In Development: Delivery Service

At least someone’s excited about this!

Staying motivated can be a constant struggle for many people, and even more so for aspiring game developers. In fact, it’s a problem that I often encounter both in the late night appointments with my laptop and my homework, as well as in my personal game development process. Of course, people procrastinate on homework because it is not enjoyable; but shouldn’t game development be different because people do it for fun? It is different—but it definitely remains a problem.

In Development: Life Without Curves

Check out those dotted rectangles!

The visuals of a video game are incredibly important, as they convey a lot of information and are capable of immersing the player in an entirely different world. In many well-designed games, the graphics are created by dedicated artists, rather than having the programmers make both the visuals and the code. As a result, these video games feature unique landscapes and themes in both 2D and 3D. However, many independent video game developers who don’t have the luxury of hiring skilled artists are still able to create charismatic characters and backgrounds through simpler graphics. 

In Development: I Consider Myself an Architect

I spent a bit too much time on this one…

 Creating a game is like building a house –– the project requires a strong foundation to be successful. The house itself can have any appearance and be made for different purposes. But without a proper foundation, the house will not stand. Architects and contractors have the entire house planned out, but start out by setting the foundation. Games are frequently made in a similar style. Even though game designers have storyboards and goals planned out, the people actually coding the game start with the game engine, the game’s equivalent of a foundation. 

In Development: Some People Hate Bugs

Now with 100% more Flash!

When it comes to creating code in a program, it is inevitable that there will be bugs – errors in the code that prevent it from executing properly. While computer language might seem complicated, it operates on a rather simple basis. 

In Development: Starting Up

I have always been interested in the process of making games. Games are something that I, along with millions of others, play every day without even knowing how they (mostly) work. They are a part of our culture now, especially considering how many people use iPhones and how many games are in the App Store. The purpose of my column is to learn the process of game creation.