DREAMWINTER BLOG HAS MOVED!

No more updates are being made to this blog. This blog is being kept for archival purposes.

THE NEW DREAMWINTER BLOG CAN BE FOUND AT: http://www.dreamwinter.net

Thank you.

March 1GAMCRUNCH Postmortem.

First, the details:
Game Created: StarStitch - Free for Android mobile devices. (Click to view)
Time spent in pre-concept: 1 hour.
Time spent in development: 14.3 hours.
Tools used: Photoshop, GameMaker: Studio Professional 

Conception:
I knew from the start I wanted to make a mobile game. I have been developing with Android in mind for the last few months, but I had never really played with the Google Play market, and I wanted to design something simple to get a better understanding of supporting the near 3,000 different devices that Android is on, including over 30 sets of resolution settings and various GPU limitations. What a better way than a live experiment!

I knew the game had to be simple to work within the deadline of 48 hours. So at the start of the Game Jam I did something different this time: I ignored the theme! I had a focus already in mind, and I felt that I always took too much time trying to work a theme around a game idea, and I figured if I just forgot the theme this time I could focus on everything I needed.

Keeping "simple" in mind, I went with the idea to design a game I am unfamiliar with, a casual/puzzle game aimed at just wasting time. A little game you could pick up for a few minutes while waiting at the grocery story, standing in line somewhere, waiting on someone, or in the restroom.

Hardware:
I chose mobile because I wanted to experiment more with actually releasing a game on the Google Play market, and find out how various design methods and choices work with the vast amount of device and resolution support that Android is involved in.

What did I learn:
I learned quite a bit from this weekend, more so than I have in any other Game Jam.

• Keeping things simple is very useful. You might not be creating the next World of Warcraft, but in 48 hours you don't have much time anyway. Simple is not always bad.
• Finding the balance of expecting things to fail, but not expecting to fail. As things broke and as feedback comes in, I learn from the information, which is the entire point! In fact, the more things that break, the more I learn, and the more things that work, the more confident I am in my design choices. It's win/win baby!
• The Android market and Google Play is VERY easy to use. Super easy actually. Granted, it does take about 1-2 hours for things to update, but that is far better than the several days it can take for other mobile markets. Learning how Google handles their market and the control/statistical options they give developers is really only doable by jumping in feet first.
• Being picky on graphics isn't something you have the luxury of during a game jam. Taking a style and running with it is the best way to go. Once you've fleshed out a design concept, there is always time later on after the jam to add the polish you really want. Learning to accept my own art for what it is, is a tough lesson but a very valuable one.

All in all, this was the most productive and knowledge digesting Game Jam I have had. I look forward to next month and the lesson it will teach me. :)

Go grab StarStitch for Android right now!

New games and new website!

Been super busy, have not had a lot of time for updating!

The first 3 games of the SweetSmarts series will be launching the 1st of April! Expect to see those on the Android market, quickly followed by Windows and Mac! There are plans to release for Windows 8 phones and surface tablets, but that will take some time since I don't actually have the devices to test on yet.

Also, coming with the launch of the SweetSmarts series is a flashy new website!

So stay tuned and keep checking back for updates!

SweetSmarts: Gaming Collection

Something I am proud to announce is the SweetSmarts Educational Gaming collection.

This series will be a mobile series aimed at young children that will provide colorful, animated, and thought provoking challenges sure to entertain.

Let's face it, in this day and age, nearly every child has access to a smartphone, tablet, or a PC. Whether they have their own, or they play with their parents, I see more and more children with access to this technology now more than ever.

With that in mind, we should still be challenging young minds while giving them entertainment, and so I am developing a series of educational mobile games that will be easy to use, understand, and more to the point - keep their brain working.

The game series has limitless potential and right now there are 5 games in the works, with 2 already complete.

SweetSmarts: Mathflash
An arithmetic based game where you solve simple problems in your head, increasing your difficulty as time moves on, or even challenging yourself with speed runs and score tracking.

