I've had to make a decision, and it's that I have to drop mobile gaming for now. PC and Mac support will stay, maybe eventually I can port over to mobile, but it's not going to be my target platform anymore.
There's a few reasons for it, and I could go on at length about the nuances of whatever, but it all comes down to the simple issues of Time and Money. To develop cross-platform for Android, iOS, PC, and Mac, it would cost nearly $1000* in licensing just for Unity. If I chose to drop Unity altogether, it would mean either A) a downgrade to 2d sprites or B) finding and learning yet another language (which would more than likely cripple the idea of cross-platforming). In either case A or B, I'd have to go back and learn even more stuff, start over from scratch again, and probably still stuck paying for software licenses.
As it currently stands, sticking as close to the vague "plan" as possible still sounds the best idea. I can keep going in the direction I'm going and make non-mobile games for now with no changes or loss-of-progress. I'm not entirely happy with the whole thing, but I hardly have a choice. This whole project is founded on the idea that I can make a game from scratch, on my own, in my free time, for practically zero financial input, and make profit from it.
Sure, I could just pirate the whole thing. Easily, in fact. It would be a bit suspect if I was suddenly (and publicly) using software that's worth 3 months of rent though. Also, somewhat tied into the sentiment above, I'm still sold on this idea that anyone can do this, and an entire studio-suite of software doesn't fit in with that ideal. I'd be lying if I said I didn't think about it, but I did decide against it.
On the bright side, this actually does give me a few more options now. Mobile gaming is good in its own right, but for actual "gaming" it's usually handicapped by its own limitations. Screen size and resolution, processing power, controls**, these are all things I don't have to be as concerned about. Testing will be a lot easier. I have other new options now too, in regards to game engines and languages as well. I only just found out that Unreal Engine 3 is free to download; how cool is that?
In other news, modeling is still very slow going, but it's going in the right direction. I'm trying to move more into using Unity than using Blender, but it's still a lot to learn. I found some more tutorials though and I'm making some progress. After I have the meshes all set, I'll figure out how to decorate and/or color it, then see what I can do about making it move.
* - That's just for the ability to save in Android and iOS formats. Unity Pro costs over $3000 by itself.
** - Say what you will, mobile gaming flat-out sucks because of three words: No Tangible Buttons.
6.12.2012
Literally reinventing the wheel.
Several days later, I don't have nearly as much to show for it as I'd like. I've made and destroyed three different models so far, and I'm working on number "about-three-and-a-half-ish" right now. The more I make them, the more I realize that I hate the design and need to learn more. Seriously... while I'm picking up on the nuances of Blender, there's so many options that it's still unwieldy to use. Watching a 20 minute tutorial takes upwards of 2 or 3 hours, and only scratches the surface of one particular thing (usually without actually explaining the "how and/or why" part of things).
I know I harp on this a lot, but Blender is nigh-impossible to to use without tons of external help and support. An example I came across earlier; want to open a background picture to trace over? First, you have to push N to open another menu (by default this is turned off (Seriously? A hidden but important menu?)), check Background Images, expand that menu, click add image, search for the image, apply the image, expand the View menu, change the opacity (default is 0; completely transparent) and size (default is miniscule), accept the changes, AND THEN you have to find it. Because it's a 2d image in 3d space, it's only viewable when the camera is locked to one of the 3 planar views. All of this to open an image you can't even manipulate. But I digress.
The first design was a flat skeleton that didn't have any textures applied to it (because I couldn't figure it out). It had the basic shape right but wasn't more than a flat white bumpy cylinder and box with 2 tubes on it. The second model was about when I figured out how to smooth the surfaces AND add colour. Still a far cry from where it needs to be, but inching closer.
See that tire texture there on the right? You'd think it'd be easy enough to line it up proper and texture the wheels, but then you'd be wrong. I can't even recreate how awkward it looked, but take my word for it; it looked less like treads and more like bluish marbling. Horrible. It had to go. The third design was a smidge better. A couple minor changes to the body (seen below), but nothing amazing.
I tried adding a brushed-metal texture to the frame of the body, and the result was... less than desirable. It's like I'm slowly progressing through history; starting with Starfox SNES and ending up just before Quake with all the visual effects turned down. The current version has a long way to go, but has stepped up another generation.
This was another case of things being non-intuitive, but at least I figured out how to design proper tire-treads from scratch without textures. This was a complete rough-draft design, they're not great, but I'm not too worried about it. I'm actually fighting the urge to go back and re-re-re-redo them. On a tiny screen, no one is going to be able to see the tiny details like sidewall writing. The next thing to tackle today is finishing a new rim design. Then the main gearbox/motor/platform assembly, the steering column, and the finally the handlebars. Only then can I worry about other things like level design and assets.
Given the current pace and workload, I may have to pare back the total number of vehicles. I had planned for 3-5 different selectable vehicles but right now I dunno. I'm more concerned with getting 1 vehicle and 1 track finished and working, at which point I'll have figured out enough infrastructure to add more later.
