The Power of POC in Game Development

What is a POC?  It stands for “Proof of Concept”

Ok, so that is out of the way, what is a POC used for?  We used it for Violent Sol Worlds early on to verify to ourselves that certain game play elements would be fun.  We made three POC’s.  The first was the top down walking and shooting, the second was the car driving, and the third was crafting.

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Each one of these POC’s had a singular purpose.  They were built to determine if the individual game play element was entertaining enough to be in a game.  We saw the potential for all three to be entertaining so Violent Sol Worlds was born into development. The POC’s were very useful and we used them effectively to understand if the game idea we had was actually a game that would be entertaining.

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Now we are far along in development and we found another reason to use a POC.  That reason was physics.  We have had several iterations of our physics now and wanted to get a version that would be the correct version for Violent Sol Worlds.  So we determined that a POC would be a good way to get there.

So we started making a new program that would simulate closely the game when it pertains to physics.  The purpose was for a simple, only physics, POC that would show that the physics implementation was more correct for the game.  Once we had something that worked well we began to plug it into the game.

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Once we plugged the physics into the game, we began to debug the integration issues.  Here is where a POC is proving very useful.  The integration of the new physics required a lot of changes in the game.  This was complex, but the physics system itself remained intact from the POC.  We are having an interesting mathematics issue which is causing the player to be able to move through objects in specific directions.

Tracing through the code was not good enough and proved to be misleading.  So we took the exact physics body files from the game and put them into the physics POC and tried to duplicate the problem there.  Turns out the POC works great.

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What do we do now?  We plan on debugging the two implementations at the same time and walking through the code step by step and seeing what part of the math deviates and when.  This will help pinpoint the problem and get us closer to fixing this problem.

So it turns out writing POC’s is a very powerful tool in all stages of game development.  I strongly recommend that you use them to help you develop systems for your games.  It simplifies things and gives you a tool that helps in your debugging and learning. Let us all know how you’ve used POC’s in your game development by leaving a comment.

Also come check out the game here on IndieDB

Busy as Wow

Man has this been a hectic time of year.  I’m not even sure when the last time I wrote was.  Here is what has been going on though…

Our team for Violent Sol Worlds has been working hard to bring a ton of major functionality to the core code.  We have a Screen System, physics, map transitions, rendering, and analytics all baked in the the real game now.

It has been a lot of crazy work, but we have done well.  With that we had Christmas, and all that goes with it.  I am currently working on getting world interaction in the game now.  Why don’t you come check out our pages and see what we’ve been up to?

Greenlight – come give us a yes vote

ViolentSol.com – Tons to read here including creature bios


 

Come be a part of our Kickstarter – Violent Sol Worlds

Vote now for our Greenlight here

Check out more information on Violent Sol here

Follow me on Twitter @magicrat_larry

 

 

50 Reasons You Need to Support Violent Sol Worlds

I asked myself this question, if I cannot come up with 50 reasons to support Violent Sol Worlds then why would you?  So here is my list…

The Art – It’s a top-down stylized survival experience that looks like a graphic novel in action.

BugAttack

The AI Overlord – Nothing will remain the same for long.  If you get good at surviving in your current situation then the AI overlord will generate a special experience to mix things up for you.

The Cars – What good is a near infinite world you get to walk around?  In this game you can walk or drive, gotta love that!

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The Creatures – There are an absolute ton of creatures going in to the game.  All I have to say is Rhino Turtle.

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Crafting Cars – There have been plenty of games with crafting in them, how about crafting a car?  Can anyone say tank?

Crafting Guns – you don’t just buy guns, you can make them.  Put the coolest laser rifle together to match your game play.  Heck just make a laser chainsaw.

The Corporations – The universe is being colonized with massive help from companies.  Here are a few – Mal-Atomic, Avrio, The RTA

Is that enough yet?  Come see our Greenlight and give us a quick vote. 

The Biomes – the planet will be diverse and varied.  There will be a ton of biomes for all he creatures to live in, from forests, to deserts and every other thing you can think of.

Building – You don’t just survive on a distant planet, you survive by building and adapting.  Construction of buildings is a huge part of the game.

