Developments

Yesterday, I completely rejigged the "Bounce" of SpikeDislike. Originally, the bounce was a simple Sine-wave, and has in fact been this in EVERY version of SpikeDislike, but this time I'm hoping to add a couple of new elements which have required a minor tweak in the usual ball bouncing mechanic. This isn't something to be taken lightly, as I had to be absolutely sure that the end result still "felt" like Classic SpikeDislike. At the moment it's a teensy bit floaty compared with ...

Developments

I spent a lot of yesterday faffing about with the "Start" screen of SpikeDislike3. At first I intended to have a giant spike be in the center of the screen, and in fact that's what happened for quite a while, but .. I'm not sure why, but I decided to switch to circles instead. Reusing my generic stripy circle from my basic menu meant I didn't have to redraw anything, and the new "Start" screen looks rather neat. .. or at least, for something I've done, it does! I spent some t...

Developments

Continuing with the new edition of SpikeDislike, and I'm still adding basic elements into the engine. I've a whole lot of work to do on the game, including all the graphical styles and things like that, but for now I'm happy that it's totting up the combos in the way it should be. ( width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YIwcx9Gcbfs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen>> Scoring and Death are now both firmly inside...

Developments

So, after yesterday's realisation that the StarFlips game wasn't going anywhere, I opted to head back to "Larger Project" and see if I could get any more done on it. Whether I continue with Larger Project, or instead switch to a smaller intermediate project, will be dependent on how much happens between now and.. Um.. Unspecified date! (URL "https://AGameAWeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/SD3_003.png"><img src="https://AGameAWeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/SD3_003-...

Another big gap, as I try to figure out what's happening next. I figured you guys oughta be kept up to date with current goings on, in the world of AGameAWeek, so here's a rough bit of blogging so that you can vaguely assume you know what's going on! Current projects are.. 1. Kee Bo Ard Go Deep Another sequel in the Kee Bo Ard collection. I've so far built a fairly capable engine, but am struggling to decide exactly what I'd like to do with it. I've got the game up to a "You can complete a level" po...

Prepare for a fully featured level! ( width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/vpYpzEgBtic" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen>> Although, be aware that by the time you get to play it, this level may be different. Most of the basics are in there. There's a couple of baddies, a couple of weapons, collectables, and other bits and pieces. I've yet to add powerups (shield would be handy!) and the "Level Complete" could look a little bit less shit! ...

I say Failure, but it's been a sort of productive week. The thing is, every time I open my framework, I realise there's still LOADS of stuff that I haven't started, yet. At some point over this year, I'd like to start implementing online scoreboards, but that needs groundwork, and I haven't even begun. .. Well, I have, actually.. I started about a week ago, but there's a LOT of things you need to do, to get it working correctly, and that means a LOT of forethinking, and planning ahead. This week, I'v...

<a href="https://AGameAWeek.com/GameList.php?ShowJust=347">Alpha Collexion</a> was AGameAWeek's 2014 Advent Calendar. You can <a href="https://AGameAWeek.com/GameList.php?ShowJust=347">Download it Here</a> for Windows, OUYA or playable in your browser using HTML5. All games are now unlocked, and will remain playable forever! woot!

(URL "https://AGameAWeek.com/GameList.php?ShowJust=347">Alpha Collexion) is AGameAWeek's 2014 Advent Calendar. You can (URL "https://AGameAWeek.com/GameList.php?ShowJust=347">Download it Here) for Windows, OUYA or playable in your browser using HTML5. (URL "https://AGameAWeek.com/AlphaCollexion/400_G.png"><img src="https://AGameAWeek.com/AlphaCollexion/400_G_thumb.png">

Gone Golfin'

Concept Hit the ball towards the ho...

You may have noticed a slight lack of gaming over the past couple of months. Usually I cut down on AGameAWeek during the closing months of a year, and instead focus on a larger project, but over the course of this year I've already tackled a number of larger projects. Blockman Worlds, JNK Bombers, Future Classics.. They've all been substantially larger than my standard weekly output. As such, I'm actually struggling to come up with a decent "end of year project" that would be worth tackling. Instead, I...

A couple of months ago, I mentioned this game in passing.. (URL "https://AGameAWeek.com/2009/08/y2w2-tetripong/">TetriPong) And immediately started looking into remaking it. It was just after I'd released ChuckABall, was midway through BounceABall, and considered this as a possible extra "ABall" game to fit alongside them. .. Then I got sidetracked by the NeonBike game, and I didn't bother going back. .. Then last week, Tetris Battle came out on OUYA, and I was going "aw, dangit.. Missed my ch...

Today I've started recreating Munky Blocks. At the minute, I'm trying to get the basic controls up and running with a touchscreen, which.. as you can possibly imagine.. are a teensy bit tricky. Once I've got the game basics up and running, I'll start messing about and seeing what "NEW!" features I can add into the mix. .. I also need to build a boatload of levels, too, so .. this will probably be a difficult week, ahead!! <a href="https://socoder.net/uploads/1/394_001.png"><img src="https://...

Welcome to Xmas 2004, when I released an early test version of Platdude Spheres! The game's basic idea was sound, but the gameplay never quite fit the idea, and it doesn't exactly "feel" like Platdude, either. As such, the game was pretty much abandoned at the stage you currently see it. (URL "https://socoder.net/uploads/1/Spheres_Desktop.jpg"><img src="https://socoder.net/uploads/1/Spheres_Desktop_thumb.jpg"> Maybe now would be a good time to re-att...

