Some press November 19, 2008
Posted by Jesse in : Being, Game Development , add a comment- Ars Technica - Meet your Xbox Community Game launch
- GamerBytes - Top 5 Games Launch XNA Community Games
The game’s art style and platforming action are incredibly simple, but there’s something strangely attractive about the game’s oldest of old school design.
It’s the only 2D platformer of the bunch, and despite its rather mundane graphics, it reminds me of a few 1990 shareware titles I used to play. I did end up buying Being, and for the half an hour to an hour it took to finish it I had fun.
Purchased November 15, 2008
Posted by Jesse in : Being, Game Development , 2 commentsToday I was lucky enough to make it into the final round of users who received early access to the New Xbox Experience. That means I was able to buy Being today!
While I realize that this stuff isn’t likely to make me rich, and it’s not the start of a new career, it’s definitely made me very happy. This has been a dream of mine for a very long time, and I’ve finally gotten off of my behind and made it happen. Thank you very much to all the people who helped make this possible!
It will be awhile before I have anything to show off from my next game, but I’m already experimenting and learning the things I’ll need to bring it to life. I’m not stopping now!
Being on Community Games November 7, 2008
Posted by Jesse in : Being, Game Development , 5 commentsI didn’t think it was possible to be more excited than I was when I posted the approval letter. But this totally trumps it. The ZMan from thezbuffer.com captured some screens of what Being looks like in the Community Games section on the Xbox 360.
Thanks, ZMan!
(Click for larger images.)
Being is approved
Posted by Jesse in : Being, Game Development , 3 commentsI just got the most awesome email ever. I had to run around giving high-fives to everybody I work with. Allow me to share.
Dear Chounard,
The XNA team is delighted to tell you that your community game has been approved by your fellow Creators. You should see the game appear within 48 hours of the time of this message on the community games area of Xbox LIVE Marketplace.
Your game should also show a status of “Approved” in your Creator profile at http://creators.xna.com within that timeframe.
If you receive this email, but do not see your game in either location within the approval timeframe, please use the feedback form on the creators.xna.com site to let us know, so we can track down any issues.
Since you are now a successful game author, you might consider sharing your tips and tricks on forums.xna.com, celebrating, or just bragging a little.
Thanks again for making our community great!
The XNA Team
Before and after October 30, 2008
Posted by Jesse in : Being, Game Development , add a commentMy wife has given me the final level of Being. The game is now very close to 100% completion. While she always plays down just how much work she’s done to help make the game a success, I thought I’d take this opportunity to share with you some before and after images of the final level.
It took me a long time to piece these images together, but if you notice any oddities, it’s probably because I was rushing to get them stitched together. I think you’ll agree that it’s a pretty amazing difference.
Please note: These screens are taken from the level editor, and there are some game play objects missing that are added by scripts while the game is running. (Switches, platforms, the final enemy, etc.) So if it’s looks like there are things missing, that’s why.
Before and after - click for bigger versions (WARNING! Very large images.)
Seeing stars October 1, 2008
Posted by Jesse in : Being, Game Development , add a commentOne of the complaints I received about the version of Being I submitted for Dream Build Play was that there wasn’t much point to the game. And that’s absolutely true. You just jump around, make your way through the levels and eventually end up back where you started. I’m working hard on changing that.
At the end of each world, you’ll rescue one of your friends who has been kidnapped by the evil Zargon and find one of the magical stars. Once you’ve collected all three stars, you’ll get access to another doorway and have to face Zargon himself.
This gave me another chance to play around with my little star particles I liked so much. Here’s a screen of what it looks like when you’ve found them all.
(Click for larger version.)
Work progresses September 26, 2008
Posted by Jesse in : Being, Game Development , add a commentFeedback has been very positive about Being. It’s not going to win any awards in Dream Build Play (I’ll make another post - hopefully this weekend - about the DBP entries. Some of them are crazy good.), but I’m really happy all the same.
Moving forward I have a few more features to implement before the game is ready for the Community Games launch. I’ve added a new enemy type, who throws water balloons at you. It was originally grenades, but my wife wisely objected that I shouldn’t add grenades to a violence free game. I’ve also added a bit of scripting, and that’s allowed me to add some simple dialogue. Here’s a screen:
(Click for larger version.)
I need to create a few more levels and then boss encounters, and I’ll have everything finished. I’m eager to work on my next project, but I’m gonna keep plugging away on this.
Ready for Dream Build Play September 21, 2008
Posted by Jesse in : Being, Game Development , 2 commentsIt’s as ready as it’s going to get, anyway. The DBP uploader is currently broken, so I’ll have to wait a little while to officially enter, but I’m ready to go. They require three screenshots as well as a gameplay video, so I had to grab a few more.
Screenshots: (Click for larger versions.)
And the video:
Update:
I was able to upload my files, so I’m officially entered. If you’re an XNA Creator’s Club member and have an Xbox 360, you can play the demo I entered. (I’ll work on a Windows version soon.)
Being-Xbox360.ccgame
Title screen September 19, 2008
Posted by Jesse in : Being, Game Development , 1 comment so farJust a quick update. I wrote my first particle system, and I think it turned out pretty neat.
I needed a title screen, and rather than throwing up a bit of static text, I decided to write a function that creates a template mask from an image, and then I spawn particles in the region allowed by the mask. Here’s what my title screen looks like:
(Click for larger version.)
Those little stars are randomly colored, spinning in random direction, at random speed. They fade out over five seconds, with new ones are popping in all the time. I’m pretty happy with my first attempt.
Update: Here’s a clip of the menu running on Youtube.
Being Assets September 17, 2008
Posted by Jesse in : Being, Game Development , add a commentTime for me to write about where I got the fantastic content that I’m using to make the game.
Graphics
Ari Feldman’s SpriteLib - License - GPL
This is where most of the graphics I’m using come from. When I started the project, I was hoping to use only SpriteLib graphics, but it was missing a few things that I needed. Considering that he drew these back in 1996, I think it’s awesome that they’ll be seen on the Xbox 360 in 2008.
Hermann Hillmann’s Character Pack #1 - License - Free (With restrictions.)
When my wife got involved in the level design, she wanted more tiles than were available in SpriteLib. I found these after quite a few searches. We only ended up using a couple of tiles, but there’s alot of nice stuff in there.
Danc’s Miraculously Flexible Game Prototyping Tiles - License - Free
There are alot of cool things on Danc’s site Lost Garden. Not only has he put up a bunch of excellent artwork for free, but there are several excellent essays you should read. If you’re just getting started as a game developer, I highly recommend How to bootstrap your indie art needs.
Music
Quirky Loops Licensed from PartnersInRhyme.com
I spent a little money and got some great tracks. I probably could have used completely free music, but I played a couple of their samples in the background while I tested my game and fell in love with the tracks. Plus the set includes several other great songs I’m not using on this game, so I have more content for future projects.
Kevin MacLeod - http://incompetech.com/ - License - Free
Kevin’s got alot of great tunes that he’s just giving away. (There’s a link for optional donations.) Quite a few of his tracks are easily as good as the stuff I found on the pay sites. Since I found out about his stuff through a posting on the XNA forums, I expect we’ll see quite a few indie games using his tunes in the near future.
Sound effects
Soundsnap.com - License - Free
All of my sound effects are from one site, and it’s all free. How awesome is that?
And that’s it for the assets. I think next time I’ll post about the programming involved, including some links to the resources that helped me along the way.
