Blog

Well, it’s been a busy couple of weeks, with lots to do on our AI assignment, and even more to be done on ‘Degradation’, our final Game Project. Being Team Lead is a lot of work, but it’s strangely enjoyable. Just takes a lot of work to make sure you stay on top of everything, and ahead of all the decisions that need making. It’s sometimes sad spending most of my time NOT programming, but all the game design and management stuff I’ve learned instead has been a lot of fun.

Anyway, prototypes are due next week, and it’s looking good so far. We’ve got a prototype game in the works, with an example level, degradable objects, player controller/camera, and all kinds of awesomeness. We’ve also got some great art concepts, and it’s really bringing forward a picture of where the game’s going to end up. I’ll let you know how it goes, and put a download of the demo here as well when I can.

In the meantime, I’ve updated a bunch of the pages here, adding more info on what’s been happening this year as far as assignments, and also filling in some resume details in preparation for the end of the year. Even got me some business cards printed up recently (as evidence that I’m a programmer, but a hopeless graphic designer), so I’ll be sending them out everywhere shortly.

In all of this, one thing I keep trying to remind myself is not to get too tied up in the busy-ness of all that’s happening right now. I did the same thing in final year uni (again, PM’ing a major project), and was pretty wrecked by the end of the year because I always felt guilty taking any time for myself. Mind you, having the excuse that “Making Games = Market Research” definitely helps sometimes!

Been playing a bit more Assassin’s Creed 2, which is okay. It’s better than the first one, in that it’s less repetitive, however it’s still a game where you can blink and two hours have gone by, and you notice that you’ve been repeating the same actions again and again over those two hours. When time for play is short, I want to play more engaging games than that, so I’ve shelved AC2 for the time being. Played a bit more Mirror’s Edge last night which was cool, as I got past a bit that was sticking me for a while, and ended up finishing that chapter and the following chapter last night (and getting to bed much later than I should have). It’s a really engaging game in terms of the gameplay, and the zen-like feeling you can get sometimes while running and jumping over these large obstacle courses.

It also makes me feel really guilty that I don’t run so much these days (i.e. at all really), but it inspires me to change that as well, which can only be a good thing.

Cheers,
Craig.