Hecticware

Skeletons and Candles

2011-12-19T17:57:00.001+01:00

Ludum Dare 22 was held this weekend and for the first time, I participated in the 48-hour competition. I was part of the Ludum Dare 21 Jam, so I knew it was going to be fun.

The theme was 'Alone', and For Glory is the fruit of my labor.

It's a little game about a young hero exploring a dark and dangerous dungeon. It involves battling loads of skeletons and collecting golden coins.

I had a great time making this game, and I will be sure to join the next Ludum Dare.

I hope you'll enjoy playing For Glory.

Assimilation Complete

2011-10-13T13:36:00.000+02:00

During the last couple of days, I've been working on a little project that uses both the server engine of Apis - which I have abandoned due to a lack of time - and the game engine of Left.

It's called Left Arcade, and I've incorporated it into the game Left itself. My intentions were to produce a bit of online fun while spending as little work and time as possible.

Although it's not yet finished, it is playable. There are some bugs that need fixing, and I'll probably do so in the next few days. After that, I will continue work on my other projects.

Worthwhile Hours

2011-09-13T20:09:00.003+02:00

A couple of weeks ago, I worked together with Joszs and Gijs van Everdingen during the rather short timespan of 72 hours; we put together a little game called Left.

And we proved succesful. Not only did we actually finish a game, but out of a whopping 288 Jam contestants, we placed eleventh. Our rankings:

#11 Overall
#9 Innovation
#11 Fun
#12 Audio
#16 Graphics

And going by the quality of the games above and below us, I must say I'm pretty pleased.

I can't thank Joszs and Gijs van Everdingen enough; our cooperation was smooth as silk and I'd love to work with them again some time.

Work Hard, Get It Done

2011-08-23T02:15:00.000+02:00

During Ludum Dare's 21st Jam, we had 72 hours to make an awesome game. And that's exactly what we did.

In what I must say was an extremely smooth cooperation, Joszs, Gijs van Everdingen and I made Left. It's a game about a small craft facing large amounts of explosive abuse.

Joszs made the stunningly handsome graphics and Gijs added some fitting music to it.

As always, I spent way too much time contemplating about the physics and small changes to the HUD. But then again, the result is pretty neat and we do have time to spare. I suppose this team was foolproof.

Looks Need Improving

2011-08-10T00:17:00.000+02:00

Ye ol' Risk.

A close friend of mine will be spending the next three months in Barcelona, and he was wondering if I could make some sort of Risk we could play online. Of course, the friend, the gamer and the peacock within me set to work.

I decided that the best (read: easiest) way to go about things would be to mod Apis, so that's what I did. I started work on ApMod yesterday, and so far, everything seems to be working out just fine.

I know ugly when I see it.

But it made me realise that I still have plenty to do as far as Apis is concerned. One of the things that is now starting to bug me, though, is that the game still has the ugliest graphics imaginable.

That's why I'm in need of a graphical artist. Someone who can sprite the units, flowers, buildings and icons; someone to draw a nice sceneric background, along with some nice trees. A lot of nature, obviously.

As my own graphical qualities are rather low, my demands are as well. So anyone who is willing to put some effort in it, will be much appreciated. At the moment, my priorities are scattered all over the place, so there is little time pressure involved. I'd rather we'd stimulate eachother to work hard than set some irrealistic deadlines.

If you're at all interested, fear not to let me know, by leaving a comment, by mailing to hecticware@gmail.com or by whatever means suitable.

Gratefully Third

2011-08-02T23:23:00.000+02:00

After a short vacation in the beautiful Romania, I return to find out that Triscal placed 3rd in GMW29. Something I am sincerely happy with, I must add.

Some of the judges remarks:

The game is original and well designed.
The concept of changing the perspective and access new paths is quite clever.
The controls are confusing.
When playing a random level, there are occasionally no paths from the starting point.

The idea behind this game is ingenious. The various points are sometimes hard to differentiate because of their small sizes and dark colours. It's nice that the game is explained through some example levels.

Not entirely bug-free; disappeared paths are still selectable. The level editor is a clever feature but a bit hard to use.

