Game Development Kits

For the sake of efficiency, we are currently sidelining the development of our own Java-based game engine, and will instead select a game development kit/application for the creation of our platformer. Below is a list of potential kits, and we will be spending the next week or two testing them, and selecting one that best suits our group.

Game Maker 8
001 Game Maker
JumpCraft
Golden T Game Engine
Scrolling Game Development Kit 2
Reality Factory
VERGE 3
Sphere
Lightweight Java Game Library


Comments and grades will be applied as we test the applications.

Update: New Semester

I probably should have posted this during semester break, but I figured, since I didn't, what better time to post it than the first meeting of the new semester.

This is an update to the design document posted earlier (which is probably no longer online).

game concepts.txt

Also, until further notice, club meetings will be held in MCT165 on Fridays at 2-5pm, just like last semester.

Project Roles

I'm just going to use this space to establish the official roles of the members of the group.

Lead Manager
Matthew Hydock

Lead Story/Conceptual Designers
Andrew Herring
Ben Cook

Secondary Story/Conceptual Designers
Allan Simmons
Garin Dangler
Matthew Hydock
Sean Fitzgerald
William Fisher

Lead Artist
Sean Fitzgerald

Secondary Artists
Andrew Herring

Lead Programmer
Matthew Hydock

Secondary Programmers
Garin Dangler
Matthew Miller
William Fisher

Music/SE
Ben Moser
Derek Robertson

This post will be edited as members decide what they can contribute to.

Getting to Work

Ok, it's taken a while, for various reasons (one being the diminutive size of the club at this point), but we finally have an idea for a group project. Our current goal is to create parts of a Role Playing Game (RPG), in Python, because the computers in our room are Macs and because Python is fairly easy to learn.

At first this sounds like a rather foolish idea. Many game development groups at first think "let's make an rpg" or worse "let's make an mmorpg." These are both VERY difficult tasks, due to the complexity of the underlying systems and the span of an overarching story. We recognize this, and so as not to drive ourselves mad, it was specifically stated that we are doing PARTS of an RPG, namely the battle system, and a basic overworld exploration system.

It has been decided that the battle system will be worked on first, and many of the roles have already been designated, with the art team in control of the style and themes, and the programming team ready to bring it to life. We have yet to acquire anyone devoted to music or sound effects, so both teams will contribute when they can.

Information and screen shots will be posted when available.

New Semester

The fall semester has begun, and ShipGameDev is back in business! Meetings will be held Fridays in MCT 165 again, from 2-5PM, though some members have already claimed a later time may be better. If enough agree, the time will be moved up an hour, but the day and room will remain the same.

Last fall, I attempted to steer the entire group into working on a single project. Unfortunately, we were incapable of coordinating, some of us had different ideas, and others couldn't get a hang of the software. Come spring, I decided to break us up into many groups, and work on several projects, which seemed to work a whole lot better.

And so, this year we will be working on independent projects. Those who are semi-knowledgeable with game design shall form their own groups, while those who are new will go through a couple "lessons" with me, then join whatever group piques their interest, or form their own if they are confident enough.

By the end of the semester, I hope to have 4 mini-games finished or near-complete. This isn't that hard of a task, so let's try our best!