I use delta timing to make a "percentage" calculation on how many frames are lost compared to how many frames should be there. This guarantees when Boring Man (a game that was designed to run at 60 fps) only is able to run at 30 fps, your character, bullets, the clock timer, etc don't run slowly and you are not put at a disadvantage, and also since I'm a ding dong and made most things client sided. In a proper case, you would only apply this method to the server side of things, as long as the player's physics is controlled server side.
Without delta timing, If the game runs at 30 fps, a minute in-game lasts 2 minutes. And if it were running at 120 fps, an in-game minute would only last 30 seconds.
When the game is running at its optimal FPS, this calculation will return as 1. If its running too slow, this value will increase. If too fast, it will decrease. The value will never reach "below" 0. It will always be something like .000001
So, this means when you take a value and multiply it by this equation, the value will increase by a percentage depending on the frame loss. This way, the increments can make up for lost time if the game is running slowly. If the game is running optimally, it will not experience any change whatsoever as it would be being multiplied by 1.
The calculation is below. GM:S has the global constant delta_time to do the hard part for you. You can put this in a step event.
global.deltaTime = (<frames>/1000000*delta_time)
Under <frames> you'll want to put whatever fps your game is designed at. DO NOT use room_speed or fps as they change all the time. Just put a static number like 60. The 1000000 is how many microseconds are in a second, which is what delta_time is uses to do its magic. (I don't really know the mathematics behind delta_time)
You would then take global.deltaTime and use it as a multiplier with all instances of relative value increase. You would have to remember and make it a habit to assign this variable to EVERY line of code that involves increasing or decreasing a value.
For example:
speed += 2 * global.deltaTime is correct.
speed -= 2 * global.deltaTime is correct.
speed = 2 * global.deltaTime is NOT correct
You don't have to assign the variable to code with static value, as you will already know what value they will be at in 1 frame. Doing so will also cause strange results.
So its a little hard to wrap your head around but it can make your game run very professionally. You can also have fun with it and apply speed modifiers to the equation. For example, I divide the equation by a variable, so when the variable is set to 2, everything goes into a smooth, Max Payne-like slow motion setting. Hence the birth of the Slow-Mo mutator.
Extra reading:Â
http://docs.yoyogames.com/source/dadiospice/002_reference/date%20and%20time/delta_time.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta_timing
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I recently released a playable demo of "Wacky Bat", our fast-paced tunnel-runner. I say our game because it is Xarrot Studio's first collaboration! Liam (AKA octalpus) and I have been working on the game for several weeks now. We're very excited to say it's almost ready for a full release, but it just needs a little more work. Until then you can play it in-browser or download the game for Windows!
Here are a few screenshots:
Enough about the game, you should hopefully see more of it later when the final version is released! As for my new desktop computer, read on to see what I built for around $800 USD
Here is the PC Parts Picker link to the build. It turns out it wasn't too hard too setup (I have put together builds for my other friends) and is really big. It runs fast, cool, and generally is very quiet. I have a few extra hard drives connected to it for media storage and backups, and have a wireless adapter from my previous desktop. For the price I couldn't beat it, and I recommend looking into an SSD (solid state drive) as your primary boot device.
If you have any questions about how to put together your own computer or which parts you should pick, feel free to ask me anything!
Below are some high resolution screenshots of the finished product!
Lately I've been extremely busy, and haven't had the time to clean my room, hang out with friends, or even make exciting blog posts. I've had no time for myself. I'm sure at least some of you know how it feels to preoccupied with the responsibilities and tasks that come with adult life. It sucks, and you have to prioritize work and class before social media and games. Well, finally lucked out and I found some time and energy to make this post. Here we go!
The theme selected was "One Minute", and there was a total of 23 entries! These were the final reults (in order of score/place, descending) after the judging process was completed:
1st Place: Bombweb by Vinnie_V and BaconBoy123 with the score of [56.69]!
