completely harmless) to test the Bump n Drop game. When you click the link, it will ask you to install it, if you havent already (Chances are, if you’ve played the 2d platformer… then you have the Unity Web Player already, and that means I love you a lot already! Welcome to the wonderful world of being able to play everything that was made with Unity, right there in your browser! hehehe 😉 )

Changes in this version:

  • Added keyboard controls (left and right keys) which allow you to steer your player object left and right while falling to your doom… or… well in this case, just falling… and then bouncing some… and falling some more… 😛
  • Increased the size of the player object by 250%
  • Tweaked the Colours… cause I was bored and will most likely tweak them every single update from now on and until the game is finished, by which time the game will look like it was mugged by a rainbow and left to bleed 😛
  • Added code to make the player object revert to its original spawn-point if it hits the bottom of the level, so that the game never ends… Hooray for Eternal Bouncation! , which is of course much prefered over Eternal Damnation 😛

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Hello All,

Whats ‘Bump n Drop’ you might ask?

Its a silly name! … actually its a bit more than a silly name. Its the name I’ve decided to call my next game project, which is going to be a fairly simple minigame with the aim of dropping your player down a tube. As you’re falling through this tube, your goal will be to try and pick up as many Bonus Items on the way down, while trying to bounce on as many ScoreMultiplier-bouncy-thingiemajiggies and avoiding as many Combo-Killer-Obstacles as possible 😛 You’ll be able to affect your player by pushing him left or right, with little nudges of the keyboard-right and keyboard-left 🙂

When you hit the bottom, the game ends, and you can try again, hopefully beating your score 🙂

What you’re about to see is a very very very very early video showing roughly the concept of the game (albeit, without any score, any bonus objects… or… well… any gameplay…)

Let me know what you think, and as always, feel free to comment with any suggestions or criticism, but keep in mind, this video and the game took roughly 1½ hours to make… so its a long way from finished 🙂

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Hello All 🙂

Finally managed to chew my way through the entire Unity Game Development Essentials book! What this means, hopefully, is that I now have a more firm grasp of the techniques needed to create a game from scratch…
To be honest, I knew most of these things before I read the book, however, it did feature a fair amount of techniques and methods that I DIDNT know about before… So it was quite a valuable learning experience, and I am glad I got the book in the first place 🙂

I’ve also been doing a bit of drawing, and the result is this work in progress picture of the heroine, First Aid. It is a character that I created while playing the massive multiplayer online game called Champions Online (that game has one of the most versatile character creation systems in any game I’ve played so far… You can design so many different appearances… its great for coming up with quick rough ideas for characters that you can build from! )

First-Aid-Heroine-03

You can also visit my flickr gallery by clicking the image of First Aid and see my other drawings, including some earlier versions of the First Aid picture 🙂

anyways… Done with the book, and getting ready to make a mini-game… so stay tuned! 🙂