Very original and properly finished. The game can be confusing at first, but after a while you get used to it. Some explanation would have been useful.

Honestly, I couldn't agree more.

Sure, some of the 'faults' they mention are actually caused by the judges and not originally part of the game, but all of them are caused by lack of explanation - something I did purposefully as not to make things 'too obvious and blunt'. A bit of elitisme on my side, and something which perhaps rightfully cost me first or second place.

But most importantly, the good intentions and features that I did put in the game in order to impress and entertain, seem to have served their purpose.

Yup, I can be nothing but satisfied.

Guardian of the Swarm

2011-07-09T17:10:00.001+02:00

I have made some additional improvements to Apis, most of which are a direct cause of it becoming completely free. I have redone the log in methods, added a window at startup that shows you an Apis webpage and added the ability to register from within the game.

On a gameplay note, I was never quite sure about the Guardian's role. It seemed that a rather expensive, slow defensive unit simply wouldn't be useful enough. I have therefore gave it the ability to slow down enemy units; every time a unit is hit by the Guardian, it is briefly stopped. This is very effective against Drones and assaulting Bumbles, as it removes all charge effects immediately.

But that's not all. I hadn't really figured out how the player would be able to construct new Lairs. And then it struck me. Why don't I just let the (waxbased) Guardian morph into a (waxbased) Lair? Although IRL it doesn't make much sense, it would completely justify the presence of the Guardian's heavy armor and slow movement.

I will start beta testing on a slightly larger scale pretty soon. Also, the ingame graphics still look like a five year old drew them, so I should be doing something about that soon as well.

Sixty Hours

2011-07-04T00:53:00.001+02:00

I have just finished a game I started less than 60 hours ago. Always a nice experience, I must say.

It's my (new) entry for GMW #29, which actually gave you six weeks to finish it. But hey, if I can find the time to make one in 3 days, why not?

The game is called Triscal, and it's rather your abstract pseudo-3D puzzlegame. It has a rather peculiar and sometimes confusing graphic style, and the puzzles, though short, manage to provide you with some food for thought.

I hope you enjoy it.

Free For All

2011-06-30T22:57:00.000+02:00

I have thought. Something I make a habit of doing, as you might imagine. I have reconsidered. I have compared pro's and con's. And I have changed my mind.

Apis will be free to play.

There are a couple of reasons for this.

Firstly, free is good. That's a universal law. Everyone likes free shit. Conversely, if you want everyone to like something, making it free can be a step in the right direction. And that's definitely something I am going for here. I want this game to be enjoyed.

Also, because free is always good, paid-for is not always good. A paid-for game must live up to its value in order to be 'worth it'. So charging money for what is essentially an experiment would put extra pressure on the project, and I sincerely doubt if it would cope. Meaning, the moment this project stops being fun, I drop it and move on.

But most importantly, the more the merrier. Seeing as my objective never was to make huge bucks with this game, I think I'd rather have twice the amount of players than some small amount of cash. I'd rather have people enjoy what I made and up my reputation as a decent gamedeveloper a bit, than earn what would probably be a pitiful amount of money.

That being said, I will get back to work. I actually believe the game is somewhat playable, but much has to be done before I can decently release something.

Quite a Day

2011-06-11T03:08:00.000+02:00

After a small time of inactivity on my side, today's events were more than noteworthy.

Firstly, we gave our GMW29 entry another shot. However, the spriting didn't really work out. Which, for me, kinda ruined the purpose. I was not entirely certain about the game, so I guess I took the first way out I could. I don't know.
This will probably be the end of LoA. On the upside, this gives me more time for my other projects.

I sure used that time as I fixed a major bug in the online part of Apis. To be specific, the bug prevented enemy units from appearing. The agony. I also made sure the flowers match eachother (very important), and I spend the rest of the evening (and night) improving the lobby.

There are now a couple of ranks: Guest, Member, Betatester, Op and of course Emperor of the Universe. The latter being reserved to yours truly. The member is the standard account, the op will be an account that has certain server commands like kicking and muting.

The guest will be the unregistered rank. It will allow you to join the lobby, chat with members and even spectate other matches, but actually playing online will obviously require registration.