SettlersHome

The Universe – Trust me the universe has a level of backstory that a sandbox survival game has not touched.  Each corporation, each faction, came from somewhere.  Nothing just exists, it all has purpose and evolution.

Farming – A man has to eat.  You will be able to plant crops and grow your own food for survival or profit.

The Maker – A key part of your survival in Violent Sol Worlds is the Maker.  It is the technology that allows for you to store molecular configurations of object and essentially print them from raw matter for use in your daily activities.  Need a gun, make it.  Need a car, make it.

CrafterPistol

The Technology – There is a huge mix of technology to be used.  Anything from an automatic miner to some old-time cars.  You will be shooting laser rifles, and conventional weapons.  You might even see some sort of hover bike, or laser chainsaws.

The History – How did a recycling company go from Earth to helping people light years away reconfigure molecules to form a lase pistol?  Well the history of Renew tells you that.  Nothing in Violent Sol Worlds is just thrown in, it all makes sense in the history of the universe.

Laser Weapons – Who does not love the idea of some top-down action with lasers?  I’m in.

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Is that enough yet?  Come see our Greenlight and give us a quick vote. 

Aircraft – So you can drive cars, why not fly?  So there are aircraft, and you can craft them.

Car Physics – Each car is simulated in a physics engine.  This allows for different terrain to change how a car handles as well as tires blown from gun shots.

Lighting – It’s not enough to have a cool comic book feel.  How about true lighting and shadows to help with the feeling of explosions and lasers flying around?

Conventional Weapons – Not everything is high tech.  Sometimes a nice shotgun does that job well and cheaply.

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Top-down – Survival is awesome.  How about survival from a tactical top down view with action combat?

The Mal-Atomic Device – You get to use a scifi device called the Mal-Atomic to help with your crafting.  It’s like an iPhone but more scifi and can help rearrange molecules.

Pets – You can have a pet cat, dog, or whatever.  Yes this is a thing.

Turrets – The game might just be cruel to you, so build some turrets for defense.  Laser turrets to help ward off attackers, expensive but effective.

Wild West Scifi – We landed on a wild west settler vibe for the game.  So it is scifi, but there are some wonderful wild west feels to the world as you attempt to settle the wilds of the Rim.

Is that enough yet?  Come see our Greenlight and give us a quick vote. 

Living World – You are a settler on a planet that will not stop trying to kill you.  Much like the old west on Earth it will keep throwing events at you that change up how you need to play to survive.

The Team – I like to call our team a dream team of game development.  Not one with super stars on it but one that is truly a team built for an unforeseen victory. Meet the Team

Team

Weather – There will be sun and there will be rain.  Each weather event can help or hurt you.

Open Development – Join our development by giving suggestions and feedback starting now.  You can also just watch us on Twitter and our website and see the progress of nearly everything we do.

@magicrat_larry

@TheRealF1tZy

@doublemintben

Modding – The game is being built from the ground up for you to mod.  This game will be able to live longer than most because of the new content you can produce for it at its core.

The Music – The music is composed purely for this game.  You will not hear the music anywhere else.

Don’t Walk Drive Mentality – This is a huge world you are settling on.  Don’t just walk for miles, drive.  We want you to be able to see a lot of places so cars are vital to this survival game and will be in from the early stages.

The Dream – The idea of the Violent Sol Universe is huge.  There are plans for many things beyond Violent Sol Worlds.  Supporting us early keeps this dream alive. See the dream here

Is that enough yet?  Come see our Greenlight and give us a quick vote. 

Play With Friends – Surviving with friends is often times harder than alone, but oh so much more fun.

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Play Alone – See if you can make it alone in a world that is harsh and unforgiving.

Run your own server – Take control of a server for your own gaming community.  Don’t like most people, just your friends?  start up a server and only let those who you want in.

Continuous Development – Our team is a special one.  We move fast and get things done.  We will not stop this game and plan on a very long haul here.  We often times talk about the potential for ten years of development for content.  We will develop new and fresh things for this game as long as people keep supporting it.

Create a Colony – Why are you surviving on a planet 4 light years away from Earth if not to create something larger.  Work toward building a complete settlement to support more and more NPCs and players.

News Ticker – The universe is not dead while you are settling the planet.  Keep track of the news as things happen.  If Pirates start pestering Rim settlements yours might be next.

