jnrdev is a series of five tutorials on 2d jump and run (platformer) development. The code is written in C++ and uses SDL. The tutorials, which are well commented, run on Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux.
jnrdev
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2d,platformer,sdl,tutorials,2
I always liked the idea of making a fantasy-card game, so I started to outline the basic idea on a piece of paper. Yes planning was essential in this kind of game, I knew it from the start (and luckily I did it). I decided to base everything on celtic mythology, so I first started to do some research both in local library and also on the net. Found the celtic runes and thought to assign to each one of them a spell or a summoned avatar in the game. I divided the runes into 4 elements (the classic air, water, fire and earth) even if their original meaning is a bit different (but hey is just a game!). So after sketching out the general features, statistics, skills, creatures, background story, etc of the game, I put all those numbers together in a spreadsheet page.
Then had to solve a big problem, to make the graphic of such a game, and found in Poser a very good solution. Bought several ready-made 3D models, and after several weeks spent on various renderings, I had the basic 48 avatars ready (20 avatars for the 4 elements plus many neutral/evil ones).
I added a roleplaying element to the game, so that in addition to your “deck of cards” you had also an in-game alter-ego, with an inventory of items that could affect your power and a set of basic skills that would influence the game in general.
I used Xcode and a very simple but really powerful 2D programming API called “PTK”: http://www.phelios.com/ptk that I had already used in all my previous games with great success. As I already said, for graphics I used mostly Poser 5 for the monsters, characters, etc and Photoshop to design the interface of the game. For the music I just bought royalty-free music from one of the many online stores.
The game had since its launch a good group of loyal followers. This maybe also because I decided, shortly after I released version 1.0, to add “bonus pack” or “expansion packs” with new game features and new avatars/quests, completely free for registered users. This was both a hard move (once I had announced it, I couldn’t change my mind) but also a winning one because it helped greatly to improve customers loyalty and is keeping my game always “on the news” thanks to those frequent updates (about every 2-3 months usually).
Despite I had planned everything, as always happens in this sort of games, you’ll need to TEST TEST and TEST. When you make a simple match3 game, is hard to have bugs after hours of playing (because game mechanic is always the same). With this kind of game instead, I had many bugs in the initial version 1.0 because I didn’t took the time to test it properly since was too eager to release it (a mistake I will never repeat in any future games!).
I can say that it was both a very rewarding experience (got so many enthusiast email feedbacks!) but also very stressing. The day after release was working 10 hours a day to fix all the bug and I had also a tight deadline to deliver the first expansion “The Bone Lord” in time for Christmas 2005. Keeping the game updated also is not so simple, since need to add more content like new art/sounds, and new gameplay elements. But overall I like this kind of games so in this case the passion plays an important role.
Cheetah3D 2.5 has been released offering improved Javascript integration. The scripts are now seamlessly embedded into the user interface. It’s now possible to write parametric spline or polygon objects with Javascript, as well as custom tools. The developer mentions though that the Javascript API is still under development. Changes since the last update:
Cheetah3D
DOWNLOAD Cheetah3D 2.5
http://www.cheetah3d.com/download/Cheetah3D.dmg
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cheetah3d,25,released,with,improved,javascript,integration
Pixelate Wiki, a collection of useful articles, made by game programmers for game programmers, and written collaboratively.
PixelateWiki
http://pixwiki.bafsoft.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
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game,programming,wiki,pixelatewiki,2
Large assortment of tutorials and interactive examples for programming tile based games. Although the example code is for Flash, the concepts are universal.
Tile Based Games
http://www.tonypa.pri.ee/tbw/start.html
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tutorial,tile,based,games,2
PhysicsFS is a multi-platform library that provides abstract access to various archives. It is intended for use in video games, and the design was somewhat inspired by Quake 3’s file subsystem. The library allows easy access to the contents of ZIP files, among other packed formats, treating them as a virtual file system allowing you to address folders and individual files inside. PhysicsFS is licensed under the zlib license. Xcode project files are included, although the targets for building installation packages (.pkg) seem broken under Xcode 2.1. Framework and static library targets build without errors.
PhysicsFS
Source Code
http://icculus.org/physfs/downloads/
SVN
http://svn.icculus.org/physfs/
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virtual,file,system,physicsfs,2
A new free program called NMG by Marabese Nilo will let you generate tangent space normal maps which can then be used for normal mapping, a technique used in games such as Doom 3 and Unreal 3 to give objects more detail without more polygons. The program requires a video card that supports the GL_ARB_fragment_program extension, which on the Macintosh is a Radeon 9550 or better, or an nVidia 5200 or better. Previously, only high end game engines such as Unity could generate normal maps on Mac OS X, as tools such as nVidia’s Adobe Photoshop plugin were available for Windows only. This program is a welcome addition to any Mac OS X OpenGL developer’s arsenal!
NMG by Marabese Nilo
http://homepage.mac.com/nilomarabese/Menu13.html
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normal,map,generator,for,mac,os,x,2
ZENTSUJI CITY, JAPAN — OCTOBER 18th, 2005 — iDevGames, the Macintosh game developer website, announced today the first “OMG Cup,” sponsored by Freeverse Software. Open to any and all game developers, the contest seeks to identify the best original Mac games (OMG). The OMG Cup is designed to help developers successfully release their games and to help the Mac game market evolve with innovative new game concepts. All qualifying entrants will receive a free game from Freeverse Software, and the top three finalists will be awarded cash prizes. The first place winner will also receive an option to turn their winning entry into a finished product — either as a shareware or retail product.
