Plan for Mark Storer
by Mark Storer · 05/25/2005 (2:19 pm) · 4 comments
Some friends and I will soon be starting our Very First Game ("at all" as well as "together"). One of my coworkers knows a fair bit of scripting, I've got Mighty C++-Fu, and two of his good friends are 2d/3d graphic artists.
Sounds like a decent team. Nothing grand, but (as the synopsis says) ya gotta start somewhere.
We're keeping the "start small" advice firmly in mind in choosing a first project. My thinking is that we keep something at least vaguely playable throughout the process. Having something to look at/mess with/scorn/praise from the get-go should help all of us have something to work with as we gradually smack our various tasks together into A Game.
We've knocked around a number of different concepts (various old game remakes, genre X with twist Y, etc). My coworker (Gabe) and I have mostly settled on an idea, but we'd like some input from those creative-types before proceeding.
We're going to try to get together on a regular basis (in the same physical location) to work on it. I (as I suspect many of us here) have a problem: If I'm sitting at my computer, it's pretty hard to work on a game when there are so many good ones sitting there on my hard drive calling my name. (I just bought Wik and the Fable of Souls last night. Very Cool. An excellent example of physics-assisted gameplay.)
Once we're all dialed in, I'll whip up the remaining entries here... create "company" and "project" entries here, that sort of thing. Maybe even a screen shot or two once the artists have given us something worth showing.
My "art" isn't TERRIBLE (I know what perspective is, crosshatching, etc), but it still falls squarely into the "Programmer Art" category.
I was actually thinking of doing a "Programmer Art Attack" game. Robotron (I'm obsessed, I know) with Really Bad Graphics. It would probably end up looking something like the GID "Crusaders" entry (hand-drawn looking black-n-white graphics), only... sucky. Interesting concept, but I don't know that I'll ever get to it.
Just getting this thing off the ground will take a minor miracle.
Time will tell.
Sounds like a decent team. Nothing grand, but (as the synopsis says) ya gotta start somewhere.
We're keeping the "start small" advice firmly in mind in choosing a first project. My thinking is that we keep something at least vaguely playable throughout the process. Having something to look at/mess with/scorn/praise from the get-go should help all of us have something to work with as we gradually smack our various tasks together into A Game.
We've knocked around a number of different concepts (various old game remakes, genre X with twist Y, etc). My coworker (Gabe) and I have mostly settled on an idea, but we'd like some input from those creative-types before proceeding.
We're going to try to get together on a regular basis (in the same physical location) to work on it. I (as I suspect many of us here) have a problem: If I'm sitting at my computer, it's pretty hard to work on a game when there are so many good ones sitting there on my hard drive calling my name. (I just bought Wik and the Fable of Souls last night. Very Cool. An excellent example of physics-assisted gameplay.)
Once we're all dialed in, I'll whip up the remaining entries here... create "company" and "project" entries here, that sort of thing. Maybe even a screen shot or two once the artists have given us something worth showing.
My "art" isn't TERRIBLE (I know what perspective is, crosshatching, etc), but it still falls squarely into the "Programmer Art" category.
I was actually thinking of doing a "Programmer Art Attack" game. Robotron (I'm obsessed, I know) with Really Bad Graphics. It would probably end up looking something like the GID "Crusaders" entry (hand-drawn looking black-n-white graphics), only... sucky. Interesting concept, but I don't know that I'll ever get to it.
Just getting this thing off the ground will take a minor miracle.
Time will tell.
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#2
05/25/2005 (3:08 pm)
If you like Robotron you should check out Mutant Storm or Crimsonland. The best modern successors to Robotron I've seen yet.
#3
Cheers,
Martin
05/25/2005 (4:10 pm)
Sounds cool, everyone has to start somewhere as you say. I'm doing the same myself, although all on my own because I haven't actually got any mates :->Cheers,
Martin
#4
@Andy: I tried out MS (quite cool), and actually bought Crimsonland. I'd looked at MS a year or two ago, and am now plunking down about $20 a month on indies. Wik, Crimsonland, Jets-n-guns, Bejeweled (1 & 2, The Wife loves 'em), Revolved, Global Defense Network... maybe a couple others.
@Martin: The whole point of having mates is motivation. When I'm alone at my computer, I have a heck of a time focusing on Making Games when there are all those games on my HD calling out to me (the above list, plus quite a few AAA titles).
I'm hoping that by including others, and actually working with them in the same physical space, we'll help keep each other moving. That's the theory anyway. The practice remains to be seen: it looks like mid June at the earliest. Bah! I'm an instant gratification kind of guy. This whole "patience" thing eludes me more often than not.
Sensei: "You must learn patience, Ed Gruberman."
Ed: "Patience?! How long will that take?!"
Name That Tune!
05/25/2005 (4:16 pm)
@Ben: I Did. It seemed very derivitive of xPilot... similar to rogue->Diablo among others.@Andy: I tried out MS (quite cool), and actually bought Crimsonland. I'd looked at MS a year or two ago, and am now plunking down about $20 a month on indies. Wik, Crimsonland, Jets-n-guns, Bejeweled (1 & 2, The Wife loves 'em), Revolved, Global Defense Network... maybe a couple others.
@Martin: The whole point of having mates is motivation. When I'm alone at my computer, I have a heck of a time focusing on Making Games when there are all those games on my HD calling out to me (the above list, plus quite a few AAA titles).
I'm hoping that by including others, and actually working with them in the same physical space, we'll help keep each other moving. That's the theory anyway. The practice remains to be seen: it looks like mid June at the earliest. Bah! I'm an instant gratification kind of guy. This whole "patience" thing eludes me more often than not.
Sensei: "You must learn patience, Ed Gruberman."
Ed: "Patience?! How long will that take?!"
Name That Tune!
Associate Ben Garney
Sounds like good stuff, look forward to seeing what ya come up with!