First Windows 8 game! Survivor of the Green Monsters!

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Hello everyone! I thought I’d like to share you a quick new game I’ve made. The game is called Survivor of the Green Monsters, a mini-arcade shooter for the Windows 8 platform made in the Construct2.

Description:

In the game, you are a lone soldier on a desolate planet, you are trapped in one position with only the ability to turn and shoot at enemies with infinite ammunition. Green Monsters crawl towards you in all direction, starting off one-by-0ne before slowly increasing in rate. The aim is to shoot down as many green monsters before you lose all your health. Luckily, random power ups spawn, a health pack and a fire pack. Both can assist you in lasting longer and shooting enemies quicker.

 

Concept:

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The main idea around this very simple game idea was that shooters commonly require you to move around, but what about a game where you cannot move at all. By restricting the player’s ability to move, it relies on the importance of shooting all enemies, as well as the need to survive as long as possible.


Why I made it:

One of the main reasons was to try new developing tools. After being so use to Visual Studio and programming most of my games (I haven’t used a proper game development engine since Game Maker 8 over three years ago). I also like to try new ideas for games instead of what my mind normally focuses on, (one of the reasons I took part in this year’s GameJam).

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At the moment, the game is going through the review process to be on the Window’s Store. It’ll be for free, since the artwork is from the tutorial work on the Construct2 website, so fingers crossed to see if it goes online. I’ll see if there is a way non-Windows 8 users can use it in the meantime.

 

 

Global Game Jam, Updated Videos and More!!

Hey guys! Sorry it’s been a while since I last posted. I’ve been doing a lot of work, starting on new modules which allow me to learn DirectX, as well as Physics and AI programming techniques. I’m also waiting for the results of some assignments before I put them up online. Today I just got back from the Global Game Jam, which took place at my University Campus in Stafford.

Some quick updates, all the videos now are embedded from Youtube, which is great because viewing is much easier through WordPress and in general. Here are new games I’ve uploaded for you to try out:

Jumping Platformer Example

Home

It was a brilliant time, getting to work with other talented programmers and game makers from students to industry members, and I got to work in a team to make a game. I worked with another programmer (James Cox), a designer (Rob Pritchard), and two artists (Alex Mehroke and Sam Denvir) to make Anarchy Ambulance a “Crazy Taxi” like game where you obtain hearts for the black market in a not-so calmly manner. Below is a 30 second clip of the game:

(and I’ll be making a main page with a more in-depth gameplay video soon)

Download the game here and make sure you put a comment and vote on our game jam page!

 

EDIT: Just updated the download link, new version fixes a bug in the game.

Back from America!

Hey guys!

Game Programming Class in SessionSorry for the long absence, I’ve been a bit busy unpacking and preparing for another upcoming year of University. As some may recall a few months ago, I got offered a place at a summer camp in America and in mid-June I setted off for America to begin my two months of work. I had a great time meeting a large variety of people young and old and tried out some new things like boating, motorbiking and camp fires. I also worked in the Computers as each staff member taught a Science. There were three of us working in computers and we were allowed to run our own courses, so I figured why not teach them how to make games using programming.


And so the Games Programming Science Course was created! On each two weeks I got a group of enthusiastic campers aged between 7 -15 interesting in making games, and while they had some difficulties understanding some of the codes and functions I was able to help them make some interesting games, including the original Pong! The video in this post shows some of the examples actually made by the campers… Continue reading

Talk with more Game Developers

Today a few graduates now game developers from Blitz Games, Codemasters, Rockstar and Devil’s Details all came to talk about how they joined the games industry, what working in the industry is like an some advice for both applying and working for a games company. It was really helpful to hear from professionals closer to my age, as well as ones that studied at the same University as me, talking about the application and working process from a student and graduate’s perspective. After the talks and Q&A in the lecture room we all went to the Union’s bar and had some further discussions with them. They are really nice guys and definitely know a lot about programming, so I know who to ask if I need any serious help.

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Blitz Open Day

Today, I returned from the Blitz Games Studio Open Day. Obviously because of confidentiality I can’t say much without getting into trouble, but there were a lot of talks about different aspects of the games industry, a tour around the company offices and a really interesting and useful Q&A session with staff members of the main professions (for me it was the programmers).

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My Next Game

I’ve been looking at a few ideas I already have and I’ve decided on the game I’m going to make. So I announce the next game I’m making is:

Siegfried will be a fantasy/steampunk themed scrolling shooter. At the moment I’m going to make this game (or at least a prototype) in XNA and maybe transfer it over to another engine or make my own to make more features in it and bring it to other systems (e.g. Mac and Linux).

I’m currently trying to set some information down on what I want the game to be like and setting up the developing environment. I’ll also see about getting some temp artwork and tracks to test out everything.

Aardvark Swift and Stuff

So Aardvark Swift did a talk today about getting into the Games Industry. It was some interesting, if not predictable stuff, such as getting C++, Maths and Problem Solving Skills, and working on a demo to show the companies that I wish to apply for. Hopefully this site will help me get working with that.

As for right now I’m working through my modules on C++, OpenGL, Object Oriented Programming and System & Databases, and trying to go through my book on XNA and C++. Also trying to think up some ideas of games I could make as well.

Into Blitz

Blitz Games LogoRemember the game Death Maze that you can download right now? The game that was submitted as my first University Assignment? Well I also submitted it to Blitz Studios for a place on their 2012 Open Day.

Every year, the local Blitz Games Studios runs an open day for students who want to work in the Games Industry. Students have to apply and submit work for a place due to the demand, as well as to give people who put in the effort to show their dedication. I’ve been wanting to go to it since I first found out they did them two years ago, since it’d be a great opportunity to understand the industry and work better, and that living in Leamington Spa for most of my life meant Blitz has been the most local game company to me.

However, the day I found out that Blitz were open for applicants for the open day was the weekend before the deadline. It wasn’t really a problem because I was planning to finish the game on the weekend anyway, so as soon as the game was done I filled in the application form, checked all the files worked, sent an email with everything (which included a video demonstration and text instructions) and in a sigh of relief, I got an email acknowledging the submission. Now I had to wait over a week or two to see if I got a place, and today I found that I did!!

So now in late March I’ll be heading back to my hometown to go to Blitz and hopefully talk to many of the staff! Now I need to wait for the actual results of my assignment.

UPDATE: I just got word of my results, it was a grade A! Awesome!!!