Okay. It’s done. I finally shared some code. It’s substandard. It’s incomplete. It doesn’t reflect what I want the game to be.
But I did it!
I was under some pressure, from myself, but I saw an opportunity and I could not bring myself to pass it up.
I’ve been working on Hell Breaks Loose and then I saw that TFGS had added game #665 to their database… which meant the next game on the site HAD TO BE MINE. It just… had to… you know?
And so it is.
HBL! is game #666 over there, and I find myself tickled pink by that notion. How could one ask for better advertising?
So now I’m actively working on it again, because it MUST meet some standards. Really, it must. …and it will… as soon as I can make it so.
—
Cam
I want to post a public apology to someone who inspired me.
An author who trusted me started telling me about a story idea she had, and I liked it… a lot. She was still working out a number of plot elements and was looking for feedback and creative support.
I liked the idea. It inspired me greatly.
The more we talked the more inspired I was to make a game based on it. I commandeered her idea and took it to be something outside her control. I had been toying with such an idea for years, but never really had a good spin on a tired genre until then.
She stopped replying to me but I continued working on it.
I kept trying to get her to work with me more about her story so I’d have more source material. In my head it was more like fanfic (a creation intended to show respect and admiration for someone’s work, to help it become greater), but she saw it as something else.
She was respectful, and she told me what was on her mind. I really appreciate the strength it took her to tell me how she felt, and I applaud her for it.
She didn’t ask for this apology. I’m offering it freely and publicly.
I am sorry I was taking what was yours and changing it without your permission. I hope you will forgive me and choose to work with me again sometime. Your idea struck me as unique and worthwhile, obviously. Many of your ideas are very worth my time and attention. I will try to prevent this from happening again. Please keep me in mind for future brainstorming.
I went public with this because I felt it an appropriate way to show my sincerity.
– Cameron
This is a rant. You’re welcome to ignore this if you’d like. I discuss quality, money, and my personal perspectives. Not really related to any of my projects, but something I felt I needed to vent. For me, it is important. Thank you.
I have SO MANY ideas. I have stories. I have games. I have plots. I have dialogue. I have images. I have shapes. I have styles. There are just so many things I’d love to share… but I have trouble getting it all out onto media where it can be shared.
I’m scattered. I admit it.
But… I am FAR from being out of ideas!
I received a private note about how I might want to just admit if I’m out of ideas and stop the blog… and I laughed.
The problem isn’t a lack of ideas, but the complete opposite. Too much flow at once and they kinda jam up the works. A lot.
Recently, I sat down with someone and brain-dumped several ideas I had and they seemed very receptive to them… and quite interested in two of them. There’s a chance of collaboration or possible funding to help make my ideas more than just flitting bursts of inspiration bouncing maniacally through my head.
I am a storyteller… I like to provide experiences… it is what I do. It is part of who I am.
So… to any who might be wondering… I have not given up on any of my projects, I just shuffle them around a bit. I I really want to get some of my material available. I have so many (creative and non-creative) things going on that I don’t post to the blog… but believe me when I say they’re there… those many things are in the process of being sorted out and expressed in a meaningful way, able to be shared with the world.
One of my little games is due to see the light of day soon… incomplete… but it shall see the light of day. And I’ll need help with artwork… either commissioning it or collaborating… but that’s one of the details which can wait until later on.
Hopefully, this will show that I’m not retiring any time soon. I’m also thinking… and planning… and trying to decide what to work on next. But, please bear in mind… this is hobby… and I have a very full life away from this.
Thank you for bearing with me. My dreams will be realized… it’s just a matter of when.
I have a small project that I am working on while I work on everything else. The small one is staying small because all my bigger ideas are being kept to the bigger projects. Hah!
So I’ve been keeping busy, of course. It looks like my life drama is starting to come under control, so I’ve been working on my writing and coding again.
One of my major (under the radar) projects is wrapping up. This will free me to do other stuff.
Mini-rant!
I understand posting alpha versions. But I keep seeing people post things which would rate (in my mind) as VERY-PRE-alpha. I mean if I’m going slow and I can finish it in less than a minute, then I don’t think it qualifies as ready for public dissemination. If you want people to test your VERY-early-version code, then post a request in the forums asking for volunteers. If you want to gauge opinions for a concept, again, post it to the forums! I have done both and had excellent results! It really frustrates me when it takes me longer to download a game than it takes to play it!
Rant over. For now.
Peace…
– Cam
Hey all… you’re quiet, but I can hear you breathing… *smirk*
I took some time off to just focus on playing some games (so many have come out in the last month!) while trying to study and plan details on several of my projects. It’s the details that get to me. …and it’s the fine details which make me want to jump to a faster train.
I think that’s the thing I enjoy about creating: making the big changes, setting the primary course.
