December 28, 2014

As I predicted last week this week has been mostly work at my full time job with very little work being done on games. I also ran into another problem. Something went wrong with the computer I am using for developement and I am trying to restore it to a previous stat while keeping all the files I was working on (including the games). If I do not succeed at this last task it will result in me having a big set back.

My first goal for next week is to simply restore the computer without loosing the progress made on the games. My next goal will be to then evaluate where I am at and make a decision as to what comes next.

December 25, 2014

Merry Christmas everyone and a happy new year! I wish everyone not only has a good Christmas but that everyone also gets next year off to a good start as well.

December 20, 2014

This past week was just as I predicted it would be in last week's update. Busy, busy, busy. Despite this fact I did manage to do a little work on the adventure game by updating a few more monsters with artwork (now I have a total of around 10 monsters to use in the game) and I created most of the second dungeon.

I predict most of next week will be the same as this past week has been. Filled with real life work with very little time to work on games. I am sure looking forward to the day when my real life work will be making games.

December 13, 2014

This past week I started finishing the first dungeon (which only needs monsters and hiding zones) added to it and I quickly realized I did not have enough monsters to stock all the planned dungeons. I thus created several new monsters (a total of 9 new ones thus far as well as updated another old one) and am still in the process of creating more. After I get enough monsters created to stock the dungeons I plan on finishing the first dungeon and then creating other ones.

I know that I must work 6 out of 7 days next week so, to be honest, I do not expect to get much work done next week. From now until after Christmas I will have to work a lot of hours so most of the work will have to wait until after Christmas.

December 6, 2014

This past week I started creating the dungeons for my next game. After creating the first dungeon (which you will find a screen shot of below) I thought of several improvements that could be made including a better way of revealing the dungeon to the players one part at a time. The screenshot below still does not have the final artwork for the player. I implemented most of those ideas and instead of creating more dungeons. At least I got the first dungeon finished (1 down 19 to go) except for placing the monsters in it. I must admit it took longer to do then I thought it would.

Next up is finishing the rest of the new ideas, place some monsters in the first dungeon and then continue building other dungeons. And that is next weeks goal.

November 30, 2014

It seems like November flew by. This past week I participated in another Game Jam. The theme of this Game Jam was “Don’t shoot” and I created a short game for it. While this did take some time away from creating my latest adventure game I did manage to do some work on it. Enough work in fact that I am almost ready to start building the dungeons.

And that is exactly what I plan on doing next week. There are now a total of 20 dungeons which need creating and most of next week will be spent seeing how many of them I can finish. I hope to have a screen shot of one of the completed dungeons for next weeks update.

November 22, 2014

To show you some of the progress I have made on the 2D RPG thus far I have posted a screenshot below. It is simply a picture of what the interface will look like and it is not to scale, has no interior game play elements such as a dungeon (except the player) displayed and the player artwork is simply a placeholder while I finish getting the final player artwork. It looks like there might be a free version of the game as well as a paid (add free) version of the game but I am considering other alternatives (including the possibility of a short free demo which will include only the first level).

Next week work will continue on the engine (I only have a few things left to finish) and then I will start building the dungeon. Thus far there are a total of 12 dungeons planned for the first game. I may add more (for a total of around 20) before the game is released if the dungeons are quick to build. I also have another game jam coming up next weekend that I want to participate in if I can find the time.

November 16, 2014

First off, I need to apologize for the lack of an update last week. To be honest about it I was so busy doing other things that I forgot to post one. I will try to improve.

As far as game development went I have decided to make some changes to the current game I am making (Dungeon Endeavors). The first change is to change the name. It was originally planned to have all the games in the series be located in dungeons but I have decided to include some outdoor areas in some of them (maybe not the first two or three but eventually). As a result I need to come up with a new game name. Secondly I have also decided I do not like the way movement works. Currently it uses buttons (or the keyboard) to move one space at a time so to cross the screen you would need to press the buttons (or keys) repeatedly. I want to change it so the player uses an in game joystick instead of buttons but leave keyboard movement still present. Thirdly I want to change the way a player interacts with the game. Currently the player uses a separate graphical element to interact with the game (clicks a potion button to use a potion) and .runs into a monster in order to attack it. I want to change the game so there is one action button (in addition to the joystick) and the player chooses what action is performed each time that button is pressed (by using a menu). Fourthly I have discovered that the way I am displaying monster stats does not work well due to the stats blending into the background so I want to find a new way to display monster stats in the game (as well as stats for items). Lastly I want to give the monsters the ability to move around on the screen.

This next week I will be implementing as many of the above features as possible.

