Still Making Things

It's been a while since I have updated my blog! Sorry, life got pretty busy between when I changed my line of work away from full-time game development into a more work/life balanced software development role ( and became a dad of 5 incredible kids! )

But that doesn't mean I've been doing nothing else all this time! 😁

Here's a few notable side projects I have been working on the past 5-ish years:

 

 

Artspark - A 3D / VR interactive art creation tool for students, youths, and artists to create experiences using a visual object placement editor and some LUA scripting. For Windows / Mac OSX / Oculus Rift and Meta Quest 1 devices ( Quest 2 and newer 'works' but loads all custom textures as black squares unfortunately )

Meta Quest Pro LED Eyes - A simple DIY project to expose the eye tracking data of the player to people outside the headset of a Meta Quest Pro using LED panels, just as a proof of concept / alternative to the Apple Vision Pro Eyesight feature

 

 

SixDOFinator - A Unity 3D PC VR experience designed to run inside WinlatorXR using its XrAPI, possibly the first 6DOF PC VR experience to run on a standalone device. Note: There is also a Minimal Project version for people who want standalone devices to support their own Unity 3D games in 6DOF VR without making a full Android port

 

HWXR - A PC VR conversion of the Halo CE VR mod by LivingFray over to WinlatorXR's XrAPI for playback Meta Quest 2, Meta Quest Pro, Meta Quest 3, Meta Quest 3 S, and Pico 4 Ultra (and maybe Play For Dream but that's untested). Full source code is available at Halo CE WXR

 

Tutorial for installing HWXR Early Access (requires a retail version of Halo: Combat Evolved 2003 by Gearbox for PC):

 

Something about June brings me back here

Only two years since my last post, that's progress over my last hiatus right?

So, things got even crazier of course :) I'm now a father of two with the birth of my daughter last summer, and real life definitely takes the drivers seat over from the digital / creative right now.

I can't say I don't have the odd moment where I miss the balancing between total chaos and hyper-focus when crunching on indie game development full-time, but I can say for me personally the work-life balance is a lot better now, and my health is too.

Switching to work at the local tech / ISP company I went to work for all those years ago was the right choice for me personally, and I made some great friends working there while staying sane(ish?) throughout a pandemic.

Just a few weeks ago, I took another exciting leap into a software developer role, and I'm really enjoying it so far! It's an opportunity I applied for without any expectations I'd be selected for the job, so I'm still in awe every time I sign in to my account for work.

Looking at my last post I'll also say: the Oculus Quest 2 is even better than my Quest 1 was, and it's not really surprising to see it absolutely dominate the VR market. I love mine very much!

I Had Hope still sits on the back-burner, waiting for me to add some heat. I'm certainly interested in remaking at least what I had done in Construct Classic with a new engine, but I can't say there's a specific game engine I'd feel most attracted to before I take on a bigger project like that.

For now, thanks for stopping by, and here's hoping the world is a bit more "normal" by the next time I post. Stay safe!

Bringing this site up to speed

Wow. Nearly 3 years have passed since my last blog post.

It's been crazy: between the birth of my son, finishing my Hon B.A. degree, and seeing Battle Princess Madelyn through to its release on Steam, Switch, PS4, and Xbox One (including a mega-huge update earlier this year), life has been pretty much a constant crunch.

Seeing so many people playing and enjoying our games has always been an amazing feeling, but especially so with BPM because it was created for a really important purpose: Chris' daughter Maddi (the real Madelyn). Seeing her holding copies of her game, and hearing how proud of it she was, is what made all the hard work worth it, and it wouldn't have been possible without all the support (both on Kickstarter, and from social media) that Chris and I and our team received.

I'm really proud of what we've done with the game, and can't wait to see the amazing art and game ideas Chris has in the future.

For myself, I do have some exciting news: I've accepted a position at a local tech company that is showing some massive growth, so that also means I'll be leaving behind commercial games development for the foreseeable future.

What does it mean for I Had Hope? Well, it never really made it to a commercial status, so part of me is tempted to see what I can do with it in combination with my Oculus Quest, the best VR headset I've had yet (comparing to Rift CV1 and Dell Visor WMR and 3DOF ones like Oculus GO), and continue it in a freeware or maybe even open source sense.

Otherwise, I do plan to continue to tinker with some small hobby projects, especially VR and AR art works, but I'll be doing so from my new professional page instead: https://www.davenbigelow.com/

I'll leave this site to go back to its original purpose: Keeping up to date on I Had Hope news...and parking a ToS / privacy policy for app submissions haha!

Thanks again for stopping by to read this, looking forward to the adventures ahead :)

New Engine, New Game: Battle Princess Madelyn!

Wow, another year of University just flew by! A few more video projects completed, lots of essays, and already completed a full year of working as a Research Assistant on a few cool projects under my professor from the Design and Code class in second year.