In the beginning, everything is moving so quick and things are malleable… and I am able to shape and re-shape things as my heart desires.
But once major implementation is complete, things tend to slow down as I get to finer details. It’s the slow period which… well… bores me. And that lends me toward jumping to another project.
I think that’s part of why I like to create new projects… the speed… the big changes… the control… shifting the direction… setting the course… *deep breath* Yeah.
It makes sense that since I am inclined to make changes, I am unable to do things “small”. I keep trying to do small projects. …and then I get inspired and >BOOM!< it becomes huge.
Someone asked (challenged?) me to do something small and simple… and it was okay. It wasn’t a “game” per se, but more of a simulator which let the player advance or negate a transformation sequence in phases. It was VERY SIMPLE. Very basic. No graphics, no story, no background — just a very simple scale of progression. Easy enough.
I was nearly finished (~45 minutes) when I was struck by inspiration… *heavy, dramatic sigh* …yeah… and then I was coming up with a whole background with backstories, environments, and options for player choices… and… yeah. It was now a huge undertaking.
I couldn’t (can’t?) bring myself to cut any of the major “features”. It is becoming a big production… but all my goals are well within sight! I’ve got myself convinced that I can make this (most of it, at least) into something playable and fun. …and all within a reasonable scale and timetable.
Is it really?
I don’t know.
I’m aware I can delude myself and adjust my perspective to a scale which makes it all seem possible.
I’m reminded of a scene in a movie: Car exploded leaving our hero and his partner alone on a deserted road. “We’ll just head to the coast and make our way… blah-blah.” “Do you have any idea how FAR IT IS to the coast from here?” *blink-blink* “Pish! It’s only about an inch… on those global maps… no problem.”
Scale and perspective.
Many of the games I’ve been playing are incomplete. (Such is the indie dev scene.) …and when I run into incomplete territory, it’s easy for me to say “but how hard would it be to add this? Really? I could do that in 30 minutes!”
Very easy to say. Not so easy to do. Knowing me, I’d start work on it, get inspired, and then begin work on a whole new variant… or a sequel… or… something.
Bah.
Am I able to do “small”? I really don’t know. I know that it’s not as much fun. …and fun is why I do this.
I guess it’s like asking an addict “could you stop?” and they invariably respond “I could… if I wanted to”.
Do I really want to keep it small? Am I an ‘addict’?
Hm.
Jus’ sayin’…
– Cameron
Not much new to report. Still working on things outlined in my last post.
Yep.
Uh-huh.
World keeps on spinnin’…
Yeah.
…and I started brainstorming another project.
I really don’t plan on devoting much time to it. It’s just that I’ve seen a few games released (still in beta, of course) which are trying to do TG/TF simulators… and I keep thinking how much better they could be. And being the dangerously creative type which I happen to be, I started working on an outline for such a game.
I’ve got a storyline. I’ve got a starting point. I’ve got a reasonable play-flow. And I’ve got good-ends planned, and the play-flow can get you there with some planning and a little luck.
I don’t have artwork. I don’t have a good name, yet… but I’m working with someone on that. *grin* And I don’t have a lot of free time. I realize this. Heck, my studies in Java might even get to help me out with this… or I’ll throw it into Twine / Sugarcube and see what comes of it. (Twine / Sugarcube are awesome when it comes to rapid development of an idea to game / story.)
So that’s that. Work keeps me busy through a good chunk of my day. Last week, work actually kept me occupied and focus on the job for the majority of each day. I’m not sure if I’m happy about that, or not. *grin* (Busy days pass faster, but don’t allow me time to work on my personal projects… which I shouldn’t be doing at work anyway.)
Mixed feelings.
So not much has changed since my last updated. Hopefully good progress can be made in the near future… on anything.
– Cam
I’ve been “busy” playing games. I don’t think I’m in a non-creative cycle, but rather I’ve been looking and researching… that elusive thing which game devs strive for. I’ve been comparing.
“What is it which inspires me to spend hours on Game1, but only ten minutes on Game2?”
Content is a big factor, of course. That’s not the biggest thing.
I was reading an article saying that one required ingredient in any good game is quality. While I was reading, the argument seemed legit. However, after thought and reflection, I can beg to differ. Poor art / sound / advertising / packaging can be overcome by engaging gameplay and word-of-mouth. On the flip-side, I know people who will not play a game with low-quality art. (When I was a kid, ALL video/computer games had sucky visuals due to hardware limitations. I guess that is why I focus on substance over style.)
I was going to write this about how important quality is for a project, and how I was striving for quality… but the more I think about it, quality isn’t the prime component. Yes, it is very important, but not prime.
This is what is prime for me:
I want to be engaged. I want to feel like my actions have an effect, and I want to see that effect.
