January 21, 2012

Since last weeks update was so long I will try to keep this one short.

I am continuing to upload Jumping Jill to game portals. Perhaps I might finish this in two weeks if everything goes good. I have also started another Prize Game. The next Prize Game will have the dimensions of 300x250 and will have a small maze in it. I have also made a few changes to Prize Game 1 to make it a little easier to beat the game. I have also been working on the next Adventure Game but I have came to the conclusion that using C++ and making the game a native application will make it easier to distribute the game once it is created and using this method to create the game is not much harder then using byte code. I am now in the process of getting the tools needed to do this.

January 14, 2012

This week has seen several important developments. First I discontinued the Superior Online Games game portal (http://www.superiononlinegames.com). Despite my effort at reducing the amount of time needed to keep the web site open it was still taking up too much time which was causing a slow down in the number of games I was producing. As a result I decided to permanently pull the plug on the game portal which will result in me being able to produce games quicker.

And speaking of producing games quicker this past week saw me complete another game. It is a new type of game know as a prize game. The idea is that if you successfully beat the game you will get a prize of some sort. The prizes include such things as free items, free shipping on orders, discounts on products, etc... The first prize I offered through the game is the ability to purchase some $80.00 sunglasses for $29.99. Jumping Jill was the first game intended to be a prize game but I discovered it was too large and had too many prizes in it that had to be constantly updated. The idea of the current generation of prize games is to make the games smaller and do limited releases so that the games will not constantly have to be updated with new prizes. Basically run a prize game for a short time (one week or less) and the remove the prize game until I set it up with a new prize. All the prize games are currently HTML5 games but that could change in the future. Currently the prize games are an experiment. If they are well received I will create more of them and if not I will discontinue them.

I also started work on my next regular game. I quickly discovered the game is going to be much larger and more complex then originally expected so it will take longer to complete then I had originally planned. I will also target mobile devices that have large screens (such as android tablets) as well as HTML5. This will be the first game that I charge money for instead of giving it away free but there will be no ads in the game.

I also made the decision to only submit Jumping Jill to portals that automatically accept new games and not submit Bug Escape to the rest of the normal portals. I made this decision after realizing how much time it would take to fully distribute both games to all the portals. I did not want to spend that much time on distribution instead of game development. Portal owners should take note of this and start finding ways to make it easier and quicker to submit games to their portals. I would recommend using a PAD file which is basically a file containing all the game information (including a link on the internet where the game file can be downloaded) and the portal would simply parse this information. PAD files are small in size and the same PAD file could be used for all portals and thus it would greatly reduce the amount of time needed to submit games to portals

This update has been rather long. Maybe next week I will not be so long winded.

January 8, 2012

This week I have been busy uploading my latest game (Jumping Jill) to the portals that automatically take all game submissions. While I have not finished this part of the submission process progress has been made. After this I will finish submitting a previous game (Bug Escape) to the rest of the game portals and then finish submitting Jumping Jill to the rest of the game portals.

I have also started my next game. I have also decided to target mobile devices (specifically mobile devices that have large screens) instead of HTML5. I may eventually release a version of the game on HTML5 but this might come later. Thus far I have worked on the core game engine and I will continue to develop it as time permits.

January 1, 2012

First of all let me start off by wishing everyone a very happy new year. I hope the year 2012 is much better for you then the year 2011.

This week I started the process of distributing Jumping Jill. I will distribute it through all the "automatic" portals first then distribute Bug Escape to the rest of the normal portals then follow that with the final distribution of Jumping Jill to the rest of the normal portals. To be honest with you I will probably start (and maybe finish) the next game before these two games are fully distributed. I have decided the next game will be an HTML5 game and will be similar to a point and click game but it will also be an adventure game (not an escape game like most other point and click games). I may keep the size of the next game to a fairly small size but I will have to wait and see on what the final size will be.

December 25, 2011

First let me start by wishing everyone a merry Christmas. I hope you have much to be merry about and get to spend it with family and friends.

This past week I made a major change to Jumping Jill. I removed all the free prizes being offered in the game. Why? A very simple reason. The offers are not permanent and therefore have to be checked (usually on a daily basis) to make sure they have not expired. This takes a small amount of time until I discover that one of them has expired at that point I must find another prize, upload a picture of it to the server, create and upload a descriptive text for it to the server and then set the correct link for it on the server. Replacing an expired offer can take some time. Even finding another suitable prize can take upwards of thirty minutes. For only one game this is not a massive amount of time but if I had ten games using this system you can see how it would quickly consume all my spare time which I cannot let happen. No spare time equals no more new games. I will probably do a few simple prize games with limited duration in the future but instead of releasing them on the internet I will only display them on my web site for a short period of time and will also purchase a very limited amount of advertising for them on other peoples web sites.

My next order of business is to release Jumping Jill to all the portals that automatically approve and post games submitted to them. This process will start next week.

December 17, 2011

For those of you that do not know I work a full time job (40+ hours a week) at FedEx. As you can guess this time of year is the busiest time at my workplace and I have had to put in even more hours this week then what I normally do. That explains why I did not get much accomplished this week game wise. I did redo a small part of level one in section one of my latest game Jumping Jill. I only added a few new landscape assets to the level. I expect to work even more hours next week so I would not be surprised if I manage to get even less done in the upcoming week.

I have decided that the next three tasks that I should do is: 1. Release Jumping Jill on the automatic portals. For those of you who do not know - automatic portals automatically receive and publish all games submitted to them with no review process. These portals are the quickest and easiest to get games published on. 2. Finish publishing Bug Wars over the rest of the portals that it has not already been published on (there are still a lot). 3. Publish Jumping Jill on all the non-automatic portals.

I may do a little work on my next game on the side as I have time but I suspect I will make an effort to achieve the above three goals before I start devoting large amounts of time to my next game.

December 10, 2011

This week sees the release of my latest game called Jumping Jill. It is a platform game and you can find it by clicking the new link entitled platform games on the left hand side of the page or you can click HERE to go straight to the game description page. I will start distributing this game in the future but I also still need to finish distributing Bug Escape as well.

I am seriously considering letting the next game I produce be an adventure game with a point and click interface. The idea is to make it a thinking game instead of a reaction game. It is too early to make the final decision but that is the direction I am leaning in. I may also delay starting it until I have distributed my games more broadly across the internet.

December 3, 2011

Just a short update this week. As of now I have completed a total of eleven levels for the game. Seeing as how the game has a total of fifteen levels it looks like I have completed about 75% of the total number of levels. After the levels are completed I have some final testing to do but with any luck you might be playing the game next week. While this is the first platform game I have ever done I am pleased with how the game is turning out. I definitely plan on doing more platform games in the future.

