Puzzle Poker - Another game out the door (finally)
by Kevin Ryan · 05/10/2006 (8:21 pm) · 11 comments
It has been a busy last couple of weeks and its very nice to get this one out the door. Before I go and get a little rest let me lay out a very short time line of its development.
Starting Out
Last November I asked Jeff to get a copy of Torque Game Builder so I could take a look at it. Played around with TGB for a while and then over the next few days created a little prototype of a game that I knew my 6-year-old Aidan would enjoy. He is always hanging out in my office - one of the fringe benefits of working at home. I can't talk about this game much because its going to be coming out sometime in the next few months. Digging in and finishing a short little game prototype is a good way to get familiar with an engine.
After this first prototype to get familiar with TGB I started work on the idea I had for Puzzle Poker. Started work on a Wednesday afternoon and by Thursday afternoon I had a prototype that played very much like the final game. TGB is great! It let me focus on game design and getting a game up and running quickly to see how fun it is.
Here is what the gameplay screen of this first prototype looked like:
When starting out on a new game I don't care at all about looks - just gameplay. I quicly draw very bad artwork to use. The main menu was just functional:
I then sent both prototypes to Jeff to check out and see what he thought of them. He liked both them -- that was good and made me happy.
Experimenting
I spent December and January experimenting with different things on both Puzzle Poker and the other game. Got feedback from Jeff and Jay on what was working and what wasn't. Pretty much nailed down what the final game would be like at this point.
Alex came on board in January and checked in the first pass at the artwork on Febuary 7th. It was awesome! All the artwork you see in the game is by him. He is very creative and easy to work with.
From there - lot's of hard work. Crafting. Modifying. Making fun is hard work.
Mom's Hooked
Actually my Mom wasn't hooked at first - instead she had a little problem getting how to play. I just stood and watched and tried to remember what I told her and then put that in the tutorial. I got the idea for pop-up card-moving-hints from telling her "try moving that card from here to there."
She is hooked now which is a first for any of my games. For some reason she wasn't very interested in aliens invading the Antarctic.
Clubs
The clubhouse idea was that you could get top scores for a smaller group of people - like friends and family. Anyone can create a club and password protect it for their own group or just leave it open to anyone.
We crafted this over time to try and make the clubhouse concept more obvious. I'm still not sure if it is clear enough in the game as to what clubs are. The suggest-a-clubhouse button was a late addition along with the clubhouse websites to get people to try it out. We are going to amp up the clubhouse website end of things soon.
Garage Games
I visited the GG offices for a few days at the start of March. It was fun to hang out in such a creative and dynamic atmosphere. They are a very busy group of people. One of the nice benefits of this trip was I got to meet Melv because he was at GG for a short working visit.
I hesitate to list names because I know I'll miss someone, but thanks to: Benjamin, Justin, Eric, Mark, Tim, Rick, Joe, Paul (up til 5am working on a short Mac deadline!), Matt(s), Robert, Melv, Josh, and the whole TGB team who made Puzzle Poker possible, Ben, and I know I am missing some people.
In Closing
Anyway, I'm tired and I've written more than I planned. You can try the full game for free for 60 minutes. See if you can beat my top score. I'm not as good as some of the Garage Game guys. Now I'm going to have a beer and relax for a while.
Aidan postscript
If you've read any of my previous plans you know that my son Aidan has had some medical problems. He has been doing real well lately. He gave us a scare in January where I drove faster than I had since Ray Tobey drove me down to Amiga headquarters a long time ago. Aidan is playing and enjoying t-ball this spring even though he really doesn't get it.
This indie game business works well when you or a family member have off and on medical problems. It gives you a flexiblity that you would not have in a regular job.
Starting Out
Last November I asked Jeff to get a copy of Torque Game Builder so I could take a look at it. Played around with TGB for a while and then over the next few days created a little prototype of a game that I knew my 6-year-old Aidan would enjoy. He is always hanging out in my office - one of the fringe benefits of working at home. I can't talk about this game much because its going to be coming out sometime in the next few months. Digging in and finishing a short little game prototype is a good way to get familiar with an engine.
After this first prototype to get familiar with TGB I started work on the idea I had for Puzzle Poker. Started work on a Wednesday afternoon and by Thursday afternoon I had a prototype that played very much like the final game. TGB is great! It let me focus on game design and getting a game up and running quickly to see how fun it is.
Here is what the gameplay screen of this first prototype looked like:
When starting out on a new game I don't care at all about looks - just gameplay. I quicly draw very bad artwork to use. The main menu was just functional:
I then sent both prototypes to Jeff to check out and see what he thought of them. He liked both them -- that was good and made me happy.
