Current progress and the gameDentity network

Generally I don't do as many of these blog posts as often as I should because I generally take too long to write em' and sometimes find it hard to justify with currently low views / comments etc, however, on this occasion I'll try to be concise and quick!

Lets go back a few months
As you may (or may not) remember from previous posts , I had been working on completing aDance, my physics-based arena dodging arcade game and even did a vlog for it. I also began talking about big ideas of including achievements and an in-game indie music play system.

All of this was well and good, but I came to realise I was very limited in my ability to actually deliver and implement these features in any of my creations due to the fact that my skill-set was limited in the necessary  areas to do so. I was stuck with relying on other third-party options (such as mochi, heyzap, gamersafe and the like) to implement some of these features or hack around them to make them work in a non-seamless fashion, not ideal and not good.

Now I'm not bashing these 3rd party options, they save time and enable many developers to earn money and socialise their content which is great, however if you want certain features implemented (such as a proper achievements system rather then the medals in mochi) you have to either hope and wait, hack it around the provided features or (as they rightfully often say) implement it yourself, so that's just what I decided to do! :)

Databases, PHP, MySQL, CSS and all things Dynamic Web
Around the 23rd of August of this year (around the same time 2 years that I started my journey with Flash), I began learning all the necessary web technologies to implement my OWN gaming and community platform (an ability I was always missing in my development tool-kit) for the above (and a few other) reasons.

I'm not gonna go through all the technically terms and details (Wikipedia's real good for that), but I can safely say that PHP was a tough but joyful language to learn and was made all the more easier because actionscript is very similar too it.

The hardest parts to learn were probably things like security (very important), relative file loading / linking and the differences in Class and Object based development in PHP vs Actionscript. Once I got my head around things like this it was simply a case of combining it with Dreamweaver, MySQL and AMFPHP, which results in me having a system that has the capability of doing all the things previously stated and all the things in my head, on the website and off via Flash.

Introducing the gameDentity™ network
And so gameDentity (or #gDn) is born. It will be entering beta 0.01 very soon and in a sentence I describe it as a Premium Social Core-Gaming Network.

The primary goal is for it to be a complete back-end, profile / user link and community system for Eternal Syndrome games and content (online and desktop). It's going to be online gaming's answer to XBox Live which I'm a huge fan of and use a lot (once I implement the online game play module).

The features include (some implemented already):

• User Account Profile
• Achievements (Currently 6 - 8 types including Titles, Treasures and classic types)
• Leaderboards (Fully customisable and can contain many columns of criteria)
• Save / Load system
• Site and Flash based Login (works anywhere Flash does thanks to AMFPHP)
• Native virtual currency (gCash)
• Stats via gXP and gPoint (which can be used to get savings on premium content)
• And more...

It has the flexibility and capability of allow third-party developers and partners to use the system.

Most of thee above will much easier to understand and visualise once it's out their in the wild, but as an example, a game like Diamond Raider will have treasure achievements for finding limited special treasured Diamond types that are only available dynamically to a limited amount of players and therefore highly sought after, think of it as the achievement only the quick and great get.

Right that's it, this was almost a hour in writing and I've still got a lot of work to do on this, mainly the Flash gDn modules, so thanks for reading and my twitter (@eternalsyndrome) is really the best place for regular / up to minute development updates. Thanks again!

Overall quick update and info on project 'stronghand'

General Update
So, I'm back from updating my 'Flash Skillz' so to speak which I've been doing a few months now and have begun putting them to good use. These new skills are fundamentally based on things that have created a better understanding of object oriented programming, creating reusable global classes (e.g. MathES.returnValueWithZeros(55, 3); returns the string (that's text) 055 and can be used everywhere in an as3 project without change) and just being better organised and consistent in Flash / as3 to create and test ideas quickly and efficiently (like using as3 Vectors instead of Array's when valid, I know, very techy speak :S).

I've also been looking at the free engine API's Flashpunk and Flixel where I've been looking to experiment with doing so fan remakes of classic games (they seem to be heavily retro game leaned). I've made good progress with Flashpunk but got stuck with collision (due to send a forum post for that), but thankfully I got it working successfully in the Flash IDE at least (it's meant for originally for Flex / FlashDevelop environments only). This is beneficial of course because if you do happen to have the Flash IDE, doing things like animation / interfaces is a doddle (you have to code all of this with the aforementioned API's which is a little backwards in my opinion).