November 26, 2011

This week I have made excellent progress on the animations finishing all of them. I now have acquired all the needed assets for the next game and am now in the process of creating the levels which is the final part. Thus far I have created the first three levels of a total of fifteen for the entire game. The levels for this particular game are larger then average with each one measuring 1500 by 1500 pixels in size. The player will need to scroll the game window up and down as well as side to side to see the entire level. The scrolling is done by moving the character around the game using the arrow keys. This way the player will sometimes have to search to find items, bonuses and the exit to go to the next level. This adds an element of exploration to the game which was what I was trying to accomplish.

November 20, 2011

And this week I have had some success in creating the needed animations for my next game. I have created most of the animations for the player and one opponent. Since the game is planned to only have 15 levels I had originally planned on having just one type of opponent (plus spikes which must be dodged) but I have decided to increase the types of opponents to a total of two or three (not counting spikes). The player will need to use different methods to defeat each type of opponent. I have created the animations for one of the opponents and I am now working on the animations for the other opponents. After that I will move on to creating the levels.

November 13, 2011

I continue to make progress on creating the animations for my next game but thus far I have not been satisfied with the quality of the finished products. I am still need two animations for two separate characters (both needing walking right and walking left with only one needing jumping right, jumping left, falling right, falling left and standing idle). Unfortunately I am unable to continue to building the levels until I have the needed animations due to the way the game is build. To do otherwise would cause extra work by having to add the animations to each level that has been completed while if I wait until after the animations are completed I can copy blank levels from a master level then add the other entities to each level. The second method would require less develop time and (more importantly) keep the total size of the finished game much smaller. I want something that looks good and I will not stop until I have accomplished that.

November 5, 2011

This has been a very frustrating week. I discovered several ways not to accomplish what I was trying to do. What I was trying to do was create the character animations for my platform game and despite using several different tools designed to create animations I did not succeed. I did succeed in creating an animation where the character was walking in an almost stick like fashion but I want something of a higher quality then this. As a result I have acquired another tool (called Model2Sprite) which will hopefully allow me to easily create animations. If this works out as planned I should also be able to use it to create future animations for other games. I am keeping my fingers crossed.

October 22, 2011

After further consideration I have decided to only have one game in development at a time instead of two. This way the next game can be completed quicker by devoting all my resources to it instead of splitting my resources up into two separate games. I have also been considering making the next game a platform game instead of an adventure game because I believe it would be quicker to do a platform game instead of an adventure game. I am also considering making a short experimental game involving vehicular combat.

In the mean time I have been continuing to release my latest completed game (Bug Escape) on various game portals around the internet. I still have many more game portals that I have not released the game on so I will continue to release it into the near future.

October 29, 2011

I like platform games and have been wanting to create one for some time so I decided my next game will be a platform game. I have already completed the game engine and acquired many of the game assets. Before long I will start building the levels. This game will run on flash and I am using MultiMedia Fusion 2 to create the game. I have also noticed that if I use a game creation tool that I am familiar with each new game I create is completed quicker then the previous game. That is a good sign.

In addition to creating the next game I have spent some time submitting Bug Escape to more portals as well as experimenting with the creation of some new HTML5 web pages.

October 16, 2011

I have spent this past week submitting my latest game, Bug Escape, to more portals as well as doing various odd jobs such as answering emails, adding more games to my Game Portal, and other similar things. I plan to start on my next game this week but it may take longer to develop then the last one. As it stands now I plan it being released on the Android, Bada, Meego and possibly the IOS platforms initially with Blackberry and HTML5 versions to come in the near future. I will use the App Game Kit to do this one. I may also start a second game (or finish off an already started game such as the AdverGame) at the same time so that I have two games in development at once. If I do this the second game will be using a program I am already familiar with (such as MultiMedia Fusion 2) and will be a much shorter game.

October 8, 2011

As you may have already discovered I released my latest game last week. It is called Bug Escape and you will find it in the Arcade Games section (or click on it's name for a direct link to the game). This past week I have been distributing the game to the various arcades around the internet and will probably continue to do so for the next upcoming week. Sometimes it takes longer to distribute the game then it does to create it. After that I will start my next project.

October 1, 2011

And now more information on my next game. I have completed all the levels this past week and now all I need is to insert the sponsorship (I will self sponsor the game so this part should go quickly due to not having to find a sponsor), insert a high score table and insert game music. I am still considering not using game music in order to keep the file size small. If I can find a nice loopable midi song I will probably use this approach. I will also only use a high score if I can do it in such a way so that all games played on all portals use the same high score table (I think I know of a way of doing this but I am still in the process of putting it in the game). Overall this game has been created very quickly. I like that and hope it is a sign of things to come.

September 24, 2011

This week's update will be focused on my next game. I have decided on an arcade game where the object is to escape a series of mazes. It has an opponent (a bat) that you will need to avoid, spikes that will cause you to loose one point of life if you hit them as well as coins to increase your score and lives to add more life. Some of the mazes will contain hidden doors that you will have to open in order to access that part of the maze and the object of all mazes will be to reach the exit while gaining as many points as possible.

The game runs on Flash and I have finished the game engine, acquired all the game assets (except music) and finished the tutorial levels. I am now in the process of creating the game levels. I am certain the game will contain between 10 to 15 total levels (not counting the tutorial levels) and I am still not certain if I should include game music or not. I have noticed that many games do not include music and I will wait until all the levels have been finished to see what the size of the file is before I decide to include game music or not. If the game is too large in size without game music I will not add game music. I also have a few minor details, such as the sponsor link, to finish as well.

September 17, 2011

As you have probably already noticed there is a new button on the left side of the page. I have started a new game portal (called Superior Online Games) and, learning from the last portal, I have set this one up so that it does not take a lot of time to add new games and update the portal. I am also concentrating on putting only high quality games on the portal whereas last time I concentrated on putting as many games on the portal as possible. I have had the portal operational for about a week now with good results.

I have also spend a some time on my next game and made a lot of progress. The next game will be an arcade game running on flash created with MultiMedia Fusion 2 Developer (yeah I know, I have - and use - a lot of tools). I will have more about this game in next weeks update.

September 11, 2011

Not much to report this week. This past week I spent more time working at my full-time job then usual and this cut into the amount of time I could spend on experimenting and other game related work. I am still looking forward to the release of gameMaker HTML5 later this month. This is another tool, along with Construct 2, that will make creating HTML5 games easier. I have some previous experience with older versions of gameMaker so the learning curve for this new version should be very small. This should result in me being able to create games more quickly.

September 5, 2011

You will notice a new link on the left side of the page called The Lab. I have created this new page on the web site to showcase short experiments I have conducted on various programs and while testing various game concepts. Most of these experiments will not be full games but I think you will enjoy them just the same.

August 28, 2011

This week I continue to do experiments and explore Construct 2. I have completed the first level of what will probably be a 3 level adventure. I am now adding such things as treasure, doors, monsters, etc… to flush out the level. I do not know if I will use a turn based combat system or a real time system. This game is being created for HTML5 so you will be able to play it in a browser.

