gingerbeardman's recent activity

  1. Comment on Looking for mobile puzzle-ish games with a heavy emphasis on stats in ~games

    gingerbeardman
    Link
    If you have a Playdate (or Playdate Stimulator) then Sparrow Solitaire (Mahjong Solitaire) which was developed by two people: one of whom is a data scientist and the other is me. Lots of stats....

    If you have a Playdate (or Playdate Stimulator) then Sparrow Solitaire (Mahjong Solitaire) which was developed by two people: one of whom is a data scientist and the other is me. Lots of stats.
    https://play.date/games/sparrow-solitaire/ and https://playdate-wiki.com/wiki/Sparrow_Solitaire#Stats

    2 votes

  2. Comment on Danish toymaking giant Lego has said it wants to start to bring video game development in-house in ~games

    gingerbeardman
    Link
    Curious that this didn't happen when Simon "Hand Circus" Oliver, game developer extraordinaire, was working for Lego.

    Curious that this didn't happen when Simon "Hand Circus" Oliver, game developer extraordinaire, was working for Lego.

    1 vote

  3. Comment on Recommend me a racing/driving game on PC in ~games

  4. Comment on Recommend me a racing/driving game on PC in ~games

  5. Comment on Have you made a video game? Can I play it? in ~games

    gingerbeardman
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    So whilst I don't use any engines, I do use SDKs. I code in Lua so I'm currently really into Love2D (multiplatform), Antiruins (Dreamcast; pairs well with Love2D), and previously Playdate SDK...

    So whilst I don't use any engines, I do use SDKs. I code in Lua so I'm currently really into Love2D (multiplatform), Antiruins (Dreamcast; pairs well with Love2D), and previously Playdate SDK (basically a Love2D clone for a specific set of hardware constraints). As you know SDKs are essentially just lists of ready-made functions you can use to do the stuff every game needs to do, for you to use in whatever way you want to approach things. Whereas, for me, an engine does more than that and crucially prescribes the way you have to approach certain things to a larger degree.

    I would never write my own engine, because I want to make a game as quickly as possible. Instead I write the bare minimum code, from scratch, to bring up the game. "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler". Start with a basic concept and just build it as simply as possible. Don't get bogged down with implementation details, and don't write an engine, write a game!

    Of course I'm using SDK functions for drawing, sound, input, but the scaffold that holds the entire thing together (usually a very simple state machine) is bespoke for each game. I find that starting from templates/boilerplate sends you off at an initial direction, but I want to pick my own very specific direction so I start from a blank file. I enjoy the game design and concept phase (you can do it anywhere, at any time, using only your brain!) and I have the whole of each game planned before I start to write any code, I'm very strict about not allowing feature creep, and I run the whole thing from a simple outline doc of bullet lists (I use Taskpaper app).

    The most important IMHO is to get the core game mechanic up and running and proven to be fun as quickly as possible. At that point I shelve 90% of my prototypes, for one reason or another, but given that I've only put a day (at most!) into it I don't mind. The process itself is useful. This is how Nintendo do it, too. If the game gets past prototype stage, I add the first draft of the boring bits like menu system because it's so much more difficult to add those once the game get really fun. And then it's rinse and repeat, play and polish, until it's perfect or my todo list is empty—whichever comes first.

    I mentioned that this approach is old school—you could call it the way of the bedroom programmer. This is because I grew up when things were done that way (I cut my teeth on the Atari ST). I simply don't know any different, and so far I've not really wanted to try any other ways.

    7 votes

  6. Comment on Have you made a video game? Can I play it? in ~games

    gingerbeardman
    Link Parent
    Cheers! Even thinking about GOTY is still a little surreal.

    Cheers! Even thinking about GOTY is still a little surreal.

    2 votes

  7. Comment on Have you made a video game? Can I play it? in ~games

    gingerbeardman
    Link
    I'm a full-time indie developer. Most of my games are at https://gingerbeardman.itch.io including my most recent game for Sega Dreamcast. To play my game YOYOZO that received GOTY 2023 you'll need...

    I'm a full-time indie developer. Most of my games are at https://gingerbeardman.itch.io including my most recent game for Sega Dreamcast.