There will be a closed beta, starting pretty soon. I will accept as much people as I see fit. Betatesters will have free access to all parts of the game, even after the beta has finished.

Not A Nominee

2011-06-02T02:00:00.003+02:00

Atlantia Polu Hudrow did not get nominated in the Creative Game Challenge. Which strikes me as odd. Really odd.

Not to be a sore loser, but why on earth would Atlantia not be good enough? Considering the games that did get nominated, Atlantia should have made the cut.

Maybe the game did not function, which would suggest that their pc's are not all that good, or maybe the black screens scared them away, because they had their volume turned off. Maybe, just maybe, their standards were too low. But any of those three would not explain why some other, better games did get qualified.

There's also the theory that they intentfully nominated some weaker, amateuristic games, in order to appeal to aspiring gamemakers and not just the good ones. It would certainly make sense, but it would certainly be a douchey move.

At any rate, I have sent them a mail (2, actually), requesting them to clarify their choice. Hopefully, they'll tell me something useful, instead of just asking me to sod off.

Congrats to all the nominees.

update on the 3rd of june:

I got a response, but it was hardly informative.

Your game has, despite the long intro, been played by our pre-selection jury and was unfortunately not nominated. There were a lot of good games this year, a shame yours didn't make it.

Well, at least one things is clear: they really don't want to talk about it.

Awesomesauce

2011-05-22T22:37:00.003+02:00

A couple of days ago, GMW29 (a dutch gamemaker contest) began. The goal is to make a game that can be played using just two keys. Coming up with a game that does not require more than those two keys, is proving rather difficult to most people. But I have yet another brilliant idea.

I don't want to spoil too much of it, but it will be a hack 'n' slash platformer. Your goal will be to get to the end of the stage alive, as fast as possible. You are constantly running, so you'll only have to worry about climbing obstacles and slicing up enemies.

As for the story and setting, well, that's a bit of a surprise. But a few keywords can't hurt, can they?

Ninjas. Pirates. Zombies. Robots.

update on the 11th of june: this project has been cancelled; "Quite A Day"

Micropayments

2011-05-15T00:31:00.003+02:00

The basics of the fighting, economy and unit production are done, and all units, structures and flowers have been included. You cannot build additional lairs though, and the levels are not yet randomised. And the graphics still look like I drew have of them in 10 seconds and took the other half from internet. In fact, I did. But more on that later.

I have also been fidgeting around with online some more, and it's working out pretty well (so far). I will start working on the actual online matches, so hopefully there will be some sort of Player vs Player up and running within the next couple of days. Don't pin me down on that one, though; it might be ready monday (yeah right), or it might take me another two weeks.

But most importantly, I think I will charge money* for Apis' online part. Not much though, probably around €1,00.

This will only be for the online section, i.e. the Player vs Player matches. In my current planning, you will be able to play 1 vs 1, 2 vs 2 (where each team shares a tree), 1 vs 1 vs 1, or 2 vs 1. Any of these can be either a (human) player or AI.
Offline you have the same options, but there are no other human players. If the game will have a campaign, it will most likely be free. All other parts of Apis (such as updates or add-ons) will also be completely free.

The reason I do this is simple: one has to make a living. And I realise that Apis is not the game (nor is €1,00 the price) to make myself a fortune, but Apis is one big experiment. And this experiment includes making money. For in the end, that is what most companies aim to do.
Just realise I'm an honest guy; I don't want to squeeze money out of you. At most, I want to gently rub your shoulders and -- uhm... well, you get the idea.

At any rate, feel free to let me know what you think about this.

update on the 30th of june: apis will be entirely free; "Free For All"

Entomology Noob

2011-05-09T19:16:00.000+02:00

honey bee

I have been struggling a bit with terminology and appearances regarding wasps, because what I had intended to be a wasp, is actually called a yellowjacket and what I intended to be a yellowjacket is a yellowjacket, but its jacket is not yellow. Instead, it is called a 'baldfaced hornet', but it's not actually a hornet. Right...
Also, in real life, the (female) workers do all the work, including fighting. And of course bees and wasps would never work together, let alone spawn from the same queen. But this would result in a rather bland game where one plays as the bees and the other as the wasps, where one's goal would be to create thousands of workers and then send in wave after wave.
And of course real wasps don't "shoot" their stingers, but what evs.