August 21, 2011

This week has been a week of experimentation. I discovered another wonderful game making tool (called Construct 2) that I have started experimenting with. It allows users to create HTML5 games. I have discovered it has a wonderful interface and is very easy to learn how to use it. It also reminds me of a game creation tool called Game Maker that I used a long time ago. Speaking of Game Maker there is a new version about to be released next month that allows users to not only create HTML5 games but also port games to Android, Ios and Windows. It is called GameMaker HTML5 and I am also planning on checking that one out next month (or sooner if I get on the beta program). I must say that with all the engines and programs available to make games it is a wonderful time to be a game producer.

August 13, 2011

Upon further investigation I discovered the problem with the adverGame was due to a variable that I had set to increase at the wrong rate instead of the game engine being unstable. I am glad I continued experimenting with the game in order to discover this. I still plan on releasing the adverGame in the not too distant future after I have done some more play testing and set the discount web pages up.

I have also been thinking about what is the best type of game to produce as my first game with the App Game Kit. It needs to be a game that I can use to learn the new programming language and I also want there to be some kind of exploration involved in the game. Perhaps the goal will be to find some items while destroying or avoiding opponents.

August 6, 2011

While play testing the adverGame I have discovered that the commercial game engine I was using for the adverGame has a bug which causes animations to not function as needed for the adverGame. I am looking for a way around this without making the file too large. It is a good thing that the adverGame is a short game that I did not spend a lot of time developing in case I have to abandon the work I have already done and start anew. I like the idea of adverGames and I will continue with others in the future using things in them I learned from creating this one but in the future I will probably stick to HTML5 for future adverGames. I have not totally abandoned the current adverGame and I might still find a way around the problem but I do not intend to spend much more time on it. The App Game Kit will be released on August 15, 2011 and I intend to jump into it with both feet (and most of my time) when it is released. It is a good thing I am on vacation that week.

August 1, 2011

The play testing has taken longer then I expected. I have discovered the game is harder to beat then I thought it would be. Don’t get me wrong - I am not trying to make a game that is so easy to beat that it gives everyone the maximum discount but I am also not trying to make a game that is so hard to beat that no one (or very few people) get the maximum discount. I am looking for a happy medium. I will keep play testing and making changes until I feel I have reached that medium.

July 25, 2011

The adverGame is about 95% completed. All I need to do is finish the play testing and add the assets (graphics and game sounds only - I am not going to use any game music). I have decided not to use game music due to the need to keep the file size as small as possible and to not interfere with the hosting page. I still need to set up the web pages that users will be directed to once they have won discounts. The adverGame itself should be fully finished by August 1, 2011 and I am hoping to set up the needed web pages shortly after that.

July 17, 2011

Work is continuing steadily on the adverGame. I have completed all the levels and am now importing and setting them up in the game. The game is easily modified to give different discounts and make other games from this template. After the game is finished I will also have to set up the web pages were players will be directed to once they have won their discounts. While I would estimate the game is about 75% completed setting up the levels is taking longer then expected and I will also have to do a significant amount of play testing before I release the game. I still hope to have the game finished soon (within 2 weeks) and deployed shortly after (within 3 weeks). A lot of how quickly it is deployed will depend on how quickly and easily I can set up the needed web pages for the discounts.

July 9, 2011

While continuing to wait on the App Game Kit to be released I have been experimenting with an adverGame. The idea of an adverGame is to allow the user to earn either free prizes or discounts to purchase more expensive items for doing a good job of playing the game. The idea is to make the adverGames small because they will be used as advertisements on web pages. I have the first one (which will run in flash) about 40% completed. Not bad for only half a weeks work. Hopefully I will get the first one completed and deployed within two weeks. It has definitely been an exciting experiment.

July 2, 2011

While I am waiting on the App Game Kit to be released I have been looking around at several other alternatives as well as some specialized engines. I am still looking for a game engine that specializes in making Role Playing Games (RPG) as well as a game engine to create content for the Kindle. There are several RPG game engines but I am still yet to find one for the Kindle. I may experiment with several other engines while I continue to wait.

I wish everyone a safe and happy fourth of July.

June 27, 2011

Yes, I know. I do not seem to be hitting the release date of the weekly updates here lately (this one is one day late). All I can say is that I will try to improve. Honest.

In other news I am still waiting for the App Game Kit to be released to start coding the next game. This is an effort to switch to one (C++) or two (C++ and Basic) programming language for all programs instead of using several different languages. While the wait is frustrating it is necessary but I suspect it will definitely be worthwhile.

June 13, 2011

And it’s time for another weekly update. At least (unlike the last update) this update is on time.

I am still considering what type of Genre I should make the game. I have narrowed it down to three possible choices. Fantasy (where the opponents will be monsters), Sci-Fi (where the opponents will be aliens) or Post Holocaust (where the opponents will be mutants). Powers (at least offensive, defensive and healing powers) would be used in the game regardless of the Genre I choose. Skills (including search for traps, disarm traps, search (used to find hidden doors) and perhaps a few others related to interacting with the environment) will be another area that will be used in the game regardless of the Genre I choose.

As far as the release date I would make a general estimate of sometime around August or September 2011. This date could easily be changed depending on how quickly the game comes together.

June 13, 2011

Oops. This is the second update in the last two months (or so) that has been a day late. To be honest this time I just flat out forgot to post it. I will try and do better in the future.

I have been accumulating map making software to help with creating rooms, dungeons, keeps, etc… for the upcoming adventure games. I already have some experience creating maps (for RPGs) so I expect this part of the project to go well. When I have finalized the view port size (including some live testing which will have to wait until the App Game Kit has been released) I will probably start making the maps. That would be the next step in the creation of the first game in the series.

I have also learned that there is a good change that the Meego platform will also be targeted (alone with Ios, Bada, Mac and Windows) with the first game released.

June 6, 2011

One quick expansion on something I said last week. When I mentioned the game would have at least one graphic per room I was referring to the fact that I plan on showing a detailed view of each room in the game. These detailed views would show how the room is laid out as well as showing extra contents located in the room. It also looks like these detailed views will be the largest element on the screen with a text area (for messages and instructions) located below and perhaps an action bar or menu located above. While I have not finalized the final layout of the game I would definitely like to provide as detailed view of the rooms as possible so if need be I may change the game layout before the game is finished.

If looks like I will start coding on the game in July but remember there will be a learning curve which I will have to overcome. I am still determining things pertaining to the game world such as the whether it will be set in a fantasy, sci-fi or post holocaust world and what the central game plot (the goal the players will be trying to achieve) will be. I have some ideas regarding these areas but I have not finalized them yet.

May 28, 2011

As promised in last weeks update I have more details on the next game I am planning on releasing.

First, due to the fact that the App Game Kit will be a new programming language it will take a little longer to release the first game then subsequent games. I do hope to write the first game in such a way that I can easily use the code for subsequent games so this should also decrease the time required to create subsequent games.

