I have picked ‘Trains’ as my secondary theme for this Mini LD #6.  “Monochrome” is the primary required theme of the contest.  Instead of making a full game for this competition Matrin has tasked us with a limit to make the game a single-level.  Everyone who submits a game will have their game be one of the levels in a game “wrapper” that will join them all together.  The common theme being monochrome.

I want to create a game that will be of limited scope yet still fun and not too small.  I am trying to work out what size the level should be of my monochrome train game.

My current idea is a kind of 2d platformer that takes place running along a moving train.  You will have to watch out for tunnels and obstacles that would sweep you off the train if you are on top of a train car.  You will have to move quick enough that you aren’t on train cars that will become disconnected and drift backwards after a time.  I’m going to impose a time limit through the fact that if you don’t reach the train engine in time to stop it you will die due to train crash.  You will start at the end of the train on the caboose and have to work your way along.  I may make it old west themed as well.  You will have to fight off bandits on your way to pull the brake at the front of the train.  Perhaps I’ll have a minimap at the top that will show the trains progress on the level so you can know how close you are till the end instead of just time limit.

I’ll be using Ruby / Gosu gamedev library again for this competition.

Here is initial mockup:

Tags: mono, monochrome, train

I’ve been laying down the code since my last post and I already have a screenshot to post.  Basically the traincars currently come flying out of the left and head to the right past the various cactus, rocks and other western detritus that I will hopefully add for ambience.  I’m really liking the look of it so far.

Now, I have to code a player cam to track the train cars through the world coords.. fun fun!

Tags: gosu, mono, monochrome, ruby, screenshot, train

Well, things are getting off to a slow start this morning as I have been dealing / fighting with 20%+ packet loss on my cable modem…. *sigh*   Anyway– after a few hours it has cleared up for now.

On the monochrome train front, I have been sorta zoning out watching my current tech test demo.  There is no gameplay yet, but I like how it sets the stage for the coding yet to come.

I currently have a wide world of train landscape with cactuses, rocks and tracks.  Populated with a boxcar only ghost train right now.  The train chugs along to the right and will run for approximately 2-3 minutes (not locked down yet) before crashing.

The player (yet to be drawn / coded) has that amount of time to race from the caboose to the train engine to hit the brakes!  There will be obstacles of various types along the way (yet to be drawn / coded).

In this demo, you can press the left and right arrow keys to move the viewport back and forth.  When you stop, it keeps its slow advance.  My current idea is that the viewport moves just *slightly* faster than the train so that if you don’t creep along with it you will also get swept off the back of the screen and fail that way too.

Here is a win exe if anyone wants to see my monochrome train test.

Tags: demo, gosu, mono, monochrome, ruby, train

I just finished implementing parallax scrolling background objects for my game.  There is currently a nice cloud layer, a far plateau layer, and a near plateau layer all that move by in different speeds based on their distance.  I’m really quite happy with it so far.

I find I am not making much gameplay progress because it has been so relaxing for me to watch the train and dessert go by.  I have to start implementing some game play now!

Here is the latest test exe if any windows users wanna check it out! Left and Right arrow keys move viewport.  ESC to quit.

Tags: demo, exe, gosu, mono, monochrome, ruby, train

If you look closely.. you see the hero of the monochrome train!

I have now added three train car types of various heights.  You can now fall off or in between cars and die.  The train cars detach from the train when they hit the left side of the screen.  The velocity of the car is transfered to the hero so he drifts with them correctly.  He can now jump between all the cars with the jump from lowest car to highest being possible but tricky.  The game is over if you fall off and die or if you get swept off to the left of the screen.   You are supposed to advance to the head of the train but there are no enemies yet or win condition.  Only death…. and that is not handled gracefully.. if you ‘die’ the game ends abruptly.

For the brave, here is the current windows build exe.

Use arrow keys to move left, right, and jump! ESC to quit.

