In the last two months I was busy with lots of other things, but this weekend I had time to work on my game. It was surprisingly easy to continue the development after the break, I think this signs that the code quality is not that bad. Due to the entity-component system the code-base is well separated into largely independent units (components/subsystems), so it's not hard to understand.
The new features:
- smooth camera system, the camera can follow the movement of any entity
- improved scripting, more and more can be done from scrips
- graphics layers, by using perspective projection instead of orthographic
- lots of small things under the hood which enhance the engine, but are not directly visible
I have examined the Unity and Unreal3 engines and development environments, on the first hand to see if I should use them instead of building my own engine, and on the other hand to see how real, commercial, successful engines work. I decided to continue with my own engine, and my goal is to have a single engine that can be used for different games simply by using different scripts.
The usual screenshot and video (please note that the graphics art is completely placeholder, I just drew the images in a few minutes; the game I am planning will have a completely different style):
The next step in my plan is to implement animation, then handling physical events, and meanwhile generally improve the engine. Then, when the engine is good enough, I will start building a real game with it.
BTW I have realized I love platformer games. I really enjoy jumping, shooting or solving problems in Trine 1 and 2, Limbo, Braid, American McGee's Alice and Alice: Madness Returns... I have even played Prince of Persia (the good old one, not the new version) in DOSBox. I think I will have to invest into buying Rayman: Origins too, it looks quite good. Actually I took the fancy to continue developing my game while playing Braid and Limbo... somehow I felt I shouldn't just play games, I should create them if I can.
Another thing I have realized is that how convenient it is to play games with a gamepad compared to controlling with the keyboard. It's much better leaning back in my chair or couch, resting my hands holding the controller in my laps, instead of leaning over the keyboard on my desk. So I will aim for supporting gamepads in my games.
Another thing I have realized is that how convenient it is to play games with a gamepad compared to controlling with the keyboard. It's much better leaning back in my chair or couch, resting my hands holding the controller in my laps, instead of leaning over the keyboard on my desk. So I will aim for supporting gamepads in my games.