Is that enough yet?  Come see our Greenlight and give us a quick vote. 

Expand-ability – Violent Sol Worlds concentrates on planetary explorations.  We are making sure we can expand into space when we want to.

Laser Chainsaw – Yes, a laser chainsaw.  You gotta get wood somehow and swinging it at creatures sounds like a blast too.

lASERsAW

Calling Home For Population – Need a mechanic?  Call home and request one.  They probably will need a facility, and place to live though so be prepared to have some requirements met.

The World hates you – Yes, being one of the first people to land on a planet is going to be difficult.  The environment will not enjoy you and the AI overlord will make sure you have a challenge.

Equipment – It’s about the equipment.  Pick up resources.  Craft an awesome laser pistol.  Build a car with a turret.  Construct better armor.

Everything is a Resource – Kill a creature, use its horns for a new hood ornament.

Hood

Is that enough yet?  Come see our Greenlight and give us a quick vote. 

Action Combat – This is a top-down game so the action is going to be both tactical and fast paced.

 

Car Combat – Sometimes while driving things happen.  Sometimes those things require a high powered laser turret.  Sometimes they require missiles.  All I know is be prepared to drive and shoot.

 

The Crystals – We are in love with the crystals.  They have many properties and are the dynamic element in the universe that allows for many awesome crafting opportunities. Read a story about them here.

Crystals

Your Colony Ship – You we placed on the planet by an elaborate process.  Like the rest of the universe we figured it all out.  About your colony ship

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Simulation – We not only have action we also have simulation elements to the game as well.  Many systems work under the hood of this game to make the world feel alive

Your Crate – You get dropped off on the planet on day one in your crate.  Much like a train car, but this one is your home.  Don’t worry in no time you will modify it and make it a lot less terrible and a little more like home.

Support Violent Sol Worlds Today by checking out our KickStarter, our Greenlight and our website.  With your help and support we can make all of this a reality.

 

KickStarter and Greenlight and Bears Oh My

So it has been a bit since we launched both Greenlight and KickStarter .  It has been interesting so far.  I am encouraged by Greenlight and blown away by the severe lack of KickStarter wanting to make money.

Let’s start with Greenlight.  We launched that thing and we blew up with traffic.  We got votes by the bucket load.  We unfortunately had some improvements to make and had a lower than what we had hoped yes percentage of 37%.  It was still fantastic and that percentage is nothign to be sad about.  Since then we fixed the wording on our page to better explain the game.  So for the past 8 days our yes percentage is 62% on average which is more like where we thought we should be.

So Greenlight is rocking forward and people are really liking Violent Sol Worlds and would like to see it on Steam in the future.  We have a lot more votes to go though, your vote would help greatly in promoting our title.  Please head over to our Greenlight page and login to vote it up.

Now for KickStarter.  We expected more from KickStarter than what they offered.  I know you should not rely on somebody else to drive traffic to you, but the difference between Steam on launch day and KickStarter was like the difference between a Saturn V rocket and a rubber band.  Both fly, but one gets somewhere substantial and quickly.

Steam_Kick

I’m just saying that They can make a ton more money if they actively improved their own traffic and pointed more people in an active way to new projects at least for a day or two to see if they catch or not.  The truth that we did not know is that your first day will be the exact same as your sixth day.  They did not seem to do what Steam did and drive people to you for a few days.  They simply provide you a website and that is it.

Really we have learned a ton about game development in the past few months and have really gotten a ton more fired up about our Title Violent Sol Worlds.  Mathematically all our current adventures are proving very good for us.  All signs still point to people loving the idea of Violent Sol Worlds and the development is going forward full steam.  With all that being said let’s go vote on the Greenlight and promote the KickStarter, let’s get this thing rolling.

Thank you all for your support.  

Stand up and Entertain With Me

What most people cannot keep up with is the pace of entertainment.  When you get into game development on your own as an indie game developer you have to become an entertainer.  If you do not entertain at a high pace you basically go unnoticed and are simply a programmer.  There are many programmers in the world, be something better, something more.