Experimenting
I spent December and January experimenting with different things on both Puzzle Poker and the other game. Got feedback from Jeff and Jay on what was working and what wasn't. Pretty much nailed down what the final game would be like at this point.
Alex came on board in January and checked in the first pass at the artwork on Febuary 7th. It was awesome! All the artwork you see in the game is by him. He is very creative and easy to work with.
From there - lot's of hard work. Crafting. Modifying. Making fun is hard work.
Mom's Hooked
Actually my Mom wasn't hooked at first - instead she had a little problem getting how to play. I just stood and watched and tried to remember what I told her and then put that in the tutorial. I got the idea for pop-up card-moving-hints from telling her "try moving that card from here to there."
She is hooked now which is a first for any of my games. For some reason she wasn't very interested in aliens invading the Antarctic.
Clubs
The clubhouse idea was that you could get top scores for a smaller group of people - like friends and family. Anyone can create a club and password protect it for their own group or just leave it open to anyone.
We crafted this over time to try and make the clubhouse concept more obvious. I'm still not sure if it is clear enough in the game as to what clubs are. The suggest-a-clubhouse button was a late addition along with the clubhouse websites to get people to try it out. We are going to amp up the clubhouse website end of things soon.
Garage Games
I visited the GG offices for a few days at the start of March. It was fun to hang out in such a creative and dynamic atmosphere. They are a very busy group of people. One of the nice benefits of this trip was I got to meet Melv because he was at GG for a short working visit.
I hesitate to list names because I know I'll miss someone, but thanks to: Benjamin, Justin, Eric, Mark, Tim, Rick, Joe, Paul (up til 5am working on a short Mac deadline!), Matt(s), Robert, Melv, Josh, and the whole TGB team who made Puzzle Poker possible, Ben, and I know I am missing some people.
In Closing
Anyway, I'm tired and I've written more than I planned. You can try the full game for free for 60 minutes. See if you can beat my top score. I'm not as good as some of the Garage Game guys. Now I'm going to have a beer and relax for a while.
Aidan postscript
If you've read any of my previous plans you know that my son Aidan has had some medical problems. He has been doing real well lately. He gave us a scare in January where I drove faster than I had since Ray Tobey drove me down to Amiga headquarters a long time ago. Aidan is playing and enjoying t-ball this spring even though he really doesn't get it.
This indie game business works well when you or a family member have off and on medical problems. It gives you a flexiblity that you would not have in a regular job.
#2
Cheers !!
05/10/2006 (9:18 pm)
Congrat Kevin, as I said in Jeff's plan, and again, glad to hear Aidan is doing much better. Cheers !!
#3
05/10/2006 (9:21 pm)
Great game, congratulations! Additionally, I just want to sing some praise for TGB myself. It's such a great tool and it lets you easily put a lot of nice touches and polish on a game with minimal effort. It's truly a 'game artist' tool. 
#4
Its interesting that over time the value of combinations on table decreases, it`s like player was bleeding score all the time. Nice incentive and in the meantime doesnt feel too rushing.
And Alex`s art kicks donkeys :)
Cool stuff all around.
05/11/2006 (2:17 am)
I`m not a poker player (in fact, I dont really even know the exact rules) but the game really keeps interest, perhaps because its possible to to play (although badly) sans any real knowledge of poker. Quite interesting Chuzzle-ish spin to card games, has that "duh" factor.Its interesting that over time the value of combinations on table decreases, it`s like player was bleeding score all the time. Nice incentive and in the meantime doesnt feel too rushing.
And Alex`s art kicks donkeys :)
Cool stuff all around.
#5
05/11/2006 (9:26 am)
Awesome game Kevin! You've got me hooked lol. 
#6
05/11/2006 (9:48 am)
Congratulations Kevin, this is probably one of the cooler casual games that one can do with playing cards, hopefully all the blood, sweat and tears will pay off as you need and want it to.
#7
05/11/2006 (10:15 am)
You should add this game here, http://real.skilljam.com/splash/splash.asp I would play for cash. 
#9
05/11/2006 (4:33 pm)
Thanks for the kind words, guys. While there are moments where making games is work - in general it isn't. I love this stuff - coding, designing, seeing if magic shows up on the screen or not. Its nice to be in a community of kindred spirits. :^)
#10
05/13/2006 (2:51 pm)
Hey, I'm really liking puzzle poker! It's a ton of fun! Though, I didn't know about your son until reading this plan. I definitely be praying for him and the family.
#11
05/15/2006 (5:40 pm)
Thanks for posting your prototypes screenshots and the writeup of the development process you went through . It is helpful to see that as a coder-designer-artist for my own game to it's sometimes hard to focus on prototyping. 
Torque Owner Don Hogan
Regards,
Don - #10 ranked at this writing. ;)