Game Update

This week my game development time was cut into by an unforeseen circumstance. Still we made the best of it by re-vectoring some skills for launching animations.

The skills on character like the Male Wizard and The Female Ice Queen were to specific saying things like “Cast Fireball” or Cast “Ice Storm”. The issue with this is that we need them to animate as a caster no matter what spell they are casting. Then we add on different spell particle effects which are launched separately and have their own sounds. Additionally, down the line I would like to add items to the game which would allow players a little more customization. Things that might allow a Knight to cast a Fireball for instance. This means that it needs to launch a generic casting animation for all models casting spells just in case.

We fixed a couple of triggers this way, and did some unit testing to make sure they were working. Even with only 30 minutes there’s a lot that can get done.

Personal Update

As stated above we can’t always predict what’s going to happen and sometimes emergencies come up that take precedence. I have a way forward and hope to figure out the problem soon however. The good thing is that I would rather experience this worker issue now before the game goes public, so that I can practice the skills that will be needed if things really get big and I end up having to hire a lot of people.

Super excited to be focusing on one person again. It can be scary but it’s nice to have that focus right now. Of course my kids will always be my priority but it’s been a long time since I’ve had the support that I’m getting now. I expect it will pay dividends in a lot of ways.

Answered Questions for an Aspiring Game Developer

6. What is the best video game creation engine?

There is no one "best" video game engine, they will all have different good and bad parts. I use Unity 3D because it's free to sell the games I make with it. They make their money off of selling assets and if I sell a certain number of units I will owe them money. Unreal had to compete and so now it's free too. Most of the triple A industry focuses on that or adds their own proprietary stuff on top of it. Some other engines you might look into are RPG Maker, Construct, Game Creator, etc... Keep an eye on Humblebundle for some of their Game Creator bundles which can get you some assets for between $15-$25. I find that making solid art is my weak area which why I purchase it or contract it out for the most part. It's not that I can't do it, it's just that my standards are higher than what my skills can do.