2nd Place:Â Constellation by LostAutumnGuy with a score of [49.40]
3rd Place: Homeworld Defense by Cajoled with a final score of [48.80]
The rest of the games are listed in order by score:
4th: Smhup The F*** Up by bitslap [~49.55]
  (bitslap's entry was disqualified from the prize pool for not rating enough games)
5th: Extinction Run by regniwekim [~47.92]
6th: The Typing of The Text by IsmoLaitela [47.70]
7th: Stopwatch Shotguns by frankbsad [47.00]
8th:Â Time Loop by peyj_Â [~46.58]
9th: Tymer by Mcwequiesk [~45.88]
10th: Bomb Threat by Material_Defender [~45.31]
11th:Â Ascend by logster123Â [~44.67]
12th:Â 60 Second Dungeon by kbjwes77Â (me)Â [~42.85]
13th: Space Miner by outlawninjanl [42.00]
14th:Â Dentoutekina Escape by thndrking4Â [~38.55]
15th:Â The Three Rooms of Hell by greenio3Â [~36.67]
16th: Escape in Sixty Seconds by Khayet [~36.45]
17th: Air - Supply Drop by AtomicDouche [~35.64]
18th: Project Delta by Artixo [~34.78]
19th: Fly Love by _pstudio [~33.67]
20th: Gotta Go Fast by Eigengraumann [~31.82]
  (Eigengraumann's entry was disqualified from the prize pool for not rating enough games)
21st: Coins by Donutttt [~31.07]
  (Donutttt's entry was disqualified from the prize pool for not rating enough games)
22nd: Simple Clicker by KynElwynn [28.50]
23rd: Speed of Light by LeaningSquare [28.20]
  (LeaningSquare's entry was disqualified from the prize pool for not rating enough games)
The GM48 was a huge success, as always and it gave the community a huge burst of interaction and productivity. An assortment of games were made, and a few are still being worked on at this very moment. Everyone whether you finished first came dead last learned something doing this jam, and walked away with a completed game. It may be a really sloppy game with lots of bugs and nasty art that looks like your drunk uncle drew while using his shakeweight. But it's art nonetheless. It's art you made, and it's yours to show off.
Being able to say you made a game in two days is a feeling I'll never forget until the day I die. It's a satisfying warm fuzzy feeling when someone plays your game or looks at a screenshot and gives you positive feedback. There's nothing quite like it. So I encourage whoever opted out (or anyone who couldn't do the competition for schedule reasons) to make time for the next GM48! Make plans ahead of time, and you won't be sorry.
But enough with that. Just play some of these games and let the creators know what they think! Feedback is critical to improvement! Well, that's about all I've got for this post. I'm signing of to go to bed and rest my eyes. This screen is too bright, even with "f.lux" installed. Good night internet. I'm going to review the top three games once I get some rest and play through the games again. No reason to rate a game based off one quick play through from a month ago!
Hey everyone! Guess what? I made a website! Also I made a game! Well, that's all for this post.
Wait... That wasn't descriptive. That didn't even give me a link to the new site! What is going on here?
I'm just kidding with you, the reader. While I finish tearing down the fourth wall, I'm going to continue where I left off. Where was I? Oh, that's it!
NEW WEBSITE! Yes, you read that correctly! I am registered for the domain, "http://xarrotstudios.com/" for exactly one, whole year! That means more consistent file hosting for me! That means faster and more reliable loading for you! You won't get that pesky "404 Error" when a link takes you to a non-existent image. I've got it!
Also, I plan on staying away from any Content Management Systems like Drupal, Wordpress, or Joomla. I don't think I like Joomla. Anyways, I'm steering clear of those resources for two main reasons:
I can't find a theme that I would like to edit to make my own for the time being
I love how fast plain HTML pages load. Like it's really fast.
So if something doesn't work just yet or the page looks a little boring, that's why. But it will always be bandwidth efficient and quick.
