Game 4 Progress

Game 4 is about fractals, so naturally it requires a lot of work with procedural graphics. A big part of this is making a good hash algorithm. The most important thing is that it has to be fast: almost every pixel on my screen needs a random element to it. Here is the algorithm I'm using:

public int Hash(int x, int y)
{
int a = Seed;
a=a-x; a=a-y; a=a^(int)((uint)y >> 13);
x=x-y; x=x-a; x=x^(a << 8);
y=y-a; y=y-x; y=y^(int)((uint)x >> 13);
a=a-x; a=a-y; a=a^(int)((uint)y >> 12);
x=x-y; x=x-a; x=x^(a << 16);
y=y-a; y=y-x; y=y^(int)((uint)x >> 5);
a=a-x; a=a-y; a=a^(int)((uint)y >> 3);
x=x-y; x=x-a; x=x^(a << 10);
y=y-a; y=y-x; y=y^(int)((uint)x >> 15);
return y;
}

This algorithm is quite fast, and generates pretty decent random numbers. The two input parameters lets me hash 2D points.

Right now I'm stuck on one problem: how do I get infinite reproducible complexity? It's easy to zoom infinitely into a fractal and generate complexity on the fly, but it's much harder to be able to zoom out. That means everything generated when zooming in needs to follow a deterministic pattern so I can reproduce it when zooming out. Hashing seems to solve that, but then what input coordinates do I use? As I zoom in, I start to lose accuracy as the coordinates get really large (or really small) if I am using a global coordinate system. I don't know if I can get infinite complexity using global coordinates, but if I use local coordinates, it might not be all reproducible. I'm still figuring this one out.

Game 4 begun

I've finally begun work on Game 4. It is temporarily called "Fractal". The actual game will be called something different, because CipherPrime just released a game called Fractal.

This game shouldn't take too long to make. I should have it mostly done by the end of January, since I'm done with school. Although I am starting work tomorrow! So hopefully the nights and weekends will be enough time.

I think I can have a video showing the basic concept of the game up in about a weeks worth of time.

Mission Successful

I never thought this day would come. I finally graduated from college. After 16.5 years of tedium, I am done with school once and for all. Ever since third grade, I've been waiting to get out of school and get on with the 'real world'. Now I am done, and I have a fortunate head start in my favorite industry; in January, I will start work with Zoo Publishing (the parent of 2BeeGames), as an associate producer. Storm is on it's way for a late-2010 release. I've got several game ideas that I'm ready to start on quite soon (Game 4 was set aside for my exams; I'm returning to it now).

I've got some habits that I need to break, like staying up too late, but now I actually have motivation to wake up early and make the most of my day. School has always been a back-of-the-mind burden for me, preventing me from getting any real work done. Right now I am turning my room into a mini-office environment, with a nice Ikea desk and a giant glass dry erase board that I am building from scratch.

I can't wait to begin this next era of my life.

Hmm

Game 4 is going to be developed on a medium length scale. Meaning, it will be short, but I'm not going to die working on it. I still have to get done with school, so I'll work on it when I can. But I should have it done within a month or two.

I'm still deciding on what tech to use. The easy way would just to continue to use XNA, but I think I should try something new, to get some more technical practice. I was thinking of SDL. It would be nice to have my game work on different platforms. Does anyone have SDL experience? Is it easy to get stuff done?

Also, I think I'm going to reformat my computer right now, and install Windows 7, so brb.

New game!

Work on Game 4 has begun! (Game 3 is on hiatus)

It's a kind of crazy game. I'll post more details when I have some progress.

Development on Hold

Well, the deadline for the GameStop contest (and IGF) is this weekend. I'm sorry to disappoint you guys, but I'm going to be putting development for my project on hold. I'll still work on it, but I won't have it submitted in time for the contests.

I decided this about a week and a half ago. The primary reason is that I would not be able to finish the project in a way that I'd be satisfied. I underestimated how much schoolwork I still had to deal with; the only way I could finish it in time is if I went into super-crunch mode in the last few weeks and work 16 hour days, like I did with Storm. I was planning on doing this, but I realized it really wasn't in my best interest to push myself like that. It took a big physical toll on me when I did that for Storm (I still have a recurring cough that originated during that time period).

I think right now I should be focusing on passing my classes and enjoying my last quarter of college. I've got a lot of time ahead of me, so I shouldn't overwork myself this soon. Also, with Storm getting published, I will be spending more time with that. I'll talk about how far I got on this project in a future post. I did make some good progress.

I'm not done yet though; I'm planning on doing another quick game (2-3 weeks long) fairly soon, so keep an eye out for that! The game will be more of a study in innovative game mechanics than in rapid development, so it should be interesting.

I came back from the GameX in Philly this weekend, with the 2BeeGames crew. I'll have more on that soon.

Publishing deal for Storm

So... Storm is getting published. Zoo Publishing, the company behind 2BeeGames, talked to me a few months ago about it. The game will get a huge facelift; there are a lot of features to add and a lot of polish to apply.

Here is a Joystiq article about it: http://www.joystiq.com/2009/10/05/indie-game-storm-strikes-xbla-psn-wiiware-iphone/

Also, I'm excited!