Tags: demo, exe, gosu, mono, monochrome, ruby, train

Well.. my working title is evolving a little from “Monochrome Train”.   Anyway, here is the update:

I have been working like mad during this miniLD#6.  I worked 12 hours on Friday, 17 hours yesterday, and now I have a little over 5hours left to at least wrap up the gameplay.  At this point I’m going into triage mode again like many LD format competitions force us.  In a last minute rabid attempt to cram and adjust all the critical features that will turn a project from a demo into a  game.  This being my third LD type event I have yet to feel that I’ve suceeded within the timeframe.  Not sure this time will be any different yet but at least a big difference is that this time I have been able to play my game a LOT more during creation.  Probably to the detriment of the timeline a little.  I guess that is a good sign though.  Anyway, 8am EST is almost here and that is when my crunch time begins.  I have made a critical todo list to accomplish during this time and we’ll see how it goes!

CRUNCH LIST:

• score file handling to support matrins compo requirements
• detecting most primitive form of ‘you win’ condition when reaching locomotive at head of train
• enemies – spawning, moving, fighting, dieing, dodging (of some type)
• simple player / enemy animations for the logic I have coded so far (right now there is no animation)
• simple event sounds
• tiny train like soundtrack loop (update: DONE @ 9am)
• how to page?  I am confused on this because due to the matrin framework requirement– I was planning on using his idea of the 400×400 image in his framework to provide how tos… but I also want people to be able to know how to play if they just download this level from the blog without the loading framework.. so there is the connundrum of sorts.
• animations for train wheels and locomotive parts and steam cloud

Current screen shot above and current windows build here.  Use arrow keys (left/right/up) to move or gamepad stick with button 1 to jump.

Seeya all on the other side! 😉

Tags: blue, crunchtime, demo, exe, gosu, mono, monochrome, ruby, train

Here is the final mini-ld #6 version of Monorail for windows.

STORY:

You are the Hero trying to reach the head of a runaway train to get to the locomotive.  You start at the caboose and work your way along fighting off the bad guys who have taken the train over. You have to be careful not to fall off the train cars or get swept off the left side of the screen with a disconnecting train car.  Also, don’t get shot!  You can get hit 3 times before you die.

CONTROLS:

Use left/right/up arrow keys to move and jump, spacebar to shoot

Use Gamepad stick and button 1 to jump, button 2 to shoot.

BUGS / FEEDBACK:

I’d love to hear any bug reports or feedback as I’ll be developing this game for a while longer still.  I listen to all suggestions and do work on these projects long after the compo deadline.  I will likely post an updated version before too long that is post-compo.

THOUGHTS:

This was my 3rd attempt at the 48hr competition format.  I think I am fairly pleased with the results.  I love how these competitions really let you bootstrap a concept in a really short amount of time.  I spent 35hrs of the past 48hrs working on this game!  While some people might not ever get why anyone would want to ‘work’ so hard on their weekend– it is SO worth it!  😉

Tags: final, gosu, mono, monochrome, monorail, ruby, train

I decided to participate after all.  I think I began around 8pm EST.

A mysterious screenshot of my cryptozoology game.. 😉  Time to go to bed.

Tags: cryptozoology, game, gosu, prototype, ruby, screenshot

Here is a current screenshot from my simple cryptozoology puzzle game.  It is coming along fairly well schedule wise.  I have 3 of 4 crpytid puzzles completed and just need to draw one more so that is good.  I still need sounds and maybe score a little game soundtrack for it too later.  Need a menu, perhaps highscores just for practice coding that and still searching for a title I like.

I’m glad that I finally picked a game scope that allowed me to have something playable early on and really gave me time for polish, tuning, and asset creation.  As this is my 4th LD (2 full, 2 mini) maybe I’m FINALLY learning something about scope.  😉  If anything, I probably went too far on the side of simple but we shall see.

Tags: cryptid, cryptozoology, gosu, puzzle, ruby, screenshot, update

Hey folks- finished my game:

• Windows build
• Mac build
• Source (linux build instructions in readme, requires Gosu available from RubyGems)

CONCEPT:

You’ve received 4 scrambled images of possible cryptids:

Use your Crypto-Computer ™ to unscramble them!

You have 1 minute to complete your task before the
evidence is lost forever.  You will receive a
30 second bonus for each cryptid you discover.

Each cryptid image is made up of 4 individual pieces.
Unscramble each cryptid by clicking on the numbered boxes
to rotate a distinct piece of the puzzle image.

* Left mouse button for clockwise rotation.
* Right mouse button for counter-clockwise rotation.

Enjoy!