I call it the pace of entertainment.  You have to be willing to do things at a pace that isn’t just on the weekends or when your favorite TV show isn’t on.  It’s called sacrifice learn to love it.  If you do not, you will just be a programmer.  Why is being an indie game developer so high paced you ask?  It isn’t if you don’t mind failing.  You can just be a programmer and code a game that doesn’t sell.  That is your choice.  You can also entertain daily, if not hourly, and begin to reap rewards of sales later on.

I know it is not all about money, but do you like working at that grocery store, that bank, that oil change place?  Probably not.  Make it your life’s mission to entertain while coding your game.  Blog about things, post on twitter even when there is nothing to sell.  Don’t just wait until the last minute and hope for the best or lean on another to carry something forward.  Be the one person that makes your dream come true, if you do not you will die without ever seeing it happen.

If you want to be a real indie game developer, not just a programmer of games, entertain at the pace of entertainment.  Stop saying you are busy, stop being the same guy or girl as yesterday and make it happen.  Start today, I know you think you are not entertaining, or this stuff is not my thing. Trust me, I hate doing it too, get over it.  Stand up and entertain with me.  


Come be a part of our Kickstarter – Violent Sol Worlds

Vote for Greenlight here

Check out more information on Violent Sol here

Follow me on Twitter @magicrat_larry

I’m Too Excited to Sleep – Meet Avrio

I am so excited.  Yes me, calm me.  For those of you that know me I am always excited, but today more than others.  We have started something awesome for our game Violent Sol Worlds.  We have started releasing weekly content posts on our site ViolentSol.com

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You are a galactic settler dropped off on a distant planet to help humanity with its overpopulation and lack of resources on the core worlds.  In the game you will be playing in a top-down perspective and enjoy an awesome scifi theme.  The neat thing about it is that you will be able to craft tons of things like other survival games, but we also include vehicles in the crafting.  So you can not only drive a car but you can build them as well.

While you are surviving in the game you will also be enjoying the AI Overlord.  It will make sure you are having an engaging time on your new planet.  Gone are the days when you figure out survival and it is no longer part of the game-play.  The Overlord will inject new events, missions, and general awesomeness into you game and keep it fresh and new for you.

AvrioLogo_2

OK, back to the content releases.  Violent Sol Worlds is not only a scifi survival game, it has a huge, and rich, background story to it that you will experience in game.  We are releasing this content via posts on ViolentSol.com every Friday starting now with the Avrio Corporation.  We hope you enjoy the rich world we are building that you will be surviving in.  Come read about the Avrio Corporation and keep up to date by following us on facebook.

Oh My God, It’s the Indiepocalypse!

OK, let’s panic a bit first then think logically.  What if indie development is ending?  How will my dream ever come true?  I think we are all doomed.

It seems like creating a unique, interesting game experience is not what customers want anymore!

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Is that enough panic or do we need more?

Why am I working so hard on a game when it is just a forgone conclusion that it will never sell?  I cannot believe that luck plays such a high role in game sales!  Am I wearing pants?  Will my mom buy my game?  Are my shoes on the right foot?  Are they still selling George Foreman Grills?

Enough panic, logic ahead…

spock_logic2

Let’s say that there are 10 people who buy games per year for simplicity sake.  Those 10 people buy 10 games a year, so we are talking 100 games a year sold to the market.  The chances of those 10 people stopping that trend are nearly zero percent.  Once people begin a pattern it is hard to break it.  The truth is the gaming industry in forms of sales has been rising continually for years and AAA studios cannot keep up with the amount of money that the consumer has.

So those 10 people are buying both AAA and indie game titles.  Their money is flowing into the industry, and will statistically keep flowing, and probably only increase.  So for an indie game development bubble bursting nightmare to happen, that consumer would have to pull their money out of the industry and buy less games and only buy AAA studio games.

First of all games are entertainment, people like to be entertained, and entertained cheaply.  Games make a compelling case for this market.  You can purchase a game anywhere from $1 -$70 and get far more out of each than what you spend.  The truth is the consumer wants to spend less and get more.  AAA titles are the expensive games.  Indie titles are the cheaper games.

Consumers also want unique entertaining experiences, indie titles scratch this itch greatly.  So with both of those needs for cheap and unique entertainment being met by indie games, why would the consumer stop spending money in that market?  The answer is they will not.

