-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Socoder Newsletter -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-      "GET IT OUT OF MY EYE!"           #025 - 16th October 2009                      <form method="get" action="https://groups.google.com/group/socoder-newsletter/boxsubscribe" target=_blank style="background-color: #ffc; width: 320px; padding: 2p...

Thursday 8th of October 2009 01:46:19 PM Name : Nam Idea : May I suggest a "Tower of Druaga" mode for Arcade Slots? It's been a long while since I played inside the Arcade Slots source. If I remember rightly, there was some odd little issue in the code that made adding more stuff a little difficult. Can't remember entirely. Who knows.. I do remember trying to come up with drastically different gameplay styles for each game, so that the pla...

The last time we tried Munky Blocks we had 1 munky and many blocks. Munky had to collect the blocks, piece them together to form coloured areas, and blammo, they vanished. This time, we only have one block. Munky needs to pick up that block, and place it on top of the red button, to open up the red exit, and then he can leave. A simple enough concept, but one that took so long to build I didn't really have time to build a decent set of levels. A shame. <a href="https://AGameAWeek.com/complete/M...

<img src="https://socoder.net/uploads/1/munkysblockb.png" style="float:left;"> Munky's Block is graphically coming along nicely, but unfortunately I've yet to actually start making levels. So far it's all been "Niceness" stuff, and as a result things are lacking a bit. Probably should've stuck to the blocky background like last time. Oh well, no matter. With only one day remaining, I'll be spending tomorrow messing around with the blocks, and trying to come up with some ...

Ok, let's try that Munky thing again, shall we!? I've scrapped the "Portal" style stuff, and am instead focusing on a Munky Blocks styled affair. Munky's Block seems an apt title, so we'll stick with that. Currently I have only 1 setpiece, and 1 silly simple test level. Woo! <img src="https://socoder.net/uploads/1/munkysblock.png"> But the engine's up and running, and Munky's hopping around about the same as he did in the last game. So, yeah, things are definitely ...

Same game, different system. I started working on the Munky Portal thing this week, but it didn't really happen. A shame. No matter, because it gave me just enough time to remake Blockman Gets and pop it onto the DS. <img src="https://AGameAWeek.com/complete/Blockman_Gets_20091006B.png"> <img src="https://AGameAWeek.com/complete/Blockman_Gets_20091006A.png"> (Note, those are two different levels! Screenshots are single-screen so that they fit in the archive better!!) I've rem...

I think that's everything!! hmmm.. I added the last (earliest!) stuff into the archive today, and I think I've pretty much done all the PC stuff, now. (URL "https://AGameAWeek.com/GameList.php?ShowJust=159"><img src="https://AGameAWeek.com/complete/JNKFruit2K3_20030818B_thumb.png"> JNK Fruit) (URL "https://AGameAWeek.com/GameList.php?ShowJust=157"><img src="https://AGameAWeek.com/complete/JNKCar_20020925B_thumb.png"> JNK Car)...

I've tried to come up with an interesting gameplay method, but nothing's immediately apparent. I've still got a couple of ideas to try, but with only a day and a bit left to try it, it's not worth trying it now. So, what else? Well, I've not done a DS game for a while, let's try that. And what better game to try than Blockman Gets! Tuesday's release will be exactly that. Nothing special, nothing magical, just a port of last week's game onto a different system. In...

Friday 25th of September 2009 12:15:21 AM Name : Thunderskull 4024 Idea : Sokoban-like game with hex-based grid. OK, first off, not really sure what all the loving of Hexagons is about, but the word Hex is in the suggestion bag about 20-odd times! People appear to really like Hexagons! The Hexagonal Maze is in the archive. It's a half assed game, but I like it. Sokoban kinda needs specific controls, since you have to be able to move ...

(URL "https://agameaweek.spreadshirt.net/"><img src="https://socoder.net/uploads/1/platshirts.png"> Simple enough idea, not sure why it's not happened sooner. There's a handful of little t-shirts online right now, and I'll be adding plenty more as time goes on. And, maybe not just T-Shirts!! Any requests?

And so another week trundles by. I had hoped to finish off the ever elusive games, this week, (the RPG and the Patent Wars), but that doesn't appear to be happening at all. Oh well. If they happen, they happen. If not, carry on. Instead I started a whole new game on Friday morning. <a href="https://AGameAWeek.com/complete/Blockman_Gets_20090929A.png"><img src="https://AGameAWeek.com/complete/Blockman_Gets_20090929A_thumb.png"></a>

This week's Wednesday Workshop suggests we should make a Pacman game. I've already done "Blockman Forever" this year, so I'm going to avoid retreading old ground. Instead I'm going the Puzzle route. Already I've got a lovely little set of graphics going, and am obviously reusing Blockman because.. .. well, why not!!! A few mazes are set up, ready to go, as well as the first of the neat little puzzle mechanics... I'm now trying to come up with a nice batch of extra puzzle e...