SweetSmarts: MonsterMatchup

A memory strengthening game where you have several mini-games to choose from matching up various adorable monsters with their shadows, themselves, and even help to piece monsters together!

SweetSmarts: MathBlaster (working title)
A space based shooter where you defend your town from falling mathematical problems! This game takes skill, quick reflexes and offers many modes for a wide range of ages - including adults!

SweetSmarts: AlphaBandit
A stealthy raccoon has stolen letters from all over town! This word based game helps children learn how to spell and identify objects as they move through town tracking the nefarious bandit who quite literally has left the town speechless!

SweetSmarts: FlickFishing
This game teaches hand-eye-ear coordination by making the player rely on sound or visual cues which change dynamically in order to catch the fish. With several mini-games and difficulty levels, this game is fun for all ages - including adults!

Development of these games are going strong, and VERY soon you should start seeing them in the Android Market for mobile, and even online in a new Dreamwinter Play! section coming with a new site launch.

Stay tuned!

GMDeveloper.com and everything else!

Man, I have been busy!

Let's get to the details:

First,
GMDeveloper.com is up and running! There is a fair amount of work still going into it to get it right and proper, but if you're a GameMaker developer or just interested in general Game Design, give it a peek!

Second,

Fusecube is currently being polished for retail released. I've got the leaderboards working and i'm just finishing up all the little bits of polish and doing some final bug testing.

Third:
Currently working on some art assets to release for mobile devices. The goal is to build an entire platforming package that can be used to make your own platform game specifically geared for mobile devices. :)

Concept Mockup using some of the assets:



Fourth:
I am about to launch a fundraising project to get my new series SweetSmarts off the ground! Details soon.

Fusecube PC Beta is out.

Fusecube for PC is coming, and I thought I would drop off an early build for people to give feedback and see if it's something they are interested in!

Find the download here: http://www.dreamwinter.net/dev/Fusecube_Beta.zip

Fusecube coming for Android!

Fusecube is coming to Android and PC!
Pre-orders are coming soon for a bundle pack at a super low price!

• 5 different color cubes to fuse!
• 7 unique item cubes!
• Funky 8 song soundtrack!
• 20+ levels of challenges!
• Challenge mode levels!
• Special Holiday editions!
• + More!

Fusecube BETA

LittleLife is still being worked on, but I got inspired over the weekend and so now I am working on this:

It is actually playable right now in beta form. (STILL BUGS!)
http://dreamwinter.net/dev/fusecube/

Little Life!

NOTE: Due to Fusecube and the launch of GMDeveloper.com - LittleLife is being postponed to March. Just too much on my plate right now. :)

January has come and gone and although it is cold outside, we welcome February with warm hearts.

February is a special time of the year in many aspects. It represents a solid entry to the New Year, and holds a holiday dedicated purely to Love and admiration of a significant other. With that in mind, I am sticking strong to the "non-violent" 1GAM rule I set for myself and focusing even more intensely on atmosphere and outright pleasantry.

~ In the small village of Browsertown, you will find yourself fishing and trading items and goods among the townsfolk in order to keep your little shop happily running. Did I mention the fishing? There will be a lot of fishing. With scavenger hunts and a real-time day/night event system, all of these little adventures will take place right in your browser! ~

 As an added bonus to show appreciation for all the wonderful work that OpenGameArt.org and their artists do, I will be designing this game entirely with core basics from their gallery. I want to show that anything can be turned into a wonderful experience and those guys deserve the love.

I will as always, keep you posted here on my blog and via Twitter.

GMDeveloper.com

Busy busy!

Just an informal update on things going on.

1) Working on GMDeveloper.com - heavy into pre-launch mode right now. Crunch time! Looking for feedback and suggestions from GameMaker users on what they are looking for or what they think is missing from development communities. Always looking to please the community.

