From Beginning To...

Artwork that I feel captures Inferno Lair perfectly Source:  UHD Paper This week, I drew up a Game Design Document for Inferno Lair, my top down Action / Adventure RPG. I used Dundoc for this task, which was a major help and time saver. Having the templates there to guide me kept me on track, and made me aware of all of the design choices I had to consider. Inferno Lair has already become a more refined, better planned game than it was before I started this document. I realised some features that did not need to be there at all, and also some features that I didn't consider that definitely SHOULD be there. Link To Dundoc GDD:  Inferno Lair As I was considering how my game would be created, I started downloading more Unity Asset packs. Character models, SFX, weapons and armour etc. All things that I knew I needed, but writing this document made it feel like the time was getting near to start actually building it. I've been looking into the coding behind the combat a...

- Game Title : Inferno Lair (subject to change) - Introduction:    Inferno Lair is a single player, top down, fantasy RPG with point and click mechanics. The player must explore the game world to defeat enemies, gain experience to level up, and find or purchase improved weapons and armour in order to defeat the Inferno Dragon. The game will take place in one overworld, with many dungeons, caves and crypts to explore. It will be created using Unity 2018, and will be rated 12+ due to some violence. - Description:    As the leader of the local Warriors / Mages / Thieves Guild , it is your responsibility to keep Warmhearth Village safe. But when a ferocious dragon nests in a nearby cave, trouble comes with it. Townspeople are carried off as food for the dragon and her young. Having failed to protect them from the dangers around them, you are forcefully removed from your position. While your successor has no more luck in defeating the dragon, they are see...

Looking at the gem from a close distance changes the UI This week's Unity Tutorial takes me back to the world I have created following Jimmy Vegas' Cobalt series tutorials. I started off by editing the UI, so that when the player is close to the gem and looks at it with the crosshairs, an action command is shown telling the player how to pick up the gem. This was a simple enough process, made easier by Jimmy's very easy to follow tutorials. As per usual, there was some C# coding to be done. I'm definitely starting to get the hang of it, and the actual logic behind the coding is beginning to make sense to me. If / else statements now seem simple, and the tags are becoming familiar. Now after inputting some code, the gem disappears when the action button is pressed, the cursor reverts to normal, and a sound chimes to indicate that the gem has been picked up. After creating some fences, the next step was to create a weapon. Now it's starting to feel like a v...

Various coloured pieces from Settlers of Catan Source:  PxHere   An interesting article that I have read this week is “ Design Considerations ”, by Greg Aleknevicus. In this article he discusses the factors of games that he really enjoys. These all fall under the category of physical presentation in board games. He states that he limits himself to “ideas and concerns that do not (for the most part) require extra expense beyond time”. He separates his views into categories; Components, The Box, Cards, Theme, and Rules. - Components   The design of the components of a game can drastically increase the enjoyability and functionality of a game. Aleknevicus suggests making game tiles “smaller than the spaces they’re placed upon”. This leaves room for movement of the tiles without disturbing the other tiles around it. Making the player pieces easily distinguishable is another suggestion, albeit somewhat more difficult. Many people suffer from colour blindness, of whi...

In this weeks Unity tutorial I made a functioning clock. I used techniques that I had already learned from previous tutorials; creating 3D objects, using parent and child hierarchy, and adjusting position rotation and scale. Unfortunately C# is still a bit of a mystery to me, but the language is becoming a bit more familiar. I'm happy that I managed to get it working. There was some time during the coding where I thought I wouldn't get it. But I persevered and managed to make a functioning clock! - Ultan

The D20 system from Dungeons and Dragons Source:  Wikipedia   Last week I started brainstorming potential video game ideas that I could make in Unity 3D. I have decided to continue researching my Dungeon Crawler RPG.   Some game mechanics that I have decided I would like are: - A Cursor   I like the idea of a point and click style of gameplay. When objects in the game world are hovered over, they will be highlighted, and can be interacted with by clicking on them. This may be used for doors, NPC's, treasure chests, and enemies. Clicking on an enemy would engage in combat. - An Inventory   Many RPG's have collectible weapons, armour and items. To be able to collect them, one needs an inventory. I would have a simple inventory that displays as either a grid or a list with a preview of the item. - Attacks   As I would plan to have enemies in my game, I would need to have a fighting system. This would go along with my cursor mechanic. When a...

Feedback works best as a dialogue Source:  Pixabay How does one give feedback effectively? "Put a slice of praise on the top and the bottom, and stick the meat of your criticism in between. It’s the compliment sandwich"   This is the piece of advice that I've often heard, but it is difficult to implement. The quote is from a very interesting article called " How to Give Bad Feedback Without Being a Jerk ", written by Adam Grant . I found this article to be of particular use, as I often find it difficult to deal out criticism. Here the author states that the "feedback sandwich doesn’t taste as good as it looks". The initial praise can be glanced over; seen as a mere attempt to soften the blow of the upcoming criticism. It can come across as insincere. Alternatively, if the praise is believed, it can outweigh the negatives, leaving the criticism null and void in the receivers eyes. But the author has given some genuinely helpful advice on how t...

Sure, I get it... Source:  Giphy   This week on Unity - Some C# coding that I'm not gonna pretend I understand! I understand the functions that they performed, but the actual elements are going to take some time and practise to become as familiar as HTML and CSS. I've come across 'if' statements before, but I'm still unsure of what some of the more complex coding involving 'public', 'static', and 'Raycast' really do. I will definitely be researching some basic C# coding, to get a better idea of what these functions are doing behind the scenes.   I began by adding a sound effect to the gem I created last week. This was a simple process that involved creating some subfolders and ticking some boxes. I can handle this much. Adding water was a much simpler process than I expected. After creating a dip in the terrain, I dragged and dropped in the water prefab and adjusted the desired height of the water. To create a wall, I added some new te...

  All games have several formal elements, meaning that they can be defined. While some games will contain elements that are not necessary for functionality, there are core elements that are needed for a medium to become a game. A chess board set up for play. Source:  WikiMedia Players :   Without at least one player, a game cannot be played. It must be defined how many players are needed for play. Chess needs exactly two players, and it cannot function properly without both players. Solitaire needs exactly one player. and they play versus the system of the game. There are many games that do not need an exact amount of players. Many first person shooters do not need an exact amount, and the game can be played with either odd or even numbers. Once the game establishes how the players interact, the play is in motion. eg One v One v One - Free for All, Team Competition, Head to Head etc. Objectives :   For a game to be completed, there must be a scenario th...

  Criticism can be the hardest thing to give and take. Too nice, and it gives no constructive feedback to improve. Too harsh, and it can put someone off the whole idea, crushing their spirit. Just right, and it can turn a good idea into a fantastic one.   I believe that criticism should never be negative. That's not to say that we should never acknowledge faults, but the way to deliver the message should be constructive.  Make sure to address the positive aspects of the idea, and then suggest some improvements. I believe that encouragement is just as powerful as "tough love", but has much better repercussions on the persons psyche, resolve and mental health. I was pleased to find that other people agree with me. One such person is Joel Almeida  who wrote the article:  A Simple 5-Second Habit to Rewire Your Harshly Self-Critical Brain .   We tend to hold ourselves to unrealistic perfectionism. This can lead to disinterest and impatience. Or we can c...