vonFlampanker

Checked out QUARANTINE 2 on Netflix last night because Flampanker Jr was keeping me awake anyway. It's not nearly as bad as i'd been led to believe. The first half, especially, had some nice tension and setup. Maybe it's just because I'm a somewhat nervous airplane passenger. It's not a classic by any means, and it's weird that they went this direction after QUARANTINE was so much of a shot-by-shot remake of [REC], but if you like those movies this one won't make you feel like you totally wasted your time.

PONTYPOOL fucking rules.

@nintendoeats: I've run into a couple of seemingly simple problems that turned out to be complex. For instance getting an object instance to pivot on a point other than its midpoint (to, say, open a door in a top-down view). My forays into AI behaviors haven't been very encouraging, either.

I also realized at a certain point that I was putting too many unique behaviors for each instance. That is there were too many custom, hard-coded instances when they should have been inheriting a common set of behaviors from the Prototype (GS lingo for "Object"). Going back and trying to do it "properly" so to speak has created some weird anomalies that I can't pin down. When I get some time I'll post some pictures/video of what I'm talking about. There's also the possibility that my understanding of structuring things "properly" - based on my half-ass research into OOP - is just bound to cause more problems and I'm better off just barreling forward doing things the way I know how.

Meant to mention: a nice thing about Gamesalad is its ability to target devices for export. It gives you a lot of options for iOS publishing alongside more generic desktop resolutions.

GameSalad has no proper programming language, correct. There's an expression editor, which seems useful but also seems to be lacking a proper guide/introduction for the math-averse like us. It also handles tables without the need to code, which I've found pretty useful.

I think GS is having some trouble with the Windows version of their client. Similar to your experience, it'll install but it won't launch. The Mac client, however, is pretty elegant from a UI standpoint (though there are areas where they could improve), and allowed me to get surprisingly far into my project before hitting any sort of wall (I'd say my project is as complex as an average NES game).

It's a good time to be doing projects like these, and I'm looking forward to these tools getting even better.

Very nice post! I've been looking into these non-programmer focused game making programs ever since I heard Patrick talking about them during the MolyJam coverage. I got into GameSalad instead of GameMaker, but they're both quite a bit more powerful than I thought they'd be. I may go back and, based on what you've written here, try to see if GameMaker offers an easier time for implementing some of the bits of my game.

Do you find that GM has a decent amount of reference available online in the form of forums, faqs and documentation? GS' is growing and friendly but I find it's still somewhat lacking for specific problems.

Many thanks for the introduction to GM. Good luck!

Well done! Team Brad 4 Life.

Quite, quite nice. Thanks for making and sharing!

I'm alternating generations so I'm due for this one. Looks good. At this point I just want snappy and reliable over whiz-bang.

One could argue that Apple is in the process of drinking Sony and Nintendo's milkshake when it comes to the handheld gaming space. Sony and Nintendo need to take note of two things:

1. Apple is comfortable with iterating hardware without requiring massive re-purchases of old apps and software.
2. Apple has a much lower bar for developers to get software onto their devices.

@AhmadMetallic said:

@vonFlampanker said:

@AhmadMetallic: We could have both. I like the idea of having that library available on such nice hardware. Why they don't make more of an effort is beyond me. It's tempting to call them lazy, but I'm not sure that's the case.

Question is, does the Vita have enough original/new titles? Let's say I'm thinking of buying one, am I gonna be playing Uncharted spin-offs and 1996 games?

In my opinion, no. I'm not sure I've ever heard anyone (anyone but Sony, maybe) make that assertion.

I don't necessarily need new IP, though it's nice. I just need games worth playing. Sound Shapes and Tearaway are great examples of using the hardware in original and unique ways, but I don't think we should count out titles like LBPV and AC3:L (provided those end up worth playing) just because they're not new IP.

Point with the PSOne stuff was just that this was a VERY easy chance for them to add quite a bit of value in the eyes of some owners (and potential owners) and they completely bonked when it came to North America.

@AhmadMetallic: We could have both. I like the idea of having that library available on such nice hardware. Why they don't make more of an effort is beyond me. It's tempting to call them lazy, but I'm not sure that's the case.