November 1, 2014

This past week in Dungeon Endeavors I finalized some of the treasure items (including healing potions, several weapons, amor and gold pieces). I currently have three weapons (a crop sword, a hand axe and a mace) and the player changes weapons by colliding with the weapon in the game. The players attack value is determined by the weapon the player is currently equipped with. I also added armor to the game. The armor system currently works by reducing damage taken in an attack but it is set up to be slowly destroyed during the game but armor found in the game will replenish the players armor to its original state (and even make it better then its original state). Think of armor as a block system with the higher the armor value the more blocks the player has to block damage. I got to do some work on slowly revealing the dungeon as the player explores it but that part is not fully finished yet.

This weeks goals will be to try again to complete the part of slowly revealing the dungeon as the player explores it and I am thinking about introducing a new “inspection” item which the player can drag over a monster or item to examine the targets stats.

October 25, 2014

My goal this past week was to continue working on Dungeon Endeavors and participate in another Game Jam. I decided to not participate in the Game Jam due to the fact I have a lot of things to do this weekend and I also have a lot of games that have been started and are close to being finished. I did do some work on Dungeon Endeavors including fixing a bug in the combat system, making monsters go active or inactive depending on if the player has discovered them or not and I completed about half of the treasure system (including weapons, armor, healing potion and gold).

For next week my primary goal will be to finish the treasure system in Dungeon Endeavors and make it so that the dungeon is only revealed a little bit at a time as the player explorers it. As a secondary goal I may try to finish one of my games that is close to being finished or acquire some assets for one of the other games.

October 18, 2014

This past week my goal was to finish a small complete game using the new framework. I ended up doing something different. I checked on the progress of another game engine (Construct 2) I had previously purchased and discovered, much to my delight, that this game engine had come a long way. I done a quick experiment with Construct 2 and quickly discovered it was very easy to work with and scaled to fit different browser sizes perfectly without any changes on my end. As a result I found myself quickly doing a game with it. See the screenshot below to see a sample of the game. Remember that this is a screenshot of an early version of the game. It is a dungeon crawling game and I have already completed the following steps: Combat, player movement, and scrolling as well as several other small details. This game is not that small and it is showing great progress considering the size of the game.

Next week I will continue to develop this game (tentatively called Dungeon Endeavors). I also have another Game Jam coming up next weekend and I may take two days to compete in it as well. If so, the next regular update will not happen until Monday (October 27, 2014).

October 11, 2014

My primary goal last week was to create a basic template for use with all future games. Basically, something that would include a menu, high score page, branding page, level selection page, etc… I succeeded in doing that. I was also hoping to do more then that but I discovered the new framework was more complex then I thought and thus had a higher learning curve then expected and as a result I only managed to complete the template.

My goal next week is to complete a game using the new framework. I am not sure if I will do a totally new game or take one of my more recent games and convert it to the new framework. The last three games I have done for the game jams are in various states of completion but will not take too long to finish each one. Other then that I am not going to set any extra goals for next week.

October 4, 2014

I only had one goal to accomplish the past week. To evaluate the new game framework I was considering using. I have achieved that goal and am happy to report the new framework exceeded my expectations and I plan on using it for most (if not all) 2D HTML5 projects in the future. The framework is call Phaser and you can see the home page here: http://phaser.io In addition to it being well documented (including many examples) it is also an open source project so that means it is freely available for all to use.

My goal for next week will be to create a basic game template (including such things as a game menu, credits page, high score page, etc…) to use with all future games using the Phaser framework. Due to the fact that I am on vacation this upcoming week it should be easy to do this. I might even get more done then this one goal.

September 29, 2014

The September Game Jam at Flash Game License has now come to a close. I successfully completed a game and entered it into the contest. The theme of the contest was Cheating and my game (called To Cheat Or Not To Cheat) was a simple dungeon game where the objective was to find and travel to the dungeon exit. The player was also given the option to cheat in order to beat the monsters and reach the end of the dungeon but cheating would reduce the game score. At some point in the near future I will finish that game into a full game and release it.

My goals I set for last week was: (1) add more game play to Dream Builder - I doubled the amount of game play in Dream Builder and now feel like the game is complete. (2) add some assets to Battle of the Elements - I did not get any part of this goal accomplished. And (3) add a rewards and Last chance score systems - I have just about decided to use another game framework which will make this goal easy to accomplish. Considering I spent the weekend on the Game Jam this achievements (or lack of them) are understandable.

This week due to the fact that I will be working my day off at my full time job and will have less time to develop games the only goal and am going to set is to evaluate the new game framework mentioned above. I like setting weekly goals so this practice will probably continue at least for awhile.

September 26, 2014

This weekend I am participating in another Game Jam (it looks like there is going to be one Game Jam each month). The regular update will not be posted until sometime on the night of 9-29-2014.

