Blog Posts from "the spark of imagination" - Gameriot.com

Making the Game: Beta Release

no.spam@gameriot.com (kjado) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 13:52:33 -0400

If you've been following the blog at all, there's a good chance you know about the mini-game I've been working on. And, there's probably a good chance many people lost some interest after the multi-week gaps in posts recently. Looking back I probably should have made an effort to stay consistent with it, but I honestly wasn't sure how many people would even be interested in listening to me ramble on about fixing bugs and trying to balance some seemingly simple game. I'm back today to correct that mistake.

Primal Defense is finally at a point where I feel comfortable publicly releasing it, and can be found over at WoWInterface (link). I went through a big list of fixes and additions this weekend to try to get it to a decent level for release today, and I hope it lives up to the expectations of those who were eagerly awaiting it.

I am calling this a beta release because, even though it doesn't look half bad at the moment, there are still a large handful of things I would like to add or change aesthetically. While the game itself may work, it definitely doesn't have the polish of a finished product, and I would like to get back to it and make it really shine. How else are we going to top Peggle? Maybe that's just wishful thinking, but it would certainly make me a happy camper!

For those interested in the development side of the game, I must admit that the code is a bit sloppy to say the least. I will be going back at some point before a full release to rework it, and quite possibly rewrite a good chunk of it to make it more consistent and understandable. I am definitely not done with it, as there are still programming-related topics left that I would like to talk about, but I don't feel that my approaches for some of them in the game were necessarily the best they could be.

As per usual, any comments or suggestions about the game would be great to hear, and I will be continuing to work on it to make it a truly enjoyable game.

Making the Game: Playtesting and Balance

no.spam@gameriot.com (kjado) — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 05:46:03 -0400

After a bit of a hiatus, Making the Game is back! Primal Defense is in a very rough alpha stage, but the game elements are working together and it is playable, though not necessarily challenging yet. Today we'll take a look at some of the components of the game, and examine ways we can tweak them and iron out some of the problematic parts.

At this point, the game essentially works. "Works", maybe. Bad guys make their way through the path, defensive towers blow them away with their various abilities, and resources are earned to purchase upgrades along the way. While that's all great and a step in the right direction, there's no real variation in enemies from level-to-level, some of the towers feel awkward and weak, and there isn't a clear need to upgrade much late-game. There's definitely a common theme with all of these issues, and it all comes down to everyone's favorite discussion: Balance.

Balance is tricky, and depending on the game almost certainly more difficult that many would give it credit, though I'm not here to talk about balance in WoW (perhaps some other time). Primal Defense and other tower-defense games are very simple on the surface, how hard could balancing it be, right? In order to begin analyzing the situation, let's take a look at all of the game elements we're dealing with.

Three fairly simple elements to the game, but it looks like there are a handful of issues that need to be taken care of in order to achieve some sort of balance and, hopefully, fun. The largest hurdle at this point is level progression, and while the other elements are important, they should fall into place more easily with the enemies in place. In this post I've outlined most of what is happening with the current state of the game, and I'd definitely appreciate any input as far as what everyone thinks about it so far, and especially any thoughts regarding balance or gameplay issues.

In addition, if anyone is interested in helping tweak and test the game, toss me a PM. You don't have to have any programming experience or do anything extensive, though I'd probably suggest you at least be interested in providing some feedback as I'm sure it isn't challenging enough yet to warrant too much of your time if you are expecting something fun!

To wrap things up, and since I know everyone likes pictures, here's a screenshot of the game in action so far:

Shooting down some annoying Alliance boats...

Making the Game: Script Handlers and Objects

no.spam@gameriot.com (kjado) — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 21:10:20 -0400

This time on Making the Game, I'll be talking about some of the things occurring behind the scenes of our game-in-progress. Script handlers for various frame elements allow us to add behavior to them, and objects provide a conceptual middle-ground for us to describe the entities in our game.

While those two topics served as a bit of a foundation for our game programming techniques, next time I talk about programming I'll go into some more detail regarding the implementation of Primal Defense itself. Hopefully this was informational, and I apologize for not having any new screenshots to share =P

Making the Game: Progress Update, Interface Changes

no.spam@gameriot.com (kjado) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:21:36 -0400

In today's Making the Game entry, I'll be giving an update on current development progress, and talking a bit about some changes and additions to the game interface.

The source for the game is rough at best right now, so until I can clean it up a bit I will have to delay posting an update to WoWInterface. For those interested in some of the game programming involved, in my next post I will cover a handful of things from the game itself, and try to include a bit of code as well.

Most of the basic game elements are present already, and I am content with most of them. Next up on my list of things to do is to flesh out some more tower abilities (right now all they really know how to do is shoot their main attack), and find or make some decent images to use for the enemies. Toggle-able health bars might be a good thing, too.

I'll keep this post short and to-the-point, and next time I will go into some detail regarding the programming side of development. Thanks for all of the interest and comments so far, and hopefully soon we'll have yet another shiny thing to distract us during raid time.

