Windows 8 Competitions

May 9, 2013 by gamepopper in Windows Games Ambassador and tagged Competitions, computer, Construct2, Game Maker, Game Maker Studio, gaming, Scirra, technology, Windows 8, windows games, Windows Games Ambassador, Yoyo Games | Leave a comment

So it turns out there isn’t just one, but two Windows 8 Competitions that are running right now.

First there is Scirra’s Construct2 Windows 8 competition (Deadline: Friday June 14th) –https://t.co/x5KFryPiQH

There are prizes for the top SIXTY entries –

“1st: a Windows 8 touch device, a Windows Phone 8 HTC 8X and a Construct 2 Business license

2nd: a Windows 8 touch device and Construct 2 Personal license
3rd: a Windows Phone 8 HTC 8X and Construct 2 Personal license
4th-10th: a Construct 2 Personal license
In addition to the above prizes, the top fifty entries will also receive a $100 voucher that can be redeemed in the Scirra Store! That’s right, there are 50 of these available!”
Also there is YoYo Games’ GameMaker Windows 8 competition (Deadline: Friday June 28th) –http://www.yoyogames.com/promotions/win_big

These have big money prizes!

“Here’s how the prizing breaks down:

$10,000 awarded to best game overall**
$5,000 for 2nd place
The best ’New Game’*** will receive $5,000
$1,000 will be awarded to 5 x 3rd place entries
There are also 50 runners up prizes of $200 plus GameMaker: Studio™ Master Collection (valued at $499)”

Even I’m not too sure which one to enter!

Games Jam Tomorrow

May 3, 2013 by gamepopper in BOOM: Fireworks Defence Unit, Game Project Updates, University Work and tagged BOOM, computer games, game development, Game Maker, Games, Games Jam, gaming, Stafford, Staffordshire University, video games | Leave a comment

Hey everyone!

Just finalised the paperwork for the Games Jam tomorrow. Can’t wait to see how many people turn up and what games will be made!

Also BOOM has its own page on the site, which you can check out here.

BOOM: Fireworks Defence Unit is Online!

April 29, 2013 by gamepopper in BOOM: Fireworks Defence Unit, Game Releases and tagged BOOM, BOOM Fireworks Defence Unit, Construct2, Construct2 Game Jam, Fireworks, game, game development, gaming, HTML5, Indie Game, Indie Game Developer, Lost In Concept, Lyserdigi, Newgrounds, Sam Denvir, submission, Windows, Windows 8, windows games, windows phone, Windows Phone 8 | Leave a comment

Yes everyone! BOOM: Fireworks Defence Unit is online on Newgrounds.com and you can play it now right here!

Go ahead and play, make sure you rate and/or review the game, all opinions will help improve the game. The Windows 8 release is currently through the submission process, so hopefully it will be on the store soon. The Windows Phone version is going to be delayed due to some technical issues with the port.

I’d also like to mention Sam Denvir, my artist for the game, he did a great job and you can follow his blog here.

Also, Lyserdigi, he made the music for the game, and he’s released the full versions of both tracks, which can be accessed here and here.

Hope you all enjoy!!

The Windows Games Ambassadors Website!

April 28, 2013 by gamepopper in Windows Games Ambassador and tagged Ambassadors, application features, computer, Games, gaming, software, technology, web page, Website, Windows, Windows 8, windows games, Windows Games Ambassador, Windows Phone 8 | Leave a comment

If you are interested in developing for Windows 8, make sure to check out www.windowsgamesambassadors.co.uk.

Not only is it the official website for the Windows Games Ambassadors, where you can find updates on what ambassadors like me are up to, but it is also a great starting point for finding all information on what you can use to make Windows 8 games, as well as how to implement Windows 8 Application features and services like Azure!

Stafford Windows Games Jam

April 28, 2013 by gamepopper in Visits and Events, Windows Games Ambassador and tagged computer games, Construct2, game development, Game Maker Studio, Game Making, Games, Games Jam, gaming, Jam, Microsoft, MonoGame, software, Stafford, Staffordshire University, technology, Unity, video games, Windows 8, Windows Games Ambassador, Windows Phone 8 | 1 Comment

Yes, you heard it. I am running a Games Jam for students at Staffordshire University, taking place on Stafford Campus. Students will be working solo or in teams to make fun and short games made for Windows platforms, and the two best games will win either a Windows Phone 8 or a Microsoft Kinect for Windows! Games will be made using easily available game development tools such as MonoGame, Unity, Construct2 and Game Maker Studio, or for the more tech savvy, can be made using pure code to run on Windows 8/Phone 8 via HTML5 or C#, and can use the free platform starter kit to get them going.

Information on the Jam is on the Official Facebook Events Page.

Construct2 Sale!!