Therefore, some concessions were made.

At any rate, I'm pretty sure these are the units that will appear in Apis:

yellowjacket

Worker (honey bee, apis mellifera)
The "villagers", the backbone of your economy.

Drone (honey bee, apis mellifera)
The melee fighters. They are swift and cheap.

Yellowjacket (common wasp, vespula vulgaris)

baldfaced hornet

Fast, mean and action packed. Very good to raid the enemy's economy or just maw down their army.

Whiteface (baldfaced hornet, dolichovespula maculata)
Long ranged and strong against light targets. Useful for tactical strikes against e.g. workers, princesses or bumbles.

Hornet (european hornet, vespa crabro)
A heavy assault unit with an armor piercing attack. Extremely suitable for taking down the opponent's Hive.

actual hornet

Guardian (honey bee, apis mellifera)
A heavy duty drone. Well armored but slower. Best used defending your Hive or your princess.

Bumble (bumble bee, bombus terrestris)
This adorable fellow has a two-sided role. It is mainly a worker that can collect large amounts of nectar. However, when it dies (or when it commits "suicide"), it will explode, damaging all nearby units. If well used, it becomes a suicide bomber that can tear apart enemy troops or structures.

Hive/Lair/Hatchery & Queen/Princess
Each player starts out with a Hive. In this Hive resides a Queen. The queens spawns all other units, incuding the Princess. Workers construct a Lair, which is, like the Hive, a place where they can store nectar and produce honey and wax. However, a Princess can leave the safety of the Hive to fly to a Lair. If succesful, the Lair turns into a Hatchery, which acts similar to the Hive; the residing Princess/Queen can spawn new units, and the Hatchery serves as some kind of forward base.

In more non-entomology related news, I have gotten to the point where drones will attack nearby enemy units and structures, taking into account life, armor, damage and the lot. Also, I have begun working on the online portion of it. And, surprisingly, it works; that is, clients can connect and talk to each other, before I kick them.

Experimenting with Bees

2011-05-05T15:18:00.000+02:00

I have been planning a new game, currently called Apis.

It's a side view micro-RTS about bees, with AI and Online Multiplayer. I know, that's a lot of promises.

Why an RTS?
Well, I've always wanted to make an RTS, because I love playing them. For instance, I recently had a little Age of Empires (I) marathon. Loads of fun, but being a game designer, I can't resist the urge to give it a shot myself.

Why a micro(manage) RTS?

Although it has its own enjoyments, I want to make an RTS that's not all about massing units and just flooding the enemies base. I want to try and make an RTS that is about tactics on a unit level, where you could have only three or four units and still manage to win, just because you know their strengths and weaknesses.

Why sideview?
I guessed that's more because I wanted bees in it than anything else.

Why on earth bees?
Yeah. I guess it's a bit weird. But I just figured it'd be kinda cool if there were a game where yellowjackets* are snipers and bumble bees are suicide bombers.

Why AI and Online Multiplayer?
Again, I haven't got that much experience with AI or online, but I'd love to try them. This game is a bit of an experiment. To be quite frank, it is all just an excuse to postpone my magnum opus, Moonlit. I want that game to be insanely awesome, but I have had my share of failures already. That is why I came up with this project. I am not as thrilled about this as I am about Moonlit, leaving me with less pressure. If things go horribly wrong (which they usually do), than I will learn from that and hopefully do it right the next time.

(*) edit on the 9th of may:
The Whitefaces are snipers; the Yellowjackets are raiders.

Rebirth

2011-04-21T14:50:00.002+02:00

As I have founded my company, Hecticware, I thought it would be appropriate to give it its own site and blog. They will replace my old website and blog.

The website, which is mostly complete, can be found here:

http://hecticware.webs.com/ (*)

I have picked up work on my specialised project, DataCross.

Hopefully, I will keep posting more frequently.

(*) edit on the 6th of june:
All activity has moved to this blog.