Thursday, August 14, 2014

The thing I hate more of making games is.... - Little dev update

The Save/Load system.

I enjoy deeply programming all the systems, making the pieces tie together, (C+ scripts, Playmaker visual scripts, pre-made Asset...)..

But Hell... decide how to save, how to load, what to carry on all the game and what to instantiate when needed, what need to be an abstract system and what to be a physic one...

And the worst is, as I said, you do the programmer job mixing C+, java, Playmaker and pre made assets.

And then Save it altogether. And then repeat all the steps to Load it. In programming there are a lot of mechanical chores, non-creative and ape work that nobody is gonna do for you, so you have to do it anyway.

I'm making the first simple save/load system for Ancient Relics now that has a good core (the Space Chart where you do half of the game play is nearly done), and, I have done so many saving systems to date that is only automatic work, (meanwhile I try to calm the cries of my baby), but is Dull, Dull, Dull, and I just come here to say that, if there is only one thing that I really hate of designing games, scripting or making graphics, is the Damn, Save, Load, System. Gaaaargh!

Playmaker scripting a save/load system

So, I gift you this little game art with the WIP system, Some creativity I had to create to don't bore me to death!


PS: I hope I could work more and update more right now, but I really need a nanny for my little kid!

Sunday, August 3, 2014

Galactic Battlefare Ancient Relics: Recapitulation for losts & founds.

As I introduced GBF:Ancient Relics to IndieDB (a web for promoting indie games, indie developers get the hint!), I wrote them a good introduction to 7Ye and GBF:AR. And as I'm a kind (but brutal and insidious) good man, I'm gonna reproduce it here.
And a bonus Art for you!
Galactic Battlefare Gameart
(try to zoom it... the bigger the better!)
Where to start...
(From the beginning) 
Ten years ago I began to write and sketch a big Space Opera universe; a universe where political, racial and territorial conflict between (and inside) different governments (three very different human factions and more than ten huge alien empires) were deep, with background, with personality, and really interesting to make a Role-playing Rulebook. (A big one). Was a colossal job, so I worked on it every now and then. The years past and I discovered my hobby to make free computer games. (Adventure games in this time). I didn't see any better idea than to port Galactic Battlefare Universe to this games (If you want to now about that, read the developer blog!). Those games were nothing special, apart from the love I put in them. (but was GREAT to make the art for the games, I've been always a fan of pixel art and got a way to express it).
(Recently)
Years past away, finished my career and thought; "Gak, it's time to make something good, something special that I can give to sci-fi lovers like me to remember and make it keep growing". Me and some collaborators decided to start Seven Years Entertainment and begin to work in some commercial games. In the start of the year (2014), we worked hard making our first prototype, Galactic Battlefare: Pangaia. At first it seems ambitious. But wasn't; or better said; Wasn't so much ambitious to compete in its genre (sci-fi Rpg/FPS). The story was good (Damm, 10 years of Background story making), but the game not yet that good. 
We take some steps back, worked on little projects (myself, made some silly android games (One of them is unreleased, Hearts Date Club, but is a good one that will see the light soon or later)....
 (And Now)
Now is time; Some months ago I started programming and making the graphics of this new and shinny GBF: Ancient Relics. From week to week, the concept grow stronger and defined, and now I can proudly announce that is the game I always wanted to do, and moreover, the best first game to commercially distribute showing the Galactic Battlefare Universe.  
And what is GBF: Ancient Relics? 
That's easy. It's a Sci-fi-3d-Retro-Dungeon-Crawler with Complex-Pirates-and-merchants-simulator with Turn-Tactical-Combat. Ahem...
Galactic Battlefare Introduction image

In tabletop roleplay we say one thing: "the game is about the story, or the game is about the place". And this game, is about "the place". And the place are 3 playable subsectors full of dozen of systems (full of more than half-hundred planets) where you will explore, hunt treasures, knew the flora and fauna of terran space and neighbour aliens, trade cargo and resources in a rogue trader way, build a team of charismatic companions and upgrade your ship to 'fend yourselves and fly further and bolder. 
Too much to explain; What I strongly recommend is watching the videos. They're mildly alpha right now, but a lot of things will be here in the final build. In the first video I updated to IndieDB we have the Character Creation in a RPG retro way that affects gameplay, Deep and long dialogs with most of NPCs, the Eye of the Beholder retro kind of movement...
Soon enough, I'll upload the video showing the space charts, where you will plan your navigation and discover all the playable systems, and I really think you're gonna like it. 
I'm not sure right now how I'll update the news of the game, I was using a devblog until now. It's time to think and regroup!
I'll keep making this devblogs here of course, and other kind of post, if you start to know me a bit. It's just I don't know how to update the news in IndieDB exactlly, apart of just "state updates" and some images.
Well, Happy Holidays!