after reading this, i completely revamped my combat engine and now i cant stop playing the damn game... i can barely get any work done on it, i'm having too much fun... instead of not being able to work on the game cause its boring.... rahh!!!!
the article::
http://www.geocities.com/barbarian_rolep...icle1.html
and thanks deleter, that was an awsome article!
Looks like an interesting article, but I was having problems reading it. This may help. I cranked the Microsoft Word spelling/grammar checker up to max and followed the signs.
Quote: Game Apathy - Part 1
Game Apathy
A short, unsupported, yet entirely useful article on that evil force of the galaxy, which leads to the demise of many projects.
You will now receive an educational and formal lecture on the philosophical implications forebodingly presented by your seemingly innocent hobby...not! Rather, prepare for a short rant on possible solutions to 'programming apathy', and tips to completing your QB/FB project.
Apathy, Merriam-Webster online defines it as "2: lack of interest or concern: Indifference". Quite obviously, when we start out on a project we have a lot of interest and are very concerned about its future. Then, why is it that we get this hated apathy? To try and understand this, we should first consider why we so desire to make this game in the first place that we dedicated our physical and mental condition to a grueling, filled with countless hours, debugging, brain cramming process. Why would we do such a thing? We do it because we tell ourselves "this game WILL be made". Why would we say such a thing? We hope that such a game will present a fun idea that people will enjoy. Of late it seems that the entire computer game developing force, all the way from QB to ID(the doom guys, you know), has been focusing on making games cool, in other words, out-neating each other. The problem with a neat game is that usually it fails to be a fun game. Yes, that is right, dynamic shadows do not mean crap. We enjoy Diablo 1 far more than Doom 3. How can this be? It is more enjoyable because it is FUN! One must always consider fun first (usually involves game play), graphics second. This urge to make cool looking things demoralizes the QB community more than any other, because (with FreeBASIC threatening this) a Basic FPS(usually most technologically advanced) is going to look like crap, there is no way around it.
So, now that both QB and its followers have been thrashed (hehe), what is the solution? Well, its time we reorient our priorities. Put fun above neat. Do you really need a pixel by pixel scrolling engine with 321 sprites, over 100 effects, a dynamically updating sprite vortex....ok I'm making that up(I hope, hehe)...but the fact remains. Instead of sacrificing countless hours of your time tweaking your pixel pushing techniques, put the game play and fun first. If adding this or that only makes it more fun to a minor degree, cut it. Instead of seeing what the most you can cram into your uber engine, see what the least is, then add only the things that add enough fun for the effort it takes to implement them.
Now, you may be wondering why I am saying not to spend more time on graphics, even when it is not conflicting with making it fun. If not, that is fine, if you are, here is why: When we get down to bare metal, you want your work to reward you. Now, a game is only worth its weight in fun. If you spent hours doing something like 10x more animation sprites, and then you go to play the game and you do not get any more fun out of it, you are going to get demoralized; there is no question about it. Therefore, it is definitely advisable to cut everything that does not carry its weight in fun.
The point should be clear. Perhaps one of you might decide not to include dynamic lights and accurate physics simulation for the sake of time and fun. Anyway, here are some general tips to follow which ought to help get your game out the...port.
1) Plan small - it is easier to start too small and have it grow, than to have cuts forced upon a game, which started too big.
2) Keep it simple - It is a simple fact that some of the most fun games (still!) are quite simple in every aspect.
3) Keep it fun - For every thing you plan/implement, you should keep in mind why it is vital to the fun of the game.
4) If its fun to program, its fun to play - This point has been translated from writing, where's it is most definitely true, so it might not be true in all cases. However, it should remain true enough. If you have fun while you are programming your game (another reason not to do brain mashingly complicated things), people are going to have fun while playing your game.
5) Send all proceeds to my address at -- no, just kidding, actually send any and all comments/thoughts/counter-rants/and insults to barbarian_roleplayer@yahoo.com. Thanks for reading!
(Look below for a challenge based on this article!)
The Challenge - Reflecting upon these words, an idea struck -- make a competition! Instead of other competitions, where hot graphics + sound will help you win, in this they might actually bring you down! The idea is to make the most fun game (best game play + usability + game FLOW) regardless of how simple. You can make anything from a text-based adventure (not recommended, though) to a dynamically lit 3D - FPS, to a 2D RTS, nobody cares as long as it is fun. No, good graphics will not mark you down, but if one game beats another in game play but not graphics, game play will definitely win. If you win, you get the Anti-Apathy Award of Programmer Creativity (cool picture soon to follow!)
Send all entries to my email - barbarian_roleplayer@yahoo.com (no, an RPG won't score you brownie points =P)
[/quote]
SJ:
desuckified :???: lol, yeah, i use the real crappy yahoo page builder crap which doesn't allow me the luxury of copy and paste...Also I wrote both rants in....well....a rant, so they are not the clearest possible.
syn9:
glad you liked it.
Sorry man, spelling errors make baby Jesus cry.
Quote:so do breast implants
they make me cry.... tears of happiness and joy..
:lol:
Quote:syn9 Wrote:so do breast implants
they make me cry.... tears of happiness and joy..
:lol:
I suppose they can be good, until the person is old, and saggy
ewww
Oz~
those are called pecs, z!re
lolzz