I am enjoying the process

It's good I am learning new things and solving problems.

Level 1 and 2 are good and I am working on 3 and I am trying to make levels feel alive by adding texts and background clouds and textures.

10 Levels will be enough for creating a game experience

 I don't want my first game to be so long and complex and boring.

It should be short, cute and fun to play.

Recently I have made some errors in scoring system and I have to fix it asap and after that I have to work on some new enemies and difficulties and also think about simple storyline to hook the players.

My back hurts

Sometimes visual scripting can be a bit overwhelming the thing with developing a game, the developer have to play the same level again and again to test if everything is working fine, if every thing is smooth and it just makes us tired as beginner game dev.

Just look at previous two days.

Look at the art made by me

 

The pixel art tree and turnips and I know, I know the lava doesn't look like popular lava arts but that's my style and I know my sister will like it. 

I tested it on Mobile yayyy!!!

I designed first level completely and also tested it on android device.

The story is there is a house, Miss Turnip is locked outside her house and her brother has hidden the keys somewhere far away and in every level she has to find the key and enter the house.

I have added touch screen controls and first level is almost finish and it looks really amazing. 

 

The Game is Taking Shape...

I figured out what type of game I want this to be... So the game is simple to go from one level to another the player will have to open a gate but that gate is locked so they will need a key and the key will be placed somewhere far away and the player will have to cross all obstacles so she can get the key, open the gate and go to next level.

I am still working on the plot and final level but first let me make the first level. I have to draw more game art like trees, bushes and may be some houses to fill the environment.

Here are some pics of how it looks now.

The red floor is lava when player falls in lava it dies and level begins from beginning.

It is Harder than I thought but...

I am not feeling good, feeling exhausted and tired.

I am not talking about game engine, I am talking about making the game on time. Time is less so I have to work everyday and learn so much and then do it practically in the engine on dummy projects so that I can implement it in my game.

Doing all this while managing type-1 diabetes and other works at home there are a million things going in background that need my attention... oh god.

Well i had to document this stage too, for the record, learning something is not always a path full of flowers, some days will be dull and depressing and on those days you survive and stay on the path by discipline, by the commitment to your goals.

A New Strategy

Now I will make a clear plan of the game like what I want from the game, the story-line, the conflict and obstacles, everything like how many levels and how will be the ending. 

I have to make it memorable.

I think I know how the game gonna look

Well I was searching some more assets to work with but then I realised if I am gonna use assets then it gonna loose " I made it " factor and I think I am gonna design my own assets for the game.

I am gonna go for minimal pixel art and a simple storyline with an end. I want it to be a one time experience. I am putting hours into this and still there are many things left:

• Learning about HUD objects
• Working with Particle emitter, when she hits enemies btw it will be optional
• Adding enemies and obstacles
• Adding text dialougue

I will learn these things soon but now I guess it's time to begin the project. I am thinking a name for the game ofcourse I want it to be on my sister's name or related to it... I will think about it.

Today I am going to create a project folder in the game engine and like a traditional game dev I will make changes on the way as I will learn.

Well I have designed my main player today and I am good and I am gonna stick with it... I like this Shalini's character.

Now I have to work on background like trees, clouds and landscapes. I will post more about my custom made game art in upcoming post.

Today I experimented and worked on a new example

Here's the screen snaps of a simple platformer example I tried to make today but with assets designed by me, only the coins were from asset store.

Today my player walked, collected coins and when she touched coins it played a twaiing sound and the most fun part is I made that blue potion when the player touches it, she gets teleported to another scene where the text says " Thanks for playing ".

Huh I am happy!

Well I learned some basics and it is progress

 Today morning I was feeling stuck because the game engine was new to me but now in the evening when I have made some progress, followed basic tutorials and documentation to create a basic playable game example, I feel good and now I understand many things that I was unaware of this morning.

So, here are some pics from the work today, this is a form of game programming known as visual scripting.

and after this much of visual scripting I made a decent looking playable prototype of a platformer from downloaded assets pack.

This bunny walks, jumps, stand idle, eat the apple and makes a little sound when player collides with the apple and you know what was the tough part? Increasing the score when it eats the apple.

learning something takes time and sometimes it might not feel as good as it was on the first day but the truth is that it doesn't have to feel good. 

You have to put in some work if you want some results and when you will get results trust me that feeling of achievement, of learning something new is true reward.

Come on now! I literally made a game Yayyyyyyyyy!!!

Okay okay I was over confident

But it is a complex process... second day and I feel stuck. I don't know where to begin. I want to create a game but not finding any good assets and the ones available don't fit in my project.

I am also overwhelmed by the game engine, btw I am using Gdevelop Visual Scripting. Gdevelop is a free and open source Game engine with a beginner friendly user interface.

I am not frustated at the game engine but at my own ability to not learn things faster. The truth is I am feeling dull today because yesterday I had too many fluctutaions in my blood glucose levels.

Well, I was thinking where to begin but now I will begin with basic tutorials and documentation and master the engine first or atleast be familiar with all the controls and settings, then I will start with basic things.

Why I am making a game?

I WANT TO LEARN GAME DEVELOPMENT AND I CAN'T WAIT.

It's an hobby that I wanted to learn from a long time ago.

and also...

Because it's fun and almost everyone love games... I wanted to learn game development from a long time but never got time from other works and my health issues and it required hardware like a strong pc with a strong processor to run those heavy and expensive game engines but I got my old pc and I found out a game engine that can run on my pc and it's open source so I don't even need to buy a license.

now making a game or learning game development is not easy. Many pro game developers have said that with practice you can make your dream game but even they estimate a time of 1 - 2 year of game development before one can learn making decent looking games. I am gonna do it by the help of Gdevelop's visual scripting language.

As I am going to learn game development I am thinking to make a simple game for  my sister and surprise her.

Challenges...

Yeah I know what you are thinking how am I gonna do it in one and a half month of time with all the other important work I have to finish while managing my type-1 diabetes... well I think I can do it and I am super excited about it. Come on it doesn't have to be perfect.

but even a simple 2D game is no joke.

Yes I am thinking too how she will react... ahhh I hope she likes it... she will like it!

Right now I don't have a clear picture of how's the game gonna look but I will work on it and this blog will record this journey of me creating a game for my sister and also me becoming a game dev because I always wanted to make my own games and I think time has come... let's do this.

Appreciation time...

my sister...

She is a really awesome human being and a great cook, a creative painter, a melodious singer, she dances too, a talented gardener, a writer, a reader and a meditator and I mean there's nothing that she can't possibly do! 

and there can be a separate blog just about her... yeah she is that great! 

The purpose of this blog

The purpose is to record what I am doing, how I am feeling in the process and all the progress that I will do on the game.

and to inspire whoever reads my blog that anything can happen if we put effort and stay consistent.

Just like a writer's first draft is not a best seller same way when you are learning something like game development, your first game can't be the best looking one but it can be unique. It doesn't have to be perfect when it's the first. 

I will post screen snaps of games and levels that I will create and also about the things I am experiencing while learning something new and finishing what I am going to start on time.