Second, I currently plan on targeting the IOS (Iphone, Ipad, etc…), Windows, Mac and Bada platforms first with more to follow. I would also like to create a browser version but I not sure how quickly this would come to pass. Other platforms which will be targeted later include Android, Meego, Blackberry, Windows Mobile, Kindle, Color Nook, Intel Netbook and others.

Third, I suspect the game will contain a lot of graphics (at least one per room) in addition to other resources so it should be a fairly large game (10+ MB). The game will also be available through the normal app distribution channels for a small fee. I am still debating on making a version for the casual gaming portals such as Big Fish Games.

May 23, 2011

Oops. I am one day late on the update. I got so busy finishing removing all the damage done by the virus that I forgot all about the update.

I have started making more detailed plans about the next game. The game will be set totally underground (in a combination of caves and dungeons) and the objective will be to recover some items stolen by local monsters from a passing group of merchants. The whole game will be turn based instead of real time which means you will be able to think about your actions before you do them. I hope to include traps, powers, combat and environmental interaction (like searching items, picking locks, examining items, etc...) in the game. The game screen will probably be composed of a small text area at the bottom (which provides the player with information), a menu at the top (which will allow the player to control such things as inventory) and a main view screen in the middle (which will show the player what they see - I will probably use a top down view).

More details in the next update.

May 15, 2011

A very short update this week. I am continuing to collect resources for my next game which I have decided will be similar to a point and click game but it will also be an adventure game. Encounters with opponents will be handled in a turn based fashion while the player will get to interact with the area they are exploring to do such things as disable traps, search for secret doors and compartments, pick locks and otherwise interact with the environment. Until I get it finished I encourage you to play the games that are already available through my web site. These are also fun to play.

May 8, 2011

Most of this past week was spent dealing with a computer virus on one of my secondary computers. I suspect I got it from a web page that I accessed which used java to transmit the virus while I was surfing the internet. It took awhile but I finally got the upper hand on it. As a result I beefed up the security on all my computers to prevent something like this from happening again. Needless to say I got very little done other then dealing with the virus this past week. Hopefully this next week will be different.

May 1, 2011

I have just discovered the App Game Kit will not be released until July 2011. With the next version of DX Studio also scheduled to be released around July 2011 this is still keeping me in a holding pattern as far as developing my next game. I have decided to go with a point and click adventure game that has some role playing elements for my next game. While I wait I will start accumulating some assets (graphics, music, etc...) to use with the game. I am still looking for a game engine capable of porting to the Kindle platform but I have yet to find one.

April 24, 2011

I have decided to add another tool to my list of developer tools. It is the App Game Kit. It has a lot of potential, especially build once and deploy too many different platforms, which makes it attractive. Unfortunately it has not been released yet but the release date is supposed to be within two months. I would ideally like to find a game engine that ports games to the Kindle platform but thus far I have not found one.

I am in a bit of a holding pattern at the moment waiting on either the App Game Kit or the next version of (DX Studio to be released before I continue with another game. Hopefully one of these will be released shortly so I can continue with the next game which I have just about decided will be similar to a point and click adventure.

April 17, 2011

And another week goes by without a lot to report. The biggest decision I made this past week was to not continue with the Browser Game Portal. I made this decision because it would take too long to manually review each game included on the portal and this would take too long (if I done this there would not be any time left to develop new programs).

I also discovered that the game engine I am currently using (DX Studio) will not have the next major update for another 3 months (the update was scheduled for 4-1-2011). I currently have one product almost finished with the current version of the game engine and I will try to finish that product without waiting for the new update. All I need to do is build a payment method into the product and it will be about finished.

I have also done some minor improvements on Best-Price-Searcher.com (link on the left). Most of them are small improvements without any visible change (the only visible change is that it displays more products now and does a search faster). I am still planning on adding one more new feed.

April 10, 2011

Not much news to report this week. You will have probably already noticed from the links on the left that something is going on with the Browser Game Portal. I have temporarily removed the link to it while I redo it. I am not satisfied with the overall quality of the games on the portal. There were a lot of high quality games on the portal but there were also a lot of low quality games on the portal as well. To ensure only high quality games I would have to play every game on the portal to check the game's quality would have taken a large amount of time. That is time that I just do not have. I am now working on a solution that will allow me to only have high quality games on the portal without requiring me to play every game but I am not sure when the solution will be finished. Until then I am putting the portal on hold. Hopefully the solution will not take too long to implement.

April 3, 2011

Consolidation - that is the key work. I looked into both of the two previously mentioned game creation packages (Engine001 and RpgToolKit) for the Portalarium Player test and I have discovered there will be a fairly large learning curve with either option. I decided instead of spending a month (or two) learning how to use a new piece of software that it would be best to create the next game with a game engine that I already not only know a great deal about but also plan on using in the future. This is where DX Studio enters the picture. I have been using DX Studio for the past month to create a nongame program and I have learned a great deal about it during that time. My current plans are to use DX Studio for all current software programs (with the possible exception of web pages). With DX Studio I can use the same code to not only make browser games but also turn the same browser games into normal executable games which are downloaded, installed and run on the computer just like all other regular executable games without having to change a lot of the game code. In addition to the browser and PC platforms I can also target such devices as iPhones, iPads, Android, etc... This is an added bonus and I am still hoping to get the next game out before 5-1-2011.

March 27, 2011

I have just about decided to use Engine001 for the experiment with the Portalarium Player experiment instead of the RpgToolKit. I have tried both of them on very short tests and I like the Engine001 slightly better. If this experiment works out I may do another one with the RpgToolKit. I am still planning on releasing the game by 5-1-2011.

I also finished the new web site I was working on and posted a link to it on the left. It is called Best-Price-Searcher and allows anyone to search hundreds of stores to find the best price for any product. It is free to use so help yourself to it.

March 20, 2011

I have decided to do a little experiment next. I am going to try a game and release it using the Portalarium player. The Portalarium player is designed to take any regular program created to run on a computer and allow it to run in a browser. More details on the Portalarium player can be found at http://www.portalarium.com/portalarium-player/201.html. I will use a simple game creator (probably either the RpgToolKit found at http://rpgtoolkit.net/home/ or the engine001 game creator found at http://www.engine001.com/gamemaker.htm) to make the game. It will be a short adventure game and my goal is to release it by 5-1-2011 at the latest.

March 13, 2011

This past week was again spent on the new web site. It has taken much longer then I thought it would to get it released but I am getting very close. I am hoping to release the new web site before too long.

I did manage to do some work on another game. I started working on MicroVenture 2 (MV2). My goal in MV2 is to create a game with a lot more rooms to explore while not increasing the size of the file by much. I am trying to do this by reducing the number of animations. Instead of using separate animations for each entity I will use one small picture for each entity while switching to a battle system. Basically when you encounter a monster a combat screen will be shown that will handle the combat with each entity being represented by a single picture. The main map will be smaller then it was in MV1 but when you enter a room a larger map of the room will be shown after all monsters in the room have been defeated if any monsters are present. This larger map will allow players to interact with items in the room by clicking on them.