2) Ponquest production is delayed simply due to pushing out GMDeveloper.com - I don't want to get caught up with too much work so it's not 'delayed' I simply have a strict schedule to adhere to and I am VERY MUCH looking forward to getting back to it. :)

3) 1GAMCRUNCH was awesome, 1GAM Jan is out the door. I have a few ideas for Feb, and I will spend the weekend starting on that!

My 1GAMCRUNCH Summary

Where to begin.... I think I will start with coffee. *sip*

        Well, this sure was a fun experience. As my first Game Jam I was happy to at least produce something that I got out the door. I am pretty disappointed with what I was able to make, but I am happy with the core idea I was striving for. I've learned a ton and I had a lot of fun, and through and through that is really what matters when I rest my head at night. So here are my thoughts on this Game Jam.

Time Management:

When I was in the U.S. Army I learned a lot about time management  That discipline slipped through my fingers a bit during this Game Jam. 

It wasn't that I was not working the whole time, but rather I was not focused on the right aspects of what I wanted to build and spent too much time in certain areas.

• I spent too much time tweaking particle effects for the 'right' effect. 
• I devoted 5 hours to a lighting system I did not even end up using. 
• The enemy path finding was new to me, and I spent more time debugging it than anything else. Had I compromised some game mechanics, it would have taken a lot less and I could have fleshed out my idea.

Art:
Art wasn't so much a problem. I borrowed a bit from OpenGameArt.org and did the rest with particle effects. Although art is important to game design, it's also not a primary factor in a Game Jam, I think. There is just not enough time to really focus on making your game looked 'polished', especially when going solo.

Sound Design:

What can I say, I spend a lot of time on http://www.bfxr.net because it is a wonderful tool. I know there are a wide range of sound effects designers and kits out there, and I will get to them one day but for now, this allows me to be creative and listen to a wide range of audio I have not heard before.

Mechanics:

I had a lot planned for this, and that was too much. In the end I had to dumb it down, and I think it's better off for it in some aspects. The player only has so many options and it gives the person playing the ability to focus more on what they can do with those options rather than trying to figure out what 20 different buttons and skills do and how they work. That stuff comes later, for bigger games. :)

The core element of this game was to be hard. I had no intentions of making an easy game. I don't like easy games. I want to challenge the player but without resorting to mechanics that force you into situations beyond your control.

If you die, it is your own fault. (Or so, that is the goal)

Summary:
In summation, I had designed a complex dungeon crawler where you unlocked the boss's you were to fight by accomplishing various achievements  In the end I had to scrap 40% of what I was working on and quickly hack together a single level based on the original design. This is not what I had intended and it has given me a lot to think about.

I plan on revisiting this game over the course of the week and really bringing out what I envisioned and offer up a more complete game with all the challenges intact.

I learned a lot, and I really enjoyed this game jam, and I look forward to more in the future. The pace was fast and the deadline looming overhead made me rethink a lot about what makes a game, and what impact all your environments can play on final decisions.

I look forward to updating this game, and hope you enjoy playing the revised version.

1GAMCRUNCH... done?

I have uploaded N|Something. You can find it here:

 

http://www.dreamwinter.net/1gam/nsomething.zip

Note: The domain dreamwinter.net is brand new and as such, some operating systems and browsers may flag downloads as "possibly dangerous." There isn't much I can do about this. It's an .exe inside the zip (as most games are) and these warnings will only go away once the domain has had more activity and time to propagate. I promise you, the file is safe. Sorry in advance if you run into this minor issue.

I will be writing up a summary about the jam, what happened, what will happen, and what I learned. I also plan to continue developing the original concept of N|Something an fleshing out what it was actually to be.

All in all, it was a fun and very educational experience. This was my very first 'timed' Game Jam and I think I made all the proper mistakes as a newbie.

Let me know your input, follow me on Twitter, or just say hello!

Crunch Update

Nothing to show! lol.

Been working on the framework and control mechanics for my simple little button masher. I will be updating with screenshots later today.