Aside from the new features and bug fixes to Insanity's Blade (on Steam http://store.steampowered.com/app/334190) with Chris, we have also been working on our next title: Battle Princess Madelyn! (http://www.causalbitgames.com/)


It's a 2D platformer with a GnG feel, but with a difficulty that scales to the player ability (or can be locked-in at a super challenging skill level), and Chris had finished the prototype in Construct 2/HTML5 a while back which has this video out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Pzz-PpcX6c&feature=youtu.be

Over the past few months, we've both been working on porting that to Unity! Native performance, console export, all the things we really need to get this project way beyond where IB could go! :D

We're keeping a dev blog on our website, but have a few screenshots of the early work in porting the game so far (even some added fancy lighting effects!):

University Project: The Baby Is Coming

Last term I had a really fun project where I could choose a public domain story and write an interactive program about it in the Processing 2.0 IDE (Essentially Java with some really helpful graphical and OpenGL functions built-in).

After some searching around I stumbled across the story 2BR02B, which was written by Kurt Vonnegut and first published in 1962, and loved its image of a future where the utopian dream of eternal life was still imperfect and almost dehumanizing. I then set about creating a small adventure within that universe and took about a month and a half to make the game, with most of it being written from scratch or based on the awesome examples in the Processing Reference.

Short video of the gameplay: https://vimeo.com/126984544

The game and its source can be grabbed from GameJolt at: http://gamejolt.com/games/other/the-baby-is-coming/43031/
 

Back to work/university/homework!

Insanity's Blade on Steam!

It's been a while since I've posted here, but between being really busy at university (I'll share some code soon), working, and developing Insanity's Blade I have some cool news, Insanity's Blade is officially released on Steam for Windows PC's today!!

The game has really changed since the first Kickstarter, Chris upgraded all the graphics to 16bit, and it now has both an 8bit and 16bit soundtrack (changeable in the options!), and we added 2 player local co-op!

Go check it out on it's store page at: http://store.steampowered.com/app/334190/

You can also check out these cool screenshots below :) 

 

There was also the really cool arcade machine that Richard Black from Old School Games made for the game at Hal-Con 2014! Here's an image of him (right) and Chris (left) standing by it:

Launched a Kickstarter! - Insanity's Blade The Ultimate 8Bit Experience

I've teamed up with my good friend Christopher Obritsch to form Causal Bit Games! ( www.causalbitgames.com ) and we're running a Kickstarter for our first game together: Insanity's Blade!

What's it about?

Insanity's Blade is based on a comic series of the same name that Chris wrote a long time ago, the game itself though also pays tribute to the classic NES/8-bit style, right down to using nsf format music (actually playable on a real *Japanese* NES console!).

However, we're also bringing some newer graphical features and effects, and putting way more action than the old NES could handle (without icky slow-down and flickering!). We're also adding a dash more violence to make you really feel like a man who's hell-bent on revenge against the demons that killed his family (oh, did I not mention the story is of a man who's hell-bent on revenge against demons from hell that killed his family?)

What's it look like?

I'm glad you asked, here is some media from the game:

Can I try it?

Yes! We've uploaded a demo to the Kickstarter page!

So.. where's the Kickstarter?

It's right here at www.kickstarter.com/projects/353834117/insanitys-blade-the-ultimate-8-bit-experience , we hope you like how the game looks and would love your support in making it even better!

Packt Publishing - 50% eBooks this weekend!

The publisher of my book Construct Game Development: Beginner's Guide is having a pretty cool 50% off sale this weekend on all of their eBooks!

Details of the promotion are in the image above, just enter the promo code BIG50 at the checkout page to use it!

My First Ludum Dare - ESCAPE BASE 10

I've been itching to participate in the Ludum Dare for a while now, so I'm very excited to submit my first game - ESCAPE BASE 10. This definitely reminded me that graphics and SFX/Music aren't my strong points, but it was fun to make a complete game in less than 20 hours.

To play the game, visit http://www.ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-27/?action=preview&uid=5475

Created in Construct 2, music recorded in Audacity, SFX generated in SFXR, and graphics drawn in MSPaint/Paint.Net combo =]   (HTML5 version currently uploading, source and Win32 binary available now)

Construct Classic R2 - Examples Kit

I've been using Construct Classic, a free & open source Direct-X 9 based 2D game development tool, to make games and share a few examples on the Scirra forums for a few years now. After looking through how many files "a few" is, I figured it might be handy for newer users to have a compiled version of all* my examples and source files in one zip file =]

I'll keep an updated changelog at the bottom of the post, so check back once in a while for updates!

