Wednesday, June 5, 2013

8-Bit Dimension Beta 2

The download for the new version can be found here.

Summer is here. I'm taking two classes, and working on two games, so although progress may be slow, it's coming! Today, contrary to what I thought would be an evening of sleeping after a very, very long 12 hour day I cranked out the last little bit of code to put 8-Bit Dimension into Beta 2.

There aren't many new features that will be added to the game outside of polish at this point, so test to your hearts content! All of the items have been fully implemented, tested, and debugged. In addition, I put in the beginnings of code to allow roaming enemies, but have kept the feature out of sight for this release as it doesn't add anything to the game in it's current state.

Here is the change log to  Beta 2:

- Added three new items to affect game play.
- The orange item will grant you power over the mighty forces of magic to blast away any obstacles in your path. By pressing the Right Control button, you will discharge a magical attack that will destroy any blocks it comes in contact with. Do note, that if you are also under the effects of the sticky item, firing the magic shot will immediately launch any spells you are holding.
- The black item will open up a portal to the next stage. By attempting to leave the stage through the now opened door on the right side of the stage, you will be warped to the next level, losing any power ups you currently have. Note that this item may be hard to see against the black background. Keep your eyes peeled!
- The purple item will grant the player one extra life. Please note that the player cannot have more than 6 lives at any point in time.
- Fixed a number of bugs regarding the yellow item.
- Minor game play adjustments.

Next up, final release! When's it due? I don't know, but I can safely say before summer ends.With the release, I hope to have the roaming enemy system completed, as well as perhaps the addition of sound and some more levels to extend game play. There's so much more I could add to this game to help polish and clean it up, but at this point my major concern is to release the game and focus my efforts on completing "Project Zombie" for a September release. As usual, please report any bugs you find with the game. I've tested it extensively to make sure I have a clean launch, but these things are rarely apparent. Have fun, and let me know what you think!

Sunday, June 2, 2013

Advent Games

It's June. School's already started back up and I decided to be crazy enough to cram Physics and Calc II into a summer I'm already booked to develop three games.

Yes, three games. Let's start from the beginning.

As you know, I'm knee deep in development on 8-Bit Dimension. I'm happy to say that I'm almost done with Beta phase 2. In my current build I've got all the items implemented. Cleaned up a few things and the code, and I'm in the process of putting in the beginnings of roaming enemies. I'm hoping to post that up sometime before the end of the month, but the work I put into that is solely reliant on my other two, more important projects.

My second project is the previously announced "Project Zombie". While I don't have any more information to share about it at this time, I will say that progress is being made and it's currently still on schedule for a fall release. I will, however, take this time to talk to you about Advent Games. Advent Games is the name of a brand new Video Game studio that I am heading. With a focus on honesty, integrity, and quality, the three of us who formed Advent Games want to make a company that's founded on the things that we as gamers and human beings value most. Evil DLC? Money Grubbing tactics such as Whaling? Incomplete, bug ridden messes of games? We, as a company will be doing everything possible to stay away from the things we feel weakens the gaming industry as a whole. By sticking to our adamant desire to remain indie, we won't be getting involved in the producer side of the industry that we feel often forgets the true purpose of a "game" - to have fun! Furthermore, without the intervention of producers, we can focus on artistic expression and experiment with new ideas that may not have come to pass in an industry clouded with corporate protocol. We're currently fixing up a website, and preparing a separate blog for our new studio which I will be sure to link here once it's complete.

The third and final project which I would like to mention is that Advent Games will be partnering up with fellow indie studio Hybrid Games to make a small RPG on a new, house built engine during the month of July. This RPG will be a free release that anyone will be able to download and play, as well as being open source so that if anyone in the community wants to tinker with our creation, they'll be free to do so. The engine will also be open source and posted online separately for anyone wishing to create their own RPGs, but I will have more information on that as it becomes available. If you'd like to be a part of this project, feel free to e-mail me at admin@advent-games.com. Please note that we only have a very limited number of positions, and you will need to have transportation to the Jersey Shore where we will be doing this work during the month of July. Currently, we're not looking for anyone to work remotely.

So, three projects, two classes, and a hard deadline of September? I think I can do it. I'll be sure to post updates as soon as they become available. My hope is that soon I'll be able to introduce all of you to "Project Zombie" with some of our assets, and perhaps a screenshot or two. Until next time, have a great summer, and stay cool!