Project 'stronghand'
I'm now just updating and improving my first premium flash game project aDance, codename 'stronghand' which will involve testing and adding new gameplay elements / environments, complete consistent new look, adding and adjusting elements according to feedback, completing mochi elements such as coins and social API (facebook / twitter etc), adding achievements (got the list already, but some may be arena based, so I need to account for that), improving the menu system (it's sleek already but I want to make it more engaging and entice play, I'll be looking at things such as Burnout 3, Flatout and other arena / track based progression games too) and many other tasks.

I'll have all these done by / before Monday next week and will be adding more info and pictures etc as valid around that time which will in turn help with the context of this update post and future posts regarding aDance, but for the moment here's the sell.

In one sentence:
Unadulterated and Unashamed Core-Gaming, Orb-Dodging, Blood-Pumping Arena action!

In one paragraph:
Unadulterated and Unashamed Core-Gaming, Orb-Dodging, Blood-Pumping Arena action! Avoid, Dance, Duck and Dive your way around the Danger Orbs and get to those score zones in an attempt to make the cut in the various exciting & challenging physics-based Arenas! This freemium game takes great advantage of the high-end Box2d physics engine making for a unique, exhilarating and high energy gaming experience!

Slight of Sight gets Reshuffled!

Well, I've been on and off on different projects of late (however a lot less so then previous thank God) but I've yet to have one fully complete this year (although a few are near to that and strong projects at too).

One of my main aims for 2010 has been to complete 3 or more games both in the creation and play sense (quality over quantity I know, but still) and thus far I've completed 2 games play-wise (Portal and Half-Life 2, great games, nice job Valve), now I think it's time for the game creation side to get similar treatment!

Time for a Reshuffle!
Over the last few days I've been working on creating a new version of Sleight of Sight (SOS) which incorporates many of the feature requests by many of the thousands of players. In truth, the original was just a tester for my first foray into Flash so most the requested features came as no surprise to me.

In short, the original as intended was very simple, but in turn too simple for repeat plays or anything above 3 Stars (out of 5). You can play it here if you haven't already or fancy a bit of nostalgia Play SOS.

The originals weaknesses came in that it was limited to 3 Covers (I meticulously animated each rotation scenario back then), little variety and the shuffling speed was done via adjusting the frame rate (which caused some speed issues for a small few).

The new version, which will be called Sleight of Sight - Reshuffled, is pretty much a vastly improved sequel.

In actuality I've been working on-it on and off since the updated release of SOS back in August of 09. It was only on about 2 days ago that I finally got my head around how to do smooth angled orbiting rotations in Flash (thanks Actionscript 3 Cookbook), which was the only way (other then rough diagonal / x.y shuffles) to creating an expansive and improved version of SOS. My excuse for it taking so long is in part due to the fact I'm not a super-math guy (yet anyway) and I tend to work best with making technical code work rather then create said technical code in most cases.

The New Shuffle!
To that end, currently I have the following features working nicely:

• Dynamically created Covers and Targets which means Covers and Targets are only limited by the users screen size and hardware (3, 5, 10, 20 covers with 1, 2, 5 targets etc).
• Math based rotation meaning the speed can now be adjusted based on time rather the frame rate (that's the idea, still got to implement accurate speed increases). This is also why I'm able to have as many covers as desired.
• Multiple line Covers. This means I can make you guys and gals suffer trying to keep track of the target objects in 2, 3, 5+ rows of covers
• AI bluffing. This means the shuffle can change directions mid way, back and forth
• AI Multiple Shuffles. Obviously with 3 covers only 1 shuffle at a time was necessary. With an unlimited set having 1 shuffle at a time would be kinda lame, so there can be as many as available to swap, this also adds to the variety and challenge of the classic concept.

Yet to be Shuffled!
Quite impressive I think for 2 days work, but there's still a little more work to be done. This rapid development has been possible due to the other projects in development's codebase, a sexy in-house framework and more experience on my part in general. Below are some dev screenies, not massively exciting and hard articulate without seeing motion, but hey.

So, still on the To-Do list (disclaimer: None of there are guarantees, so just hope rather then assume ;) are:

• Index order of covers correctly on shuffle to insure the right object is above or below the other correctly
• New Timer-based speed increase system
• Re-Introduce the blur effect in the correct position and with a new time-based system
• Custom and / or intelligent zooming in and out of scene for larger cover amounts
• Create and Test distractions feature
• Decide upon final game modes and features

Now, if you look at the last post, you'd be forgiven for thinking this might not happen (or at least not for a while), but hopefully I can buck this trend of mine this year. Next update will likely be when I have these to-do list features owned! Hope to see you then!