Making the Game: Building the Interface

no.spam@gameriot.com (kjado) — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 01:37:37 -0400

In this Making the Game entry, I will be covering the first major step in creating our tower defense game: the interface. Once the interface for the addon is mostly complete, we will have a solid foundation with which we can use to easily implement the backend functionality and begin to give life to the game elements.

With our interface now mostly in working order, the next step is to code some of the game objects that we'll be using, such as the towers, enemies, and projectiles. Hopefully I'll get more work in this week so there can be a rough *working* implementation soon!

Making the Game: An Introduction to the AddOn Environment

no.spam@gameriot.com (kjado) — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 03:31:50 -0400

For this Making the Game entry I will be giving an introduction to the addon programming environment, and taking a look at the features that we will be taking advantage of to build our mini-game inside of World of Warcraft. Also, I'm looking for an artist! More info at the end of the post.

Now that we have a feel for how the addon system works and know how to use it, the next step is to start building some of the visual elements that we'll need for the game. This includes the layout of the game screen as well as some artwork for various objects in the game.

Speaking of art, I'm pretty terrible at it now. I like to think that I used to be good at it years back when I used to draw and paint a lot, but anymore I just don't. So... I'd like to put a call out to any artists who might be interested in helping out with some images for the game. It will be a labor of love (read: unpaid), but you will have my eternal gratitude and I will be sure to include your name/email/website/whatever with the game as well as wherever it ends up hosted at. I don't need top-notch professional art, but something simple with a fun, cartoony feel to it. Images that will be needed are: background map, object sprites (towers, enemies), and possibly a title logo. I'm pretty flexible at this point as to how I want things to look, so if you are interested but have a certain style please let me know anyways. If you are interested in helping out, please send me a PM here on GameRiot, and if you have a portfolio or art samples online that you would like to show off, include links to those as well!

Making the Game: Design and Technical Foundations

no.spam@gameriot.com (kjado) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 14:42:43 -0400

In this second post of the Making the Game series, I will present a brief design outline for the game we will be working on, as well as cover a few of the basic technical concepts of addon programming to get us started.

Next post I will talk about what we need to begin building our game framework, and some of the important pieces the WoW environment provides to us already to make our lives a bit easier. 'til then!

Making the Game: Creative Foundations

no.spam@gameriot.com (kjado) — Wed, 27 May 2009 18:32:30 -0400

This is the first post in my Making the Game series, throughout which I will be highlighting some of the important steps involved with creating a mini-game in the World of Warcraft environment. To get the ideas flowing and hopefully some bit of direction, I'll be writing about some of the creative design topics that we need to cover before we begin doing the dirty work of coding everything.

While we may not have anything set in stone (or code) so far, everything starts with an idea, and I believe that is what we have now. With this comes direction, and on this course we are set for some exciting things ahead. For the next post, expect a design document to outline most of the game, and I'll also cover some of the general technical aspects of what we'll need to do to start working on the framework for our game.

AddOn Workshop: WoW as a Mini-game Development Platform

no.spam@gameriot.com (kjado) — Mon, 25 May 2009 12:17:35 -0400

For this edition of AddOn Workshop I've decided not to focus on a particular mod, but instead discuss some ideas I've been tossing around regarding the development of mini-games within World of Warcraft.

Using this post as a starting point, I'll be working through the steps post-by-post to create what I hope will be a fun, if not necessarily inventive and creative mini-game within WoW. There's really no question as to whether or not it can be done (there's at least a handful of official versions of mini-game ports already), but in each post I'll highlight some of the creative and technical processes involved to successfully complete the mini-game. Hopefully as a side-effect of this more WoW players and future game developers will be inspired to get started with games of their own!

At this point I don't have any concrete ideas for what type of mini-game I'd like to work on, so if you have any suggestions toss them up in the comments or shoot me a PM.

AddOn Workshop: EchoPort (Warlock)

no.spam@gameriot.com (kjado) — Sun, 17 May 2009 17:17:32 -0400

Periodically I'll be highlighting mods that either I am currently working on, or others that have impressed me. For this first one I'll be talking about my most recent addon, EchoPort.

As with any mod, I would love to hear any comments or suggestions for how to make this better. However, I am also interested in what other kinds of addons are possible using this sort of technique. It could be that this isn't even something new, but in the couple years I've been tinkering around with things I haven't seen it done before. If it is new, then I think there will be some interesting possibilities for what can be accomplished in the near future. I had the random idea of using a pair of addons running in parallel with each other - via teammates in an arena, for example - to establish triangulation data for a target. I don't know how useful something like that would even be, but the fact that it may be possible when it is intended not to be is exciting! (Target distance functions were originally available early in the game's development, but were removed.)

AddOns: Supplements or Simply Crutches?

no.spam@gameriot.com (kjado) — Thu, 14 May 2009 15:24:10 -0400

I debate this topic back-and-forth with myself all the time, and I'd really like to see how other players feel about addons and their presence in WoW.

