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    How To Find Great Colors - Color Theory For Game Developers

    March 09, 2018

    How To Find Great Colors - Color Theory For Game Developers

    How To Find Great Colors - Color Theory For Game Developers

    Posted: 09 Mar 2018 06:10 AM PST

    Source code of the Player class of Celeste: comments from Noel (one of the developers)

    Posted: 09 Mar 2018 07:23 AM PST

    Tips for Making Procedurally Generated Worlds

    Posted: 09 Mar 2018 06:05 AM PST

    For 2D pixel art based games, how to choose a base pixel size for the models, weapons, etc?

    Posted: 09 Mar 2018 06:23 AM PST

    Title, so i have a character currently, and she is based on a 48x48 pixel sized sheet. Unfortunately, despite being really pleased with the end result and style, it's extremely hard to make armor and weapons look detailed at this size. Guns being like 7 pixels long and such. I'm not sure if i should make everything more detailed or not, as in increase the pixel size and overall detail of everything? The only reason I'm hesitant, is the amount of extra work, and the fact that i really feel like I'm best at the "Hyper Light Drifter" style, and upscaling would have me needing to research brand new styles and just overall making the process longer. Do any games you know of use different sized sprites? If anyone would like to see examples feel free to ask. I'm just not sure what to do.

    Thanks for any tips

    submitted by /u/Mckaos
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    Quit job to help create indie studio, and we just shipped. As the lead dev, here's what I learned.

    Posted: 08 Mar 2018 03:26 PM PST

    Well, here we are. 1.0 is out the door, and nothing major exploded on the way, so I must have done something right! Its been roughly 20 months since I quit and went indie, joining my partner in the summer of 2016. While he's producer / ceo / dozens of other things (running even a small company takes tons of time), I'm tech director / lead developer / IT / many-other-hats.

    Since we started, I've been game programming full time, with healthy doses of tool & server programming along the way. We built the game on Game Maker, and it ships for Win/Mac/Linux/PS4/XB1. So my life is pretty much all GML atm :-)

    I'm here today to share some of the harder-learned lessons I've gained on my journey. Even going in as a 10 year veteran dev... not everything goes as you expect :-) Some truths change over time, and developing in the context of an indie changes things you thought you knew. So here we go - my biggest take aways from the project:

    • going from big-team life to small team life means you can't blame Dept X anymore. This one bit me hard; I was a classic blame-mgmt guy.

    • when you know the real stakes and the real deadlines, suddenly hours-per-week feels less important than "feature x is in by submission deadline y". This is an easy thing to goof when you're learning to self-manage your work vs the project. Sacrificing work-life balance should not be a given, it should be an exception.

    • learn how to build things in an order that gets the most people unblocked fastest (and that includes you!). Don't spend ages on a tool no one will use, don't hack everything up for a demo and end up rewriting foundations in 2 months. As dumb as it sounds - measure twice cut once applies here. Judge the scope, plan your overall architecture, then implement well, and once.

    • Plan on a macro level, and implement micro portions of that plan flexibly, stubbing and placeholdering connections to yet-to-exist systems. This iterative-piecewise approach, along with some reasonable decoupling, will insulate you from a lot of hardship down the road. A character can walk around without actually having their combat behaviours ready. A video settings menu can exist, widgets and all, while being wholly untied to your video mgmt.

    • indie dev means big hard shifts in game designs. There are a few ways to accommodate this. #1 is doing your design iteration up front, in white box mode when its cheap easy throwaway stuff. Making 5 games prototypes early on and picking the 2 fun ones to smash together is a great way to avoid "yknow we should add X" coming up at the 11th hour. #2 is the flexible building I mentioned before; plan to add the unknown. Things like manager classes, file formats etc should have that in mind. And #3, I'll cover below.

    • as a project draws to an end, lets say the last 25% of the dev cycle - your rapidly declining development time can be used to justify not doing time-costly changes to the game. If the change absolutely must be done, phrase it as an exchange of features - "we can implement new-foo, but it means that old-bla doesn't make it in to ship". Then we choose what feature we like more, without drastically hurting the schedule. Ideally, everyone knows this implicitly anyway, and any last minute ideas are based on a premise of "this is a small fast add, but a big gameplay win!". Those are perfect, and what you want to accept. "Lets add multiplayer" would be a big dry no.

    • lastly - when you're doing so much of the code yourself, inevitably you end up somewhere that it just doesn't work, and you have no idea why. In these cases, lean on your peers for help. Talk to the engine guys, support tickets or what have you. Talk to other devs, who have done your platform before. It takes a village to ship a game - and most dev are super friendly and willing to help each other out.