Diamond Raiding, updates and much regurgitations

Well, as promised, I'm updating the Dev Lab blog and will be doing so regularly this time, honestly! (Assuming anyone cares in the first place)

Overview of the game:

Anyhow, my latest game in the laboratory cooking pot is Diamond Raider. Diamond Raider is based off the classic Atari 800 game Crystal Raider by Matthew Trimby. The aim of the game is to raid all the diamonds in a room without being hit by a foe or hazard. You also shouldn't linger in the same room for too long or your oxygen will run out (mostly due to foe's harsh odour!).

It's being developed in Flash with a premium feature set in mind (not a simple average 3 minute throwaway flash game as many are) with features such as save / loading, open-ended rooms (like the original), profile system, speed run mode and other fuller game features.

It was first announced on Flash Games License (if you have an account, you can try it here) and the mochi forums (both for the purposes sponsorship, so if you happen to be one, don't be shy). Because of this, this issue will be mostly a regurgitation of the aforementioned mochi post (ironically, most of the mochi post is a regurgitation of the FGL post, so I guess the majority of this post is one whole regurgitation of, well, other regurgitations).

It's still in development and I'll be charting it's development throughout, here's a list of the current features completed:

This version showcases the following features:

• Complete Classic gameplay mechanic
• 10 (open ended) Rooms
• Original levels as in the original game
• Day and Night time modes as the original
• Modern elements for the modern gamer
• 4-Slot local Profile system for saving of username, settings and hi-score (this of course can be replaced with custom valid API(s))
• Local hi-score for extra motivation and faithfulness to the original
• Pixel Perfect collision

In addition to thee above:

The finished game will include:

• 50 (open ended) rooms (10 are on display in this version)
• Speed Run game mode (Looking for a good solution / api to save username, time and score for each room)
• Token-based Save & Load system (awarded for each cleared room for challenge)
• Online-Hi score menu for Raider mode (That's featured here and is the default mode)
• (Maybe) A choice of characters (female etc)
• And obviously any fixes and improvements where valid

Known issues:

• May be a delay in sound due to error in flash cs4 compiler (I think)
• Exiting through west and east (left and right) pathways while jumping can result in misplacement of player's position in new room.

So why Crystal Raider:

Simple, I think it's the best way for me to knock out a quick game and make a some dollars (or pounds, I'm not fussy) quickly. In addition to this, I... No, no, just kidding. First and foremost, it's one of my all time favourite classic games as well as one I've had a lot of ideas for which makes the development process a lot easier. Secondly for me it's the right level of learning curve, challenge and ease. Thirdly, I think it fit's perfectly into my current focus and strategy for Eternal Syndrome, I'll guess we'll see on that one.

I've got a bigger plan for Diamond Raider then what's on current display (and this is perhaps where most of the premium part lies), but I need to do some proof of concept on the head / paper ideas in the lab and see where they fit (they don't necessarily fit with THIS iteration perhaps).

Anyway, I'll talk more about it tomorrow or something, this social networking stuff is tiring

Updates:

Other then that, I've put a new sexy flash rss news widget thingy on the site courtesy of springwidgets with the idea being pushing content via my forum's rss, so updating news should be a little easier and up to the minute. In addition to this I got a few things on the cooker which I'll blog about when and where valid.

Forgive me in advance if there's a bunch of spelling mistakes or grammatically errors etc, I figured (at least in this context) if I don't stress on these things too heavily as I use to, I might actually keep this up for once, for me (at the least) if not for anyone else, so later!

Just a quick update...

Wow, well over a year since my last post. I guess for 2009 I'll have to try better at making more regular updates here more often and this is the first attempt.

I've updated the links, cleaned up the place a bit and added a few new gadgets such as my friendfeed on the right which is one of the best ways to keep up with what ES is doing since it auto-updates as I do stuff, like post this very post!

Other then that I'll be posting about the next game on the horizon which is (God / me willing) very soon. In addition to that I'll post some aims for 2009 or something along the line from a game development /business point of view (assuming I remember, I'm sure I will ;))

That's it for now, no pictures, actually, here's a picture from my 2008 game release 'Sleight of Sight' in case you missed it. It's a fun little first effort made in Flash and is free to play online at the new Flash Games Retreat site! Remember, Blink and you'll miss it!