Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Update Double Feature!

Gonna Catcha

Most of the work I've done on Gonna Catcha are behind-the-scenes coding stuff that won't show up in screenshots.  I need to fill in all the gaps (so to speak) so that I can release a proper demo version of the game as soon as possible.

The one thing I did that I can take a screenshot of is this:


All arcade games I've encountered run a self test to check their own hardware when switched on.  To give my game a bit of authenticity, why not put one of these into it too, even if it is completely bogus and ironic.  In fact, I might have a little fun with it. (twiddles fingers) >:)

That Which Binds Us

Our team still hammering out the details of the design document for That Which Binds Us.  We have some concept art for some of the levels in the game, which I may put up here later.

One thing I can show right now is the main gameplay theme for the game.  It's pretty much what you'll hear in the final game, barring any minor adjustments:



Next, I would like to take you back to that mystical time period known as the early 90s, when sound cards had synthesizers so bad that it turned the MIDI file into the scapegoat it is known as today. This is the same theme played using the Sound Blaster 16's FM MIDI synthesizer. I actually started composing using this sound card (Sound Blaster 16) in the late 90s, so it holds a special place in my heart, even if it does sound bad.  This track may or may not be in the final game; I just made it for fun.

Monday, May 13, 2013

Adventures in Downtown Toronto, full of games and excitement


Woo! New colour scheme!

This past weekend, my formerly-TOJam team, "Robots Mashing Keyboards", and I met to discuss our formerly-TOJam project, That Which Binds Us.  We officially have started the project and are now writing down everything we need to do to make this game come into fruition.  Here is the premise of our game:

"Oh no! I forgot to feed my dog and the store is closing in just five minutes!"

In this game, the player must walk their very hungry and impatient dog to the pet store to get some food before it starves.  The task is not a simple one as many distractions stand between you and the store.

Once we get more details hammered out, I'll make a proper info page on the project just like I did with Gonna Catcha.


In other news, I also went to the Toronto Comics Arts Festival (TCAF) on Saturday with my friends, the other members of "Robots Mashing Keyboards".  The event was hosted in multiple locations far apart from one another, so we decided to go to the one nearest to us, Bento Miso.  It was hosting the Bit Bazaar on that day, where a whole bunch of indie game devs were showcasing their works with playable demos and selling special copies of their games and other merchandise.

Thursday, May 9, 2013

He jests at time that never felt good use. But, software! What game doth yonder team projects?

It's been another slow week or so.

Yes, I know things are moving a bit slow for Gonna Catcha, but fret not as I did make some improvements to the spirit sprites. (Hmm, I'm getting déjà vu here.)  I added some animation to them to make them more lively. *BA-DUM TSSH*

(hold for groans and boos)


No one suspects the spirits with the shifty eyes!

If I get the scoring system done and add a a title screen, I can release a demo version of the game.  And that would be just super.  :)




In other news, it turned out I did make it into the Toronto Game Jam 2013, about 15 hours before the event started.  Some people had cancelled their confirmations, so there were spots open for my team.  Unfortunately, my team members had already made other plans for the weekend since when the initial rejection email was sent out, so we had to decline as well.  Hopefully things will turn out better next year.

Despite all that, we're still have our game idea; might as well not let it go to waste.  We decided to go ahead and make the game anyway in the near future.  I'll write about our experiences here.  Also, it shouldn't take too much time away from Gonna Catcha, so I'll still be working on that concurrently.