That's right, you're my boss. It's often said that the customers is the boss, but for this project it's literally true.
Today there's no new version of the game, just some reflections about the first week. The goal of the project is to develop a brand new game. And the development process will be laid bare for everyone see, as long as they have an internet connection. And lest we forget, we want innovation, fun and excitement.
Back in the early eighties when I started with game development it was pretty easy to be innovative. It was easy to think of things that hadn't been done before. I'd know if it was new because I played all the major games, and many of the minor games. This is impossible today with thousands of new games getting released every year, and that's only counting commercial releases on the consoles. This is where you, my new boss, can help. I'll be relying on you to warn me if my forthcoming innovation claims are valid.
So what happened during the first week? I started with a blank slate and now we have a playable prototype. It feels very early, but many basic elements are there already. It's not a real game yet and it's too early to tell if it's going to be fun. There are no known major bugs, and I've yet to see it crash. The framerate is 1000/sec on my desktop PC with a cheap graphics card, so there's no performance issues.
Was there some real innovation going on? Well, not so much in the game itself, but this kind of blog is something I haven't seen before. It feels like a very new way of working, and so far so good. There's not that many readers yet, but it's pretty early. It should help to get the game farther along.
There's some real dangers with revealing the development process publicly. The biggest problem is how to handle it of someone posts a game idea, the game idea gets used in the game, and then when the game is a big success they sue for royalties. So far this isn't a problem because nobody posted any game ideas yet. So to nip this problem in the bud, here's my policy on this: If you contribute a game idea and the idea ends up in any of the posted versions then your name will be listed in the credits. I'll be crediting your real name or a handle if you prefer. You also get one free copy of any future paid versions of the game and all sequels. You don't get any cash. Sorry, but I just can't see administering real royalties for this. If you feel that you deserve royalties for your great idea, develop your own game, but please don't post the idea on this blog.
I'm really looking forward to next week. Stay tuned for more new versions of ActionJump!
-- fxl
Today there's no new version of the game, just some reflections about the first week. The goal of the project is to develop a brand new game. And the development process will be laid bare for everyone see, as long as they have an internet connection. And lest we forget, we want innovation, fun and excitement.
Back in the early eighties when I started with game development it was pretty easy to be innovative. It was easy to think of things that hadn't been done before. I'd know if it was new because I played all the major games, and many of the minor games. This is impossible today with thousands of new games getting released every year, and that's only counting commercial releases on the consoles. This is where you, my new boss, can help. I'll be relying on you to warn me if my forthcoming innovation claims are valid.
So what happened during the first week? I started with a blank slate and now we have a playable prototype. It feels very early, but many basic elements are there already. It's not a real game yet and it's too early to tell if it's going to be fun. There are no known major bugs, and I've yet to see it crash. The framerate is 1000/sec on my desktop PC with a cheap graphics card, so there's no performance issues.
Was there some real innovation going on? Well, not so much in the game itself, but this kind of blog is something I haven't seen before. It feels like a very new way of working, and so far so good. There's not that many readers yet, but it's pretty early. It should help to get the game farther along.
There's some real dangers with revealing the development process publicly. The biggest problem is how to handle it of someone posts a game idea, the game idea gets used in the game, and then when the game is a big success they sue for royalties. So far this isn't a problem because nobody posted any game ideas yet. So to nip this problem in the bud, here's my policy on this: If you contribute a game idea and the idea ends up in any of the posted versions then your name will be listed in the credits. I'll be crediting your real name or a handle if you prefer. You also get one free copy of any future paid versions of the game and all sequels. You don't get any cash. Sorry, but I just can't see administering real royalties for this. If you feel that you deserve royalties for your great idea, develop your own game, but please don't post the idea on this blog.
Knowing that I have to release most every day, and that a whole bunch of people will be looking at every released version encourages a very solid development style. It's really necessary to fix any bugs immediately, and to test the game before every release.
I'm really looking forward to next week. Stay tuned for more new versions of ActionJump!
-- fxl
No comments:
Post a Comment