    To play my game YOYOZO that received GOTY 2023 you'll need a Playdate.
    https://blog.gingerbeardman.com/2023/11/21/yoyozo-how-i-made-a-playdate-game-in-39kb/

    I create all my games using only code starting from a blank file. No Godot or Unity or Game Maker. I'm old school in that regard!

    28 votes

  8. Comment on The making of Animal Well | Documentary in ~games

    gingerbeardman
    Link
    Love this. The game design philosophy is the same old school approach I aspire to. One thing that's kind of glossed over in the video is how Billy managed to get opportunity after opportunity, he...

    Love this. The game design philosophy is the same old school approach I aspire to. One thing that's kind of glossed over in the video is how Billy managed to get opportunity after opportunity, he was very lucky and/or privileged. It's important to acknowledge those opportunities are rare. Of course, he was able to execute his vision very well indeed. Well done!

    4 votes

  9. Comment on Recommend me a racing/driving game on PC in ~games

    gingerbeardman
    Link
    Both RalliSport Challenge 1 & 2 are payable in Xemu original Xbox emulator for PC (Win, Mac, Linux): https://xemu.app

    Both RalliSport Challenge 1 & 2 are payable in Xemu original Xbox emulator for PC (Win, Mac, Linux): https://xemu.app

    1 vote

  10. Comment on A pixel parable in ~games

  11. Comment on A pixel parable in ~games

  12. Comment on A pixel parable in ~games

    gingerbeardman
    Link Parent
    The blog post says it's fiction but it seems like it is based on fact/history?

    The blog post says it's fiction but it seems like it is based on fact/history?

    2 votes

  13. Comment on A pixel parable in ~games

    gingerbeardman
    Link
    Could benefit from tags and/or text to explain what this is and why somebody might want to read these 6000+ words.

    Could benefit from tags and/or text to explain what this is and why somebody might want to read these 6000+ words.

    7 votes

  14. Comment on Your favorite game OSTs in ~games

    gingerbeardman
    Link Parent
    Neurodiverse means your brain works in a different way than the (neuro)typical person. I only suggested it because I'm neurodiverse and my listening patterns are the same (instrumental music...

    Neurodiverse means your brain works in a different way than the (neuro)typical person.

    I only suggested it because I'm neurodiverse and my listening patterns are the same (instrumental music because I find lyrics distracting when I'm not actively listening to them, eg. whilst working).

    2 votes

  15. Comment on Your favorite game OSTs in ~games

    gingerbeardman
    Link Parent
    Dustforce all day every day. If you don't like lyrics ...I'd recommend getting tested for being neurodiverse.

    Dustforce all day every day.

    If you don't like lyrics ...I'd recommend getting tested for being neurodiverse.

    1 vote

  17. Comment on BoxedWine is now on Xbox Dev Mode in ~games

    gingerbeardman
    Link
    BoxedWine is a Linux Emulator that runs Wine. http://www.boxedwine.org So this enables you to run old Windows software on an modern Xbox.

    BoxedWine is a Linux Emulator that runs Wine. http://www.boxedwine.org

    So this enables you to run old Windows software on an modern Xbox.

    5 votes

  18. Comment on My impressions of the Retrobat emulation frontend in ~games

    gingerbeardman
    Link Parent
    Have you and OP ever looked into reasons why this may be? I ask this because "me, too" and I did look into it and there were reasons. I'll leave this quite vague on purpose.

    Have you and OP ever looked into reasons why this may be? I ask this because "me, too" and I did look into it and there were reasons. I'll leave this quite vague on purpose.

  19. Comment on Private school - worthwhile/good idea for not rich people? in ~life

    gingerbeardman
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    Perhaps of interest, as it blurs the definition a little: I went to a public/private school in the UK but on an "assisted place" which meant almost all my fees were paid for by the government. I'm...

    Perhaps of interest, as it blurs the definition a little: I went to a public/private school in the UK but on an "assisted place" which meant almost all my fees were paid for by the government. I'm from a working class family from a "poor postcode", to use your phrasing, and the school was in a "rich(er) postcode" some distance away. I was at the school for secondary and sixth form years (age 11 to 18).

    Looking back on things I see both pros and cons. I definitely missed out on various things both good and bad, and various aspects of my development were neglected or missed by being at such a school. In short, it's all very complicated.

    5 votes