Download the zip file here: Jayjays Examples.zip (70.6MB)

Download the latest version of Construct Classic [vR2] here: Construct Classic R2 (16.2MB)

Construct Classic is getting a bit old now, but still works well while its successor: Construct 2 is another great tool from the Scirra team and exports to multiple platforms thanks to its basis in HTML5.

*Note: Example code from my book: Construct Game Development: Beginner's Guide is not included as it belongs to Packt Publishing
--------------
Changelog:
--------------
[26/05/2013]
-Version 1 of the example kit uploaded

--------------
Usage Permissions:
--------------
All example files (subfolder "Examples") and graphics (subfolder "Graphics") are free for commercial use unless otherwise stated in their documentation. Credit is optional but appreciated.
Full game source codes (subfolder "Games") are free for learning purposes/non-commercial works. Credit is again optional, however any commercial use of the resources or base codes of those games is not permitted.
For further usage concerns not covered please contact me.

Past Games: SimpleFPS V2.2

What It Is:
SimpleFPS is literally a "Simple First Person Shooter game" I created with Blitz3D between 2007 and 2008. You're able to run around a large plane and scale tall buildings while trying to survive an endless battle against the grey blocks and spheres that seek and attack you.

The game has no gore/violence, so it should be safe for any age audience.

Features:
-Modifiable graphics and sounds
-Randomly generated levels
-Flying and ground enemies
-Random and level/score mode
-Open source*

*The full source is included in text format, requires Blitz3D to compile/edit.

Download it here: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/4714446/SimpleFPS_V2.2.zip
Or, play it on GameJolt: http://gamejolt.com/games/shooter/simplefps-v2-2/14802/

Note: The game is no longer in development, but please do let me know if you have any crashes or bugs. Tested on Windows XP 32-bit, Windows 7 64-bit, and Windows 8 64-bit.

HTML5 RTS game: Dust And Destruction

Scirra hosted a Windows 8 game competition from the 4th to the 21st this December and I decided to try my hand at making a RTS with randomly generated levels, barely managed to submit it just in time for the 14th (Giving 7 days for Microsoft to hopefully approve it). So far it's only three days work, but here's what my friend and I were able to do with the pre-made graphics from the Construct 2 art pack!

If you'd like to try it early, you can play it at this link: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/4714446/DnD/index.html (works best in Firefox or Internet Explorer 10, no time to test it in Chrome yet) We'll definitely add some more cool features like additional building construction and a tougher AI at some point after the competition. Oh, and happy to fix any bugs anyone finds as well =]

Edit:

Published to Chrome Web Store (crunched down to 10MB, plays offline): Dust And Destruction Chrome Edition

Published to Clay.io (possible future integration with leaderboards of rank and achievements): http://dustanddestruction.clay.io/

Clay.io is nice! Now it's a Facebook app: https://apps.facebook.com/dust_and_destruction/

Edit 20/12/2012: Finally made it after a third submission! Download it here http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-US/app/dust-and-destruction/897a48d9-83f2-438e-b4a5-3a4018aefbf5

Packt Publishing 1000th title celebration!

The publisher of my book (Construct Game Development: Beginner's Guide) is having a special promotion this weekend to celebrate their 1000th title published. Anyone who registers for a free account will receive an eBook (such as a copy of my book!) for free, as well as access to the entire PacktLib online library for the week =D

Go get your free eBook here!

Here's their press release:

28th September 2012

Packt Publishing reaches 1000 IT titles and celebrates with an open invitation

Birmingham-based IT publisher Packt Publishing is about to publish its 1000th title. Packt books are renowned among developers for being uniquely practical and focused, but you’d be forgiven for not yet being in the know – Packt books cover highly specific tools and technologies which you might not expect to see a high quality book on.

Packt is certain that in its 1000 titles there is at least one book that everyone in IT will find useful right away, and are inviting anyone to choose and download any one of its eBooks for free over its celebration weekend of 28-30th Sep 2012. Packt is also opening its online library for a week for free to give customers an easy to way to research their choice of free eBook.

Packt supports many of the Open Source projects covered by its books through a project royalty donation, which has contributed over $400,000 to Open Source projects up to now. As part of the celebration Packt is allocating $30,000 to share between projects and authors as part of the weekend giveaway, allocated based on the number of copies of each title downloaded.

Dave Maclean, founder of Packt Publishing:

“At Packt we set out 8 years ago to bring practical, up to date and easy to use technical books to the specialist tools and technologies that had been largely overlooked by IT publishers. Today, I am really proud that with our authors and partners we have been able to make useful books available on over 1000 topics and make our contribution to the development community.”

Download I Had Hope!

Now that we're re-making the engine, you can enjoy what was I Had Hope Alpha v0.5!

We won't be working on this version of I Had Hope anymore, so please do not report bugs, but if you have a feature suggestion feel free to let us know and we'll see if it will go into the new engine!