Now what are people observing that is making them freak out like Disco is back in town?  It is simple, the market has accepted indie games as a true and viable product, no longer experimental and new.  Now the market is solidifying and becoming a standard.  You can no longer easily buck the trends and stand out like a sore thumb in the gaming world.

What does that mean to indie game developers?  Marketing is critical.  You must connect to the consumers in a unique way, a social way.  If you fail at this then you are just simply on the shelf with all the other indie developed games.  You also have to get your pricing right, and your expectations.  It is no longer a marketing plus to simply be a guy in his basement coding games.  You have to price the thing right for the market and tell people about your title.

Lastly, it has to be a good title.  You will no longer sell your game simply because it is not AAA.  Make a quality experience and talk about it with people.  Make it come alive and you will be fine.  This is not the Indiepocalypse, it is us winning over the consumer and becoming a valued part of the economy of game development and it frightens AAA studios like crazy.  Keep up the good work and just be smart out there.


If you have not checked out my current project…

Violent Sol Worlds home

IndieDB

Facebook – join the conversation

@magicrat_larry – Join me on Twitter

Are you Not Entertained?

I have a theory.  If you are going to make a game, you should entertain from day 1.  Not just when the game is released.

What does this theory do for me?  I strive to release content daily that entertains, helps, and energizes people.  If you realize that game development is entertainment then things like marketing and game design become one and the same.  If you are dull and drab in your development of the game chances are that will show in the game itself.  If you move in a direction of entertaining game development you will inject a life into your game that will be felt while playing it.

This also helps you create a community.  It drives me to write blogs, to tweet about our progress.  If you give yourself the need to have the development cycle be just as fun as playing the game itself it is highly motivating to you and your fans.

I always tell myself – Always be entertaining

You’ve played games that feel dead inside, and you’ve played games that feel like they were made with love.  My theory is that the energy that the developers had trickles in to the product and without a feeling of entertainment during the development cycles there is just no life to the product.  I could be wrong, but I don’t think so.  Worst case here is that it makes the hard work more enjoyable and keeps me motivated.


If you have not checked out my current project…

Violent Sol Worlds home

IndieDB

Facebook – join the conversation

@magicrat_larry – Follow me on Twitter

Even I Need a Break

I’ve been working hard, very hard.  I am leaving on a vacation for 2 weeks and had to make sure that all the stuff that I do daily didn’t just stop when I left.  So I have not had the chance to write here as much as I would have liked over the past couple weeks.

Vacations are both great and difficult when you work as an indie game developer.  You have to take breaks, I get that, but those breaks are harder than the work.  You get used to working so hard on something that you love so much that stepping back becomes a harder job than continuing the pattern of hard work.  I am going on vacation though.  I will not work on the game itself when I am gone.  I will maintain any interactions that people may have with me via Twitter or this blog when I am at a downtime in the vacation.

It will be nice to come back from vacation and hit the ground running again.  I cannot wait to continue to pound the drum of Violent Sol Worlds and get this Kickstarter out the door.  When I get back from my trip I will be re-energized and even more active than I was before.  I look forward to it and cannot wait to both go on vacation and to return with a new vigor.


If you have not checked out my current project…

Violent Sol Worlds home

IndieDB

Facebook – join the conversation

Am I a Failure, or No?

Fear of all this work not paying off is looming.  As we push to Kickstarter and Steam Greenlight it does cross my mind that people may not support us or even know about us.  I’ve been working hard for a long time now to try and make that not happen.  I suppose the fact that you are reading this is a sign that my fears are at least not 100% solid.

It will be a slightly crushing blow if our efforts do go unseen or even worse un-liked.  Well our best is all we can give.  I do appreciate everyone for supporting, following, and just being there through our hard work.  Game development is not hard, the workload is the hard part.

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Holding down the full-time job and performing on game development at the same time will kill a lesser person.  I have the largest amount of respect to those who have made it before me and hope like heck that hard work pays off and I follow them in stride.  All of your support is appreciated and there is a much longer road ahead.  I’ll keep digging in as long as I keep getting up in the morning.  I love this stuff.

As always here are some links to learn about our game Violent Sol Worlds

Violent Sol Worlds home

IndieDB

Facebook – join the conversation