Hey all,
As an update for the tournament results, here's what happened:
I won my first two matches very easily, I got to practice my Chun Li lightning loops! For the uninitiated, "lightning loops" refers to a (rather difficult) technique where Chun Li can do massive damage and look stylish. It requires me to "slide" my finger down the buttons (that is easy to mess up) within a fraction of a second, followed by a brief pause, and then a tight 1/60th of a second link into the next move.
My next match was much harder, against a player named 801Strider from Utah. I got destroyed, I lost 4 rounds in a row. I did my best to keep the rounds close, and I succeeded, but his experience clearly was above and beyond what I could handle. The match was streamed here: Capcom Fighters on Twitch. I was overall happy with my performance despite losing, I gave him some difficulty. Also, 801Strider ended up getting 2nd place...
The match after that was against a player named AceUnlimited. I lost a close set... I really shouldn't have lost, I just panicked for no reason. I won't provide any excuses but... I'm not losing to him again, I'm better than that.
Overall I ended up 2-2, in losers semis. Not bad, but I could have done better.
Evo is next, and you can bet that I'll be practicing hard to climb out of pools and show the world what I've got!
Thanks,
Jimmy
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Friday, June 26, 2015
While in Florida
Hey all,
So, on the plane to CEO 2015 (https://ceogaming.org/), I managed to get some reading done from this book: Shigeru Miyamoto book, and felt REALLY inspired. I felt so inspired that I redesigned the first level of Chang-e, it's based on my hometown and I plan to put in many interactables to give the universe a very "alive" feeling.
I want the player to feel like the world of Chang-e is one that is worth revisiting, sparks curiosity, rewards exploration, and has interesting people.
The "final" outlook came out like so:
P.S. If you want to know how I'm doing at the tournament, my pool starts at 2pm on Saturday, June 27th. I'm in pool 10, tag: JimLi. I was doing well in casual Street Fighter 4 matches, made one guy very angry. Wish me luck!
So, on the plane to CEO 2015 (https://ceogaming.org/), I managed to get some reading done from this book: Shigeru Miyamoto book, and felt REALLY inspired. I felt so inspired that I redesigned the first level of Chang-e, it's based on my hometown and I plan to put in many interactables to give the universe a very "alive" feeling.
I want the player to feel like the world of Chang-e is one that is worth revisiting, sparks curiosity, rewards exploration, and has interesting people.
The "final" outlook came out like so:
(A friendly reminder to not steal! Please don't steal my content, I work very hard on it.)
P.S. If you want to know how I'm doing at the tournament, my pool starts at 2pm on Saturday, June 27th. I'm in pool 10, tag: JimLi. I was doing well in casual Street Fighter 4 matches, made one guy very angry. Wish me luck!
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Off to Florida!
Hey all,
A quick update, I'm flying to Florida for a fighting game tournament, called CEO 2015. It's going to be a lot of fun!
I'm bring this baby with me: (Apologies for the rotation, I'm on the bus.)
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
MUSIC! PRODUCTION! MAKING THINGS!
Hey all,
So, I've reached the point in the process where the engine is pretty much done, the game code too. All that's left for me to do is make the freaking game, and I can't art, so that's been a rough process.
...BUT
I have been writing music, because I can do that!
Fun fact: I was classically trained during my time learning piano, so most of the stuff I write are lonely piano ballads.
I'll attach the link to my SoundCloud again, check out the two new tracks I uploaded for Chang-e:
DON'T STEAL, KIDS
Anyway, I got sidetracked. Basically I have to now work on the game, exclusively. No more engine work, or not much (cross compatibility restoration, it was working at one point, then I upgraded SDL and well, I'm here.) The last thing I really did for the engine was an optimization that allows for super huge maps, we're talking double the size of what I was working with before, it's amazing. Not to toot my own horn TOO much.
I've been working on the opening sequence to the game, and I think it will really introduce players to the concepts I want them to feel. I have to admit though, getting the tone right is difficult. That's the nature of working with an art form though, right?
From here on will mostly be art and music, screenshots etc. If anyone wants me to do a code article I'd be more than happy to, I love to share my experience with others, and perhaps you can teach me something as well!
I know these thoughts are a bit scattered, but I've been running on 3 hours of sleep, work has been stressful too. I'm surviving, but being the only engineer on a team really gets to you.
P.S. I have a YouTube channel that I'm running with a friend of mine, if you could check us out and maybe let us know how we're doing with this "Let's Plays" thing? I'd appreciate it. Shameless plug, I know. Forgive me.
P.S.S You get to hear my terrible voice!
Feasible Gamers
Thanks for reading!
Jimmy
So, I've reached the point in the process where the engine is pretty much done, the game code too. All that's left for me to do is make the freaking game, and I can't art, so that's been a rough process.
...BUT
I have been writing music, because I can do that!
Fun fact: I was classically trained during my time learning piano, so most of the stuff I write are lonely piano ballads.