NEW GAME! I also made a new game this week for the GM48-9! You can find it on my new site, or here! In the game, you play as a time traveler sent to explore randomly generated dungeons, destroying monsters, picking up randomly generated guns, and finding loot along the way! One catch: Your time travel device only lasts for 60 seconds! Luckily the gadget happens to run on crystals which are abundant in these areas of space and time! Grab crystals, guns, and loot then run! Survive as long as you can in the never ending world of Sixty Second Dungeon!
Go ahead and play it. And now it's easier than ever to play my games, because now I can export them to HTML5 format! That means I just drag them over to my FTP client connected to my site, and boom! You have access to my games in browser, no download required! The future is here folks. So hop on the bandwagon, give me all your dogecoins (wow) and keep reading this blog!
Well, that's about it for now! For real. But until next time, stay tuned for the results of who won what in the GM48-9! The final judging will be complete within about 3 weeks!
Hey everybody. It's 1:30 AM here, I can't sleep and I have work in two and half hours. So I thought I'd go into a little detail about how I got here. Grab some popcorn, some pitchforks, and maybe a kleenex because it's about to go down. Hopefully you'll be able to relate to some of these feelings and not feel so lonely, or you will pick something up from this ramble-ment and it won't be useless. Without any further dilly-dallying...
My journey. The important part begins in middle school. It was a Christian private school called Bethel Prepatory School. It was not a school. I had nowhere else to go. I was bullied in my other public school, and we couldn't move just yet. So private school was the next best option. After all, we went to the church that housed the school on it's property. Can you already tell what's going wrong here? The school was run by a pastor who spoke at the church across the parking lot. Half of the teachers did not have legitimate teaching licenses. You couldn't graduate from this school. It was a joke. However, this is where I met my best friend. This best friend saved me from self-pity, loneliness, and later introduced me to even more friends. He is a crazy bastard and will likely do anything you dare him to, if you call him a pussy. We all have one of those friends. For me, this was Josh.
Josh and I instantly became friends, and would hangout quite often. We played Halo 3 on the X-Box religiously, went on church trips together (Winter Camp, Creation Festival), and got into trouble. Like most teenagers though, nothing serious. So this went on for a few years and we continued going to Bethel Prep and life was finally okay. I wasn't bullied anymore, I had a few friends, and I wasn't alone. My life was changing for the better, and I didn't even realize it. But it was about to get better. We were all leaving Bethel Prep!
No more private school! Josh's family was leaving the school and moving to a new area so they could go to public school. Mind you, we were in high school now, so we all needed to leave the private school soon if we were to graduate. So naturally, I convinced my mom to put me into the same school as Josh. My mom went to that same public school as a kid and lived in the town where Josh was moving to. It was perfect. We found a nice apartment where I had the biggest room; a loft with crisp air conditioning in the summer. I just got into Game Maker before moving, and I was getting good at it. When we moved and settled in, I had my own computer in the loft and after coming home from school I would hack away at the keyboard trying out new things and learning. It felt great. It was about to get better still.
One day, my friend Josh comes to me and says someone at the high school programs too! I thought great, but I don't really program, I use Game Maker! Well it turns out that this very kid, in a high school with 600 kids in it total, also used Game Maker! Needless to say, we became best friends instantly. Not as tight (yet) as Josh and I were, but we would slowly become inseparable. More often than not, you could find my new friend Liam and I programming and testing out our latest ideas in either his house or mine. Did I mention he lived two houses away from me? It was like in the movies when the main character meets someone completely by chance and ends up becoming best friends with them. That's exactly how this was. He listened to my crazy ideas, I listened to his, we laughed, we cried, but most importantly, we grew. Not only as people, but we were growing into adults who knew what their passion in life was: computers. We had everything in common and it was the best, most short lived period of my life that I will never forget. But it was coming to a close. My life was about to take a turn for the worst. And I'm still recovering, even three years later. Do you really want to know what happened next?
