June 2012
1 post
4 tags
iPad video footage capture and editing workflow:...
After a slight wrong turn, I think I’ve found my capture solution for the forseeable future.
[[MORE]]In the previous part of this series, I mentioned BlackMagic Design Intensity range as a possible solution for high quality, full resolution, full framerate capture from iPads and other HDMI capable devices. A week ago, I ordered the Intensity Shuttle for Thunderbolt. Even though my current...
May 2012
2 posts
4 tags
Food Run alpha aftermath: Part 1 - the survey
After three weeks of builds, testing, and feedback, the Food Run alpha is over. At the end of the period, I put out a survey to the participants to formalize the feedback and take some measurements. Super exciting pie charts inside.
[[MORE]]Over the last three weeks, Food Run has been in the hands of thirty alpha testers. A big round of applause for them - their feedback has been invaluable....
3 tags
Food Run alpha now open to playtesters,...
As of today, I’m opening the first round of testing for Food Run. Spaces are limited, but open to the general public. Friends, fellow developers, journalists and bloggers most definitely included. I’d also like to invite potential publishing partners to take a look at the game. Details inside.
[[MORE]]Food Run is now at the Alpha milestone! What this actually means varies according...
April 2012
1 post
3 tags
Food Run video: first look at chapter 2
Here’s a first look at chapter 2 of Food Run, “Dessert Island”. Pun most definitely, although perhaps regrettably, intended.
[[MORE]]I’d say the graphics are about 90% complete for chapter 2. I’m not going to lie, it’s been a graft getting it to this state. Keen eyes may notice that the backgrounds have changed from pre-rendered to flat vectors. After some...
March 2012
4 posts
3 tags
Food Run UI Progress: Part 1
Sometimes when you look at your own game during development you feel like something just isn’t cutting the mustard. This was definitely the case with the Food Run user interface. So it was time to redesign it. Progress and Photoshop mockups below.
[[MORE]]Note: Click all three images for iPad Retina display resolution (2048 x 1536) images
When comparing to what I would consider the best...
3 tags
WordCrasher Blitz will be iPad 3 Retina Display...
Just a quick note to say that WordCrasher Blitz will soon be iPad Retina Display compatible on the new iPad, soon after the iPad’s launch next week.
[[MORE]]Mockups of Food Run running on the new iPad were shown a few days back, but it will be the recently launched WordCrasher Blitz which will see iPad Retina treatment first.
More on this soon.
App Store link (free)
Launch Trailer
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More thoughts on Retina Displays and donuts with...
The previous blog post about the possibilities of Food Run on the rumoured high resolution iPad 3 has certainly caught the web’s attention. And amongst the punditry and comment threads, some valid and interesting points have arisen. Thoughts and responses.
First and most important: when do we get to play Food Run?
In general, there has been a great reaction to Food Run. It’s always...
4 tags
What would Food Run look like on an iPad 3 Retina...
Speculation is rife that the upcoming iPad 3, heavily tipped to be making its debut at the Apple event on March 7th, will feature a Retina Display. What would Food Run look like on the rumoured device? Let’s find out. Full resolution shots inside.
JUST SHOW ME THE SCREENSHOTS ALREADY: Can’t be bothered with the texty bits huh? Here’s a Food Run screenshot from existing iPads...
February 2012
2 posts
4 tags
WordCrasher Blitz is go
WordCrasher Blitz hit the App Store yesterday. Here’s the trailer and details.
Yep, it’s out and it’s FREE.
http://itunes.com/app/wordcrasherblitz
Go download it, and tell me what you think at @bookofthedev. I’ll be sharing some thoughts and experiences about free to play, banner ads, and in-app purchases as I gain more data.
Here’s the blurb:
WordCrasher...
4 tags
Secret pet project reveal
Here’s the pet project I’ve been alluding to on Twitter for the last couple of weeks. WordCrasher Blitz - the ultimate version of WordCrasher, with the magical, mystical price of FREE, already submitted to the App Store and arriving in the next few days.
I knew in the back of my mind that by writing that I’ve finished working on WordCrasher back in October, I’d...