March 6, 2011

Most of this past week has again been spent programming the new web site. Most of the work involves getting data feeds from several different sources and displaying them. The data feeds were not being displayed correctly and it took awhile to figure out why. I still want to add at least one more data feed (and possibly up to 3 more if I have enough time) before I start advertising the new site.

Most of the effort this week was again spent on trying to release the new web site so I did not get to make much progress on the next game. Once I get the new site going that should allow me to spend more time creating games. This is especially true in the future due to the fact that I currently work a full time job (40+ hours a week) and the new web site is designed to be an extra source of income. That means after it has been running for awhile I will be able to work fewer hours and have more time to develop games.

February 27, 2011

Unfortunately I do not have a lot to report this week. I had several setbacks creating the new web page. I eventually had to abandon trying to use SilverLight to create it and went with .asp. The reason was because it is too hard to do a cross domain web call with SilverLight. It either depends on the source of the file (an xml file in this case) having a special crossdomainpolicy.xml file in the root of the file structure or using a web service. I got the web service started but I never figured out how to send information to it (the location of the .xml file) so I eventually had to abandon the project and start over with .asp. SilverLight could definitely use some improvement in this area. Despite the setback I have been able to get the new program to call the .xml file and all I need to do now is display the contents of the xml file. Hopefully the new web site will be operational within one week.

All of the above activity pretty much took up most of my spare time (I also work a 40+ hour week at a time full job) so I did not have any time to work on my next game. At least I kept my new year's resolution (to release at least one new game each month) for a full month this year before I broke it.

February 20, 2011

Most of this past week has again been spent on the new web site. The good part is that it is almost 75% completed and I hope to launch it next weekend at the latest. I am also programming it in silverlight and I must say I am impressed with how easy it is to program in silverlight. If more game portals supported SilverLight I might make a few games with it. At this present time I am sticking to using Flash and DX Studio for browser games, SilverLight for web applications and the new App Game Kit for games and applications on mobile platforms.

I must admit that it is starting to look like I will break my new year's resolution to release at least one new game each month during 2011. February is not only a short month but we are almost 75% through it. Looking back I think the new year's resolution I made was a very tough goal for me to achieve.

February 13, 2011

This past week I spent some time working on the movement system for the opponents (bugs) in the Bug Maze game. It took more work then I though it would but I have gotten most of the bug movement finished. I still have to handle combat in the game as well as create the levels and aquire game assets (graphics, music, sounds, etc...) but it is coming alone.

A good deal of my time this past week was spent developing a new web site. No, not a replacement for this web page but another site I own in addition to this site. It is a product search engine with built-in price comparison. I like creating web applications and this is the category the new site falls under.

February 6, 2011

This past week I done some more work on the Browser Game Portal. In addition to adding new games each day I have been adding new categories and moving some of the games around. The amount of traffic going to the web site is steadily increasing which is good to see.

I have also been working on another game which I have tentatively named Bug Maze. I have been changing some of the game logic to make the opponents (bugs) more intelligent and proactive as well as reactive. I still have to finish the game logic, bug movement and acquire the assets (music, graphics, etc...) as well as design the levels. I am not sure if this will be the next game I release or not. I also have several other games under development (MicroVenture 2, a shooter game, and an rpg) that I could release next.

January 30, 2011

This past week I spent releasing MicroVenture 1 (MV1) into the wild (on the internet). I only released it to a few sites (ones with high trafic or that automatically accepted all submissions). It did not take as long as I expected and I was able to do a little bit of work on MicroVenture 2 (MV2). My next game release will probably be an arcade shooter type of game instead of MV2. I started developing the arcade shooter awhile back in my spare time and have already made some progress on it so I plan to release it in February 2011.

January 23, 2011

Today I am releasing MicroVenture 1 (MV1). You will find a link to the MicroVenture game series (where you will find a link to the game itself) on the left side. The only thing I was disappointed about was the size of the file. It was over 4MB which is very large for such a short game. The music and the animations were the largest reasons the file was that large. I am considering creating a battle system for MV2 which would reduce the amount of animation needed which would in turn reduce the size of the file. Despite this fact I am happy with the way MV1 turned out. Now I will start distributing the game in the wild while starting work on my next game (which I still hope to release in February 2011.

January 16, 2011

I am still making steady progress on MicroVenture 1 (MV1). This week I acquired the music, the sound affects and the rest of the graphics. All I have to do to finish MV1 is finish the animations and possibly adjust the monster toughness in order to balance the game play a little better and then it will be ready to distribute. I have decided to not offer MV1 to sponsors due the fact that it would cause the game's release to be delayed. After all, I did make a new years' resolution to release one game each month and I do not want to break the resolution the first month.

January 9, 2011

This past week I solved the movement problem I had with MicroVenture 1 and obtained a few more assets (graphics) for it. I still have to detail the last half of the dungeon and obtain a few more assets (graphics and game music) and MV1 will be ready to release. I am definatly planning on releasing it this month (perhaps as early as during the week of January 16, 2011).

January 2, 2011

I will start the New Year by making a New Year resolution. One of my goals for 2011 is to release at least one new game each month. Some of these games will be short games (like the MicroVenture series) while other games may be longer. This sounds like a big goal (and it is) but I am going to at least try to achieve it.

Speaking of the MicroVenture series I have ran into a problem with enemy movement. They are simply not moving in the way I want them to. I am working to fix this problem while still accumulating game assets and I am confident that I can overcome it quickly enough to still release the game this month (January 2011).

December 26, 2010

Despite my best efforts it looks like MicroVenture 1 (MV1) will not be released this month (December 2010) after all. I definitely plan on releasing it next month (January 2011). What happened? I keep adding new features. Some of the features will be visible when you play the game (such as descriptive text) while other features are "under the hood" and will not be readily visible but are simply designed to make the game engine run smoother or be more easily expandable in the future. I also work a full time job that is extremely busy just before Christmas (I deliver packages for FedEx) and I had to work a lot of overtime which took away time that I would have spent developing the game. Hopefully I can spend more time in the future on game development.

I also want to wish everyone a happy new year. Regardless of how good this past year was I hope next year will be even better for you.

December 25, 2010

Just a quick note wishing everyone a very merry christmas. May your life be filled with joy, peace, prosperity and love not only at this time but all year through.

December 19, 2010

Work is still progressing very smoothly on MicroVenture 1 (MV1). I have stopped adding new game features and am now acquiring assets (music, graphics, sounds, etc). It looks like the MV1 will focus on exploration and melee combat. I plan on adding missile combat to MV2 and either the powers system or traps system to MV3. I still hope to release MV1 this month (December 2010) but if not I certainly plan on releasing it next month (January 2011).