Divorce. Ugly, nasty divorce. This was no ordinary divorce; this was the kind where the father refuses to pay child support for almost a year and leaves his family in the dust. I was devastated. I didn't know it though, as I hated that side of my father (his cold side) and I was glad he was gone. I thought life was about to get better. But I was damned wrong. Money was tight. Actually, let me rephrase that: Money was non-existent. I was 15, I couldn't find a job. My dad left us with a mortgage and rent to pay. I had to apply for free lunch and my mom had to apply for food stamps (SNAP as they call it now). I wore the same outfits for the next year and a half, new clothes were out of the question. I was a bright kid but my circumstances made me feel like life was falling apart. I was beginning to think life was hopeless and I was worthless again. I would never find money, I could never get out of this mess. So I made the worst decision of my life. I still cringe about the moment where I made the choice to sign that paper. I gave two years of my life away.
I dropped out of high school. It seemed like it would be a good choice at the time, as I could get a full time job at the age of 16, and I could finally afford things. I was also lazy. School was easy, I'm not trying to brag, but I was a pretty bright kid. I thought the schoolwork was a waste of time. I didn't need a high school diploma, I could just pass the G.E.D. test and call it a day. Then I'd start college early and I'd be doing great. Do you want to know if I was wrong. Chances are you already know what the answer is.
Wrong. Boy was I wrong. I couldn't start college until the next year because I couldn't afford college, but I also couldn't apply for Federal Student Aid because my parent's divorce wasn't finalized. My dad's salary was too high for the government to help. I soon learned I couldn't get a job until I was 17. I did find a gig on the Game Maker Community as a web developer, and learned almost everything I know from a kind Canadian fellow who employed me and saved my life. Cheers Matt! But that was short lived as I lost contact with him. So the light at the end of my tunnel faded once more and I was alone again, lonelier than before, and now a lazy, flunkie with no motivation. But I still had programming and I still had my friends. My mom stuck by my side (she was drinking heavily at this point, I still love her though), and I pushed through two, terrible penniless years of my life. I don't know how I made it but I did.
After being broke and discouraged for so long, I had enough and I got into college and found work. We had moved away from my small town at this point and lived ten minutes away from all of my friends. It was harder to hangout with them, but it didn't stop me. I still worked with Game Maker consistently, and finished a few, more complex projects. I could never show them to anyone but Liam, but they were something. I was making progress. I was finally reaching the summit of Mt. Shitty and was about to cross to other side and descend. And here comes the worst night of my life, the night I rolled off Mt. Shitty. The absolute, most heart-breaking, stomach-knotting 24 hours of my existence. I knew it was coming, I just never expected it to be this bad.
I was done my second semester of college, and was on vacation to Disney Resorts in Florida. Sounds magical right? Hell yeah it was! I'd never been there before, and it was great. Good weather, good food, good rides, good atmosphere. It was fantasy. It was escape. But reality hit me harder. Harder than ever. My friends were at prom (and afterwards at the New Jersey coast in a hotel for prom weekend) and they called me.
"We miss you John"... "Why can't you be here with us?!"... "I love you!"... To me, all I could hear was, "Why did you drop out?"... "Why did you give up on life?"... "Why are you such a loser!?"...
I cried afterwards. Silently. For an hour. I was on the balcony of the resort, overlooking the pool and a river, the lights were reflecting off of the water and the night sky was beautiful and the breeze was ever so slightly moving along. The sprinklers had gone off and it smelled of fresh dew in the morning. It was the most serene and calm and pretty my life had been, but I wasn't with my friends. I had abandoned them, I had abandoned me. I gave up on life, I dropped out of school and missed out on so many great experiences, and not just prom. I missed Senior Trip (they went to Disney a two weeks before I went), graduation, and many more memories I only have seen videos and pictures of. I can not describe to you the feeling of being left out because of my own choices.