September 20, 2014

I took a long look at Dream Builder (one of my recent apps I was getting ready to launch) and came to the conclusion that the game still does not have enough game play to give it lasting value. I added some additional game play once earlier but it still needs more. As a result I have decided to postpone releasing Dream Builder until I can add more game play. I have several ideas but I am also hoping to think of several new additional ideas. My other game (Battle of the Elements) has plenty of game play and only needs some updated resources (graphics, music, etc…) to be finished. I will work on acquiring the needed resources for Battle of the Elements as I continue working on Dream Builder.

Those are my two main goals for this upcoming week. In addition to these main goals I also have a third goal of adding a rewards system or a last chance to increase your high score system to these two games. I have been working on that last goal for awhile but still without success.

September 13, 2014

This past week I discovered a bug in one of my latest games (Dream Builder) that prevented the music from playing on mobile devices. When I looked into this bug I discovered it was a bug with the game engine I was using. I have decided to wait until the bug is fixed (which should be the next update to the game engine) and then release the game when it can play music on all devices. I think it is best to do it this way because music can go a long way to making a game more enjoyable. I am still trying to find a way to make some reward available to players that score a certain score or higher in Dream Builder. If I find it I will add it before the game is released, if not I will release the game without it.

September 6, 2014

Another week gone by means it is time for another update. This is where I currently stand.

I discovered it is going to be a lot more work then I expected to add the rewards system to the Dream Builder game. This is because the system I wanted to use (Kiip) uses the regular javascript method to access their API (embedding javascript in the web page that hosts the game) and this method is not used for adding javascript functionality with the game engine I created the game with (GameMaker Studio) . The only way I could currently use this source of rewards with GameMaker Studio would be a long work around involving using GameMaker Studio to add DOM items to the hosting web page and then using these DOM items to access the rewards system. I considered using this approach but it is a lot of work so I decided to not go that route. Instead I will start the licensing process which will make the game available to online HTML5 game arcades. I will create a web page just for that game and will post a link on the web page when a new license is issued for the game. This way players can use the HTML5 game arcades to play the game.

In other news, I have continued working on the game (called Battle of the Elements) I created for the last Game Jam. All I need to get it finished is to create some particle systems for some game elements. I have already created half of the needed particle systems but I am not satisfied with the level of quality and am looking for other options. When I get this part finished (alone with a few other graphics) this game will be ready to license.

September 1, 2014

I finally secured the icon for Dream Builder. It turned out very good. I also finished most of the other details for Dream Builder. I have only one thing left that I would like to add (a prize system) before it will be ready for licensing. I will probably give it another week and release it without rewards if I do not succeed in adding rewards by then.

I also spent a good chunk of the weekend developing a game for the latest Game Jam but finished less then an hour too late to enter the game in the Jam. Oh well. I did end up creating a very strong game (and my first tower defense game) which I will be releasing after I add a few more elements to it along with graphics. This game came together surprisingly quickly considering how detailed it is.

August 30, 2014

Just a quick note to let everyone know due to the fact I am participating in another game jam this weekend the regular update will be posted on Monday 9-1-2014.

August 24, 2014

I temporarily lost my internet connection yesterday (Saturday August 23) and that was why there was no update yesterday. You do not miss something unitl it is gone and I did not know how much I use the internet on a regular basis until it was not there.

In regular news I have almost finished my latest game (Dream Builder). I am just waiting on the artist to finish creating the icon for the game. I am also wanting to add a new feature to the game before it will be released. I want go give players a free gift if they achieve a certain score or higher while playing the game. I think I have found a way to get the gifts but I need to implement it into the game. If all goes well after these two things are added the game will be submitted for licensing then published to game portals. I have decided to publish it through online HTML5 game portals instead of (or in addition to ) normal app stores (like Amazon and Google Play). The game will be free to play and I am seriously considering not placing any advertisements in the game.

August 16, 2014

This past week has seen more work on my latest game Dream Builder. Most of the work has been centered around getting the game to run equally well on all different screen sizes using HTML5 (including mobile devices ranging from smart phones to tablets as well as desk tops). While I have encountered some roadblocks I have managed to make good progress. I have decided I will be releasing this game through Flash Game License so there will be a short delay from the time I release the game until it starts showing up in the various online game arcades. I have not decided which method I want to use for native Android stores (using an .apk file). The option is there to use Flash Game License for that as well which I am seriously considering.

Next week should see more progress on getting the game to run good and look good on many different devices.

August 9, 2014

This past week I spent a lot of time getting my latest game (Dream Builder) ready for publication. Most of the work has been done to optimize the game on various devices. The game is an HTML5 game and I am expecting it to be run on many mobile devices as well as desktop so I am trying to get it to look good on mobile devices. I have learned a lot which will be applied to future HTML5 games to make this part go more quickly in the future.

I hope to publish Dream Builder this month then go on to my next project so next week will probably be more of the same stuff this week was composed of.

