Equalize has launched!

 

The game that I have been working on the past 3 months went live today. You can find it at https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/equalize-math/id680194508?ls=1&mt=8

The game is called Equalize Math. Basically, Rainblade Studios did the impossible and made math fun. Check it out and spread the word.

The game is made in Unity, and is out on the Apple App Store. It will be out soon on the Windows and Android platforms as well.

Post-Mortem - Ludum Dare 26

From April 26th to the 28th I did not sleep very much. Instead, I built a game for Ludum Dare.

You can play it here: Minimalistic Minimization

I used Unity3D, and UnityScript.  I built the ship in Maya 2013, and did a little art in Photoshop CS2. Everything else was all from Unity. I also ingested ice cream and caffeine in the form of a Monster.

What went right:

1. I finished! Being my second time, I understood my limits a little better, and knew my time frame.
2. The game is basically complete. It keeps score, it has sound, it has a beginning and an end.
3. The game is fun (according to the comments, and friends, and, of course, myself!).
4. I enjoyed doing it. I am now a super technical person, so doing the programming side of games is a little hard for me, but I love learning how it all goes together. This just gave me another opportunity to do so.
5. Getting the rotation of the ship just right. I love the feel of it, as it barrel-rolls around the debris.
6. And, getting the explosion of the ship just right.
1. The explosion has two parts. One is a particle effect, and the other is a bunch of instantiated rigidbodies.
2. The ship also slowly shrinks, but still allows the player to control it until it finally is destroyed.

What went wrong:

1. It's not built with efficiency in mind. Which is fine for a 48 hr competition, but when it comes to porting it to mobile, this might cause some problems.
2. I also spent a lot of time on an idea that I eventually gave up on. This happened last time as well.
3. Decided at the last minute to try and get the sound working. I have never worked with audio in Unity, so figuring it out on the fly was almost a disaster.
4. I did not have very much time for art, though seeing as the theme was "Minimalism", I was not as worried about it.
5. When it came to submitting, I reallized an hour after the fact that my Mac app was not linked correctly. Who knows how many people tried to play it and couldn't. (Probably no one, since I submitted an hour or so early, but still.)
6. Staying up all night does not work. I stayed up until 5 am, and then slept until 2 pm. Then, it still took me awhile to get back into the game to finish it.

Takeaway:

I love Unity. The forums, the answers, the documentation. It just makes sense.

I think the reason I enjoy these game jams is the camaraderie I feel with the other devs. Watching my twitter feed blow up with images and funny quips about experiences, pleas for help and profanities as something goes horribly wrong, and the ALL CAP tweets of joy really makes me feel like a part of some huge force. The fact that I can ask a question and not be laughed at, but get a genuine and thoughtful response, is the number one reason I participate. The community. We are indie, but not independent in the sense of being alone. We are all together.

Also, I enjoy making games.

Please, let me know what you think of the game. I would love your feedback.

Thanks!

Post-Mortem - Ludum Dare 25

Better late than never I suppose...

I participated in the Ludum Dare for the first time. Check out the site here: http://www.ludumdare.com/compo/

And my entry is here: You are the Asteroid!

I did the competition, so I had 48 hrs to create a working game. The theme was "You are the Villain".

What went right:

• I FINISHED!!!. I was able to upload a playable game. That was awesome. My first ever.

• The effects. I enjoyed the imagery of my game. Going for over-the-top fx was fun. Maybe could have been pushed a little bit more.

• Coding - I brushed up on my unity scripting abilities, and had a blast doing it.

• The community - I really enjoyed the event, and following along with others as we all participated. It was extremely fun seeing all the entries.

What went wrong:

• I think the biggest thing that affected my performance was the fact that I started out with no direction. Halfway through I changed what I was going to do, and didn't even have a one-sheet for the design or purpose.

• Controls - Didn't get a lot of time to test them. They worked, but it seems many people found them confusing.

• No sound. Submitted at the last second, and had no time for even placeholder sound.

Overall, I had a great time. Pushed myself, as I am an animator, and never really did a whole game before, so this was intense. I learned a lot, and I am excited to continue participating in the Indie community. I love it here.

I would also like to thank everyone who commented and helped out. Once again, a great community. You all rock.

Game Development update

State of the game:

So far, the game is very playable, though there are quite a few elements missing or broken.

We have multiple enemy types, multiple weapons, multiple levels. We are building an upgrade system, as well as another enemy type. The first boss is almost complete, and the others only need a few tweaks.

We need sound.

The art is looking nice, though not sure what to do for textures. We are trying to differentiate the enemy types, as some of them look very similar. However, the weapon textures are looking awesome.

For example:

This was done by Corey Pullman. Very talented student at Utah Valley University.

The game is around 85% done. Trying to push hard the next week. We are trying to get cutscenes, the tutorial, and special effects done, as well as the level designs for the final two stages.

Stay tuned!

GUI and App Icon

Here we have our in game GUI, followed by a concept of the app icon.

Indie Game Night - November 15th 2012

This was a fun night. There was a presentation by Tom Beatty about Flash and Stage 3D. Very interesting stuff in the world of Flash. This was followed by a relaxed mingling of indie devs showing off games. I played a few, and they were very well done. Though unfortunately I did not write anything down, so I have no idea what the games were called or who made them. :(

However, we did take the opportunity to show off SPACE Episode 1: The Old Man and the Escape. I think people had a fantastic reaction to it, better than I hoped. Most played through a few levels, and seemed to adapt to the controls with ease. This was wonderful, and really drove home the point that we are making a game that people will enjoy. The best part was the fact that everyone related it to Smash TV, which was a direct inspiration source. Smash TV is one of my all-time favorite games, and we actually began by making an almost direct port. But, we are on a slightly different path that adds some more entertainment to the game, justified by the favorable reactions that SPACE Episode 1 received.

I would like to thank the University of Utah, their EAE (Electronic Arts & Engineering) department, and Greg Squire for putting this night together. It was fun, and I can't wait for the next one.

Update-

Here are some other write-ups of the event:

http://monkey-time.blogspot.com/2012/11/utah-indie-games-night-november-2012.html
http://rampantgames.com/blog/?p=5179

Game Changer

Been awhile.

We have been busy. The game is progressing. Some changes:

Thanks to some 3D software, we are now making this game 3D. A lot easier for us based on our skill sets.

We submitted to the Independent Games Festival!

We hope to finish this game someday. Ha ha ha. We grossly underestimated the amount of work that we had left, but things are getting done, and the game is fun.