But it motivated me. Yes, I felt like a sack of shit. I felt worthless and useless and felt like life had no purpose for me because I was just a dropout going to college on Federal Aid, with a divorced, single mother (who managed to find a caring boyfriend who took us to Disney) on food stamps without enough money for a proper meal. All of that was true, except I wasn't worthless. I had a purpose and I could be useful. But I had to change my view on things. I had to rethink my confidence, tell myself, "I can do something!", and make up for my mistakes. I had to rise above my situation and really put an effort into succeeding. I had to take life on, but in a different way. I had to push forward.
And you know what? I'm here, alive and well today writing this. I have extra money in my saving account, I have food on my plate, and I have a job. I am enrolled in college, I have my own car, and I am my own person. I am not a failure, and I have friends who will tell me the same. I've improved my life. And now I am striving to exceed everyone's expectations. I may have dropped out of high school, but in no way does that make me a loser or a lazy, worthless human being. I am not in any way condoning or promoting dropping out. Please reconsider staying in school, even if your life is at it's worst. But you can move on, and you can move up. Your mistakes do not define who you are. Making up for your shortcomings and being a kind, driven and knowledgeable individual is what really counts. I've made my dream of becoming a programmer (and indie developer) a reality. I now have other dreams and goals that I want to achieve and pursue. And I will never let anyone say I can't. Diploma or not, I will try my best to get to where I am going.
And that's my journey so far. It became a little motivational, and I may have gone over the top, but damn it feels good to get that off my chest. Maybe I can sleep better and make my last hour before work count. But if you're reading this Liam, Josh, or any of my other friends or family, I want to thank you for being there. For picking me up when I fell, for sitting with me when I was lonely, and for giving me a shoulder to lean on. I seriously could not have made it this far without you all. I owe you one!
Thanks for reading this. My story is just as important as yours, and if you want to talk to someone, I'm glad to hear you out! Direct message me on Twitter, or email me at "[email protected]".
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Hello! I'm sure you've all been refreshing this page continuously waiting for my next blog post. Well, your wish has been granted! Happy Holidays everyone, and Happy New Year! Welcome to 2014!
I've been busy lately with work (I now work almost full time at Walgreens), the holidays and seeing my long lost friends who are home from college! It was an exciting year for me, as I was hired for my first real job, bought my first car, turned 18, went to Disney World, moved out with a friend, and built my first computers!
Now that you know what I've been doing and why I've been so busy, I'd like to talk about what I did do that relates to this blog: I made two games this year, both for game competitions. They may not be amazing or game changers, but I finished two whole games. It feels great to be able to say that. I encourage everyone of you reading this to try and finish one game, even if it kills you, no matter how bad the game is. If you need a little push, try this: Derek - Finishing A Game
Nothing beats the feeling of finishing a game and showing it off to the world, whether it be to your friends, your mom, or the whole world on your little blog. Just get out there and make something!
Now for my favorite part of this poorly organized rambly message: What I've Learned and My Resolutions!
This year I learned:
Optimizing your game is nowhere near as important as finishing it. Write code that works, then come back for it later to get it all robust and clean and stuff.
Just open up that IDE. Get the juices flowing. Don't tell yourself you'll make something, get on there and DO IT!
Collaborate! Meet a friend online and exchange ideas/demos of your games. Play test each other's games. Two heads are better than one!
Make games for you and start small. Kind of self explanatory. Just don't get ahead of yourself. Take it on on piece at a time.
Art is important, but so is code! If you can't draw, make something with code that looks cool/nice. You can always find open source art assets later, or hire an artist if you think it's worth it! Don't dwell on your shortcomings. Of course try and improve and get better at it, but don't obsess.
You see that list? That's everything I learned the hard way. Trial and error. I had to learn from my own mistakes. If you're struggling like I was, trust me. Take that advice. Or don't. But don't say I didn't tell you so.
Now for the corny, cliche part... My Resolutions:
Make more than TWO games!
Make a game that gets over 250 plays!
Make at least ONE post per month on this blog!
Learn a NEWÂ programming language!
BUILDÂ a desktop computer with my paycheck!