August 3, 2014

Yes, I know. This update is one day late. To be honest I totally forgot about doing it yesterday until after I was going to bed and by then it was too late. I will try and not forget about the next one.

This past week was spent improving my Game Jam submission (the game is called Dream Builder) getting it ready for a full game release. I cannot post the updates until after the judging is complete but I have already made some changes making the game more playable. I am also including a high score system and several other features to make it a full fledged game. I should be able to update the released version soon and then I can give you a link to play the game.

Next week more work will probably be done on Dream Builder as I look to add more game play. I am also looking to create some extensions for Game Maker Studio which is one of the primary game engines I use for 2D projects. These will not take long to make.

July 28, 2014

My first Game Jam is now officially finished as I await the results of the judging. The theme for this particular Game Jam was DREAM. I created a game called Dream Builder where the player must select components as they scroll across the top of the screen and match them with components above sleeping people as the cross the bottom of the screen. The version submitted to the Game Jam uses a mouse click for input, has a scoring system and is only an early version of the game but I will finish the game (adding a menu, detailed instructions, branding, etc...) in the next week or so then submit the final copy to the game shop for web site owners to add to their web sites so their visitors can play it. This is the first game I have released through the game shop and I am excited to see how it does. I am already looking forward to my next Game Jam. Now back to work on other projects.

July 25, 2014

Just a quick note to let everyone know that due to the fact that I am participating in a Game Jam my regular weekly update will not be posted until Monday (July 28). The Game Jam ends Sunday (July 27) and I need all the time I can to finish my entry.

July 19, 2014

After doing some research I have discovered it is going to take a lot longer to complete that small 3D Adventure/RPG game then what I first thought. Because I do not want to take a long time before I release my next game (or have long delays between multiple game releases) I have decided to move the 3D Adventure/RPG game to secondary status while completing a few more games. I will still work on it and complete it but I will just be placing more emphasis on other games while it is being slowly finished.

To that end I plan on competing in my first game jam featured by Flash Game License which starts July 25. Basically I will have 3 days to create at least a prototype of a game. Once I finish the game jam I plan on finishing the prototype into a full game.

As far a work on my non-game project is going (which is a specialized shopping comparison engine) I have made great progress this past week and have only about 6 things to do before it will be finished. Once it is finished this will leave more time for game development.

July 12, 2014

This past week there was a great amount of progress on the non-game project. I overcame one of the major hurdles and learned some information about the second hurdle I was facing. Enough information to realize I might be able to work around it. I also submitted a bug report on both hurdles so they can be worked out in the engine as well. As far as game development goes I am going to use an RPG game kit created for use with the Unity Game Engine to create the next game. This is a rather large, detailed kit so there will be a learning curve with the first game using it but I think it will be the best choice for the long run.

I also started submitting my apps to a new app store. I hope this new store will not be as crowded as the other stores and I am still looking for other new app stores as well. I am even considering publishing some games to the HTML5 platform and putting them in online game arcades.

July 5, 2014

First off, I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July with many fireworks, a lot of good food and many good friends and family to share it with. In the USA we celebrate July 4th because it is the day the USA achieved independence.

Secondly, I have been planning the next Adventure/RPG game I am going to release. I have decided to divide the Dungeon into 4 distinct parts with a boss enemy (as well as normal enemies) in each part. I am going to keep it short and make it available for free preferably without any advertising. I am also considering placing some kind of reward in each part of the dungeon to reward players for beating that particular part of the dungeon. I want the reward to be something that would normally cost them money to get but for me to be able to make it free. I am still looking around to see what I can find but I am considering such things as ebooks and games in addition to physical items - like a cup of coffee. I have also decided the game needs to work equally well on mobile devices so I need to find the appropriate models to use to build the dungeon. Something that not only looks good but also runs good on mobile devices.

Lastly, it seems I have hit a snag on the non-game app I was creating. The snag is more of a bug in the game engine I am using but I am continuing to try to work around it. I will not wait until this non-game app is finished before I start developing the next game because I do not want to delay the next game too much.

June 29, 2014

You are correct. This update is one day late. To be honest I just got busy yesterday and forgot to post it. There is not a lot of game news to report this week. I have decided that the next game project will be a short 3D Adventure/RPG game set in a dungeon (around 20 total rooms). The game will be free and will be designed to be a micro-game playable in one evening.

Most of this weeks work was dedicated to the non-game project. I had a major setback (including a hard drive crash - the entire drive is history) which resulted in me loosing all my work I done on the second app. But the good news is that I have gotten around 33% of the second app rewritten so I am almost to the point where I was at when I lost all the previous work. These setbacks means I will not be able to release this project in June like I originally planned but instead I will have to wait until July. Despite this setback I am still looking forward to completing the non-game project.