Come join us at the hangout!:  https://plus.google.com/communities/117275686212402755276

1GAMCRUNCH

Just a few hours until 1GAMCRUNCH kicks off. Be sure to read all about it, even if you're not participating!

I will be posting updates here through out the entire weekend, along with twitter updates, as well as producing a time-lapse video of the entire weekend of development from start to finish.

Tools:
IDE: GameMaker:Studio Professional.
Graphics: Photoshop CS5
Audio: http://www.bfxr.net / http://www.nosoapradio.us / www.soundrangers.com

Be sure sure to follow me on twitter, and hit me up if you're following along, and especially if you're participating in #1GAMCRUNCH!

~This is ten-percent bugs,

twenty-percent thrill,

fifteen-percent concentrated coffee and skill.

Five-percent graphics, fifty percent brain

and a hundred percent reason to complete your game!~

Surviving a Game Jam

This weekend I will be participating in 1GAMCRUNCH which is s sub-jam formed within the ranks of the OneGameAMonth participants after realizing the GlobalGameJam would not be supportive of those who wanted to run solo.

If you're like me, the prospect of creating a quality game while challenging yourself within the course of a weekend is can be pretty exciting - but it is not without obstacles!

So here are some tips from me to you!

How to Survive a Game Jam:

Drink Water:
Water is the key to life. No seriously, water is the key element in life, without it we would not be here, and your body runs on it!

Make sure to drink plenty of water, and not just during the game jam, but at all times. Soda and coffee are fine in moderation, but you always need to be pumping water into your body! The average person should be drinking 3 liters of water a day, with that amount fluctuating depending on the diet. Check out this article here from the Mayo Clinic to learn more.

Get plenty of sleep:
Sleep is different for everyone, and you know how much you should be getting, but there are bad sleeping habits that lead to a strongly reduced amount of mental functionality and clarity. Ie: No sleep = fuzzy brain.

It doesn't take simply a lack of sleep either, but a system of sleep that is not consistent throws the body off. There is a reason your body gets tired after so long and wants to rest. In sleep we repair ourselves and rejuvenate the lost energy spent during the day - even mental energy! And although the clock is ticking for the game jam, make sure you get rest!

Take Breaks:
Taking breaks is essential to productive development. There are many positive reasons to take breaks every hour or so.

• Removes strain from the eyes. We've all been here.
• Moving around allows blood to flow and wakes up the body and mind.
• Clarity is quite often derived from changing your focus to something else. When you have a problem you can't solve or an idea you can't get right, you might have 'tunnel vision.' Stepping away from the problem for a bit can help see an answer your were blind to because you were focusing so intensely on the problem in the first place.
• Taking breaks reminds you to breath deep. People tend to fall into shallow-breathing while working and the body needs oxygen just as much as it needs water. Take slow, deep breaths. Let your body recoup a while and re-energize your focus.

Eat healthy:
Sugar is fun, sweets are delicious - but they are bad for you. The short-term sugar rush is only slightly-effective and wears off quite fast. While stimulating the body with chemicals such as cookies, candy, energy drink, etc,. are seemingly supportive of a long work sessions, the end results are actually worse for wear.

Sugar and energy drinks cause the body to chug whatever energy it has left through stimulation, and while you feel awake for a moment, the energy being spent is way more than you want.

Imagine pushing your gas pedal to the floor in your car and taking off super fast for a short while. It's great right? The downside of course is all the gas that it uses in order to achieve that speed. Sugar and energy drinks are essentially the same thing and in the end your mental clarity is only slightly adjusted. When that crash comes, you'll be far worse off than you were before.

Eating fruits and vegetables is a wonderful way to keep the body going. Not only are fruits sweet to taste, but they provide a natural sugar that is less harmful to the body and provide natural vitamins and minerals the body needs to keep going. You get your sugar rush AND you're eating healthy! 

Ok now on to the technical...