Download I Had Hope:

While we work on the new engine, we've released the Alpha v0.5 game and source for free!*

Alpha v0.5 Build - https://dl.dropbox.com/u/4714446/IHH/IHadHope_Alpha05Build.zip

Alpha v0.5 Source - https://dl.dropbox.com/u/4714446/IHH/IHadHope_Alpha05Source.zip

Features that might make it into the next engine:

• Multi-floor buildings
• Weather effects
• Weapon and item modding
• Animals
• NPC's with AI to help players in quests and provide dialogue
• Online and LAN multiplayer co-op for a large number of players (depending on how low-latency the network code turns out)
• 2-4 player splitscreen, one on keyboard and mouse and the others on Xbox360 controllers (or just 4 Xbox 360 controllers), possibly mixing with online gameplay

Want to edit the game? Download Construct Classic:

Construct Classic R2 from Scirra.com

Non-standard effects and plugins used in I Had Hope:
Plugin - TextureSetter by R0J0hound
Plugin - Unique Sprite by lucid 
Behavior - Path Movement by R0J0hound
Effect - Coloured Outline by Luomu

Find any others that stop the source from loading up? Let us know and we'll link or upload it here!

Having problems running the game? Try installing these:

Latest Direct X 9 (not 10 or 11) - http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=35

The Visual C++ 2005 Redist - http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=3387

*Read the Readme.txt file for licensing information

Time for a rewrite!

Well, it looks like I'll be re-writing the engine for the game to fit many more features in. Still, this isn't so bad as I've already coded a large portion of the game engine once already, so it can only turn out better!

Here's some ideas that the current engine wasn't designed for but might be possible now:
-> Multi-floor buildings
-> Weather effects
-> Weapon and item modding
-> Animals
-> NPC's with AI to help players in quests and provide dialogue
-> Online and LAN multiplayer co-op for a large number of players (depending on how low-latency the network code turns out)
-> 2-4 player splitscreen, one on keyboard and mouse and the others on Xbox360 controllers (or just 4 Xbox 360 controllers), possibly mixing with online gameplay

I'll need to talk to Bioked first, but as the old engine isn't going to be used it may be released here as open source!

You'll be able to play and take a look through the code of the old Alpha while we make an even better game =]

In the mean time, you can check out the program I Had Hope is developed in, Construct Classic by Scirra.

Construct Game Development Beginners Guide

My book on making 2D games is out! It's called Construct Game Development Beginners Guide by Packt Publishing and is aimed at teaching absolute beginners to make their own computer games with Construct Classic.

If you're interested in seeing what the book is like, PacktPub have an entire sample chapter available to read!

Here's the overview:
"Construct Classic is a free, DirectX 9 game creator for Windows, designed for 2D games. Construct Classic uses an event-based system for defining how the game behaves, in a visual, human-readable way - you don't need to program or script anything at all. It's intuitive for beginners, but powerful enough for advanced users to work without hindrance. You never know when you’ll need a helping hand exploring its inner workings, or harnessing its raw power to do your bidding.
Construct Game Development Beginner's Guide is the book for you if you have ever felt the urge to make a game of your own. Reading this book will not only teach you to make some popular games using Construct, but you’ll also learn the skills necessary to continue on and bring your game ideas to life.
Starting as a beginner to Construct Classic, you’ll be learning to make platform, puzzle, and shooter games, each styled after popular games of their genre.
This guide covers everything from creating animated sprites, to using the built-in physics and shadow engines of Construct Classic. You will learn the skills necessary to make advanced games of your own.
Construct Game Development Beginner's Guide will lead you on your journey of making games."

With the book done, I Had Hope should get some much deserved attention again, although an engine rewrite is looking pretty tempting (to allow for multiplayer, better modding, less crashing).

Delays oh yay!

Well, due to things getting pretty hectic, it looks like I won't have much time for the game for the next couple months =/ Still, we won't take as long as Duke Nukem Forever did ;]

Probably (Definitely) not PayPal

Okay here's some more news,

PayPal decided it'd be fun to freeze my account, not a cool story.

Instead we'll probably use something else as the main payment option, and maybe PayPal as a back-up if people can't get the other thing.

Although the game isn't even beta yet, this experience with them already leaves me feeling pretty worried about when we start getting money coming in. Here's hoping I get my current balance back at least...

Edit: Well, they've unfrozen my account (great!), but I still don't know if we can trust them. If we don't find a good alternative we'll probably end up stuck with them.

Edit #2: Again they freeze me for spending 5 bucks. Well, we're definitely not using them as a main payment option...

Things are happening!

We promise.

In all seriousness though, we've created a Facebook page and Alpha testing is underway.

Bioked has also snuck some game material onto his Twitter background so go and check it out!

Welcome

Watch this space for some more information on I Had Hope, an upcoming game by Jayjay and Bioked.