Calis Projects

Welcome to our third tip for developers.

Please go back and read the first and second tips if you haven’t already.
This tip is something that was always up for debate in my old classroom. It’s the content of a project and understanding what content to add, or remove if needed.

I’ll start with my own personal opinion. Removing maybe be a negative action, but can sometimes have a positive effect on your game. Cutting content allows you to work on other features faster and therefore push your development time forward as opposed to adding content and pushing it back.
If you read or watch any professional development studios talk about DLC, sometimes you’ll hear them say “We wanted to add it to the game, we just ran out of time before it shipped”. The content for the DLC was always planned, but the idea to cut it was most likely made so that could ship the game on time rather then push back their release date window. This comes from planning your content, mentioned in the last tip, but managing the content correctly and understanding what they could cut out.

To know what content to cut or add, you should really understand your game, and the genre for it.
I recommend people always start with a foundation and build on it.
Let’s say your making a shooting game, an FPS. You want to add a fancy reload animation, but you or your animator will be some time working on the animation. Well add in the foundation for the reload. Hide the gun from the screen, disable the fire button, reload the ammo variable back to full. After 2 seconds or whatever, show the gun again. Then you can add your animation playback in at any stage, since your code and foundation are in place.

Maybe you have an RPG and you want the player to run. But just cant get the animation or resources on time. Instead of him running, just copy and paste your movement and increase the speed it takes to move around.

Something that was always brought up is adding some content because it’s new to your game. It was always talked about, and even got some people in my old class into heated arguments over.
An example again would be something like this. You have a platform game, but your twist is the player can control the direction of gravity. If you and your team feel strongly that this is the cool point or “selling point” to your game well then prioritise it. Work on getting the foundation of how this will work before you’ve even designed more then one level, then build your levels after.
I saw people build an intro state, a game over state, and levels for their game, without having their key feature or content started. That’s a bad idea and your putting yourself under a lot of strain because your trying to design your key feature onto a box, rather then fit your game onto this design. This also comes back to my last tip on planning.. As we go deeper and deeper into development you’ll see how these key issues of content, planning and design and feedback always pop up.

You plan your content before you start adding and subtracting anything. Prototype before you add or subtract anything. Find what works, add more of it, find what doesn’t and remove it.
If your under a time limit, find anything that is extra like an effect, put it on the bottom of your to do list and focus on what’s needed to make your idea a game.

Recently, Staff member Daedalus posted a list of programs to help developers move their projects along much more smoothly. Earlier today, Community member Kerii posted a list of programs he finds useful. We agree with him on his list. So thanks to Kerii, here is another list of 3 useful programs for developers.

1: DropBox

www.dropbox.com

Some people might argue against this if you already pay for webhosting (like myself) and just use an FTP client (which this is kind of like), but I hope to change your mind. I’ve only just started using Dropbox since I got the iPad app, and I can tell you already that this is a handy service. Setting up a free account will allow you to have a 2GB online storage space for files. It has an attractive UI on the iPad app, and the desktop client is easy to use. Even if you use a website or FTP client with your hosting, I’d still say download Dropbox and get that extra space. Always comes in handy for backing up project files.

2: Meebo

www.meebo.com

Meebo is an IM client that will allow you to use a global login for your IM accounts, or log into one on it’s own. Meebo has a browser based interface that will work on any OS, but also has mobile apps for the Android and iOS platforms if you which to use the service on the go. I used to use it when I was having troubles with Windows Live Messenger client and saved me a lot of hassle.  It is not the most attractive or feature rich client out there, but the wide range of compatibility makes it an easy to use alternative to your standard IM program.

3: WordPress

My Own Edit

www.wordpress.org

Kerii posted about a site builder called Wix.com, but I find this program to be behind the times. Offering a blend of Flash(which is a slowly dying platform) and HTML and ads in it’s free service, this is not a service I recommend at all.

Instead, WordPress is a much easier  to use option. It has a broad set of plug-ins, themes and prides itself on it’s “5 minute” installation.

Calis Projects main site is run with wordpress. You can ask them to host your blog, or export it to your own hosting location.

