Just Get Something Done

James Tadeo — 2006-09-19T22:37:43+00:00

It's been just over a year and 9 days I purchased TGE 1.3 and to be honest haven't really spent the time I wanted to in order to push out a game. What do I have to show for? Well, I have a games blog that I've used as a place to keep my notes and personal tutorials about how to do basic Torque techniques. I also got into more of the scripting side by writing a tutorial about basic player selection and a tutorial about player and weapons previewing using the guiObjectView. These recent tutorials used the resources from this GG forum as starting points and pointers to how to get things done. I am somehow thinking that not knowing how to do something keeps me from making a game. Makes sense, don't it?

Amidst all this learning, I have yet to actually release even the simplest of games. It has also put into context the gargantuan effort it must take to get both games and software out the door. I can only imagine. You really have to have somewhat of a very sharp vision and the tenacity to pull it off.

When I first started, I really didn't know how to even change the main.cs file to point to the correct folder to play a game. Now it's old hat. I think for me it was a matter of breaking down the parts of the game that I didn't feel confident with and then trying to figure how to go about doing it. One of the best ways for me to learn and remember is to write a tutorial. It also helped to make a list of what I didn't know and then try to figure out how make that happen. I believe it was Chris Lombard who mentioned this powerful piece of info in a thread I read. And so...I wrote what I didn't know. Boy, was it a long list.

At this point, I think I have enough to go by in terms of getting *something* done all by myself. To me it doesn't even have to be amazing, I just want to create a simple and playable game that will give a bit of fun and enjoyment.

So, since owning TGE, have you actually made a complete/semi-complete game yet?

JT's TGE Comics <--I also got into the habit of adding dialog to my screen caps...

Above: I learned how to select different players and have them all
play within the game with one another. To *me* this was a big deal
as it opens up the way for different types of avatars for
my-games-which-are-not-done-yet to experiment and try out.

Below is MouseCat. It's a pet (no pun intended) project I've had since working for Nelvana back in the early 90's as a grunt painter using the Animation Stand. At one point, I got some time and created a 3D rendition of MouseCat. Then I animated it as well ( See the MouseCat page). Then I stopped cause I got busy with my day job which is Web applications development and programming.

Above: One day I would love to get MouseCat into Torque and make
him play FPS...LOL...

This week if I get a few hours this weekend, I am going to attempt to draft a simple plan. A simple character. A goal for the character to attain. And a custom made weapon. I am sure that as I go along I will want to somehow add more to this. I will try my best to stick to just getting *something* done. Done is good...sip...yes it is...

[I will add more later - Sept. 19, 2006 6:36pm]

Blog for James Tadeo at GarageGames.com

Just Get Something Done