Indie
Update...
2008-08-21 15:03
The excellent development platform ”Unity” now have reached
version 2.1
If you are thinking about creating games on mac and want to reach Linux,
Windows AND Mac users - then look no further. This is as good as it gets
without going broke and investing in new gaming engines and such.
And better yet, if you can code you can create in Unity!
So go get a Mac and get cracking at it - what ARE you waiting for?!
If you are thinking about creating games on mac and want to reach Linux,
Windows AND Mac users - then look no further. This is as good as it gets
without going broke and investing in new gaming engines and such.
And better yet, if you can code you can create in Unity!
So go get a Mac and get cracking at it - what ARE you waiting for?!
Condeminium
2008-08-21 14:46
Since I am now firmly planted in the ground at the
”Mac farm”
I search for good games to play nativly on MacOs.
I recently stumbeled upon this small indy house called
”Codeminium” and two of their titles had my attention
almost right away.
First out is the game ”Saqqarah” which basically defines the
genre ”puzzle”. It is highly inspired by the egyptian look and
feel. A lot of speech and animations ontop of lots and lots of
graphic effects make this gem visually very attractive.
But the gameplay is hugly well made too.
I will not go into detail to much but this is one of the best
small indy games I’ve seen (in it’s genre) in a long while.
Worth every penny of the registration fee.
Second and lastly we have the game ”Stone Loops - Jurassica”.
If you ever played Zuma or Zuma2 (or similar) you know what
kind of game this is. Like Saqqara it is highly addictive and very
nice looking. The feeling of ’one-more-level’ is very clear.
Both games have a very nice price and the the registration key
works both in the Mac and Windows version of the game.
Both games can be played on all modern macs, even the small ones.
So basically you get two games at the price of one - on two different
OS’es. This is indy development at it’s best!
Go here and registrer these right away!
I search for good games to play nativly on MacOs.
I recently stumbeled upon this small indy house called
”Codeminium” and two of their titles had my attention
almost right away.
First out is the game ”Saqqarah” which basically defines the
genre ”puzzle”. It is highly inspired by the egyptian look and
feel. A lot of speech and animations ontop of lots and lots of
graphic effects make this gem visually very attractive.
But the gameplay is hugly well made too.
I will not go into detail to much but this is one of the best
small indy games I’ve seen (in it’s genre) in a long while.
Worth every penny of the registration fee.
Second and lastly we have the game ”Stone Loops - Jurassica”.
If you ever played Zuma or Zuma2 (or similar) you know what
kind of game this is. Like Saqqara it is highly addictive and very
nice looking. The feeling of ’one-more-level’ is very clear.
Both games have a very nice price and the the registration key
works both in the Mac and Windows version of the game.
Both games can be played on all modern macs, even the small ones.
So basically you get two games at the price of one - on two different
OS’es. This is indy development at it’s best!
Go here and registrer these right away!
Tank Universal - Again!
2008-08-21 14:36
Earlier I have written (several times) about this
fantastic little indy game.
This is simply a small update to mention some of new things:
1) The game is now updated to version 1.22
2) From the 21:st of August the game can be purchased at Valves ”Steam”
3) I’ve now playtested Tank Universal in Boot Camp on my nice new iMac, and
the game runs just fine. So good news all Mac users - now you have no
reason not to buy this game, especially since you also can use Steam in Boot Camp.
All good news
Keep the ball rolling Phil!
This is simply a small update to mention some of new things:
1) The game is now updated to version 1.22
2) From the 21:st of August the game can be purchased at Valves ”Steam”
3) I’ve now playtested Tank Universal in Boot Camp on my nice new iMac, and
the game runs just fine. So good news all Mac users - now you have no
reason not to buy this game, especially since you also can use Steam in Boot Camp.
All good news
Keep the ball rolling Phil!
Atomic Cannon...
2008-05-06 13:25
On the Amiga platform there once was a super fun game
called "Scorched Earth".
It was an artillery tank game you could play with multiple human and computer
players. It was very well made and had fantastic weapons effects and it gave a
sense of wonder when you blew up your opponents.
During the years I've seen many try to redo this. Some good, others less so.
However, now I think the wait is over.
Atomic Cannon offers ALL of the fun and function of from the Amiga version.
But with nicer graphics and sound. Even a bunch of innovations too.
All in all it is a good carrier of the flag and gives great entertainment to both
old and new gamers.
You can get this excellent game in two flavours: Windows and Mac.
So go out there and get it while it's fresh!
It was an artillery tank game you could play with multiple human and computer
players. It was very well made and had fantastic weapons effects and it gave a
sense of wonder when you blew up your opponents.
During the years I've seen many try to redo this. Some good, others less so.
However, now I think the wait is over.
Atomic Cannon offers ALL of the fun and function of from the Amiga version.
But with nicer graphics and sound. Even a bunch of innovations too.
