Stories of Game Design

Monster Puzzle RPG - My Game

2012-02-06T19:21:00.000-08:00

So I released in the last few days a game called Monster Puzzle RPG. It's my third game in the Android Market. It's not successful so far, though. I made it together with my cousin, he told me about an interesting mechanic he wanted to pursue and, after some convincing, I went along with it. Download Monster Puzzle RPG on Android Market! Monster Puzzle RPG on ModDB! Let's analyze the game(our

Mass Effect - Review and Analysis

2012-02-04T17:02:00.000-08:00

So last time I did an analysis was quite a long time ago and I haven't posted in a while, I've been busy with some game projects. So Mass Effect is an western RPG released in 2008. Here is a trailer if you never heard of it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqJuJTIus7U I'm normally not a fan of western RPGs, because I rarely get immersed since the choice making system hardly interests me because

LeadBolt - Android Games Monetizing

2011-12-22T18:52:00.000-08:00

So as of late I've started trying to monetize some games and applications. I like to keep two things at heart when monetizing a game: Avoid damage to the game experience Avoid making people angry Banner advertising - I don't like it Google has a service called AdMob, as you probably have heard if you read anything about the subject. I like to stay away from AdMob. They are basically little

Publishing an Android Game: Android Market and SlideME

2011-12-20T17:21:00.000-08:00

Where dreams get made and dreams get destroyed. Let's first talk about the big fish: Google's Android Market So, if you've been following my guide and made a libGDX game, you could put it on the Android Market. If you're willing to pay 25 dollars. Yes, there's a fee involved, that can be a big turnoff for many people. I paid the fee .Sometimes I wish I didn't, because there are some

Make a Game - Publishing

2011-12-19T13:08:00.000-08:00

Make a Game Series! Continuing the Make a Game series! So your game is made, what are the publishing options? My favorite Publishing spot I think the best place to try and publish is Desura: The Desura Logo They kinda like Steam, but more Indie oriented. That doesn't mean it's easy to get in, though. I got turned down on my first attempt to get published there. It's still easier than

Ludum Dare - Report 3

2011-12-19T11:35:00.000-08:00

So the competition itself ended. It was a new experience, it was pretty cool to make a game in a day(I didn't use the 48 hours), I implemented everything I wanted(although not as much as my first ideas). The game isn't all that pretty, but I guess it fits in to Ludum Dare! Here is my entry, in case you wanna check it out: My Ludum Dare entry! One of the things that made me sad is the lack of

Ludum Dare - Report 2

2011-12-17T17:00:00.000-08:00

So I've advanced in the main gameplay of things. My game is still quite simple. So I was looking for some songs to use in the game... Then I found out I couldn't actually use any of those, I had to make my own. Make my own songs, damn. I tried the mic, tried programs... But I guess my game'll have no songs. Oh well. Looks weird? I think so too. So I decided to make a game where the lonely

Ludum Dare - Report 1

2011-12-16T20:15:00.000-08:00

Ok, two hours have passed since Ludum Dare began. I have now finished setting up my Eclipse project for the game, with some basic classes (yes, I chose to do that after the competition began... Rookie's mistake? We'll see). I've got my idea set for the game, I came up with those pretty fast, I guess. I won't reveal it yet, though! This is the main character of the game This is all I have

Ludum Dare is in two days...

2011-12-15T06:55:00.000-08:00

This marks a halt to my Make a Game series. As far as Ludum Dare goes, theme voting is going on right now. Over the last few months I've been messing quite a lot with libGDX and I think I'm ready for the competition. Or not. It IS my first Ludum Dare, so, who knows what might happen? I'll basically be using the stuff I've went through in the Make a Game series :) Anyways, some of the voting is

Make a Game - Sound Effects and Music

2011-12-07T16:56:00.000-08:00

Make a Game Series! First off, sorry for the delay between posts, but I the college semester was ending and I had no time. I'll still write everything I want before the day of the Ludum Dare, I think. So I'm going to write about sound effects and music for games, trying to display some links and solutions for people who aren't really sound oriented but need to get a quick sound for a game. I'll

Make a Game - "Avoiding Game"

2011-11-14T09:02:00.000-08:00

Make a Game Series! So let's talk about our game. I've put it up on Google Code. You're gonna need a subversion client like Tortoise to download the files. But you can browse the sources code in the web. If you wanna run the project, you're gonna to import them on Eclipse and fix up some folder problems that will. It's basically properties => Java Build and changing the folders of some Jar files

