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.