April 22, 2013 by gamepopper in BOOM: Fireworks Defence Unit, Uncategorized and tagged Android, AppMobi, CocoonJS, Construct2, game development, gaming, HTML5, internet, iOS, Windows 8, Windows Phone 8 | Leave a comment

Everyone! There is a sale going on for both the Personal and Business Licenses for Construct2, the game making software that’s used for the Construct2 Touch Jam (and also BOOM: Fireworks Defence Unit)!

Getting the personal license removes all the limits that the free version provides, plus allows you to export games to Android and iOS devices via AppMobi and CocoonJS, among other benefits!

Catch the sale here or on Steam!

New images of BOOM and other updates

April 4, 2013 by gamepopper in BOOM: Fireworks Defence Unit, Game Project Updates, University Work and tagged BOOM, BOOM Fireworks Defence Unit, Construct2, Construct2 Game Jam, Fireworks, Fireworks Defence Unit, game project, gamepopper, Games Programming, Newgrounds, news, Scirra, screenshots, Touch Controls, Touch Jam, University, updates | Leave a comment

Hello everyone!

I’ve been hard at work with my new artist Sam Denvir on BOOM: Firework Defence Unit, and we’ve got so much to show you guys!! So first off, may I present the game’s new official logo!

I’ve also put together a few screenshots of what the game looks like so far:

There’s still a few things to be added, and I’ve also got an audio engineer on board for music and sound effects. We still don’t have a set release date, but of course, we are aiming to release before the deadline of the Construct2 Touch Jam.

I’ve also been hard at work on two assignments, I’ve finished my first Android game as a University assignment, and I hope to find a way to release it so you can all try it out! For my assignments, I’m working on a 2D Physics Engine in Allegro and a 3D game in DirectX11, so I’ve been very busy as of late.

Despite all this though, I’m very excited to see how all this turns out. Hopefully I can have a break over the summer so I can work on Siegfried, which I’ve barely updated since its submission in the Blitz Open Day this year.

April Fools

April 1, 2013 by gamepopper in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Sorry guys, no pranks or jokes this year. It’s my birthday actually so I spent most of the time out with people. I do enjoy seeing the creative jokes people pull, especially from Google, Youtube, several webcomics and video series. Hope people have a good favourite or two. So I’m 20 now, no longer the teen and now a proper adult, I can’t wait for people to say how old I am! Now back to work!

Construct2 GameJam Game Announcement!

March 28, 2013 by gamepopper in BOOM: Fireworks Defence Unit, Game Project Updates and tagged art animation, Artist, BOOM Fireworks Defence Unit, Computer Game, Construct2, game development, gamejam, gaming, Help, hobbyist project, homing missiles, HTML5, Musician, Newgrounds, online, power ups, video game, Wanted, web game, Windows 8, Windows Phone 8 | Leave a comment

Hey guys, as I mentioned in my last post on the Unity Hackathon, I’m making a game for the Construct2 GameJam on Newgrounds. I can officially announce some information of the game!

So here it is!

The game sets you the task of defending a city from a fireworks display, sabotaged to act as homing missiles to kill all the citizens below. The game uses touch control to detonate the fireworks before they hit the ground, and power ups to help you as the amount of fireworks pile up to an enormous amount!

Good news is that most of the game is already finished and working. Bad news is that at the moment, I have no music, sound effects are generated from DrPetter’s SFXR and the only artwork I have are temporary stuff I’ve drawn, and I’m not a great artist. What I’d like is artwork and animation, as well as music to make the game look as great as possible. Fortunately, I have a whole month to get it sorted, but not without someone or some people willing to contribute to this game.

Since it is more of a hobbyist project, I cannot offer payment, but the game will be released on Newgrounds.com, a large and popular community for art, animation and music, and will also be on Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8, meaning you can have a digitally released title on both PC and phone on your portfolio!

I’ve currently put out posts on both the Scirra Forums and Newground’s Collabinator, but if you or anyone you know is interested, let me know in the comments here, message me on the Facebook Page or Twitter

Windows 8 Unity Hackathon!

March 25, 2013 by gamepopper in Game Project Updates, GridLocked, Visits and Events, Windows Games Ambassador | Leave a comment

As of writing I’ve just arrived home from the London. Microsoft’s Lee Scott and Simon Michael organised a two day (15 hour) hackathon, where we have the goal of making a simple and fun game in Unity for Windows 8, all part of the Windows Games Ambassador Scheme.

All this took place at Modern Jago, one of the Microsoft establishments for app developers to work on titles and get advice for their work. The layout of the place, as well as the design is very artistic and clever, and they have a lot of tech to play around with, including a 9 panel screened Xbox 360!

After an overview on what all the ambassadors have been up to and what games they’ve made, we also got shown what things Unity have that will make it possible for Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 development.

Then it was on with the hackathon, we got into pairs and started building! I worked with fellow games ambassador Ben Beagley for our game.

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GAMEPOPPER

Independent Games Developer