I know I harp on this a lot, but Blender is nigh-impossible to to use without tons of external help and support. An example I came across earlier; want to open a background picture to trace over? First, you have to push N to open another menu (by default this is turned off (Seriously? A hidden but important menu?)), check Background Images, expand that menu, click add image, search for the image, apply the image, expand the View menu, change the opacity (default is 0; completely transparent) and size (default is miniscule), accept the changes, AND THEN you have to find it. Because it's a 2d image in 3d space, it's only viewable when the camera is locked to one of the 3 planar views. All of this to open an image you can't even manipulate. But I digress.
The first design was a flat skeleton that didn't have any textures applied to it (because I couldn't figure it out). It had the basic shape right but wasn't more than a flat white bumpy cylinder and box with 2 tubes on it. The second model was about when I figured out how to smooth the surfaces AND add colour. Still a far cry from where it needs to be, but inching closer.
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| Model 2: For legal reasons, this is not a Segway(tm). |
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| Model 3: Untextured |
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| Model 3: Textured, still horrible. |
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| Model 3.5: Gentlemen, BEHOLD! |
Given the current pace and workload, I may have to pare back the total number of vehicles. I had planned for 3-5 different selectable vehicles but right now I dunno. I'm more concerned with getting 1 vehicle and 1 track finished and working, at which point I'll have figured out enough infrastructure to add more later.
6.06.2012
The "joys" of working with Blender
Amidst all the madness of E3 I found some time to start official work on the games. Most of the 'planning' stuff is already done, I have a decent idea of where I want to go and how to get there, I can sort of the details later when I get to it. The first step I took today was making the models. I gotta say though, it's a very slow start.
Given 2 programs, Blender and Unity, I know (roughly) what each one is capable of, but not their full potential. The original plan was to make all of the models in Blender, import it to Unity, and finish everything there. My first impressions of Blender aren't entirely positive. I'm familiar with Photoshop and Illustrator and the like, but Blender has billions of options and nearly all of them are unlabeled. Options disappear, reappear, and change dependent on which mode you're in and with which type of object you have selected. Most of the basic/common actions are bound to the keyboard but there's no real mention of this anywhere. The fact that I have to use a tutorial to figure out how to do the most basic things isn't a great start. It took me nearly half an hour to figure out how to move the camera, which is ANOTHER dumb thing. It's mapped to the middle-mouse button of all things, which means I can't use it at all on my laptop, and I had to manually remap my mouse to make it work.
BUT! After all that, if you can look away from the labyrinthine layout, it's actually pretty nice. I haven't figured out how to apply textures (even though I see options for it all over the place none of them have actually done anything yet) but I feel like I'm getting close. By the end of the day, I hope to have that sorted out and have a fully functional model.
In the interest of experimenting, the next logical step was to move to Unity and see what I could do. Importing Blender files was surprisingly easy, which is promising for later. The overall layout is a lot cleaner, but therein lies a new problem. It's intuitive in exactly the opposite direction from Blender. It's easier to choose objects, but harder to manipulate them. It's easier to move the camera, but I can't figure out how to re-position it to point a different direction. It's easier to fine-tune the exact coordinates and sizes or objects, but they can ONLY be changed by manually typing out exact decimal numbers for each individual object.
To be fair though, just because I don't know how to do it (I only looked at it for about 30 minutes with no tutorials or background) doesn't mean it can't be done. It may ultimately be easier than Blender for all I know. Personally, I'd prefer to do it all under 1 roof instead of shuttling files around between multiple programs, but I suppose a single one-way transfer isn't too bad. That was the original plan after all, who am I to stray from it?
Given 2 programs, Blender and Unity, I know (roughly) what each one is capable of, but not their full potential. The original plan was to make all of the models in Blender, import it to Unity, and finish everything there. My first impressions of Blender aren't entirely positive. I'm familiar with Photoshop and Illustrator and the like, but Blender has billions of options and nearly all of them are unlabeled. Options disappear, reappear, and change dependent on which mode you're in and with which type of object you have selected. Most of the basic/common actions are bound to the keyboard but there's no real mention of this anywhere. The fact that I have to use a tutorial to figure out how to do the most basic things isn't a great start. It took me nearly half an hour to figure out how to move the camera, which is ANOTHER dumb thing. It's mapped to the middle-mouse button of all things, which means I can't use it at all on my laptop, and I had to manually remap my mouse to make it work.
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| GAZE UPON MY INFINITE COMPLEXITIES |
BUT! After all that, if you can look away from the labyrinthine layout, it's actually pretty nice. I haven't figured out how to apply textures (even though I see options for it all over the place none of them have actually done anything yet) but I feel like I'm getting close. By the end of the day, I hope to have that sorted out and have a fully functional model.