June 21, 2014

Most of this past week was spent working on a non-game project. This project is composed of two separate but related apps. The first has been completed and the second is roughly 25% completed. I am hoping to have this fully finished and released by the end of June, 2014. I hope when this project is completed it will allow me to change jobs to something that does not require me to work so many hours each week while making the same (or more) money. This will allow me to do more work on games which is of benefit to all of you.

I am still debating about what game to create next after I finish with the non-game project. I would like to do a 3D RPG/Adventure game but I may end up updating the 2D RPG/Adventure game I released earlier this month or doing something totally different. Time will tell.

June 14, 2014

I released ITTD-A1 (INTO THE DUNGEON - ALPHA 1) this past week but instead of taking the time to release it in many different app stores I decided to release it as an entry in the Lab Section. I made this decision when I remembered how much time it would take to upload it to all the stores (it is over 9MB in size) so I decided at the last minute to just release it in the Lab. It is a simple game so go try it out and enjoy it. Remember it is an early alpha and not a finished game.

As far as for what is next other then the non-game project I am working on (in an effort to change jobs that will allow me more time to develop games) I am not sure what is next. I have one children's game almost finished (tentatively called Kid's Musical Rhapsody) and I am wanting to do some work on a 3D RPG as well as a FPS (First Person Shooter).

June 7, 2014

This past week I fixed the final bugs on the 3D Adventure/RPG game and am now starting to submit it to the app stores. This will continue for the next week while I also create a web page for the series as well as a web page for the individual game. I am going to officially call it ITTD-A1 which stands for INTO THE DUNGEON - ALPHA 1. See last weeks news update for more details on it. I have also started something else which will be finished by the end of June (with any luck). To be truthful this is not a game but is designed to allow me to change jobs. Specifically to change jobs to one where I work fewer hours while making either the same or more money. The extra hours will allow me to do more work on games. Wish me luck.

May 31, 2014

This past week I discovered some bugs in the new 2D Adventure/RPG I have been working on. I have most of them fixed but I still have one more (dealing with monster movement) to fix and then after that it will be ready to release. It will be free for all and I will introduce it to many different app stores instead of a select few. Remember that it is the first alpha release in the series with the goal being to create the game steadily over a period of time releasing several alpha versions and several beta versions while the game is being created. This first release is not intended to be a full game but a short adventure with player movement, monster movement, combat, healing potions and some basic exploration. Future releases in this series will expand upon what came before until it is a fully finished game. Each release in the series will also have a new dungeon (or dungeons) to explore. It would be nice if I could release a new game in this series once a month (starting in June) but I am not sure I will be able to do this.

May 24, 2014

This past week I had planned on releasing the first version of the 2D Adventure/RPG game I am creating (tentatively called Into the Dungeon (ITTD-1a for alpha one)) but as I was doing further play testing I realized that it was not fully completed and needed a few more things added to it. I made the decision to postpone the release of ITTD-1a for a week (or two) to add these extra things. There are not many of them but enough to make playing the game more enjoyable.

I will keep the update short this week. I still have many more plans for future games but it seems like I do not have enough time to execute the plans.

May 17, 2014

Yeah. This week's update is actually on time. And in this week's update I am happy to report that much progress has been made on another game.

This week I started developing a 2D Adventure/RPG game and I finished player and monster movement, combat, healing potions and several other smaller details. I have decided to release a small demo game showing the progress I have achieved thus far and I will continue to release small demo games on a regular basis as I continue to develop the game. Plans for the future include more monsters, a full equipment system, more items, etc... By the next update I will have the first demo game released.

May 11, 2014

Yes. You are correct. This is the third week in a row that the weekly update has been a day late. Yesterday I was mandated to work an extra day at my full time job. As a result the weekly update is one day late again. The only thing I can promise is that I will try to have it on time from now on.

My latest game (KID'S FISHING HOLE) is still making its way through the distribution channel at the various app stores. I have updated it's web page as it was added to more app stores. Due to computer problems very little progress was ac

May 4, 2014

I know. This update is one day late and I did not even announce that it would be late like I done last week. The truth is that I got very busy yesterday (Saturday 3-5-2014) and forgot to post the update until after I had already gone to bed. By that time it was too late. I will try and do better next week.

The past week I finished making some updates to a game I released about a month ago (maybe longer) called Kid's Fishing Hole to add more game play to it. As a result I re-released the game in a larger number of stores this past week. Only two stores have published it thus far but as more stores publish it I will increase the list of stores it is available in.

I was planning on creating a 2D Adventure/RPG in half of my lunch break but this week my lunch break will be shortened to 30 minutes each day which will not leave me enough time to work on any game during lunch. I am also expanding into smartTvs as a new platform with some of the games I have already released as well as future games. The first games that will be released on the new platform have already been created and released on other platforms and I just need to test them on the new platform before I publish them to the new platform. While doing this work will continue on either a 3D or 2D Adventure/RPG game as well as the last children.s game that I started and almost finished.