If I meet at least 4 out of 5 my goals, I will do some sort of giveaway at the end of the year! Sounds exciting right? I hope so! But for now, that's where I'm at in life. Reviewing the past year, enjoying my holidays in the present, and looking forward to meeting my goals for the future! I can't wait to see what this year will bring to the game development table. Whatever takes place, I'm sure it will be one hell of a ride! So much to look forward to in 2014.
Happy New Year everyone! You've got a clean slate, start drawing something!
I just made an important change to my site! This may concern you. Yeah, you.
If I have used someone's work in one of my games, I will always give them credit somewhere. Now recently, I realized I wasn't doing enough to make this visible. So, I have created a section at the bottom of my links page ( lazy link here ) to give credit to all those who have created something that I used in one of my games. I don't want for any reason for someone to think that I made something that I did not. However, I do want for your work to get exposure in a positive way, such as me using it in a game.
I want the best for you and I. So if I am doing something wrong or I could do it better, let me know!
Hey guys, I'm back. Yeah, you read that right. The lazy asshole that decided to let his blog collect virtual cobwebs just made a game. I've got to be joking!
Nope. I really did! And you can download the game here! (Windows Only) I also put up some screenshots below. Feel free to look at the disgraceful programmer art, the almost-barren level design, and the default font that I didn't think to replace. Ohkay, so it doesn't look awesome.
However, it plays well in my opinion. It also has some bangin' music, created by "Rise of the Obsidian Interstellar". And it has an atmosphere that I was digging. It came together just right. So if you can get past the rough visuals and the miniscule amount of levels (only 6 currently...), give it a try and let me know what you thought!
Anyways, I'll let you get back to surfing the web and looking at .gifs of kittens sliding around on hardwood floors. Just wanted to let you know I'm back, and I am still making games. Sorry, but that's how it was, and that's how it's going to be. Deal with it. Until next time...
Controls: WASD - Move | Mouse - Aim | LMB - Shoot
How to play: Collect ice-balls, freeze stuff, and make it out alive.
Since I'm busy with life (moving, job, adult stuff), I haven't had time to do what I like most; programming. You probably noticed. Well yeah, there's not much I can do about it, except this! I am going to quote for you something I can relate to, and most programmers could agree. You may know who said it. He's quite famous (and rich!).
<quote>
A normal project for me goes through three stages. I will summarize and review them because Iâm waiting for a very slow script to finish and have nothing better to do! :D
Inspiration!
Ah! A new idea! I think I know how I could do an awesome thing, or thereâs a new aspect I want to try with an existing feature. Development speed is amazingly high and new ideas get thrown around. Some of it might not be perfect, and thereâs a significant risk of abandoning the project at this stage.
Motivation!
After the initial stage of inspiration, the project moves into the motivation driven phase. Features get tweaked and polished, and the overall design gets a final overhaul. Some boring things get pushed up until later, if possible.
Fun: 3/5
Usefulness: 3/5
Fulfillment: 3/5
Productivity: 5/5
Stress!
Suddenly I realize I need to finish the feature! Doubt sets in, and some deadline starts looming. Is it good enough? Is it even usable? Productivity drops suddenly, and the major motivator becomes just getting it done before the deadline. This usually leads to last minute work. Despite this, much of the work ends up being actually very good.
Abandonment!
Eventually, the project is considered âgood enoughâ, or the deadline passes, and whatever is there will just have to serve as the final version. Sure, I could spend infinitely more time working on it, but new projects are either deemed more important, or some new inspiration sets in. The project is wrapped up and released.
As you can see, I have heavily modified my blog here on Tumblr to be more bandwidth efficient while also looking more modern and sleek. Hope you like it, because it's staying this way for a while. Why?
Well, that's because I've begun work on a reals website! Yes, with my own domain and everything (not yet though). It is Wordpress based, which means it's fast and reliable, and also has many pre-built themes to choose from. Now of course, being the tinkerer that I am, editing and modifying the theme I choose is necessary and will happen eventually. But for now, behold... http://xarrotstudios.co.nf/
Don't expect anything too fancy just yet, it's currently just a proof of concept. The domain may change later on as well. But that's it for now!
