{"author_name":"dalbinblue","cat":"LD #27","comments":[{"author_name":"","time":"August 22, 2013 10:56 pm","epoch":1377230160,"text":"WOOO!!!! Glad to see you back","spam":"N"}],"epoch":1377227520,"likes":6,"metadata":{"p_key":"41487","p_author":"dalbinblue","p_authorkey":"13960","p_urlkey":"77110","p_title":"Joining the Fray","p_cat":"LD #27","p_event":"LD27","p_time":"1377227520","p_likes":"6","p_comments":"1","p_status":"UPD5","us_key":"13960","us_name":"dalbinblue","us_username":"\/author\/dalbinblue\/","event_start":"1377216000","event_key":"18","event_name":"LD27"},"text":"

I am most definitely in for a fourth run at the competition. \u00a0My last entry did very well, and I have set the personal bar quite high for this competition. The big thing I want to improve on this time is feedback, as in letting the user know how their actions affect the game world. There were too many off-screen changes in the last game and it cause quite a bit of confusion.<\/p>\n

\"LD<\/p>\n

Speaking of setting the bar too high and going overboard, I sort of went overboard with the warm up game this time. \u00a0I started making something simple, but was having too much fun and made a pretty sizable game over 16 hours. \u00a0It’s a pretty basic metriodvania style game, where you need to search for several artifacts to open the hidden treasure room. \u00a0Lots of exploration, I’d love to see if anyone can find all the treasure. \u00a0You can grab a copy of the warm up game at the warmup entry page.<\/a><\/p>\n

In any case my tools haven’t changes too much in the last year:<\/p>\n

Programming:<\/strong>\u00a0Visual Studio, C# using XNA 4.0<\/p>\n

Graphics:<\/strong>\u00a0NES style using Paint.NET<\/p>\n

Sound:<\/strong>\u00a0SFXR, FamiTracker, Audacity<\/p>\n

Map Editor:<\/strong>\u00a0Tiled<\/p>\n

Base Code:<\/strong>\u00a0Get it with my latest warm up game\u00a0here<\/a>. \u00a0As before, I am distributing it with my warm up game so you can see some context with how to use the library. There is quite a bit of goodies in the library including a pretty powerful 2D camera, a great input and sound manager, and lots of graphic helpers. If you use XNA or Monogame, you might find some good code you can pull out for your own work.<\/p>\n

Font:\u00a0<\/strong>For any text display, I have been using a free font \u00a0from\u00a0http:\/\/www.proggyfonts.com\/<\/a>, specifically Proggy Square. \u00a0I have converted it to a spritefont (PNG) for use in XNA (both full size, and something that fits in 8\u00d78 for NES style graphics). \u00a0The original font and converted formats can be downloaded\u00a0Here<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n

Tags: warm-up<\/a>, xna<\/a><\/p>","time":"August 22nd, 2013 10:12 pm","title":"Joining the Fray"}