Aprit 27, 2014

I am back after a day of much needed rest. This past week I created what I had planned on being the first level of my next Adventure/RPG game but when I tested it on Android I discovered it was slow. Very slow. Unacceptably slow. Not wanting to waist my work I added it to the lab section (You can find it HERE). You can also get a copy of this same dungeon in Android format by clicking . I am now looking for an alternative way of creating dungeons that will work much faster on mobile devices. While I am doing that I have decided to create a 2D Adventure/RPG.

I have also continued working on the last two non-Adventure/RPG games I started and am getting closer to finishing them. In addition to this I am also checking out a new engine (Unreal Engine 4) which shows a lot of promise.

Aprit 26, 2014

Just a quick note to let everyone know that the usual weekly update will be posted tomorrow (4-27-2014) instead of today. Why? Because I had to do a lot of manual labor today (cutting and dragging trees) and I am wore out. So after some rest today I will get the update posted tomorrow.

Aprit 19, 2014

First off this is going to be a slightly longer then usual update. Before I get started I want you to check out my latest lab project located HERE. Use the mouse and arrow keys to explore the dungeon. I done this as a way of improving my level building skills. I done something very similar to this earlier but this time I tried to do it much quicker. You will also notice a small icon at the top center of the screen. Clicking it will bring down a menu that shows I used an RPG engine to create this product.

Next I have reviewing my goals and past efforts to reach those goals. As many of you know my reason for starting this company and producing games in the first place was to be able to create ADVENTURE/RPG games. When I first started I needed to learn how to use some complex game engines so I started making simple arcade and children's games. That was were I became distracted. I started making good money through these first games and this caused me to start making more of them. As a result I never did continue on to accomplish the real goals of making ADVENTURE/RPG games.

After realizing my mistake I have made a change this week. I started heavily developing my first ADVENTURE/RPG game. I have three major hurdles to cross before it will be released. Because the game will be a central engine while allowing players to download missions or adventures the first major hurdle was to be able to list all available adventures for players to choose from. This needs to be done in a way to allow new adventures to be added in the future. This first hurdle has been overcome today.

I have now started work on the second hurdle which will be to develop the ability to download and play remote adventures from the core engine. I have already made some progress on this goal but I have not succeeded at finishing it.

The third goal will be to actually make and release the individual adventures in addition to the game engine. I need to make it in such a way so that items gained on later adventures can be used if the player wants to go back and replay an older adventure again.

Finally that brings me to the current games I have been working on. I have two games just about finished (one has already been finished and released but I have though of ways to improve the game so I was planning on improving it then re-releasing it). I plan on finishing these two games while I work on the ADVENTURE/RPG game. That also leaves me with a need to find some way to make use of my extra 30 minute lunch break. The computer I take with me on my lunch break is an older computer that does not have the ability to run complex 3D game creation engines so that limits what I can do on ADVENTURE/RPG games on my break. I am currently thinking that I might use my lunch break to finish some of the other games I have started but not finished.

The most recent lab entry shows the direction I want to go in and it will only be a matter of time until I succeed.

Aprit 12, 2014

I was planning to release a small 3D level (not a full game but something to explore and look around in) this week as a way to increase my level building skills but that plan did not work when I was mandated for overtime at my full time job. Working 51+ hours this past week left very little time for level development (or anything else for that matter). Next week I hope will be different. I have decided the level will be a dungeon and I have already set up a game engine (Unity) to create it so it is just a matter of time until I finish it.

On my next game (Kid's Musical Rhapsody) I have been adding more instruments for the players to choose from. The game is basically hear a tune and play the tune back. I also need to create a way for players to select which musical instrument they wish to use. Progress is steady on it despite the long hours at my full time job. I am still waiting on my most recently released game (Kid's Fishing Hole) to be published in the various app stores.

Aprit 4, 2014

This past week I made the decision to submit my latest app (Kid's Fishing Hole) to only a small number of app stores. I came to this decision because the app is designed for a small audience and will thus not have a wide appeal to the masses. The app is currently going through the approval process and has not been published yet. I have decided to wait until after the app has been approved and published before I create a web page for it because there is no point in having a web page for it without a link enabling people to get the app if they like it.

On the second app I have been working on (tentatively called Kid's Musical Rhapsody) I have though of a few more features I can add to the game to make it better so I have decided to not release it until after I have added those extra features. I am also considering listing it on Kickstarter.

I am also wanting to do some 3D level creation to improve my level building skills so I am thinking about creating a simple 3D level. It will simply be a place to explore and look around instead of a full game. I will probably put it in the lab section when I am finished with it which might be as early as next week.