    That's it! I've got tons more code-centric thoughts to put down, but for now I'd say those were the biggest things I adopted in my approach. I basically screwed up some portion of each and every one :-) I'll stick around in the thread to answer people about things etc (within reason of course).

    submitted by /u/SixHourDays
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    The Breath of the Wild making of videos are awesome and very educational

    Posted: 09 Mar 2018 10:47 AM PST

    Learning Programming and Game Development at the same time suggestions

    Posted: 09 Mar 2018 06:06 AM PST

    The True Slime King has made it to Early Access after 1.5 years of development!

    Posted: 09 Mar 2018 09:25 AM PST

    Trailer

    I've lurked on this subreddit for the entire time I've been developing the game and wanted to share my excitement of reaching Early Access to maybe help motivate you guys to keep going on your own games. This post is mostly for those people who passionately want to make a game or are currently making a game they're passionate about; it's not so much for the people who are deciding whether this is a career path they should follow. I don't think you'll make it very far in life with anything if you can't find passion in it, because making it far requires a lot of hard work that you can only put in with passion and/or discipline (the best thing is to cultivate both).

    It's been a long journey getting the game to where it is now. I started off with a few of the skills needed, but I gained several along the way. If you want to create a game entirely by yourself, you don't have to know how to do everything going into it, but I would definitely suggest having a foundation before trying to make your dream game. It's going to be really really hard if you choose to do everything yourself, but you'll get a lot of great experience just by trying. I know I have. I'm very happy with myself for just getting to this point. Also, there's nothing wrong with creating a game as a team, or bringing other people on for specific aspects of the game. The biggest motivating factor for me was that I was doing everything myself, so I didn't want to take that away from myself by bringing on other people.

    If I break down the major skills I used on my project, they would look like this...

    Skills I already had:

    • Level design
    • Music composition
    • Programming (specifically with the game engine I used)
    • Web development

    Skills I significantly developed along the way:

    • Marketing and creating promotional material
    • Pixel art
    • Project management
    • Sound design
    • Video editing and GIF making

    I didn't know how long the game would take to reach it's current state, but 1.5 years is definitely enough time to learn some new skills. In the development of the game and in the marketing material I've made, I've done my best to play to my strengths so that I can create the best content I possibly can in the shortest amount of time without completely frustrating myself trying to do things far beyond my abilities. It's good to push yourself and always be growing/learning, but not to the point where that frustration single-handedly kills the project.

    Anyway, I just wanted to say that you can do it. Yeah, you! Keep working hard. I know it gets tough, but you'll be a better person when you come out the other side. You got this!

    submitted by /u/BflySamurai
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    I've applied all the tips from the recent imgur discussion and got into most viral. Thanks r/gamedev!

    Posted: 09 Mar 2018 06:03 AM PST

    Game Loop responsibility and (interpolation) question

    Posted: 09 Mar 2018 01:10 AM PST

    After reading a lot of game loop articles, I've implemented something that works. However I would like any feedback and also answers to a few of my questions.
    So first of all, how does mine look:

    while (running) { double elapsed = clock.getElapsedTime(); accumulator += elapsed; handleInput(); while(accumulator >= 1.0/50.0) { fixedUpdate(); accumulator -= 1.0/50.0; } const double interpolation = accumulator / dt; interpolate(interpolation); render(); }

    The following is implemented in the methods, is there anything wrong with it?

    handleInput()

    • I pass the event to all game object's processInput(input) method
    • Example: set's the velocity of the player (e.g. +20 when w is pressed, 0 when w is released), so in update it can be applied
    • Question 1: How do you handle a lost keypress? E.g. the key release?
    • Question 2: "First thing you have to remember is not to mix logic with event handling. Event handling is just supposed to set variables properly so the logic section of the code knows the user's input and can act accordingly." -> How would I implement a shot with left click? Set a flag on my player, and on the update function if the flag is set I spawn a bullet with correct position and speed?

    fixedUpdate()

    • I invoke the fixedUpdate() function on every game object, then handle collision for every game object
    • the fixedUpdate() on each object set's the location according to the variables set by handleInput() (e.g. position = position + velocity)
    • Question 3: Basically the other part of Question 2

    interpolate(interpolation)

    • The most interesting part for me. Currently I call the interpolate(interpolation) function for every game object. This sets the viewPosition (not position) of the player like position.x + velocity.x * interpolate
    • Question 4: I'm not really happy with having two positions (one truePosition being updated every physics step in fixedUpdate() and one interpolated position for the renderer. Is there any better way? I need to restore the correct position (from the last fixedUpdate()) for the next fixedUpdate(), but also need a position for the renderer when the game runs at 200 FPS.
    • Question 5: I'm also not happy with having two functions update() and interpolate() for every game object. What do you do? Especially in regards to resetting it to a valid state for fixedUpdate

    others

    • Question 6: Does it make sense to have an additional update() function every loop step in addition to the interpolate function? Like e.g. Unity has both of them.
    • Question 7: Is it correct that interpolation mimics all movement of the fixedUpdate in regards to the interpolation[0-1]?
    • Question 8: Does the loop make sense in regards to input handling, delegation etc? Or do I miss a basic concept?

