Gushing About: Diddy Kong Racing

     Who didn't like this game? It was the only racing game that really kept a place with Mario Kart. And it did so by expanding what a racing game could be. It had exploration, secrets, challenges, mini-games, all wrapped up in a pretty layer of polish.

      Let's revisit one of Nintendo 64's greatest racers, Diddy Kong Racing.

Busy, Busy, Busy Schedule

     I'm dead-set on finishing my next three games by next August. I am dying to get started on the Yotes RPG but also refuse to touch the darn thing until I know I can make it perfectly. I cram in at least one hour of progress on my current project each day. And that's during school, where final exams and group projects are looming. I am spending every minute I can on making progress. Let's see what I can do before the next Status Report.

     Today is about getting stuff done. And that's exactly what I'm going to do.

New Device Resolution Strategy

     I admit to being a complete dunderhead when it comes to making a game fit all resolutions. I found it hard to wrap my head around making a game that fits all the resolution combinations out there. I tried making TriGrid fit everything by upscaling the smallest resolution. With Fish Feaster I did the same but stretched the background to compensate for iPhone 5's longer screen. When I made Candy Shop Catch I had HD and SD resolutions programmed in, which doubled the amount of assets in the game (a colossal waste of space).

     With my newest creation, I'm trying a new method that will hopefully be kind to memory and easy to code. I thought of it when I finished up Candy Shop Catch and face-palmed at how obvious the solution really is...

Learning Animations

     One of the things I'm planning to learn from making DragCore is Unity Animations. I'm using 2D Toolkit animated sprites to make animations. Mastering this is key to my future games where smooth animations will make all the difference graphically. I also need to figure out how to make animations efficiently so I can make large games that load quickly and don't lag when multiple objects or moving on screen.

     I also found another indie game development documentary yesterday. Inspirational stuff, but it's also a bit vulgar. I'd swear a lot too if I had to work two min-wage jobs and live alone for 5 years while trying to get a game off the ground. It shows just how stressful life can be when you're just starting out as an indie. Lot's of people really do have it worse than me and I'm very lucky that my parents are giving me a head start.

   Check it out if you're interested in that stuff. I'd also recommend seeing the extended interviews on his channel to hear from the other members of the indie team. Now that all my assets are ready, I'm going to finish my design document and start putting my own game together.