With it’s easy to use post update system, it will give you the flexibility to post updates directly to your site without the need to re order older text. A smart choice to use by any developer.

And there you have it.

If you have a program you would like to recommand, feel free to press the “Email Us”  link and let us know!

Hello, everyone! I’m Daedalus, a staff member for Calis. I currently have a game in development, but I had an extra few minutes, so I figured I’d write a blog post. I’ve come up with a list of three programs that can help you and your team out, or at least that’s what I’m hoping. There’s obviously far more then what I’ve listed, and if you know any interesting ones, feel free to send me a private message on the forums. Let’s get started.

Team Viewer (http://teamviewer.com/)

There comes a point in everyone’s game development hobby or career when they’ll need to show off the game’s progress off to other members of the team. This can become a hassle if your game is a larger file size, and can repel people away from doing so, which can easily create problems. Team Viewer is an easy solution to that, or maybe you just want some team members to see what you just did, or watch you work. Whatever the case, Team Viewer is a very useful program that allows you to view other people’s computers who have Team Viewer, or show off your own. It’s very easy to figure out, and it’s the best that I’ve come across, and it has extra features, such as voice communication, video communication, and a white board.

Skype (http://www.skype.com/)

Skype is a well known communication tool, mostly its strongest point being its quality for voice communication. I find that Skype is actually very useful for a few team members to discuss a few things, or just keep each other company while you’re working. Skype also has some other features, such as a screen viewer, but it isn’t up to par with Team Viewer’s. A very handy feature in Skype is the ability to add multiple people to a conversation that doesn’t end when it’s closed, however, it can get a little chaotic with more than 4 people talking at once.

FreeMind (http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page)

Now you may be asking “Daedalus, why the heck would I bother making mind maps?”. It’s a far question, but FreeMind is a very useful tool for doing this, it’s free and isn’t a large program at all. Yuoaman actually showed this program to me. Again though, why make mind maps? You’d actually be surprised at how much information you can get down in one of these things, and it’s very easy to do. FreeMind has some neat features, such as exporting it as a web page, and a few other things here and there.

And that’s all for now. Hopefully I’ll have more time to write another blog post in the future, but I’ll have of think of something to write about… perhaps a continuation to the list, or something completely different. Who knows! I’ll see you then.

Welcome to my second tip on game development and design.
This time I’m going to talk about planning your project and the ways you can approach or “tackle” your project.

If you have’t already, go back and read my first tip as it is vital to have knowledge on the idea of game feedback before we move forward. It will help you as a developer.

So you have your idea for your game, what now? First thing you should do is think about your strong and weak points. Are you into coding? Graphics? Or story telling? Just begin with doing small work to practise your skills. These small works don’t have to make it into the final project, but it will help you understand the hard work involved, and which area you will enjoy putting the work into. When you feel you are ready to begin work on your project, review what you did during your trial period and find out what type of design approach you took. If you started to code from the start of the project, like the intro and opening events of the game, it most likely means you have a top down approach to design. If you coded something like a menu or battle system or specific feature to your game, it most likely means your a bottom up designer. You can find lots of information on google about these design techniques but there is no right or wrong way with game design.

Now at this stage you have your project and know the area you would like to start on, but before you jump in, write yourself out a plan or list of goals you’d lime to achieve in short term. Short term means something you would like to say you’ve reach within a week or 2 week timeframe. A goal like design the hero, design the basic menu or a something you feel you will hit in your goal within that timeframe with your skills. These goals will help you progress your game at a steady rate rather then working in bursts. If you get lazy with your work rate, it will form a habit very hard to break from.

With short term goals, it will be easier to have long term goals that you will hit.

I can tell from a very early stage if the developer has planned the game or design it as they go on, and so can your audience. If you reveal your game to early, it will be easier to see cracks in the design. So your next thing you should plan is when and what you reveal to the public. What stage you reveal your game at is entirely up to you, but take cues from professional developers. Better late then early, unless you need help with your project.

The sum up of this tip is to your approach should start with a plan and that plan should contain a goal. If you do this, developing will be a bit more smooth sailing then it might not have been.