    Additional Questions (edit)

    • Question 9: The way I currently implemented input handling (input setting up, update performs move) I have another issue. When the key is pressed and release almost instantly, it will apply +x and -x for the velocity. This means the sprite won't move at all, instead of one time to the direction. How does one handle this? I could apply movement every time the key is still hold down (instead of start on keydown and stop on keyrelease) and apply the sum of these event in the update function, however this introduces other problems (lag between two keydown recognition etc).

    Thanks

    submitted by /u/Regyn
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    Ken Silverman releases BUILD2 engine demo

    Posted: 09 Mar 2018 11:06 AM PST

    Is the scope of this "too big" for an early project?

    Posted: 09 Mar 2018 08:41 AM PST

    So I'm working on a project right now. It's basically a super condensed RPG. So I made this village map for it where the whole thing will take place. Do you guys think this is overshooting it? I'm not NEW to game development. I tinkered around with Game Maker eons ago, so I have that "fundamental understanding", I'm just looking for a way to challenge myself and learn about the tools and scripting in Unity, so I figured making a super smaller version of something I wanted to make would be a good idea.

    Here's the map. Or at least the first revision.

    https://imgur.com/a/HJzFQ

    EDIT: Here's some goals I want to try and accomplish: 1) A full village with houses you can go in (and when you go into one, the outside world darkens, but is still fully persistent- no loading into houses.

    2) A small party system? I'm not sure about this one, but maybe a way for a character or two to follow the player, Earthbound style.

    3) Mini quests. Just some silly random quests around the village. Some simple ones that are more like sidequests.

    submitted by /u/notMateo
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    Finally Published My First Game To Google Playstore!

    Posted: 09 Mar 2018 07:39 AM PST

    I published my first mobile game on playstore today. It's a simple swipe left and right arcade game. I didn't expect it to take as long as it did. Most of that time was used polishing the game, around 80% of total development time.

    The game is called Accumulus and it is still in Alpha. Please check it out and give me feedback. I know there is so much more I can do with it. What do you suggest I add or change? :)

    submitted by /u/NillaPooh
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    Making Games isn’t for me

    Posted: 09 Mar 2018 08:29 AM PST

    So I have been learning to make games for a little while now with programs like construct and gamemaker. I've gotten things to be playable and the one thing I learned is that while it's really cool seeing what I create move around on the screen making games just isn't for me. I've learned to absolutely appreciate the hell out of each and everyone one of you that make games and I have a new fondness for the people that make the games. So much creativity and effort goes into all of your projects. So please if your enjoying making games keep doing it. I'll be here to play them!

    submitted by /u/Dewba
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    Free 4k Wood Texture

    Posted: 09 Mar 2018 09:29 AM PST

    The Easy Guide to Procedurally Generated Plots

    Posted: 09 Mar 2018 02:39 AM PST

    Bridging PC & PS4 - The Guns of Icarus Alliance Cross-platform Journey

    Posted: 09 Mar 2018 09:05 AM PST

    How do you load references from data?

    Posted: 09 Mar 2018 08:37 AM PST

    Hi everyone! I'm progressing nicely with my game - some kind of Football Agent Simulation. The whole gameplay really depends on the database of the game. I think it will be real fun to go to an obscure country and find talent there. Anyway, the last thing I implemented is a load/save functionality in my game. Some of the game objects my game has are nations, leagues, clubs, players, agents... In game, every one of those objects are stored in their respective array. When I save the game, they all go to a big JSON file. Everything works like a charm here. The problem I have is how to load this efficiently. I couldn't find a good resource online for a solution to that problem, mainly because I don't know how to google it. I think this is a common problem but I can't seem to find the right solution. Constructing the objects is relatively fast. I read the data from JSON dictionary and then call the constructor with the data I've read from the JSON. When things get really slow, and I think this has to be done smarter, is when I want to reference objects between each other. Basically my question is, how to load a reference from a text data efficiently?

    For example, my players reference the clubs they play in and the nation they are from. So, my logic currently is: construct all the nations, construct all the clubs, construct all the players. Then, go through every player and read the ID's of the clubs and nations that are stored in text and compare them to every ID of the nation and club. When they are the same, then connect them. Then do this with agents too, and every other object that references other objects. Currently, I have 2500 players and my loading time is about 7 seconds. I could make this faster with proper optimization of my 'for loops' but it seems to me like my approach is wrong and too slow because the database needs to be at least 10 times greater for the game to be effective.