Make a Game - libGDX architecture

2011-11-14T08:21:00.000-08:00

Make a game Series I'm gonna start talking about the basic of libGDX architecture, so you can understand how to program in it better. The tutorials and explanations are a little bit fragmented, so I'll try to unite what you need to know here. First off, if you don't know Java or Object Orientation, you should at least read something about objects and classes: About abstraction, classes and

Make A Game - Graphics

2011-11-13T09:45:00.000-08:00

Make a Game Series! So, we're going to focus on 2D graphics now, with a special focus on sprites. I'm going to throw in some really basic tips, now. Choosing your program Which program should I use to sprite? Well, I'm the kind of guy that likes free solutions and doesn't like installing software all that much. So I my solution is basically: Use microsoft paint Add transparency with pixlr Or if

Make a Game - Concept and Scope

2011-11-13T05:40:00.000-08:00

Make a Game Series! First up, we have to choose which kind of game you want to make. Well, I'm going to make an avoiding game. We have a screen where enemies keeping popping up and moving around and you use the mouse to move yourself and escape the enemies while trying to collect prizes. The basic engine could be written in less than a day, easily. Afterwards, you would only need to draw some

Make a Game - Beginning!

2011-11-11T17:00:00.000-08:00

The other articles of Make a Game: Concept and Scope 2D Graphics - Pixel Art libGDX Architecture, Drawing and Input Our Avoiding Game Architecture Sound Effects and Music Publishing ________________________________________________________ This is the Make a Game series, in which I'll go through the entire process of making a game. My engine of choice will be the libGDX. This is me preparing

Ludum Dare and Make A Game series!

2011-11-10T17:26:00.000-08:00

What is Ludum Dare? Ludum Dare is an indie game competition. The rules are simple: make a game, by yourself, within 48 hours, with a given theme! The prize: a great experience! Well, yes, there are no cash or other types of prizes, except for your own game. And the knowledge that comes with making it. Ludum Dare: rapid indeed! You can read more about the rules and Ludum Dare heere: The Rules

Integrating Facebook and Twitter in to your Android app

2011-11-07T05:34:00.000-08:00

Today I'll show the way to integrate Facebook and Twitter in to your Android app! Don't know what Android is? Wanna get started? Follow this link: Getting started on Android! So you have a game and you have that one great idea to integrate in to the social networks that will really launch it up and it'll be great for marketing? Or maybe a new gameplay mechanic that uses those? Tell me about

Getting started developing for Android

2011-11-05T11:48:00.000-07:00

So, one day you woke up and decided "I wanna program for Android!", that's actually pretty smart. The mobile market is growing and although some people state the android market in particular is bad (that's an subject for later, though ), I still believe it's a good idea. Don't know what Android is? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_(operating_system) Wikipedia is your best friend! I have

Legend of Heroes Trails in the Sky Review & Analysis

2011-11-02T15:36:00.000-07:00

So I'm going to review and analyze the game, trying to point out relevant points about the design of the game. Legend of Heroes is an JRPG(Japanese RPG) series, that has been growing lately in it's home country. So this one game(Legend of Heroes Trails in the Sky, for the PSP) got a great translation from Xseed and got a small presence in the west. I'm around 20 hours in to the game, and I have

Analyzing Games

2011-11-01T20:07:00.000-07:00

One thing a game designer/programmer should always do is analyze other games. This should probably be obvious to you already, but I`ll write some stuff about it. Most of the time we only analyze a game after playing it, through memory. That is all good and nice when you're comparing your favorite games to see which you find best, but a game designer needs to take a different approach: he must

The game you wanna play is the game you should make!

2011-10-31T19:28:00.000-07:00

What I mean to say is, if you're an indie game designer, you should design the game experience you enjoy! Design games in your favorite style or games you really wish you could play! Does that mean it'll be extremely popular? Maybe. If you like something really mainstream, like first person shooters or something, then yes! But if you like rabbit political fighting games you probably won't get a

HOW to be a Game Programmer?

2011-10-31T09:05:00.000-07:00

I'm gonna start with something pretty beginner-oriented and not too specific. So you wanna be a game programmer? Do you already program? Have you ever programmed for games? The main advice is to not be concerned about what you get and what you don't get, even if you're a total beginner, you just have to keep on trying things, messing around, see how they work. You don't need to understand an