The text above is what is prime for me. It’s also important for me to be aware of this. Finding things I don’t like in games are things I should not put in games, even if it adds to the challenge / immersion.
Hell Breaks Loose was going to have a move counter. If you didn’t succeed in a certain number of moves, you lose. I was reading a forum and someone was asking how to best implement a timer for the same type of situation and there was an… intense discussion which bordered on flame-attacks as people addressed their opinions on the matter. Most people [who voiced their opinion] didn’t care for the timer. So, I opted to reverse my intention. If you beat the timer, you get a special reward.
Also, I’m a fan of creating Easter Eggs – little surprises hidden in my work. And, as a writer / GM / storyteller, I enjoy keeping certain machinations from being visible. In my computer games, I have been doing the same thing… and I think I may be on the wrong footing there.
Yes, a good game usually has a good story behind it but you have to write differently for a game as opposed to writing a novel or short story.
I’m learning how to make choices in my games show their effects rather than being sneaky about it.
As a writer, I think sneaky-stuff can be fun. In a game, I need to show something but not give away the whole story in one action.
…and that’s what I’ve learned in the last two weeks. 🙂
Oh yeah, and Java is coming along.
– Cam
Just a note that I updated the dedicated HBL page.
It was last updated 21-Jan-2013. Yep, almost two years since I made significant progress to update that page.
How the time flies!
– Cam
I joined a “creative writing” group. Well, more of a “creativity” group, actually. The members are presented with a topic / inspiration, and it is up to the individuals to present something creative which meets the theme. Some do photography, others bake, someone started a knitting project. I expect I’ll write something as my participation – poetry, a joke, or probably a short story – for most of the themes. And that’s what I did for the first week’s theme; a short story.
As I wrote, I realized it was a part of something bigger. On its own, it was a complete tale, but it was obviously only a small part compared to what it inferred. I’m not posting it here because it doesn’t fit my themes here… and it was, as one person described it, melancholic. (A valid and accurate critique, I believe.)
It showed me that I must create more than what I share. …or maybe that I must know the details behind events. Control issue? Maybe. Maybe it’s because I want to have a ready excuse for when someone asks what was Charlie thinking when he… *shrug*
(Would you believe I even do back stories for different MineCraft worlds? Yep. That’s me. Writing a ‘story’ while I spend two hours ‘draining’ a lake by removing all the water-blocks within, leaving only the remaining terrain… why? Because this instance’s protagonist doesn’t want a big body of water next to his primary build spot. Why? No clue. …yet.)
The reason I bring this up because I am unlocking truths about myself and my writing which both affect my game creation.
Other progresses and decisions made…
- “Hell Breaks Loose!” is coming together in ADRIFT (which has a cross-platform web-player). ADRIFT lends itself well to room-based (and object-based) games, and HBL is very-much that kind of game.
- Super-secret new project has been revealed (not added)… it’s quick and simple and should be done and out by month’s end, if I have my way. (My test code in RAGS for one conversation tree aggravated me, so this is being tested in ADRIFT.) It’s a concept which has been brewing in my head for almost 20 years… it will soon be time to release it!
- Slave Mastered is going to have to be done in Java. (I’m not going to use Flash for this. I think I’m bitter at the lack of cheap / free / open-source options… maybe.)
- Not-so-secret backstory game. (This one was added. I figure I haven’t added anything in a long time, so I’m about due.) Done in Twine / Sugarcube, it’s mostly story. It feeds one of my… compulsions. I was originally crafting toward one primary plot, and then I realized how easy it would be to address multiple back stories.
- Studying Java has begun. Currently, the push is so I can work on getting Slave Mastered to ‘in-progress’ again, but also because Java is nearly ‘universal’ across platforms and devices. …and my employer believes I’ll be able to put it to use at work (which is actually true, by the way). (I don’t code for a living, but I make tools to automate processes for some of the more tedious elements of my job. And since my co-workers use them, too… everybody wins.)
- Game of Slaves — (a/k/a THE GAME)… is going to be multiplayer so I have a LOT of balancing and math to do… It’s more mechanics that it is story, so it requires a lot more work setting rules so they work something close to fairly. Now, because it is a TF game, there’s also a lot of design work to be done, too. Right now, I’m keeping to design and mechanics for this. No coding yet. Since I’m using CoffeeMUD as my engine (it’s written in Java) my burgeoning Java skills will make the coding easier when I’m ready for that stage. With Slave Mastered as the story-focused side of GoS, that will probably see more progress at first.
And I think that should bring everybody up to speed with the games.
TL;DR (Too Long, Didn’t Read): More introspective discoveries. I’m working on several of my bigger projects at the moment. Java studies have started. All of it is building on itself to improve all my projects. (Purposefully, not by chance.)
Thank you for reading.
– Cam
Game of Slaves 