Tags: challenge, cryptid, cryptozoology, final, gosu, mac, macosx, osx, puzzle, ruby, source, win, Windows

here’s some screenshots of some fun creatures I created using hamburger’s Cryptidia entry:

First, the program asked me to create something huggable…

Next, it commanded I draw something “you could put a beard on” and that it also need “ripped abs” .. these suggestions are hilarious.

Well.. my devil walks upon a table, a stick and something that looks like 1/3rd of an utter.  I like his arms.. heh.

Anyway– I definitely enjoy these drawing type programs.. thanks hamburger!

Tags: baby, beardable, cryptidia, devil, hamburger, huggable, screenshots, teddybear

Well after an incredible amount of work I have finally released my first Flash / ActionScript 2.0 game! You can play it here if you’d like. I hope it is cool to post here because it is relevant in that the original game play idea came from my Cryptid Puzzle Challenge entry in the Mini-Ludum Dare #7 competition back at the beginning of the month.  I also wanted to really share it all with my buds here at Ludum Dare! 

TurnStyle is a unique visual and memory based puzzle game where each of the 15 puzzles are original illustrations that follow a complete story arc over the duration of the game.

Every puzzle is made up of individual pieces which have been randomly rotated so that they are scrambled each time. You must work quickly and efficiently to rotate the individual pieces into the proper alignment before the timer runs out.

There are easy, medium, and hard difficulty puzzles mainly guided by the amount of individual image pieces that make up each puzzle and the way that I break up the images into pieces.

Personal best records are stored locally for score and rotation count per puzzle. Global high scores may be submitted to the Mochi Leaderboards at any puzzle progress screen. You are able to retry a level if the time runs out.

I haven’t submitted it to any portals or whatnot yet so it is living at it’s mochi-ads home right now.  I’m using their encryption, version control platform, advert api, and leaderboards/facebook api.  Seems pretty easy to setup.

I will try to post more about my adventure in creating this game and learning Flash over at my personal site but for now this is finished!

Tags: actionscript, as2, flash, free, image, memory, mochiads, online, puzzle, turnstyle

I love the theme of the mash up and am scouring the archive grid looking at old thumbnails.  I’m trying to find a concept that won’t be too ambitious at all.  The reason?  Because this weekend I will make some progress towards learning AS3 I hope.  I have my Essential ActionScript 3.0 book handy.  I have my Flash CS4 Professional book handy.  I have healthy snacks…  I have angry chihuahuas.. (well not really, but my wife and I are picking up a new puppy tomorrow!  Shiba Inu mix, not chihuahua I’m afraid.) 

I have already made 1 Flash AS2 game so far but know nothing about actually using the Flash tool for making animations and such things.  I also “know” AS2 in that sense that I’ve been programming in other languages a long time and can now brute force any kind of ugly code into working but I’m far from the land of knowing best practices so far!  I really want to push on past AS2 though.

I think it would be fun to find a mash-up game that will ideally not be too large in scope that will allow me to get to know the Flash authoring tool and AS3.  It does mean I have to make some more progress in the AS book.

Only time will tell what will happen.  Epic Fail?  We shall see!  😉

Tags: actionscript, as2, as3, chihuahua, conundrum, dilemma, flash, mashup, puppy

This could only bring madness… or terror… or both!

Short Fuse + The Hairy Chestival.

I’m going for it!  This is rough mockup to get the idea down but basically instead of the old miner carrying the leaky powderkeg.. we have our miner taking up a different profession.  That’s right, he’s using the lawnmower (or is that chestmower?) from The Hairy Chestival.. only problem is that the lawnmower is leaking fuel like there’s no peak oil!  You have to mow down the dry grass (or is that… hair?) before the spark ignites your fuel mixture.  Oh yeah, for some reason the field is littered with explosive barrels that you can’t run into but that you have to destroy.  There will also be a fuel meter on the lawnmower that will run out I think as well (like the button to discard the powderkeg in Short Fuse.  I still have to work out exactly what the rewards are (do you really need one in a game so ludicrous?  😉  ) and what the dangers are.  But, I have high hopes for this.. hehe.  I’ll be using Flash.  Either AS2 or AS3.. jury is still out for this mini-LD.