Ian Lynch Smith, President of Freeverse has said, “We’re very proud to be the sponsor of the first annual OMG Cup. Encouraging new Mac game development is more vital than ever, and no one has done more to foster that development in recent years than Carlos Camacho and the community at iDevGames.com.”
Any game that has not been released publicly prior to the official start of the OMG Cup contest, runs natively on Mac OS X, and that does not exceed 20MiB (20,971,520 bytes) after compression, may be entered before the entry deadline on November 28, 2005. Entries will be initially voted on by the public from December 1, 2005 to December 8, 2005. The top six games will be evaluated by a nominating committee with the three winners announced on December 12, 2005.
“This is an amazing opportunity for any Mac developer,” states Carlos Camacho, Editor-in-Chief of iDevGames. “It is difficult for both independent and small developers to break into the world of high profile casual game development. We have pulled together an amazing sponsor, Freeverse Software, to make this dream accessible for any developer. Building on the success of our annual uDevGames contest, we see this as a crucial evolutionary step in our grass-root effort to energize gaming on the Mac platform.”
The official rules and more information may be found at:
http://idevgames.com/contest
About iDevGames
Established in 1998, iDevGames’ mission is to educate, support, and enhance the Macintosh Game Developer community. We also hope to facilitate the exchange between developers and designers so that the Macintosh game market can expand and improve. iDevGames features articles, the latest industry news, tutorials, an active forum, downloads, and much more for Macintosh Game Developers.
About Freeverse
Freeverse Software is a leading developer and drafter of software for the Mac. Based in New York City, Freeverse titles have received numerous awards including Macworld Game Hall of Fame, MWSF Best of Show and three Apple Design Awards. Its original characters have appeared in TimeDigital, Wired, and Animation World magazines, as well as in national television commercials for Blockbuster Video.
For More Information Contact:
Carlos Camacho
OMG Cup 2005 Official Contest Page
http://www.idevgames.com/index.php/contest/
p=.###
ZENTSUJI CITY, JAPAN — OCTOBER 18th, 2005 — iDevGames, the Macintosh game developer website, announced today the first “OMG Cup,” sponsored by Freeverse Software. Open to any and all game developers, the contest seeks to identify the best original Mac games (OMG). The OMG Cup is designed to help developers successfully release their games and to help the Mac game market evolve with innovative new game concepts. All qualifying entrants will receive a free game from Freeverse Software, and the top three finalists will be awarded cash prizes. The first place winner will also receive an option to turn their winning entry into a finished product — either as a shareware or retail product.
Ian Lynch Smith, President of Freeverse has said, “We’re very proud to be the sponsor of the first annual OMG Cup. Encouraging new Mac game development is more vital than ever, and no one has done more to foster that development in recent years than Carlos Camacho and the community at iDevGames.com.” Any game that has not been released publicly prior to the official start of the OMG Cup contest, runs natively on Mac OS X, and that does not exceed 20MiB (20,971,520 bytes) after compression, may be entered before the entry deadline on November 28, 2005. Entries will be initially voted on by the public from December 1, 2005 to December 8, 2005. The top six games will be evaluated by a nominating committee with the three winners announced on December 12, 2005.“This is an amazing opportunity for any Mac developer,” states Carlos Camacho, Editor-in-Chief of iDevGames. “It is difficult for both independent and small developers to break into the world of high profile casual game development. We have pulled together an amazing sponsor, Freeverse Software, to make this dream accessible for any developer. Building on the success of our annual uDevGames contest, we see this as a crucial evolutionary step in our grass-root effort to energize gaming on the Mac platform.”
The official rules and more information may be found at:
http://www.idevgames.com/index.php/contest/omg_info/omg_cup_2005
About iDevGames:
Established in 1998, iDevGames’ mission is to educate, support, and enhance the Macintosh Game Developer community. We also hope to facilitate the exchange between developers and designers so that the Macintosh game market can expand and improve. iDevGames features articles, the latest industry news, tutorials, an active forum, downloads, and much more for Macintosh Game Developers.
About Freeverse:
Freeverse Software is a leading developer and publisher of software for the Mac. Based in New York City, Freeverse titles have received numerous awards including Macworld Game Hall of Fame, MWSF Best of Show and three Apple Design Awards. Its original characters have appeared in TimeDigital, Wired, and Animation World magazines, as well as in national television commercials for Blockbuster Video.
For More Information Contact:
Carlos Camacho
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TNT Basic uses a simple programming language to allow a novice programmer to make 2D sprite based games very easily. All editing is done through an Integrated Development Environment (IDE), which supports pretty printing of code, integrated command help, a tile based map editor, sprite image editor, sound importer and music importer (most tracker formats are supported as well as MP3). TNT Basic has the following features:
What’s new in this version:
filesBug fixes:
tnt,basic,13,released,as,freeware
Since 1998, iDevGames has been educating, supporting and enhancing the community of game developers that develop video games for Mac OS X & iPhone. Subscribe to our news feed for the latest news, reviews, tutorials, postmortems and more.