I'll attach the link to my SoundCloud again, check out the two new tracks I uploaded for Chang-e:
DON'T STEAL, KIDS
Anyway, I got sidetracked. Basically I have to now work on the game, exclusively. No more engine work, or not much (cross compatibility restoration, it was working at one point, then I upgraded SDL and well, I'm here.) The last thing I really did for the engine was an optimization that allows for super huge maps, we're talking double the size of what I was working with before, it's amazing. Not to toot my own horn TOO much.
I've been working on the opening sequence to the game, and I think it will really introduce players to the concepts I want them to feel. I have to admit though, getting the tone right is difficult. That's the nature of working with an art form though, right?
From here on will mostly be art and music, screenshots etc. If anyone wants me to do a code article I'd be more than happy to, I love to share my experience with others, and perhaps you can teach me something as well!
I know these thoughts are a bit scattered, but I've been running on 3 hours of sleep, work has been stressful too. I'm surviving, but being the only engineer on a team really gets to you.
P.S. I have a YouTube channel that I'm running with a friend of mine, if you could check us out and maybe let us know how we're doing with this "Let's Plays" thing? I'd appreciate it. Shameless plug, I know. Forgive me.
P.S.S You get to hear my terrible voice!
Feasible Gamers
Thanks for reading!
Jimmy
Thursday, May 28, 2015
Moving Along
Hey all,
I've been really busy with work lately, someone left the team and now I'm the only engineer so... That's been a trip.
Anyway I finished writing a song (at least it's done for now.) and would love to share it with you all, and by share I mean that you can listen and you can't use it in any of your works!
Don't steal kids.
Also, Chang-e is moving along smoothly, I plan to take the weekend and design out the battle system properly, so that making battles from here on out is super easy. Wish me luck.
https://soundcloud.com/jimbobkr/mysterious/s-FYbx6
Jimmy
Monday, May 11, 2015
Starting the Story Over
Hey all,
I just got back to writing the story for Chang-e, and turns out that I have to pretty much start over. I felt that the original story was far too sad for the new direction of the game, thus I started over. Perhaps the old story will be in another game of some sort, but for now I will be writing a more jolly story that fits my writing style better honestly.
Just a quick update, nothing major.
Jimmy
I just got back to writing the story for Chang-e, and turns out that I have to pretty much start over. I felt that the original story was far too sad for the new direction of the game, thus I started over. Perhaps the old story will be in another game of some sort, but for now I will be writing a more jolly story that fits my writing style better honestly.
Just a quick update, nothing major.
Jimmy
Friday, April 17, 2015
My Personal Game Design Rules
Hey all,
So recently I've been talking with my friends about what makes a good game. I've had to repeat, many times, my personal rules when I design games that I feel makes a great game.
I'll gloss over them here:
Coherence / Following the rules: The game must be coherent and consistent, game objects / characters must obey the rules that the game designer sets early on in the experience, no exceptions.
Do or Show, Don't Tell: The game must show the player or make the player use mechanics of the game in order for the player to understand them. Allow the player to learn mechanics in a safe environment with minimal punishment so that the game can introduce challenges while feeling "fair".
Exercise the Brain: Learning is fun, variety is learning. Multiplayer games are great at this. A good game teaches everything it has to offer before the player stops playing. The more rigidly constructed your game is, the more limited it will be.
Content is king: Neat particle effects does not make a great game. "Keep the great, trash the okay". A game with 10 hours of great content that the player will remember with 20 hours of padding is a 10 hour game.
Player Choice Matters: Let decisions have weight, don't leave decisions up to the player that ultimately mean nothing, that's not fun.
That's really it, not that complicated. Before you ask, I don't like Heavy Rain very much, it's a movie. The above is subject to interpretation, and by no means a law, just the rules I follow. If you disagree that's fine, let me know, maybe I overlooked something!
Jimmy
So recently I've been talking with my friends about what makes a good game. I've had to repeat, many times, my personal rules when I design games that I feel makes a great game.
I'll gloss over them here:
Coherence / Following the rules: The game must be coherent and consistent, game objects / characters must obey the rules that the game designer sets early on in the experience, no exceptions.
Do or Show, Don't Tell: The game must show the player or make the player use mechanics of the game in order for the player to understand them. Allow the player to learn mechanics in a safe environment with minimal punishment so that the game can introduce challenges while feeling "fair".
Exercise the Brain: Learning is fun, variety is learning. Multiplayer games are great at this. A good game teaches everything it has to offer before the player stops playing. The more rigidly constructed your game is, the more limited it will be.
Content is king: Neat particle effects does not make a great game. "Keep the great, trash the okay". A game with 10 hours of great content that the player will remember with 20 hours of padding is a 10 hour game.
Player Choice Matters: Let decisions have weight, don't leave decisions up to the player that ultimately mean nothing, that's not fun.
That's really it, not that complicated. Before you ask, I don't like Heavy Rain very much, it's a movie. The above is subject to interpretation, and by no means a law, just the rules I follow. If you disagree that's fine, let me know, maybe I overlooked something!
Jimmy
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