New Artwork - Santa & Background

Happy Monday Everyone!

Here is some new art to distract you from work:

Santa Base Sprite - Green

New Background Artwork

Artwork by Jytarus Barefield

Santa Concept Art

Hi Guys!

Here is our very first iteration of concept art for the big man himself! Let me know what you think!

Artwork: 

Jytarus Barefield

Don't forget to subscribe and like! :)
Alan.

Coding Vlog 02: Parallax & Game Loop - Game Development

Hi Again!

Here is the second installment to my Lua coding video blog. The game is called Santa Flight: Christmas delivery, and will be available on Android before Christmas. If you like it, please share! There also more where that came from! :)

Enjoy!

Coding Vlog 01: Asset Loading and Setup - Game Development

Hi Folks!

Here is my first coding vlog! It runs through the structure of the game, up to displaying assets.
Please give it a like or a share, and let me know what you think!

Enjoy! :)

My Goals in Making a Game For Less Than €100 - Game Development

Good Afternoon!

For this instalment, I'm going to talk a little bit about what my goals are in making a Christmas game.

So, I was sitting at home thinking about doing my coding vlog, got nervous, and then decided you all needed one more solid blast of text before you were ready to witness what I have in store. Don’t worry though; the vlog is definitely on the way.

Okay, let me start by saying that I have no money. Yes, I work a full time job, but every spare cent from that goes into paying off my hefty student loan. Doing my masters enabled me to discover two things; the first is that I love making games more than playing them, and the second is that I get enjoyment out of making a game even without any guarantee of return. It’s a one-sided relationship I know, but you never know…maybe all that will soon change. I believe it is very important for me to keep these two facts in my head at all times; that I make games because I love to make games, not because I love to make money.

That said, I have to say I really enjoy the gamble and risk for a very slight chance at success associated with making a game. There is always a voice in the back of my said saying what if…?! It’s that feeling of having your work appreciated by people who have never met you which helps keep the drive and passion alive when everything else seems to want you to stop. I believe that everyone seeks gratification in recognition of an accomplishment at some point in their lives, and I am no exception.

I feel like I'm running the risk of rambling now, so I’ll just put a pin in my philosophical thoughts on the nature of man, bury them deep inside, and never mention them again.

As you may have already guessed then, my first goal in making this game is to enjoy myself, and take pleasure from what I have created. Everything else comes second after that. I have outlined a more specific set of goals however for those of you interested:

• A Blog (check!), Facebook page, Twitter page.
• Artwork done by November.
• Game completed and released by 1^st December.
• My budget should not exceed €100, or about $150 (as most things I am spending money on are paid for in dollars).
• An in-game economy with some simple micro-transactions.
• Mostly non-intrusive, profitable advertisements.
• Social media integration.
• More than 5000 downloads within one month of release.

I realise some (or all) of these goals may not be achievable. For this reason, I'm taking the approach of: do what I can, and if it’s not done in time, then release it next Christmas! By the end of development, I would also like to have source code which I can re-use. For example, if I were to re-skin the game to be set in space, I can tinker with the controls, replace a game mechanic, and I have a new game. That is all dependant on how popular the idea proves to be however, and is very wishful thinking on my behalf.

I hope you all have a better idea now on what I'm trying to achieve here. My choices so far have been simple as they have all followed the following format; if I like it, do it. I like games, I like Christmas, I like dual-mechanics, I like 8-bit music and art, and I own an Android phone. So why not combine them all into one little APK of awesomeness!

Let There Be Music! - Game Development

Hi again everyone!

Big news today...I just acquired music for the game!
I knew I wanted 8-bit audio, and it also had to be Christmas themed. There are a few issues with this; firstly, as much as I love Christmas music, it's very overplayed, and I can imagine it driving me mad on repeat in a game. Secondly, 8-bit music if not done well, can sound cheap and old (as opposed to retro). I also wanted the music to be a little faster than the majority of Christmas music. I came to the conclusion I wanted 8-bit Christmas Techno...that should be easy.....right?

As it turns out, it was easy! After only about an hour of googling, I found EXACTLY what I wanted; 8-bit Christmas Techno! I came across this website: http://rushcoil.bandcamp.com/
After listening to it, I knew it was perfect! So, I emailed Rush Coil himself, who graciously emailed me back, wishing me all the best with the game, and permission to use it as I wished! So that's music sorted then!  Here's a YouTube video for a quick sample:

Any thoughts about it? It's a tough choice trying to pick tracks to use! :)

I'll work on my first technical post whenever I have time, so expect that to come next. I'm also going to post about the process of getting an artist, how much I'm paying etc.. Between these two posts, there should be plenty of good tips for anyone thinking of developing an indie game!

Alan.

One Week In - The Very First Prototype - Game Development

Hello Everyone!

This is my first post on my indie game development adventure, and I'd like to share with you all my progress so far on the "Best Christmas Game Ever"...okay, I admit I quoted myself there.

An introduction first though; my name is Alan Mc Grane. I'm living in Dublin, and working full time. I also make games once I finish up in the day job. I try to get at least 1 hour in the evenings to develop. It can be quite challenging however, as other things get put off in favour of developing.

I am currently one week into development of a new game - Santa Flight: Christmas Delivery. I've wanted to make a Christmas game for a long time, but what the market really doesn't need is another Christmas game. Coming up empty on ideas, I then took a different approach in that I came up with mechanics and game-play first, and then used the Christmas theme to enhance what was already mechanically sound.

I took inspiration from simple games like Timberman, Santa Rider, Feá: Clash of the Avian Minion among others. The mechanics I came up with can be broken down into two parts:

1. Santa avoiding obstacles 
2. Santa delivering gifts

Separately, they would become boring...but together they give rise to hectic, challenging, and addictive game-play. These two mechanics will need to be used equally as one will rely on the other. 

I will do a more in-depth analysis of the mechanics in a later post. I am currently in the process of interviewing artists to get a style for the game, so more about that later also. Without further adieu, here is the very first prototype...enjoy!