January 2012
7 posts
3 tags
5 golden rules of app updates
The coming of the App Store (and other similar, non-capitalized app stores) means you can update your app indefinitely, adding features, responding to customer requests, changing the app until it eventually becomes a different beast altogether.
However, as with most things in life, just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. Here are my 5 golden rules for putting out app updates,...
4 tags
Food Run's level editor - a video walkthrough
The main tool for creating levels in Food Run is the in-house editor created specifically for this project, BreadBoxEd.
Here’s a two-part video walkthrough and tutorial. In these videos, a level is created from scratch and tested in the game.
Although created for Food Run, the editor could be used for any 2D grid-based game with level content, so hopefully it will see some re-use for...
4 tags
iPad video footage capture and editing workflow:...
At last, some movement on the iPad capture workflow, the results of which you can see in the new video of Food Run above. It’s not yet perfect, but it’s 90% of the way there. Details after the break.
This is the second part of this series, looking at iPad video capture options for developers. For part one, go here.
One of the options I used to employ for iOS video capture in the...
5 tags
Silent cinema
Hey, remember when video game trailers had sound effects?
A retrospective on the music-only game trailer.
Gears of War has a lot to answer for. Back in 2006, the original Gears trailer was a revelation, eschewing all foley for a low key emotional soundtrack, bleeding out the colour and playing up loss and the desperation of the situation. Innovative at the time, it still holds up today.
A...
4 tags
Weekend web work
I spent some of the weekend adding to the Pixels on Toast website. I added Javascript animated slides for the main image, changing out every 10 seconds. There is a slide for each of the games, as well as a Pixels on Toast slide. You can also access each slide individually and statically by clicking on one of the game boxes beneath the main image.
Here are some things I noted whilst updating the...
4 tags
Epic waste of time vol. 2: Invisible Planet
More unwanted sprouts flicked onto the floor from the plate of indie development. This time, an early video treatment for a company name idea.
I quite liked this one. Invisible Planet Games, a name inspired by Planet X which supposedly remained somehow outside of our detection within our solar system. The scratchy mono footage and circular waves emanating from the centre were supposed to evoke...
3 tags
And a Happy New Year
Happy New Year! 2012 just sounds so much cooler and futuristic than 2011, doesn’t it? Therefore I’m boldly predicting good things for all of us. Magical ponies for everyone. Bring it on.
Here’s my development resolutions for the coming year.
1.) When it’s ready. I’m sure I’ve been frustrating some people with my answer to the eternal question “when...
December 2011
2 posts
3 tags
Game of Marmite
I released Kick Flick HD, a game about football, in the summer of 2010 just as the World Cup was warming up. I had always wanted to make a football game, the sport being something I enjoy playing (badly) and watching (too much). Little did I know that what I was releasing was the Marmite of games: something, as the advertising for the yeast based extract is so ready to tell us, is loved and...
4 tags
Epic waste of time vol. 1: One Button Defeat
There are roads you go down in the creative process which end up unravelling and leading you to the wrong side of nowhere. I thought it might be interesting to share some of these design ideas, prototypes, images and assets to show some of the hidden work that goes into independent games development. And so I present volume one, the lost company branding known as One Button Defeat.
Note that...
November 2011
4 posts
4 tags
A bitmap font solution for games
I may have mentioned it before, but I’m not using any kind of engine or über framework such as Cocos2D or Unity. It’s not that I have anything against these libraries (in fact they probably represent the best way into iOS game development today), but when I started out on iOS, such solutions either didn’t exist, or were too early to depend on for production code.
This means...
3 tags
iPad video footage capture and editing workflow:...
Capturing and editing iPad video footage has proved troublesome. I’ve put together three short videos of Food Run on iPad so far, but the workflow I have at the moment is far from ideal, particularly in the capture department. In this two parter, I’ll show my current solution, and then in the second part, discuss some higher grade alternatives that I’m evaluating.
The current...