This time last year, I reattempted the game Microbes, but it didn't really work out as well as I'd hoped for. This year, I opted to give it another go, and have mixed in oodles of lovely glowyness! Seems to have done the trick! <img src="https://AGameAWeek.com/complete/Disc_Blaster_20140311A_thumb.png"> <img src="https://AGameAWeek.com/complete/Disc_Blaster_20140311B_thumb.png">

Over on the OUYA website, they occasionally allow developers to write blog posts, and for some reason have decided that I'd make a good blog writer. Quite why this is, is beyond me, as we all know I tend to rant and waffle, and basically type any old crap into my own blog posts. But what the heck! I figured I'd join in anyway! (URL "https://www.ouya.tv/ouya-devlog-james-gamble-a-game-a-week/">My BlogPost!) It should be noted that I actually wrote this thing WAY back in December!...

In the first of a (hopefully) full year of monthly Platdude related releases, Platdude gets to wander through a giant forest, battling enemy creatures, and avoiding deadly spikes! <img src="https://AGameAWeek.com/complete/Platdude_in_The_Endless_Forest_20140127B_thumb.png"> <img src="https://AGameAWeek.com/complete/Platdude_in_The_Endless_Forest_20140127A_thumb.png">

There are hundreds of great sites that I should probably link to, and much like linking to my hundreds of games, I've always found it a bit of a mess once I start trying to cram it all into a small sidebar on the right of the site. As such, I've finally opted to create one great big link-page, full of everything I could think of within the short hour or so that it took to add it! If you're missing from this page, let me know!! <table border="1px" cellpadding="2" width="100%"> <t...

After this week's dire disappointment, I decided to go ahead and try to make something a little more.. um.. Gamey!! So, I went way-way-way-way-way-way back to basics, and made a Pong game.. (URL "https://AGameAWeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/added_2_scores.png"><img src="https://AGameAWeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/added_2_scores-300x225.png" alt="" title="added_2_scores" width="300" height="225" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-3430" /> ...

<img src="https://socoder.net/AGAWGold_128.png" style="float:left;"> AGameAWeek Gold looks back at some of the best, and worst, games that have been previously released on this day in history. Today's game from the archive is a lovely little arena battler, with lots of weapons and things to shoot!

Over on the Monkey forum, a discussion about level data set me off thinking about making this post. Whenever I put levels into my games, I tried to keep them as small as I possibly can. I've been doing it this way for years, and always figured it's nice to compress my data into something that's easily shareable. .. True, I rarely ever get around to actually making these things easily shareable, but for the most part I try to keep things as minimal as possible.

Yet another case of AGameAWeek Gold being strangely interconnected with other events in my life!! Today, I posted about Star Trek Pong 3 earlier today, and it got me thinking about the even older Amiga edition. Curiously, I also recently purchased a USB Capture device for my PC. I wanted to output all my consoles and computers through my PC's monitor. It has a HDMI port, but a Scart->HDMI device seemed a little pricey. Being the cheapskate that I am, I instead settled for a Capture device, which bas...

<img src="https://socoder.net/AGAWGold_128.png" style="float:right;">AGameAWeek Gold is our occasional glance through the archive, to pluck out some of the great games that I've created over the many years that I've been doing this. Along the way we'll discover some great gems that I'd forgotten about, or occasionally the odd bit of garbage that I'm frankly happy to have forgot about! Today, we take a look at a strange little Pong game!

(URL "https://socoder.net/uploads/1/NeonPlat_Editions..jpg"><img src="https://socoder.net/uploads/1/NeonPlat_Editions._thumb.jpg"> Click for MASSSIIIIVVVE) Haze inquired as to why there's no NeonPlat Raw on iOS. The answer is simply because, a full year earlier, iOS got it's own special little NeonPlat. In February 2012 (Just before my whole hospital saga!) I released NeonPlat on iOS. It featured tilt-controls, and 3 difficulty levels, and stands out as it's own special little version of the...

Yesterday saw the launch of BlastTrax on OUYA. Since I've yet to figure out all that nasty Tax gubbins (I know, I know!!... eventually!!) I've not yet managed to add any IAP stuff to any of my games. Since an OUYA game is freely available as a download, and then the .apk gets reproduced all over the entire internet via robot-spammy-feed sites, you either have to do 100% free, or buttloads of IAP stuff. There's no mid-point, no way to create a "Demo vs Full version", or anything else like that. Since...

The internet is a place for trolls and complainers (like me!) who like to gripe at every opportunity. For the most part, we tend to ignore these types, which generally means that comments sections have become largely ignored. Here at AGameAWeek, the opposite has happened. There are apparently no trolls daring enough to even attempt to play my games! I seem to have scared most of them away. As a result, there are no trollers or complainers here, and since those are the types that make up the 99% of the ...

People keep asking about how I manage to code AGameAWeek, and one thing they all eventually pick up on is that I'm currently doing it all with Monkey. (URL "https://monkeycoder.co.nz">Monkey) is a fantastic language which allows for all manner of different targets, and does a great job doing what it does. It isn't perfect, and it's not for everyone, but it suits me down to the ground. As with any development tool, it all comes down to preference, and whether or not you agree with the methodology o...

BlastTraxFAQs

What's with the track?

BlastTrax was originally devised as a classic Retro-styled GrandPrix-like racing game, with weapons. You would drive through the course, shoot the other drivers, and make your way through to the end. I started work on the game, made a nice retro-styled GrandPrix racetrack, added a few little cars, and then.. .. And that was when (URL "https://www.foppygames.nl/">@FoppyGames) decided to launch his Retro-styled GrandPrix racing game. D'oh! True, min...