March 29, 2014

This week I have finished another game designed for children. It is called Kid's Fishing Hole and is designed to help improve matching skills and increase hand eye coordination in young children. The game is simple to play and easy to learn but with five different difficulty levels to choose from so it can continue to be challenging to older children. I am now in the process of submitting it to the app stores and next week I will update this web site with a web page for it.

I am also finishing putting the finishing touches on another children's game designed to help improve memory. Why all the recent emphasis on children's games? I discovered a new app store opening up which is designed specifically for children but works on a subscription basis. I needed some new games to add to this new store so I spent more time developing games suitable for that store. Next I am spending more time working on an arcade game I started awhile back as well as a management game I also started awhile back. The management game is about managing people as well as things. I am also working on a new ranking system for the management game where your world wide rank will depend upon your continued success in the game.

March 22, 2014

Taking my notebook computer to my lunch break has been one of the best things I could do. I have almost completed two games while working on them on my break. The first game needs some extra features (more things for the player to do) added to it and the second game just needs graphics and sounds. Instead of another game for children for the new app store specifically for children (which the two games mentioned above are) I am going to finish an arcade game I started earlier but never got around to finishing.

I have also been updating the Character Creator by fixing bugs and changing the color scheme to one that is easier on the eyes. It will not be long before I start adding some of the new features planned for it.

March 15, 2014

This week I have released the Character Creator which is capable of creating characters for the Labyrinth Lord RPG. You will find a direct link HERE. It is also listed on a new page I created called RPG TOOLS. It is created in HTML5 so modern browsers can use it and it is also available free of charge. It also has the ability to create a totally random first level character with one button click. This is the first version of the program and more features will be added in the future including adding other games to the list of games it can be used to create characters for. In addition to expanding this program with new features there are also plans to create other types of programs for pen and paper RPGs.

March 1, 2014

For the most part the Labyrinth Lord Character Creator is just about finished to the point where I can release it. I encountered one small bug which prevents it from being used with Firefox but it seems to work well with Chrome. The version of Internet Explorer that I have installed does not currently support html5 so users will have to wait until Microsoft catches up with the pack before they can use it with Internet Explorer. Not tested it with Safari yet. I am now in the process of having the publishers of Labyrinth Lord take a look at it then, after I get their approval, I will release it. And it will still be free for all to use. More features will be added after it is released.

The most recent app store I have discovered, and the first one that is based on a subscription model, is designed for children. I only have three apps which are designed for children so I decided to create another short app for children. This app is about 90% completed and should be finished next week. I have several other ideas for short games and I may do one of them next. It has been awhile since I have released a game so I am looking forward to releasing a few more games even if they are not in the rpg/adventure genre.

February 22, 2014

This past week I made a lot of progress on the Labyrinth Lord Character Creator. I only need to create a character sheet (including a printer friendly version), add a news feed showing new material released for Labyrinth Lord and get it approved by the creators of the Labyrinth Lord game and it will be ready. I will add some extra features (like saving characters and loading saved characters) after the app is released. All saved characters will be stored on the internet so that players can access them from any device with an internet connection in the future. I have also continued to stick to the plan of making it easy to expand this app in the future to cover more games.

On the games front I am continuing to upload my apps to new app stores. I have discovered a new type of app store that is based on a subscription model where players pay a flat monthly fee to be granted free and full access to all games in that app store. Every app in the app store must also be free of all advertising and have no in-app purchasing. I like this type of app store and I look forward to discovering more of them in the future (and if you know of any please send me an EMAIL letting me know).

February 15, 2014

Last week I went out on a limb and predicted that I would be able to release a new app this week. Unfortunately I encountered a problem with being able to stream a music file to the player. That particular engine only allows it to be done on some (but not all) platforms. I am wanting this app to function the same on all platforms so I have decided to look for another solution.

I did manage to make some excellent process on the character creator for Labyrinth Lord. I only need to do four things before it will be finished. 1. I need to complete the random character function (currently about 70%+ completed) which will allow players to create a totally random beginner character with one button press. 2. I need to create a news feed to let players know when a new product has been released for Labyrinth Lord. 3. I need to create the character sheet to display character information (including a printer friendly version). 4. I need to have the publishers of the Labyrinth Lord game take a look at it to see if they want any changes done. I have a few other features that I will be adding in the future after the app is released. I am also using HTML5 so it will be a web app but anyone can use it with any device that has a modern browser. I am also creating it in such a way that will make adding further games to it (like OSRIC) very easy.

One final note. If you would like to get a digital version of Labyrinth Lord free of charge (but does not include art) you can find one HERE. To get a full version (with art) go HERE.