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
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After using my new laptop in my friendâs camper over the summer, I learned many unexpected things. Some ideas I picked up were camping tips, others were just plain gossip. However, the important things I became aware of were related to my website and my current projects that utilize networking for online multiplayer. It turns out, bringing my work out there opened my eyes to a whole lot of problems I would not have faced had my friend and I just stayed indoors. So, what exactly did I realize?
Well, I was checking my blog on my laptop in the camper that was located a good distance away from the house. That's when I ran into some trouble loading the images for my blog, especially the huge 640x640, 464kb image I used for the background. Because my friendâs router and my laptop were so far away from each other, loading any images proved to be impossible. It just didnât work. So I had to fix it, and thatâs what this post is for; to tell you how I did it!
The solution to my packet-loss dilemma, the one important phrase that every programmer has uttered at least once in his or her lifetime, happened to be "compression". Compression is a fantastic thing, as it allows any digital file to be compressed, or packed into a smaller space, while still looking and feeling the same. So what I went ahead and did was I waved the magic wand of compression and all of my images were instantly compressed! Actually⌠I donât have one of those wands. But damn would one of those be handy when I pack up my suitcase before travelling.
So, instead of using that magic wand thingy, I used TinyPNG to compress all of the images on my site into more bandwidth-efficient replicas that look perfectly identical. So how does it work? How can you just, with the click of a button, shed half of the fileâs original size? The concept is simple. TinyPNG uses a âsmartâ algorithm to reduce color quality in precise areas to cut back on the fileâs storage footprint. Clever, huh? Since your eyes can only see so many colors, without an enlarged copy or a trained expert to compare the two images side by side, the images are visually similar on such an extreme level there is virtually no difference between the original and the processed copy. Math and technology are amazing.
The next time you visit my blog, you can think about the extra work and programming that has gone into making it load almost instantly. My blog would not be the same today, if it werenât for that epiphany in my friendâs camper or the team behind TinyPNG. Thanks guys!
Below are the results of using TinyPNG to reduce the imagesâ file-sizes. I hope this is a quality testimony to the wonders of compression! Thanks for reading.
Today, user Material_Defender of r/gamemaker (a subreddit of reddit) released the first playable version of his latest project titled "Boring Man"! It's a game about completing objectives online while attacking and gibbing the other team in a fictional yet functional 2D world. After trying it myself, I have to say, it is nothing short of fantastic! From what I played, it is a solid multiplayer experience with a few interesting mechanics (including a variety of weapons, magical spells, wall-jumping, rolling and more) that keep the game lively and the player on his/her toes! I recommend trying out one of the test servers and jumping into the action yourself; you won't be disappointed!
You can see a few animated screenshots below, and a video demonstrating some gameplay even further below. You can get a copy to play here, or click here to view the original thread on reddit!
Have you recently upgraded to Windows 8(TM) and been disappointed when you realized your beloved Start Menu is gone? Have you clicked the bottom-left of your screen only to realize this habit Microsoft(C) developed for you has been relinquished and now you have been left lost and disoriented?
Well, Classic Shell, a program for Windows 8 users like you and I has been created that fills the void where a start menu once resided. Once installed, it recreates the start button as seen in Windows 95(TM) all the way up to Windows 7(TM), and emulates the start menus of those legendary and deprecated operating systems as well! It opens when you log onto your computer as well, making it easy to forget to remember to open the Classic Shell application! Did I mention there is an option to skip the new start menu of Windows 8(TM) and go straight to the desktop?
If this sounds appealing or helpful in any way, head over to classicshell.net, homepage of the wonderful program described here. Also, to change the start menu look and feel to better match your style and theme, try out my Classic Shell Tutorial to get your copy of Classic Shell up and running lightning fast and edit the start button with some of my pre-made designs! Be sure to read the instructions first, though!