    What's the right approach here? How does one read data from disk and then supplies references to objects the fastest? How does Football Manager do this?

    I think this is a pretty general question and I would love some general ideas, but I'm using Godot so a solution specific to Godot would work best for me.

    submitted by /u/branegames22
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    GML coding question

    Posted: 09 Mar 2018 06:31 AM PST

    Hey all! I recently started working on a platform game in game maker 2. While I'm familiar with the DnD, I'm hoping to make this one using (mostly) code. I'm wondering if anyone has experience with creating text-to-speech codes? I would like players to be able to type something in and then have the text hover above the character, like an mmrpg style platform. Any suggestions on achieving this in GML would be greatly appreciated!

    submitted by /u/dugoutlifestyle
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    Indie game free monthly voiceover info (original post removed)

    Posted: 09 Mar 2018 07:55 AM PST

    I am clearly a Reddit noob and accidentally had my original post removed by a bot when I edited the message to include website links . Links to a Facebook page to keep up to date and contact me, links to my website and links to Patreon are all in my profile description.

    The original post was regarding free voice over for an indie dev each month and here is the follow up and result of the many posts.

    Thank you for the tremendous feedback from everybody here, all of the comments and feedback have been very useful and has certainly given me hope that this service will indeed be useful for indie devs out there. Due to the feedback received I have decided to create a facebook page with a link which can be found in my profile description where you can see which games are being worked on, receive updates & behind the scenes as well as message me to be considered for what I'm going to call this service - indie game monthly.

    It has been said by many developers and I agree that if the voice artists are good enough to be in the games then they deserve some form of pay even if they are video game beginners, so with that in mind some kind of payment would be encouraged. I've also created a patreon page to fund help fund the voice artists rates and running costs with the goals being able to pay the higher rate professionals that have worked on 'AAA' titles. This would mean providing more experienced talent each month if the goals are met if anyone wishes to support this please check my profile description for a link (the current reward for donating is in-game credits which I'm assuming developers wouldn't mind agreeing to include but I may be completely wrong. Please send me a message or comment if you have any great reward ideas that will be useful to devs/indie fans)

    I've also decided to narrow down the criteria for indie games which can be selected due to the inability to currently support larger games (without patreon support) and the fact I have already had studios contact me that could clearly afford standard rates. My wish is that the size and amount of games worked on monthly would increase as support for this grows.

    Please view the Patreon page for information regarding Indie Game Monthly.

    If anyone is interested in using more experienced voice actors in their games please visit the link to my website in my profile description for information and to contact me for rates and samples. Depending on the length of script you can quite easily find a professional with experience for the same rate you would pay on Fiverr but also receive all the services listed on my website.

    Thanks

    submitted by /u/Lost-Woods-Voiceover
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    Dark electro folk music for your indie project

    Posted: 09 Mar 2018 07:37 AM PST

    Gamemaker Studio 2 for Switch

    Posted: 08 Mar 2018 04:00 PM PST

    Game idea - Archeology based Sandbox MMO Sci-fi inspired by Made in Abyss

    Posted: 09 Mar 2018 12:11 PM PST

    Focus of the game - Players hunting relics of the long dead civilization on different planets. People love grinding stuff in MMO's for the sake of the rarity and novelty of having the item. If you could be actually uncovering shiny items and put them on display in your in-game house I am sure people would love that. Above the ground you would have houses that long lost civilization lived in and decore. and the deeper and deeper underground you would venture the better chance of finding something really shiny that would look great on your trophy table. Or you could simply trade or sell that. I might get more into detail if someone here likes the idea and wants to hear more but for now just tell me what's your take on this?

    Edit: I forgot to mention something important. This game would rely on being constantly updated and adding new stuff like super rare relics and decore for the house and once a month or 2 complete remake of a map. Being low-poly game graphics I think it could be done to make a new map so players don't feel bored.

    submitted by /u/markidak
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    Reviewing programming games from a programmer's perspective. First: Human Resource Machine

    Posted: 09 Mar 2018 12:07 PM PST

    Where to find creativity and art in software development business, while having acceptable chances for a commercial success?

    Posted: 09 Mar 2018 11:38 AM PST

    I would say that game development business is the field in software engineering, which can offer the most space for art and creativity. Unfortunately, it's a very risky business and when, or if economically successful, it pays badly in comparison to "classic" software development.

    Under the "game development business" I mean an indie startup that is working on a development of a classic game product - i.e. a video game for a PC or smart phones.

    submitted by /u/arsembler
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