4 tags
Hidden areas, spikes (and more wall jumps)
Time for a new video to show the progress on Food Run. I’ve recently added hidden areas and spikes to the level design arsenal. The video also shows wall jumps in action for the first time - last time out it was just static screenshots.
Hidden areas, then. I’ve always found hidden areas fun in games. It’s great when they’re subtly hinted at rather than completely...
3 tags
The long tail
Last week I received a letter through the post forwarded from my parents’ house. I haven’t lived there for seventeen years, and the envelope was hand-written, so I was quite intrigued to see who still had my address from all that time ago.
The envelope contained an order form, and a cheque for £7.50. It was, in fact, an order for a shareware game I had written in 1994! It had been...
October 2011
8 posts
3 tags
It's competition time
As part of the company name changeover to Pixels on Toast, I’m trying to bring as many of the fans of the old Kevin Ng Games Facebook page over to the new Facebook page. This is going to be a hard job, and in fact, I’m not sure if it’s even possible. To help me achieve this, I’m running a competition.
The old Kevin Ng Games Facebook page has 443 fans. It’s highly...
3 tags
Wall jumps are go
Between setting up the new company name and website, the IGDA Scotland Edinburgh meet up and working on Food Run, it’s been a busy week! So apologies for the lack of posts. The major addition for Food Run this week is wall jumps, so I thought I’d post a screenshot and discuss the development of this feature.
Wall jumps are actually something that have been in the code since very...
2 tags
The new name
So it’s a done deal. As mentioned in a previous post, I’ve finally decided on a proper name. Over the last few days I’ve been building out the web presence, designing business cards and generally getting things ready for the change over.
Here’s the new name. Get ready!
It’s…
Pixels on Toast.
Pixels. On. Toast.
Yes, that just happened. Well, what did...
4 tags
Video: Testing the barber poles
Here’s the second development video for Food Run. This time out we’re taking a look at a new level gizmo, the barber poles. Or perhaps in a food-based game, it would be better to call them candy canes. To be decided.
Instead of showing you a typical level, I thought it would be interesting to take a video of a test level. Test levels are typically used for development and testing...
4 tags
Bad names for indie game devs
How important is your choice of name for your mobile games company? My early day thoughts were: “Not that important”. I made the rationalisation that most mobile customers probably aren’t even aware of your company name. They have bought your game because they saw it high in the charts, it had a cool icon, and it was worth a punt at 99¢. Most probably aren’t brand loyal,...
3 tags
Knowing when to pull the plug
WordCrasher was launched for iPhone in January 2010. Since its release, I’ve spent a lot of time updating it - with autosave, Retina support, Game Center, new graphics - too many bits and pieces to mention. The Mac version was released in January of this year, and was available from day one on the Mac App Store. Later in the year, WordCrasher became one of the first apps to be approved...
3 tags
Food Run first screenshots
Here are the first screenshots of Food Run, to go along with the video I posted the other day. Usual disclaimers: not finished, early work, everything may change, blah-de-blah. Two things that stand out to me as placeholder are the interface (pause button and star collection HUD element), and the background, which is not yet fully detailed.
Click to bigify!
A bit of multi-level jumping...
3 tags
First look video
YouTube direct link
Here’s a quick video first look at Food Run!
Now that I have some video to show, I can explain the gameplay in more detail. Controls are very similar to a run-forever game like Canabalt. The little food fellas run to the right automatically, and touching the screen will make them jump. Holding the touch for longer will make them jump higher and farther. Unlike...
September 2011
2 posts
2 tags
The new game
Before I start writing about the development of the new game, it would be a good idea to announce it. So here it is - “Food Run”.
2D platform games like the Mario series have long been an obsession of mine, and so Food Run is a chance to do justice to the genre on touchscreen devices, and hopefully bring some fresh ideas along too. The challenge was to create a super fun, colourful...
2 tags
Introduction
This blog is intended to be a journal of an independent video games developer. Design discussion, working practices, early assets and half broken prototypes, sordid business wranglings and some early looks at half completed games; I will be posting a mixture of content, but everything will be relevant to my daily experiences as a games developer. There may even be some code.
But first a brief...