It’s incredibly difficult to come up with something witty about sinks. I don’t know, maybe I’m just missing something or maybe, I’m simply not funny, but I must confess that I couldn’t think of something funny about a bathroom sink.
Also, I tried to think of something witty and funny for dozens of other objects, like light switches, towels and forks. This is the kind of work that will slowly, without you noticing, drive you insane.
Whoops! It’s been a while since the last update – it’s still in the “This week” section, but it’s so close to falling down to “Last week”, which is only a small stop on its way to the deep, deep … depths of the “A while ago” section. I better write something so that there is a reason to come here, for you, Mr. Searchenginebot. And also you, Mr. Commentspammer.
I already wrote a few times about that certain sequence I recently recoded. And of course, all of this has to be tested – and, in this case, it is also written specifically for a certain level. So, obviously, I needed a level.
That is no random level, of course, but one that fits to the scenario and the circumstances surrounding that sequence. More accurately, it is the appartment of one of the characters (his summer residence, to be a little more precise). We outlined the geometry of that level and created a floorplan. Then, it was the task of the level designer to create that level.
The problem is, this takes time. But I wanted – and at the point of time at which I started with it, needed – to write the code and all that. So I made a testlevel, which is so horrifingly ugly that your eyes would explode if I were to show it here.
And now the real level nears completion, and it looks great. The difference to my testlevel is so amazingly huge, it’s going to be a lot more fun to play through that level. YES, I realize that gameplay trumps graphics, but a well-designed, good looking, nicely polished level makes it easier for you to accept the simulation, suspension of disbelief and all that.
And here is the absolute, huge horror. Remember all my moaning and whining and complaining about creating dozens of everyday models?
Well, guess what – those need an investigation text. ALL OF THEM.
😦
-E
Also, I want to mention that D, currently doing a different level, makes great progress as well – these two guys are very skilled and it’s superb to see their work. 🙂
When you are creating games, you will most likely face a situation in which you wonder how something works or if what you do is really accurate. Okay, so maybe, you won’t wonder and just do it. Maybe thats the better way to get things done. However, I often wonder that, so there. This way, you’ll often learn things not directly related to game development – for example, I did learn quite a few things about the height of things by creating the milestones-section in TroubleTower – and not only about their height, but a few other facts as well: Each of them had their own little text.
Given how easy the internet makes researching those facts, it has become a lot more common for me to just quickly check facts and not assume so many things. Sometimes, these actually affect how the game plays out, sometimes it wont change a thing and sometimes, I’ll just use it in the investigationtext. As an example, if you investigate golf balls in the game, you’ll get a comment that tells you about the official size and weight of such a ball.
At one point, I wondered how fast golf carts are – less than 15 mph, says Wikipedia. But, I wondered, does sequence X work with that? I needed to find out how much these things weigh. Which was not so difficult, as its written in the very same paragraph in Wikipedia – which I’m going to trust for now: 900-1,000 pounds. Does it work with that weight? Thankfully, its all kind of a moot point, as there are people who tune these things, so maybe, the golf cart in that sequence is tuned and can thus be as fast as I need it to be (yeah, I realize that there are limits to speeds, but its fast enough for my needs, thank you very much). With all the knowledge I assembled simply by looking through the net for that sequence, I may just play golf for real one day. Going from the tee directly into the rough (the german wikipedia claims that these may only be mowed twice a year, are they insane? Now, honestly, that sounds like a sinister plot to force newbies like me to buy dozens of golf balls because yeah, I’m going to lose them all anyway, if not there, then in the water hazard)! Sounds like fun.
It should be mentioned at this point that the game is not a golf game.
-E
Quick! Whats the most important thing in games? What is the first thing you think of?! Now, of course, there are two certain aspects of games given right in the very title: Sounds and Skies.
“What?”, you say, in a somewhat whiny voice (just guessing on that one), “I’d have never thought of these! … Okay, so maybe, I was really clever and was kind of wondering given that these were given in the title, but I don’t consider them that important”. And true – they are probably not the most important aspect. Of course. But they are more important than you may think.
It is amazing how much more complete a level looks if it has a sky/skycube. You really cannot underestimate that – it’s such a huge difference if there is nothing but vast blackness or actually a nice-looking, blue sky (or green or whatever, depending on the setting). Sure, sometimes, a black sky works wonders, but a little color and clouds (or stars) really go a long way. Maybe it is just a little detail that in my mind divides the “work-in-progress” to the “finishing-touches”-state. Who knows.
The other important things are sounds. I distinctly remember writing something about “Why music is important” – and it is! And maybe, I’m going to write more about music – but for now, lets concentrate on sounds – you know, little things like footsteps, the sound of a door opening, all that. It`s remarkable as to what kind of difference those make. Its also really cool to use these effects when playing with time – i.e. bullet-time effects. During development, I usually don’t have any sounds. I then add them one after another, and it really feels like a puzzle that comes together piece by piece. Again, this is what effectively comes together as polishing, but sounds are really more than that. They are simply something you just need to complete the game. It feels weird if sounds are missing – even if it is just one or two – and it can destroy the suspension of disbelief, depending on what kind of sound it is.
So… in a nutshell: Don’t forget sounds in your game! Also: Skies can make the difference between meh and amazing (not quite, but you know what I mean).
-E
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