I am also looking for a way to automate adding new games to the Browser Game Portal. It is simply taking too long to add new games. I could be spending the time used to add games to the Portal creating more of my own games.

In MV1 It looks like the player will have a selection of 5 different weapons to choose from (crop sword, hammer, hand axe, club and fist). He will start the game with only his fists and will have to acquire the other weapons in play. The player can also use health potions to restore his health once he is damaged. There will probably be one health potion located near the entrance to the dungeon and the player will be able to acquire more health potions during play. As I just mentioned the game will be set in a dungeon (a small one but a dungeon just the same) and it will have a top down view. The objective of the game will simply be to clear the dungeon out of all monsters with the monsters in this case being Ratlings. More on Ratlings in the next update.

December 12, 2010

Steady progress is being made on MicroVenture 1 (MV1). I am now working on the level (it will probably be a 1 level game) as well as polishing the melee combat system by making minor adjustments to it. MV1 will probably feature melee combat while exploring a short dungeon. I will introduce missile combat in MV2, some traps in MV3 while starting to introduce powers in MV4. This will give me some time to tweak and polish each component before they are published.

December 6, 2010

This week I decided to remove Adventurlet 1: Against The Bokari from sponsorship viewing and release it. You can find a detailed description and a link to play the game on my Adventure Games page (link located on the left). While I was at it I also changed the Adventure Games page to look and behave like the Arcade Games page. One other thing I changed was the name of the game. I dropped "Adventurlet 1" from the title and it is now simply called "Against The Bokari." I done this because the new game engine I am creating is significantly different from the previous game engine I used to make Against The Bokari that I decided to let Against The Bokari be a stand alone game. Go play the game and enjoy it.

And speaking of the next game I am developing I have also made a decision to handle that game differently as well. Instead of waiting until I have a large complex game finished I will release shorter small games (called MicroVentures) as I develop the engine. I suspect the first game in the series will be released this month (December, 2010) with hopefully at least one new game being released each month after that. While the first few games to be released this way will be simple each new game released using the new engine will have more capabilities added to it.

November 28, 2010

Progress continues to be made on Adventurlet 2. I have decided how to do the powers and traps systems but individual powers and traps will have to be developed as needed. It will not take long to develop each power or trap so that will not delay the game much. Extra equipment will also be developed as needed. Now I will start making the game levels and obtaining the game assets (graphics, sound, etc…).

I have also done a minor update on this web site. If you go visit the Arcade Games page (link on the left) you will find that I have redone it so that it lists all games with a short summary of each game and a Play Button to play each game. When you press the Play Button you will be taken to the individual game page (which was also redone) which has the game embedded directly into the page with the game starting automatically. I will redo the other parts of the web page to work the same way as games are released for them.

The Browser Game Portal continues to grow in popularity as well. There are currently over 19,000 games on it and it still continues to grow. I remind you to log-in before playing games in order to get points for playing the games as well as participating in the other parts of the Portal (comments, reporting games, referring friends, etc…). If you are not logged-in when you do these other things you will be counted as an anonymous user and will not get points. There was a high score bug that prevented high scores from being recorded but that has now been fixed so be sure to submit high scores when you play games. Also don't forget to rate games as you play them to let other people know how good they are.

November 21, 2010

First off I want to wish everyone a happy thanksgiving. Not only do I hope this year has been the best year of your life but that next year will be even better. All of us have so much to be thankful for. May your thanksgiving day be filled with love, peace, happiness, good health, turkey, dressing and all the other blessings in life.

On the game developement front I have just about completed the inventory system and the combat system is at least 90% completed. Most of what remains to complete the combat system is testing. I still have the traps system and powers system to go in addition to building the levels of the game. I am also continuing to explore other options to make creating games easier. There are many game makers and game engines out there and they are actually getting very good.

I am also seriously considering redoing the browser game portal. I would like to have a browser game portal that is much easier to maintain. The time I am spending maintaining it (checking reports on games, adding new games, etc...) is adding up and taking away from time I have to create new games.

November 14, 2010

A short update this weak. Work on the next adventurlet game is progressing steadily. I am working on the combat system now (which will be the biggest part of the game) and I have also finished about half of the equipment system. I hope that by next week I will have both the equipment and combat systems finished. I have also continued to add new games to the browser game portal each day. I am looking to add some games to the portal that are not widely available on the internet including games that are not flash based. This would make the game portal more useful.

November 7, 2010

I have slowly been adding new games to the browser game portal (I try to add at least 50 every day and sometimes more). It's popularity is starting to increase which hopefully means I am doing a good job. Due to the large number of games available I predict that I will continue to add new games for the foreseeable future. I encourage users to rate games and report games that are broken, in the wrong category, etc... There are too many games for me to play them all so many times I depend upon reports from users to make needed changes. Also remember to log-in each time you visit the site. You will not get points for playing games, issuing reports, etc... if you are not logged in.

I have also decided to possibly wait until January 1, 2011 before releasing Adventurlet 1: Against the Bokari. I have learned that anything short of a 2 month sponsorship time will not give all the sponsors a chance to properly evaluate the game.

I have already started on Adventurlet 2. I tried to create Adventurlet 1 so that the game engine would be modular and could be reused. I have since found several new ways to do things more efficiently but as a result I am having to rewrite the game engine to make it work differently. I do not expect Adventurlet 2 to take as long as it predecessor did.

October 31, 2010

As of today Against the Bokari is in sponsorship viewing. I suspect this will last for around 2 weeks then it will be released. If a sponsor makes a high enough bid that I accept their offer I will also have to insert a sponsorship screen and make a small adjustment to the "more games" button in the game. This should not take much time and should be completed in one day at most.

I am about to start my next game. I am not sure if it will be a platform game or adventurlet 2. I learned a lot of things while creating adventurlet 1 which will help me to create adventurlet 2 more quickly then it's predecessor.

On the Browser Game Portal side of things I am now steadily adding new games each day. This will probably be an ongoing activity for some time. The number of games currently available is approaching 17,000.

October 24, 2010

Just a quick update this week (which means I have had a busy week making a lot of progress). This week I modified the combat damage in Against the Bokari. Previously damage was too variable allowing some hits from the same weapon to kill an entity while other hits from the same weapon against the same enemy did not get through armor. I have modified it so that the amount of damage done for each type of weapon is more consistent. Against the Bokari will go to sponsorship viewing next week. I project that it should be released sometime in November.

October 18, 2010

I have been making steady progress this past week increasing the number of games on the browser game portal. As of now I have over 15,000 games available. Until the browser arcade has over 22,000 games installed I have now set a goal of installing 500 new games each day. If I have any extra time after installing the 500 games for that day I will spend it on creating other games.

I have one more thing to do with my next browser game (Against the Bokari) before I make it available for a short time to sponsors. Hopefully I will get this done and make it available for sponsorship viewing this weekend at the latest.

