Status Report #19

     Vacation week. Almost nothing got done for DragCore, but I re-energized myself, saw interesting things, and came up with an awesome new game idea to work on next. Here is this week's status report.

Don't Sprite Too Hard

     I'm getting better with managing file sizes. I used gigantic sprite sheets for Fish Feaster, taking up many times more memory than I needed to. It's important to keep in mind how you can use scripts to manipulate sprites in order to have variant sizes, change directions, or even alter colors and transparency. The few lines of code you'll need to do that will be much easier on the memory load than countless sprite files way larger than than need to be.

      In the end, your game will run more smoothly, take up less space on users' devices, and make you feel like a game developer who works smarter, not harder. Making so many sprites by hand was my biggest mistake with my first game, and I never made it again. Now I try to find more ways to mess with sprites through code and my future games will be better because of it.

Bite-Sized RPG Gameplay

     Playing the new Zelda on 3DS had me thinking about ways to make a giant RPG adventure feel convenient through bite-sized play. I want to allow players to enjoy short playing sessions, but still be able to experience a giant quest when they have more time. I decided a good way to go about this is by having dungeons in the game separated by room. Each room is it's own big puzzle, and getting to the next room is equivalent to beating a level in a regular mobile game. Something fast and rewarding that saves on completion so you can put the phone away at a moment's notice.

     Pop-in, solve the next room, pop-out just as commercials end. Get on a train, explore the overworld for a bit, level up, get some money, close the game as you arrive at you stop. All without worrying about being too far from save points or losing your place in the middle of a big complex dungeon.

Spreading Out Gushing Posts

     Part of the reason why I started this website was to test things out. To try things I didn't understand and show what makes me a developer. This is one of those times where I learn a lesson about overloading myself. Writing the Gushing About posts takes a big chunk of time and energy. That's stuff that I need to make my games, which are delayed at this time. I want to spread these posts out a bit and start to do them every other week. This way, I don't have to worry about the posts seeming rushed and half-hearted and I get more development time. I'm thinking about just posting some game design advice in it's place instead. I tend to learn something new every week anyway. It would be a better use of time to share a quick tip then get back to work.

     What this really comes down to is time management. I'm working my butt off to get my games off the ground but there are only 24 hours in a day and I spend 8 of hose sleeping. I want my games finished but still want to maintain this site so it's an interesting place to be. So, Gushing About posts are now every other week and every Wednesday without one will have some game development advice in it's place.

So make sure to be here next week, because I'll be gushing about Banjo-Tooie.