February 8, 2014

I am going to go out on a limb and predict that there is going to be a new release next week. I have been slowly working on an app that I wanted for myself (a random music player) and it is almost finished. I have decided that I will share it for free with all of you and anyone else that wants it. This program has suffered several setbacks and false starts in the past (mostly me trying to use tools that were, for one reason or another ,not capable of doing every aspect of it) but it is finally almost finished.

On the games front I am almost ready to start acquiring artwork for the retro style dungeon crawler that is nearing completion. This will take awhile because there is a lot of artwork which needs to be acquired (in addition to music, sound effects, etc...). At least progress is being made.

February 1, 2014

This weeks update contains another screenshot from the Character Creator I am working on (located below this paragraph). This one shows the armor selection screen. I am doing this Character Creator as a stand alone HTML5 app so it will work on all devices with a modern browser. It will also be capable of creating characters for different games (with Labyrinth Lord and OSRIC probably being the first two supported games). As you can see from the screenshot progress is coming alone nicely. I have also just about decided to let my next new game be an RPG/Adventure type of game with a retro look and feel. I have been working on one and it is nearing completion. In addition to this I have two other non-game apps nearing completion as well. I am hoping February 2014 will see several new releases.

January 25, 2014

This week work continued with progress being made on several fronts. I finished uploading the updated version of Nuclei Mobile to most app stores. I also made some progress on another Character Creator (this one for the game Labyrinth Lord). This game's character creation method is simpler and quicker then OSRIC (though not by much) so I decided to do some work on it now. For a screen shot click HERE. I am also making progress on my next arcade game. The more I work on it the more it looks similar to pool but with an arcade twist. I have decided to have stages with each stage having multiple levels. You must defeat all levels on each stage to advance to the next stage. At least that is the way it looks right now. I also hope to have a small lab entry coming up in the near future as well.

January 18, 2014

Another week and another update. I was rather long winded on the last two updates so I will try to make this one a shorter one. During the last two weeks I updated one of my previously released games called NUCLEI MOBILE. In addition to some under the hood features that makes the game run better I also added game sounds and dropped the price to 0 (as in free). I also created a new web page for it while I was at it. In addition to this I made a minor change or two on the web site - nothing major. I also made a lot of progress on a new game. I got the game idea this past week and I liked it so much I started it. It is an arcade game but I have not seen many games on the market like it. I plan on releasing a smaller version of it (with fewer levels to start with) and then adding more levels as updates in the future. I am sure you will hear more about it before I release it.

January 11, 2014

Last week I reviewed the year 2013 and talked about the goals I had for 2013 showing which ones I succeeded at and which ones I failed at. This week I am going to go over the goals I have for 2014.

The first goal is obviously to release new apps. For 2014 my goal is to develop and publish at least 12 apps. Notice I said "apps" and not "games." Do not get me wrong, most of the apps I will be releasing will be games but I also have some plans for apps that are not games but could be considered utilities instead. These are apps I want for my own use or apps which do things that I have seen other people doing without an app to help them. I decided since I was creating them for my own use I would also share them with everyone else. Some of them have enough of a connection to games (like Character Creators) that I will make them available through this web site. Others may only be available for download on other web sites but I will let everyone know about them here in case you want to get them and use them.

The second goal will be to have one of the games I create and publish be an RPG/Adventure type of game. I have been wanting to do this for some time but every time I have came close to succeeding something happened to stop me. This year (2014) will be different.

The third goal is to re-release at least 4 of my older games as free apps. Which four I am not exactly sure but I will announce it here when they are re-released. All apps converted from paid to free will have advertisements placed in them to help me get a return on my investment. Let us face facts. It takes both time and money to develop and release apps and developers should expect some return on their investments required to make apps. That is why free apps have advertising and in-game purchases to help a developer recoup his investment.

Those are the only three goals I am going to set for 2014. If I accomplish more then that I will be happy and if I fail to accomplish those two goals I will do the best I can.

January 4, 2014

Last year I started something new. I reviewed the past years performance and set goals for the upcoming year. This week I am going to go over the goals I set for 2013 and show how well I done. Next week I will set the goals I have for 2014.

The first goal was to create more games. I did not set a specific number for the number of games I wanted to create. In 2013 I created and released 9 games ( Alien Shoot, Kids Animal Jigsaw Puzzles, Kids Toys Jigsaw Puzzles, MV-1 Ratlings, Nuclei Mobile, Par 5 Mini-Golf, Pumpkin Patch, Tindel the Turkey Vs. Thanksgiving, and Treasure Hunter). I achieved this goal.

The second goal was to expand to other platforms. While I made an attempt to do this (and actually published one game in the Windows Phone app store ( Nuclei Mobile)) this was a failure. Perhaps I can do better next year.

The third and final goal was to publish at least one adventure game. While I made progress on creating one of this type of game I also failed to achieve this goal.

Next week I will be back to let you know what my goals are for 2014.