Good luck, and I hope this improves your Windows 8(TM) experience! It sure has made a difference to me; I couldn't use Windows 8(TM) without it!
(Here's a nifty picture of the Classic Shell settings window with some important buttons highlighted!)
Check out Classic Shell's Site here!
Download my Classic Shell Tutorial here!
(Here is a preview of what your Windows 8(TM) copy with Classic Shell can look like!)
Thanks for reading! Feel free to let us know how it works out for you!
Wow, that was a chore! Making 'Another World', my submission to r/gamemaker for the sixth GM48, was no easy feat! I finished everything I wanted to, polished it up and added menus and high scores, and was able to add in some really fitting music in at the last few, hectic minutes! (Thank you Poke-1,170 of 8bitpeoples!) I didn't expect it to turn out as well as it did; it's actually quite entertaining if I do say so myself.
Anyways, you can get the original version (Windows only), download an updated version, watch a video of me playing, and you can check out the original reddit post here to discuss and rate the game! There are several other games to play and rate besides my entry, and you can find them here!
More about my game:
Another World is about exploring randomly generated levels and taking down hordes of enemies. However, you only one life. What will you do to survive?
1,510 total lines of code, only 5 colors used for textures, the smallest sprite is 4x2 pixels, game canvas resolution of 200x150 pixels stretched over 800x600 pixels, all made in 48 hours with GameMaker 8.0 Pro!
Final Words:
Game competitions are a unique and satisfying experience for me! I love to make games, and I love a challenge, so it never gets old. Also, using GameMaker makes it really easy to rapidly develop games with quality and precision. I couldn't have done it without it, so I'd like to thank Mark Overmars (Creator of GameMaker) for his awesome work and dedication to making GameMaker what it is today.
I recommend to anyone who is looking into getting into the game industry, or any hobbyists looking for a challenge to join a game competition and see what you can do! There's nothing like it, and even if your game doesn't win, you learn a whole lot during the development process. Time management is key, and learning to churn out working code and produce quality results is crucial to being a successful developer. If you want to take your planning, programming, and problem solving skills to a new level, definitely sign up for an upcoming game jam. You won't be disappointed!
Achievements:
Ranking
5th Place for overall score! (Out of 15)
1st Place for Stability!
Reviews
âAwesome work, as usual!â -Â dafishy
âAs I play⌠I keep trying to find something wrong with the game. There lies the problem, this game is executed perfectly⌠Well done.â - logster123
Over in r/gamemaker ( a subreddit of the popular site you should know about called Reddit ) there is a 48-hour game competition starting April 12th at 10:00 PM (EST), called the 'GM48'. It is the sixth compo of it's kind, where you create an original game based on a theme voted on by the subreddit's subscribers. With a newly balanced rating system and more controlled judging, it is much fairer than the previous 'GM48's. You may still have time to sign up and compete, as a team or individually, but you must make the entire game from scratch with the rapid game development tool Game Maker. Sign up for Reddit if you haven't already, vote for a theme if you'd like, and make sure you follow the necessary steps to have your game judged and compete in the competition!
The competition is over! You can check out the final version here on my blog or here on r/gamemaker. You can vote on the submitted games here!
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This is a screenshot of my my newest project, Decay! It will feature long, gnarled corridors, a wide array of enemies, and lots of loot and treasure to find and collect! Did I mention it is generated randomly?
This is all one dungeon, just different areas. It's fairly large so far, and quite intricate. More to come soon!
Click the screenshot to view the entire album of screenshots of the dungeon generated above.
Nice to meet you! This is John, creator of Xarrot Studios!
This is my very exciting blog with loads of rich content. Notice there isn't any loads of rich content yet, and I said this is my blog, as this is currently a one man team. I am developing games for your enjoyment and posting the progress and achievement of my studio here. Maybe I'll pick up more team members along the way? Maybe a game we make will be a hit? Who knows, so stay tuned, you're in for some sort of twisted ride through the wonderful journey of being a game developer.
Thanks for reading my humble first post. You're awesome.