Having done the DS and Windows editions of JNKSokoban and since the shooty game wasn't really happening, I figured, what the hey, might as well do a phone Sokoban, too. (hmm.. I never did release the DS one, did I!?) So, here's the phone one.. <a href="https://AGameAWeek.com/complete/JNK-Sokoban_20090922B.png"><img src="https://AGameAWeek.com/complete/JNK-Sokoban_20090922B_thumb.png"></a>

Trying to add puzzle elements into a shoot-em-up never seems to work out as well as the idea in your head. I should know that by now! And yet, this week, that's what I tried to do. <a href="https://AGameAWeek.com/complete/Webdings_Fighter_20090922A.png"><img src="https://AGameAWeek.com/complete/Webdings_Fighter_20090922A_thumb.png"></a>

Tuesday 15th of September 2009 03:07:08 PM Name : redmoth Idea : invent a new gambling/casino game A few years ago (2004!!) I created Kasino Green. It was supposed to sit alongside StringyThings (a nice collection of Word games), and be a similarly nice collection of Casino games. <a href="https://AGameAWeek.com/GameList.php?ShowJust=137"><img src="https://AGameAWeek.com/complete/Kasino_Green_20041024B_thumb.png"> Database Linkage! Go...

Awww.. I was thinking of doing some sort of fruit machine thing, but I didn't really have any kind of plan for it, so it didn't really get off the ground. Poor thing. Maybe this week for that? Or the RPG! Oops, forgot about that! It's getting the Patent Wars treatment!

I'm sat here at 11pm on Sunday night, trying to think of a game for Tuesday. It's not happening.. I've spent all week long adding games to the archive. That's to say, I've spent all week playing all my old games, and having a whale of a time.. I guess that has a disadvantage, being that I haven't coded jack all, all week. Oh well. We can miss one, right? Just means I need to make up for it next week. Can't have the ratio dropping!

I managed to get the Archive up to 100 games. Counting subgames it's all the way up to 126! woot! That's games from May 2006 up to now. Not a bad count, but certainly not AGameAWeek. I've overhauled the look of the Archive (which is now going by the less temporary title of "The Jayenkai Archive") so it's now a little more readable if the images don't load. Other than that, though, it's the same as before. You can look <a href="https://AGameAWeek.com/GameList.php?&...

The big-ass catalogue is now up to 68 games, and I've reached a bit of a stumbling block. If you search for (URL "https://AGameAWeek.com/GameList.php?Find=multiple+games">"multiple games"), you'll find a few games that have more than one internal game. Today I'm tweaking the engine so that it counts each of those seperately inside the nice ever growing total. I wasn't going to do that, at first, but then I came across Platdude's Retro Collection, and decided to do it. It'd be a shame to have PRC ...

If you've been keeping track, you'll have probably noticed an ever increasing number in the folders of my games. These are the weeks of the Wednesday Workshop, and as you trace through my games, you'll see a whole lot of matches between the WW and the game's basic idea. WW is fantastic for ideas, but sometimes things don't quite work out. Take this image, from a basic engine, all the way back in week #142.. (That's 76 weeks ago!) (URL "https://socoder.net/uploads/1/Incomplete.png"><img src="ht...

I was struggling to come up with an interesting game, this week, when my Mum decided to show me her latest highscore on Yahtzee. .. Pling! New idea! So, I stuck the dice into a grid, and called it YBox. <a href="https://AGameAWeek.com/complete/YBox_20090908A.png"><img src="https://AGameAWeek.com/complete/YBox_20090908A_thumb.png"></a>

I've just spent the past 2 hours playing a batch of my old (latest!) games, grabbing screenies, and re-uploading them to a new Archive system. FINALLY! Geeze.. It's not exactly very pretty yet, and you can't vote, or search, or.. .. um, anything! But at least the files are going up, and the game list is starting to be built. Perhaps, some time in the next 20 or so years, there'll be a massive list of Jayenkai games! .. Not yet, though. Lots to do! (URL "https://socoder.net/uploads/1/bog-st...

Russian? If you're russian and you're actually realistically posting something, stick a little bit of english in there, so I can tell! There's over 100 bits of spam in russian, in my akismet filter, and I can't tell what's real and what isn't.. so.. It's all gonna go, 'cos I can't be bothered google-translating each and every bit of spam!! Tracking Back to Spam Spambots are getting rather complex, and even worse are those horrible nasty little websites that take ...

RPG Here's what's done. 1. Characters 2. Main character 3. Map/Towns/Layout 4. Fight Definitions (xml with fights in it!) 5. Fight Music 6. Random placements of enemy and pickup. 7. Tile map 8. Walking code. 9. Opening of fights (ie, that bit where it transitions from game to fight..) <img src="https://socoder.net/uploads/1/4guys.png"> Quite a lot, and yet there's a whole lot more left to do. 1. The actual fight code that takes the xml, and makes fights out of it. 2. Overworld musi...

I'd better get this game done, this week! It's getting a wee bit unruley. I need to pull in the ideas a bit and just get the game finalised. Today I've been playing with the map again. (URL "https://socoder.net/uploads/1/superQuestMap.png"><img src="https://socoder.net/uploads/1/superQuestMap_thumb.png">

Seems to be that a fair amount of suggestions are monkey based thoughts, so I figured why not make a new monkey collection? If you've an idea for a new monkey game, shove it below or in the suggestion box, and we'll have a good fiddle around with them all. Gameplay wise, I'm thinking of perhaps creating a structure to a few games, release one a week and create a sort of evolving storyline that somehow manages to link the games together. At this point, I've no idea if that'll work. But hey, it's a t...

Many many years ago (about 20?!) I played a game called Painter on a mate's BBC Micro. Haven't played the thing since, but what the hey, here's the "Done in a day" remake! I had intended to do a bigger project, and in fact that project is nearly done, but the lack of time made me postpone the larger project for a week, while it all gets done. So, quicky game this week. <a href="https://socoder.net/uploads/1/Painter.png"><img src="https://socoder.net/uploads/1/Painter_thumb.png"&...