In the interest of experimenting, the next logical step was to move to Unity and see what I could do. Importing Blender files was surprisingly easy, which is promising for later. The overall layout is a lot cleaner, but therein lies a new problem. It's intuitive in exactly the opposite direction from Blender. It's easier to choose objects, but harder to manipulate them. It's easier to move the camera, but I can't figure out how to re-position it to point a different direction. It's easier to fine-tune the exact coordinates and sizes or objects, but they can ONLY be changed by manually typing out exact decimal numbers for each individual object.
 |
| Less is More is Less. |
To be fair though, just because I don't know how to do it (I only looked at it for about 30 minutes with no tutorials or background) doesn't mean it can't be done. It may ultimately be easier than Blender for all I know. Personally, I'd prefer to do it all under 1 roof instead of shuttling files around between multiple programs, but I suppose a single one-way transfer isn't too bad. That was the original plan after all, who am I to stray from it?
6.01.2012
Day -3ish, Project Ideas and Planning
Rereading my last post put some things in perspective. Namely that my sights are set pretty high, and there's a lot of work to do over a long period of time. I'm aware of that, and I'm trying to keep myself grounded, but optimistically realistic. I'm not going to make the next Minecraft or Fez or Narbacular Drop, I probably won't have finished product by the end if the year, but maybe I can make a few extra dollars worth of beer money for a bit. I'm quite comfortable with that idea.
Keeping all this in mind, I'm trying to keep everything from here on out clear and focused. Mostly. Wiggle room is always nice to have. Anyway, I've narrowed my scope to 3 games, each with a specific plan of execution. None have names yet, but I'll be referring to them by their base parts until they do.
1) Racer - A 2d side-scrolling platformer, released as a mobile game. With a proper setup, level/character design should stay simple. Ideally released as a demo (limited number of maps, 3-5 maybe?) and full (possibly extra vehicles, many more maps, possible multiplayer support). If at all possible, no ads on either. The original draft of this idea was a sprite-based Java game, but Unity may prove to be better.
2) Space - A multi-phase game centered around the idea of space exploration. I intend for this one to be far more involved than the previous one, so it can't/won't happen until after I know I have a decent grasp at all of this. With the game itself, I plan on having a "logbook" of semi-random collectibles that occur during normal gameplay, and is ultimately viewed as a 2d map. The unfortunate thing is that I'd like to have real names & representations of established scifi/space related entities (The Enterprise, an X-Wing, etc), but I'm pretty sure there might be some legal issues there. While I don't mind the extra legwork of figuring that part out, I don't have a clue HOW to go about it. Like the previous game, this will be released as a mobile game. If I've figured out iOS stuff by then I'll certainly port it over. Barring that, a slightly longer term extension of the project is to redo parts of the game for a release on Steam.
3) Tower - This one is a labour of love, and I could wax poetically about for a long while. It's an open source clone of SimTower, written in C++ for pc. It'll be released online for free, probably through Github. Because of the nature of the project, I only really plan on working on it sporadically but I'll be more apt to discuss it and share some/all of the code as it happens. I've already started on this one a couple months ago, and it was delayed because of the Minecraft server. This will be the thing I go back to when I need to clear my head, and at all costs I'm determined to finish this one.
So that's it. That's the plan. Just make 3 completely different games, in different languages, from scratch, in their entirety, without spending any significant amount of money. No problem, right?
Keeping all this in mind, I'm trying to keep everything from here on out clear and focused. Mostly. Wiggle room is always nice to have. Anyway, I've narrowed my scope to 3 games, each with a specific plan of execution. None have names yet, but I'll be referring to them by their base parts until they do.
1) Racer - A 2d side-scrolling platformer, released as a mobile game. With a proper setup, level/character design should stay simple. Ideally released as a demo (limited number of maps, 3-5 maybe?) and full (possibly extra vehicles, many more maps, possible multiplayer support). If at all possible, no ads on either. The original draft of this idea was a sprite-based Java game, but Unity may prove to be better.
2) Space - A multi-phase game centered around the idea of space exploration. I intend for this one to be far more involved than the previous one, so it can't/won't happen until after I know I have a decent grasp at all of this. With the game itself, I plan on having a "logbook" of semi-random collectibles that occur during normal gameplay, and is ultimately viewed as a 2d map. The unfortunate thing is that I'd like to have real names & representations of established scifi/space related entities (The Enterprise, an X-Wing, etc), but I'm pretty sure there might be some legal issues there. While I don't mind the extra legwork of figuring that part out, I don't have a clue HOW to go about it. Like the previous game, this will be released as a mobile game. If I've figured out iOS stuff by then I'll certainly port it over. Barring that, a slightly longer term extension of the project is to redo parts of the game for a release on Steam.
3) Tower - This one is a labour of love, and I could wax poetically about for a long while. It's an open source clone of SimTower, written in C++ for pc. It'll be released online for free, probably through Github. Because of the nature of the project, I only really plan on working on it sporadically but I'll be more apt to discuss it and share some/all of the code as it happens. I've already started on this one a couple months ago, and it was delayed because of the Minecraft server. This will be the thing I go back to when I need to clear my head, and at all costs I'm determined to finish this one.
So that's it. That's the plan. Just make 3 completely different games, in different languages, from scratch, in their entirety, without spending any significant amount of money. No problem, right?
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