October 10, 2010

Wow, that vacation went by in a hurry but it was a very productive vacation. I finished moving the web site to the new server (at least most of it anyway) and everything appears to be running smoothly. I could not move the database and all the files for the Browser Game Portal from the old server to the new server so I ended up manually installing the games again. At this point I have installed over 10,000 games and the old server had over 22,000 games installed so I am approaching the halfway point. I have also been doing more organization on the Browser Portal making sure games are more properly categorized.

The next week will be spent installing more games on the Browser Game Portal (I hope to install at least 500 games each day). I am also hoping to finish preparing Against the Bokari (my next browser game) for release though for the time being this has taken a back seat to moving to the new server.

October 5, 2010

This is a quick sub-update. If you are reading this most of the web site has been moved to the new server. Please be patient while I finish installing the Browser Game Portal (which is the only part of the site that has not been installed).

October 3, 2010

This week has been dedicated almost exclusively to work on moving to the new server. With all the work that has been done on moving to the new server it is surprising that I have still not moved to it. The switch is scheduled for later this week unless something unforeseen comes up. Most of the work has been on creating a new database for the Browser Game Portal. As I mentioned in an earlier update all user data will be lost when the transfer occurs so if you are thinking about registering on the Browser Game Portal I advise to wait until after the switch.

September 26, 2010

Greetings. I posted last weeks update very late due to internet problems. Not internet problems with the server hosting this page but internet problems with my internet service provider. Hopefully everything is straightened out now and everything should be back to normal. To read last weeks update just hit the old news button on the left.

I am still in the process of moving the web site to a new server. That has taken longer then I though it would. Hopefully it will be completed during the upcoming week (or the week after at the very latest) and I can get back to business as usual.

On the game developement front I have been putting the final touches on Against The Bokari. I have two or three minor changes left and then it will be ready to go. While the number of remaining changes are minimal most of my time is being spent on changing to the new server so these changes may not be done until after the site is moved to the new server.

I have also been working on the next game after that which is called The Ruins of Nesbon. It will also be an adventure game. Expect more details on this game in future updates.

September 12, 2010

I am in the process of moving the entire web site to a new host (server). As a result there may be some down time this week but hopefully by the next update all will be well. Due to the fact that I am hosting all the games in the browser game portal I will also have to reinstall each game but I think I have found a shortcut that will allow me to do this in a much shorter time then what it took to install them the first time. Also, as part of the move I am having to erase the database and start with a new database and because the database not only holds the information about the games but also information such as users, comments, ratings, etc... all these will be removed and the game site will start from scratch.

The move to the new server is taking all my time so I have been unable to do any development on new games or work on releasing my next game (Against The Bokari). This will change shortly after the site is moved to the new server and I get everything up and running correctly.

September 5, 2010

As of here and now there are over 22,00 games on the browser game portal (link at left). This week I have not only been adding more games but have also been cleaning the portal up by adding new categories and moving some games around. I expect to continue adding even more games, but at a much slower rate, into the future. Hopefully I will eventually set it up so users can submit games. I am also considering moving the browser game portal to a web domain of its own.

On the game developement front I have stopped distributing Robot Labyrinth and I will probably start distributing my first adventure game (Against the Bokari).

August 29, 2010

Work steadily continues on adding more games to the Browser Game Portal (link on left). There are currently over 19,000 games available on it. I have just about added all the games available through Mochi and am now starting to look for other sources of games.

I have also discovered 2 bugs in Robot Labyrinth. The first bug (the game would start in the "paused" mode after you played it once, went to the main menu and then replayed it again) has already been fixed. A second bug (the high score system locked up after entering a high score and would not let the game continue) has proven harder to fix. As a result I have temporarily stopped distributing Robot Labyrinth until I find another high score system. I am even considering creating my own high score system and hosting the high scores myself. I have submitted it to 185 of 224 total portals so hopefully it will not take long to finish submitting it once this second bug is fixed.

August 22, 2010

I have been making steady progress on releasing Robot Labyrinth. Thus far I have submitted it to about 65 sites (out of a total of around 215 sites). It takes a while to submit it to most sites because it takes time for the files to be uploaded onto their site (that is the biggest delay in submitting anything to web sites).

I have also installed over 15,000 games in the Browser Game Portal (link on left). I have at least another 4,000 to go (from Mochi) and I am sure there are many other sources for browser games that I will also be getting additional games from.

August 15, 2010

I have been steadily adding new games to the new Browser Game Portal (you will find a link on the left). There are currently over 10,000 games on it with more to come. This past week adding new games to the browser portal has taken up much of my time but it is well worth it. I will continue to add more games in the weeks to come (this will probably be an ongoing thing for some time).

I have also added a high score system to Robot Labyrinth. I have just started the process of distributing it in the wild (on the internet). It may take some time before the game is fully distributed. If you have previously played the game go play it again and submit a high score. I have also decided to not include pregame advertisements in the game (which is something I plan on doing for future games - but this may change).

August 8, 2010

Just a short update this week. I am going live with the new version of the Browser Game Arcade today. Try it out and have fun. I will also continue to add more games to the arcade each day.

In other news I plan on starting the distribution of Robot Labyrinth next week (I just have to add a high score feature to Robot Labyrinth and it will be ready for final distribution).

August 1, 2010

Work on the new Browser Game Portal is continuing at a steady pace. I have already installed over 4,800 games on the new site. At this rate I might go live with the new site as early as next week. I still have one more modification to do on Robot Labyrinth (add high scores) before it is fully ready for final distribution. I hope to do this and then start distributing it quickly after the new Browser Game Portal is officially launched.

July 25, 2010

I have decided to wait for about two weeks, until the first part of August 2010, to start releasing Robot Labyrinth. Why? I am goint to change to a new Browser Game Portal (that I like better) and I want to get the new portal up and running so I can point visitors that go to it from Robot Labyrinth directly to the new portal instead of redirecting them throught the old portal. Most of the work on the new portal will be adding games to it. My goal is to install at least 500 games each day for the next two weeks (14 days) for a total of 7000 games. I think this will be enough games to open the new portal.

July 18, 2010

I have now finished fully distributing Nuclei. It took almost as long to distribute the game as it did to create it. I have decided to make a few small changes and then distribute each of the other two games I have created (Robot Labyrinth and Against the Bokari) before I create another game. Robot Labyrinth will be first. I have already released it on this web site and on New Grounds but other then these two places it has not been distributed. After I have distributed Robot labyrinth I will then make a few changes to Against The Bokari and distribute it (which has not been released anywhere).

July 11, 2010

This past week has been spent distributing Nuclei. There are a lot of browser portals on the internet and distributing games to all of them takes time. Fortunately I am well over the 50% mark (probably approaching the 75% mark). What is most frustrating is that not all portals where the game is submitted will accept the game and publish it. Many portals still review all submissions (which can take awhile) and some portals will refuse some games. This same thing happened on the software download sites a few years ago before those that were not accepting all submissions (that were free of viruses and adware) started loosing visitors to those that were accepting all submissions. Now many software download sites eagerly try to have every program listed on their site. The browser game portals will eventually follow the same pattern it will just take some time.