What I am going to focus on are the addons that fall within that second category, the Game-Related Data Presenation mods. There's really no denying that some of these mods are genuinely helpful when it comes to competitive play on the live realms, but is it more akin to doping in sports to gain an unfair advantage over anyone who doesn't? Can pure "skill" combined with the default UI overcome any kind of hindrance a player would have by not using them? Or, should some of the elements of these addons actually be integrated into Blizzard's default UI, ala arena frames?

So far, the WoW tournaments at eSport events such as the former WSVG and current ESL and MLG stops have explicitly banned the use of any user-created addons. This certainly places all of the competitors on equal ground when it comes to the informational resources they have available to them during play, and now that a default focus frame/focus cast bar and minimal arena frames have been added to the UI, competitors easily have enough information visible to them during matches. Yet, most players (and it seems a good number of "pro" players as well) still use at least a good handful of mods when they play on live realms. I almost wonder if there is just a general consensus (especially lately) that live realms don't matter, so as long as you aren't trying to qualify for a LAN event, you might as well use whatever mods you want to.

On the flip-side, are there any players (LAN players, especially) that feel they can actually perform better without mods? I have tried on numerous occasions to ease back into playing with the default UI (even though I know I will never qualify or make it to a LAN event), but after playing with a plethora of addons over the years it is really a tough task. Also, from a developer standpoint, I enjoy what they've done with (mostly) opening up the UI system for user-created additions.

I find it hard to believe many competitive players would have issues with the current tournament rules regarding addons, but how do people feel about addons, specifically PEMs, used on live realms?

The First Post: An Intro & The Role of Lore

no.spam@gameriot.com (kjado) — Tue, 12 May 2009 02:10:19 -0400

Long-time lurker, first-time poster. That seems to be the categorization thrown around a lot with these sorts of things, but it's an accurate statement for me at least. However, I'm not going to use this space to belittle or slander anyone (much to the chagrin of most of the reader-base, I'm sure), or even whine and moan about World of Warcraft or the misadventures of life. What I am going to do is talk about the aspects of games that draw us to them and intrigue us: strategy, community, and of course - fun - among other things.

Ah, lore. You know, that stuff no one pays attention to, except for the RP nerds. ...right? Wrong. (Well, I hope; I'll probably earn that title just by writing this, but I'll gladly take it.)

If you ask most players why they play WoW, lore probably isn't near the top of the list of responses. Some might play casually with a group of friends, or for the community aspect, while other competitive players might enjoy going head-to-head with others, seeing who can come out on top in either PvE or PvP. These are both fine and valid reasons, but what lives deep down at the heart of the game? Especially WoW, with it being an MMORPG? The lore.

WoW is chock-full of constantly evolving storylines which manifest themselves in the form of quests and dungeons. Sure, we could just have a countless number of mindless kill-quests, but I'd much rather come to the aid of Tirion Fordring and the Argent Crusade and defend the camp from an assault, or go slay and purify the souls of their fallen champions. And why the hell are we in Ulduar, anyway? Oh, that's right; good job, Brann Bronzebeard! Always letting his curiosity get the best of him. The factions of Azeroth decline to get involved, so we (the heroes, after all!) get to go clean up the mess.

What would this be like without lore? "LootPiñataBoss5 in DarkScaryDungeon7 drops FlamingSwordOfFireAndDeath, let's go kill it" (though I am very certain that is the mindset of a lot of raiders now, and perhaps always). How is that enjoyable? I won't deny the rush and excitement about getting new gear is great, but it shouldn't be the end in itself, rather a precursor of future adventures. Heroes seeking to put an end to the Lich King's terrible reign will be tested against insurmountable odds, and even after that there will more quests and obstacles to overcome due to the continuing nature of the game.

Before I scare everyone away from my blog forever, I will admit that I am no loremaster (in-game or out). I haven't read all of the novels, or gone through all of the snippets of stories floating around the web. However, the lore is something I find an interesting and altogether important part of the game, so I'm simply trying to (slowly) sway people away from the notion that the lore is solely for the RP crowd.

Other games have lore, too, though it may not be called lore (or even be directly presented to the players). At the core of every game lies a story, a scenario, a purpose. WoW is a dynamic and forever-changing game, which is why the lore is more at the forefront compared to other games, but even simple traditional games such as chess, checkers, go, etc. have stories attached to them, most thought to be of a militaristic origin. It's a real long shot to classify this as lore, but the premise is still there, whether or not the meaning is clear after all this time.

So, the next time you are eager and ready to respond to someone in-game with "lol lore", take a moment and think about what the game would be like without it. I'm not making you drop everything to go read a history book (though if you want to, go right ahead), but just realize that WoW would be a hell of a lot more droll without the lore. I don't know about you, but I'm here to have fun.

(I didn't mention lore's impact on PvP, but for those who only play WoW for that aspect, I hear there's something called StarCraft 2 coming out next year.)