Tags: actionscript, as2, as3, barrels, chestival, chestmower, exploding, flash, fuel, fuse, fusetival, hairy, lawnmower, mockup, peakoil, powderkeg, short, shorty

I am pretty sure I’m going to make a go of LD14 this weekend.  I will be voting in the theme rounds all week long and take a look Friday to see the theme that is picked.  I will make up my mind then for sure.  Why the hesitation?  Well, I have a lot of things I’m already working on game wise so I have to make sure working on ANOTHER game is the best use of my energy… 😉  I do love the LD compos though.. it’s what got me back into game programming again so it will always have a lot of pull on my heart.  It is just so much fun as many of you know to participate in this event.

As far as programming tech and libraries go I will be making a change for the first time in all my LD experience!  Previously I was rocking the Ruby language and using the excellent Gosu game dev library (which I still highly recommend!)

This time I’ll be using Flash / ActionScript 3.0.  I have spent the past couple months learning ActionScript (first used AS2 for one game) and then another game I did in AS3 to work on my knowledge in that.  Plus I’ve cranked through a couple really great books I picked up that I also highly recommend to anyone looking to make the leap.  Essential ActionScript 3.0 (O’Reilly), ActionScript 3.0 Animation (Keith Peters), and Flash CS4 Professional  (Katherine Ulrich). The Kongregate Shootorials were also a great place to start for AS2 and they have an AS3 version of the finished tutorial to learn from the code (it is well commented.)  I learn good from books so I had to grab a few to help out.  Anyway, I’ve been having a blast with Flash / ActionScript!

I’ve been very impressed by how quickly you can rough out a game prototype using the Flash authoring tool and some simple ActionScript classes.  I used to think that I’d be hard pressed to find as rapid a dev environment than what I was already using with Ruby / Gosu but all I can say is DAMN.. flash is fast. 

Plus, the added benefit of having both rapid playable cross platform versions for compo feedback as well as not worrying about the various builds after the compo and I think it builds a strong case as rapid prototyping tool geared for quick compos like this one.

Tool Set I want to use:

Flash / ActionScript 3.0

Libraries I want to use (if this seems ok par the rules?):

GreenSock’s tweening engine TweenMax / TweenLite

Looking forward to a great theme and a great compo everyone, take care!

Tags: actionscript, as2, as3, books, compo, development, flash, greensock, intro, libraries, prototyping, rapid, tools, toolset, tweenlight, tweenmax

so I put ludum dare in your ludum dare so you can dare while you ludum.

But seriously folks.. I’m glad this theme ending up in the final round is likely a glitch.. but a cruel glitch at that!

Tags: badjoke, badtaste, glitch, latetotheparty, meme, motivation, notfunny, recursion, yodawgyo

just to let anyone who feels like warming up for the main compo with a little towlr action and who wasn’t hanging in IRC.. there is a little towlr precompo going on… you’ve been warned. 

and for those of you who have been spared from towlr so far… here is the link: http://www.towlr.com

Tags: compo, irc, towlr, warmup

play it here…

Since there is some confusion.. this is an actual flash game I coded as a warm up in the 2 hours leading up to LD14 theme announcement.  It isn’t just a screenshot..    When the game loads, click in the screen and use your keyboard to win!

Tags: flash, LD14 - Advancing Wall of Doom, towlr, warmup, yodawg, yotowlr

…sleep. Though before that I felt like doing a little drawing to get the subconscious primed on the theme before sleep.  Here’s a quick 3 minute sketch of a possible doomy world:

Tags: advancing, art, brainstorm, concept, doom, sketch, sleep, wall

So.. finally got an idea I feel like running with on this theme:

First, the mockup!

(Click image to view larger)

Anyway.. the simple concept is you are controlling a fleet of the last ships of your race.  You are fleeing your planet as an alien armada of doom approaches.  You will be able to move your fleet up/down/left/right and there will also be a key that lets you toggle the density/pattern of your fleet.  Think of it as able to expand or contract.

You will move through the armada avoiding colliding with capital ships and what will surely be horrendous energy weapons fire as they attempt to anihilate your race.

You must get a least ONE of your ships through the armada to win.  The more ships you get through the larger your bonus at the end for saving a larger gene pool of your race… 😉

Simple idea, hopefully the scope will be one of which I can get a fun, playable game out of before the deadline is up…

Tags: alien, avoider, concept, doom, fleet, laserbeams, lasers, mockup, rays, space, swarm