Next week I hope to finish submitting Nuclei to all the portals. It is not written in stone but I am seriously considering doing a platform game next.

July 4, 2010

First of all I would like to wish everyone a happy fourth of July which is independance day here in the USA. I hope everyone has a fun and safe time watching the fireworks and enjoying the festivities.

I have also made several changes to the web site. First I added another game portal (this one a casual game portal powered by Big Fish Games) and since I now have two game portals I have renamed the first portal (the one I put up last week) to a Browser Game Portal. You will find links to both at the left side of the page. I will continue to add new games as time progresses. Feel free to check them out and play some games located on each.

I have also released my latest game on this web site. It is called Nuclei and you will find it in the Arcade Games section of the web site (a link to this section is also on the left). It is a simple fun game that is free to play. I hope you enjoy it.

June 27, 2010

First off you will notice a new link on the left side of the page entitled Game Portal. I have set up a new game portal that contains browser games and this button is a link to it. Feel free to check the new portal out. I hope you enjoy it.

If all goes as planned I will post Nuclius (my next browser game) next week (or the week after if things do not go according to plan). I am still looking for a few assets (one graphic, sounds and music) but the game programming is mostly done. It took a little longer to get this one done then I thought it would but it is turning out to be a good game.

June 20, 2010

Work on my next game is progressing quickly. I have almost all the game play finished but I have not aquired any of the game assets (graphics, sounds, music, etc...). I am currently calling the game Nuclius but that name may change before it is released. It is an arcade game and I would still like to release it before July 1, 2010 but it will be released sometime in July for sure.

Once Nuclius is finished I will probably spend some time distributing Robot Labyrinth before I start another game or project.

June 13, 2010

I know. Last week I missed the weekly update. I got too busy programming I forgot all about the update until Monday. Hopefully that will not happen again.

This week I will start releasing Robot Labyrinth in the wild (far and wide on the internet). Due to the large number of portals it sometimes takes more time to release a game then it does to make it. This will be true with Robot Labyrinth. It took less then one week to make it but I suspect it will take more then that to release it.

I have also started on another arcade game. It should just about be created in one week with another week to give sponsors a chance to review it before I release it here. I am shooting for a release date of July 1, 2010 on this next game.

May 30, 2010

This week I am releasing Robot Labyrinth. It will be available on this web site first and I plan on starting the process of releasing into the wild (full internet release) later this week. You will find a new button on the right side of the page entitled Arcade Games. Clicking that link will take you to the Arcade Games page where you will find a link which will take you to the Robot Labyrinth description page for more details. There is also a link on the description page to play the game.

May 23, 2010

I have made the decision to do a few more last second improvements to Robot Labyrinth before I release it. I am still planning on releasing this game before the end of the month.

You will also notice that I am doing a few more changes to the look of the web site. This will probably continue on and off for awhile until I get it the way I want it.

May 16, 2010

I have spent this week making a few minor changes to Robot labyrinth getting it ready for release. This was done in an effort to polish the game to make it more professional. I also inserted the tracking code and took a few steps to get the game ready to be released on portals in addition to my site. I plan on starting uploading the game to portals before the end of this month (May).

May 9, 2010

My next browser game, Robot Labyrinth, is finished and is now in sponsorship bidding and still awaiting approval for use in GamerSafe. I definately plan on releasing this game sometime later this month (May, 2010). I have posted a screenshot of Robot Labyrinth below.

I am considering ideas for the next browser game. I am still thinking about making the next game a turn based game but I am also considering a sports game.

April 25, 2010

Progress on my next browser game, which I have now named Robot Labyrinth, is progressing much quicker then expected. All I have left to do is aquire and add the music followed by sponsorship bidding (estimated to last 2 weeks) and approval for use in GamerSafe (time unknown). I expect this next game to definately be released in May, 2010. I hope to have a screenshot of the game posted with next weeks update.

I am still waiting on GamerSafe approval for Adventurelet 1: Against the Bokari. After that I have sponsorship bidding then it will be ready to be released unless I think of a few new features to add to the game.

It is still too early to know for sure but I am considering a turn based game for my next browser game.

April 25, 2010

I have decided to create another game using a rapid prototyping method. Basically I have choosen a simple arcade game idea and will attempt to rapidly create the game over a very short period of time. It does not have a lot of graphical assets so the time to aquire or create graphical assets should be short.

The main benefit of this experiment is to find a way to design and build levels quicker then they were done in the first adventurelet game. The benefits of doing this will be quicker developement of games in the future.

I hope this next game will be released in May, 2010.

April 18, 2010

Adventurelet 1, Against the Bokari, is now completed and awaiting store approval and sponsorship bidding. It will enter sponsorship bidding (a process which should take roughly two weeks) after store approval. What is store approval? I am planning on using GamerSafe to handle micro ingame payments and I have embedded the needed code into the game and sent it to GamerSafe for activation approval.

I am now about to start on my next game. I have not decided what type of game to the next game will be but I will probably wait until later before I do adventurelet 2. I am considering a spaceship combat game, a trading game, a more advanced adventure game or some other kind of game for my next game.

April 4, 2010

I have now added an ingame store to my next game release, Adventurelet 1: Against the Bokari, which will allow players to purchase extra items (grenades, bombs, ammunition, life and heavier armor) to make beating the game easier. While it is possible to beat the game without purchasing any extra equipment it sure is a lot easier to beat if you stock up on extra equipment. I have analytics coding, highscore coding and the sponsorship left then the game will be released. It is taking a lot longer to finish this game then what I thought it would but the game will be well worth it.

March 28, 2010

My next game release, Adventurelet 1: Against the Bokari, is nearing completion. Most of the coding has been completed, the assets (sounds, music, graphics, etc...) have been aquired or created and the game has been put through a limited playtest. I still have analytics coding, highscore coding, store coding and the sponsorship left.

I have also expanded this web site to include an old news section, a section for the Adventurelet Game Series and a web page for the first Adventurelet Game. Links to major areas of the web site are located on the left. I will continue to expand the web page with future updates.

March 21, 2010

This is the first update on the new web site. The first game series that will be released under the Blue Fire Games label is the Adventurelet series. Each Adventurelet is designed to be a short browser adventure or adventure related game. The first game in the series, called Against the Bokari, is nearing completion with just the analytics code (which tracks game use), the store code (which will allow players to buy extra game items), a few minor bits of code to write and the sponsorship for the game to be determined. It looks like the game might be released sometime in April 2010 but that is a rough estimate because I do not know how long it will take for the game to get approved at Social Gold, Mochi Coins and Gamer Safe). I am also estimating a two week period for sponsorship which might be incorrect.