Stick with your tools:
Now is not the time to learn a new framework or programming language. Stick with something familiar. Challenge yourself to learn new things but keep it within reason. Your time is limited. The overall quality of work you put out will be equal to that of which you put in, and if you spend most of your time trying to figure out brand new technology you're only hindering your goal. Challenge yourself with the tools you know. Do something with them you've never done before, or design something you've always wanted but never have. Just don't try and swap out your toolkit at the last moment and expect rousing success. 

Find your idea first:
Game design is an ever growing and changing process, we all know this, but you want to start with a good foundation for your ideas.

When the game theme is launched, spend an hour or two drawing/sketching out different ideas, (I like to use Photoshop to visualize my ideas quicker) keep them simple and remember what your limitations may be. Make a game-plan for your production schedule so you can make a successful game.

Most importantly:
FINISH YOUR GAME!

It can be difficult to find fun in your game and you may get frustrated because it isn't happening the right way or you spent too much time in one area - that can happen, but don't let it get you down!

A finished game is 100% better than no game at all. Game Jams are about learning and having fun, and there is nothing fun about feeling bad or getting frustrated that you didn't finish your game.

Trust me, even the most simple of games that are completed are a wonderful feeling. Make something.

-------------------

Remember a game Jam is about learning and fun. Have fun. Learn something. Challenge yourself. There are 100 different tips and suggestions people have and they are all nearly wonderful - but at the end of the day make sure you're doing what you think is fun.

Can't wait to see your games!

-Michael

GameMaker Developer

Do you use GameMaker? It's been growing a lot over the course of the last year, and the future looks bright.

As someone who enjoys the robust nature of GameMaker, I've often found myself researching for bits of information, and while there is a lot of good stuff out there, a huge chunk of it is outdated.

There other communities out there, but they don't seem to have a strong focus on the actual process of 'game design' and what comes with that. We're all always still learning, and people should have a wonderful place to hang out and get their information.

Currently in development with a launch window of the first week of Feb, Dreamwinter will be proudly opening the doors to GMDeveloper. Stay tuned. :)

Quick particle test.

Item Shop

The item shop can be accessed two ways.

In-between levels, and by finding special maps and activating the maps during game-play.

Ponquest Inventory Design

Basic inventory screen. Simple. Clean.

Ponquest Enemy Designs.

Some Ponquest enemy designs, still a WIP.

Ponquest Alpha Snapshot for #1GAM

Still in early development, I posted a video on the Tubes of You to show off the design ideas I am heading towards. Progress is coming along smoothly.

Future of the game includes:

• Enjoy 30+ levels as you travel from Llab village to the Elddap King's Castle in search of the Golden Key!
• 5+ boss fights + final boss.
• 22+ Unique items to collect. (Potions, Spells, Weapons, etc)
• Full leveling / Experience System.
• Randomized Maps for alternate fun.
• Challenge Maps.
• Cash/Money system (Diamonds)
• Item Shop to spend Diamonds.
• 25+ different types of blocks with varied effects. (Monsters, Traps, Doors, Special)
• More advanced mechanics. (Drawing path of the sphere with mouse, multi-ball, black holes)
• Expect an awesome soundtrack with some killer sound effects

Ponquest. The name says it all.

View Larger Version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9gjG0yejUg

BugJump 07.4 Download!

Designed for the January installment of #OneGameAMonth - BugJump is a simple arcade/reflex game where the goal is to survive by staying afloat and reaching for a high score.

Still in development, BugJump is currently in Beta and will be finalized and released in the last week of January. For now, check out this beta.

Download BugJump 07.4!

(For Windows)

Participation in #OneGameAMonth

Can you design, build, and finish 1 game every month this year?
That is the question being asked to over 3,000 developers from every walk of life who are participating in OneGameAMonth. (#1GAM)

The core idea is simple: Make games. Not excuses. 

I will detail the creation and manifestation of each game as they are built, including ideas on design, tutorials, access to early builds, and inside-views as to the development process.

Be sure to follow @wintergamelab on Twitter for updates during #1GAM!