All in all it is a good carrier of the flag and gives great entertainment to both
old and new gamers.
You can get this excellent game in two flavours: Windows and Mac.
So go out there and get it while it's fresh!
Development...
2008-03-14 15:32
During a couple of days now I have been testing and
trying different types
of software which you can use to develop games (software) on your own.
Some are geared towards games only, others software in general. Some can
be called "Rapid Development Environments" and some pure game engines.
Most however are mostly frameworks with big language support of some sort.
A few of them are very OS independent. Editors in at least both windows and
MacOSX systems. Compilation and final executables in Windows, Mac and
Linux.
In general the situation is much better compared to a few years back.
If you want to build your self a career as an Indy software developer you have
all the tools you could ever want.
We are talking of titles like:
Unity
Torque 3D/2D Game making engines
Real Basic
BlitzMax
So here comes a quick rundown of them all. Good and bad and general
impressions.
We start with Unity.
To begin with this package is Mac only. Or rather the development it
self at least. When you are done with your project you can deploy it
to what ever platform you want depending on what version of the
software you have. Only the Pro version offers windows deployment.
Since this is a pure MacOsX development tool is is very nice looking.
Clear GUI and easy to use. Actually I found it to be the most promising
development tool of them al. You can even test your 3D environment
directly in the editor. Works fantastically as long as your hardware can
handle the strain.
With a huge number of tools and function you can create nearly any
type of game you want. The engine as well as the script support is
very strong and in the end only your skill and imagination will set the
limit. The online support is big and inviting and the price to buy the
regular version is quite reasonable. The Pro version however is
somewhat expensive, but all that is relative to what you your goal is.
To make money you have to spend money and it's my
impression that Unity creates HUGE value and possibilities to the
right person/organisation.
Add to that the very engaged creators of the tool. They have made
a great foundation with the website, community and many other
things to promote and educate existing as well as future customers.
If you have the money, will and skill, look no further - this is it!
Torque 2D/3D game making Engines are the clear number two in
this list. Great options in both 2D as well as 3D. Equally generous
and engaged in their software tools. Big communities and what it
seems well made software tools.
They offer tools to both pro and semi pro. Even beginners have
their part to play. The prices reflect this well and beginners will
not have to shell out very much at all to get a good head start.
These game engines are geared toward both MacOsX and Windows,
both in deployment and creation. So you are really not locked down
in any significant way.
Even if the value is one step down from Unity the greater support
to OS'es in the development mode, in combination with more
diversity to different skill levels makes the Torque engines a big
contender.
The only less good thing I can come to think of is that both the
editors and script type is clearly not as well looking or easy to understand
as the Unity tool. But other than that they are nearly equals.
On the third place comes "Real Basic", a true rapid development environment.
If you have had any experience with .NET or Visual Basic you will be right
at home in Real Basic.
A true object oriented environment that works both in windows and Mac.
The final result can exported in form of a single executable to both these
platforms. Simple, nice looking and seemingly easy.
There are plenty of examples and help file. A fairly big community to ask
questions in. The tutorials are quite many and very detailed.
Even 3D support exist through a open software library, which has to be
installed separately but comes with the installment package of the main
software tool.
One irritating thing is that the program is separated. So if you have payed
the reasonable price to both develop and deploy to Mac, you soon discover
you have to buy one more license to deploy to the windows platform.
Ok, it's not bloody expensive (75 USD) but nevertheless one annoying way of
doing things. The licenses are the same. No normal or pro version but only
double the money to be able deploying onto two different OS'es.
Except from his and the obvious confusion created by true object oriented
languages, Real Basic is an excellent tool well worth the price.
On last place comes a true work horse. A wild card if you like. BlitzMax.
The reason to place this last is not due to poor quality. This is NOT a bad
product. In many ways it offers ways of doing things that is even stronger
compared to above mentioned tools. It cover both 2D/3D gaming as well
as productivity software development. You can do whatever you want
basically.
BlitzMax is the next generation Basic dialect which started with Blitz Basic
and Blitz Basic 3D (the latter one is still one of the biggest sources of
smaller windows indie games despite only directX 8.1 support).
It is a huge step up from earlier versions of the language.
It' module based so the possibility to expand in the future are very big.
The price is also very good. Fantastic value to be honest. Buy one
version of Windows, Mac and Linux packages and you own them all.
You can both develop and deploy in three major OS platforms.
Fantastic!
But here is where it starts to go wrong.
Despite all these good things BlitzMax has a number of real let downs.
First out is the poor Ide interface. It is so poor in function as well as look
that it feels like a beta software. Compared to the many GOOD Ide
interfaces to the older Blitz Basic 3D this feels really sad.
Next out comes the documentation. The Blitz Basic series has always
been plagued by this.
But with BlitzMax this is taken to a new low.
You do not get a physical book even. The included index and command
texts are extremely minimal. And while not incorrect they have much to
few examples showing how things are connected.
It is extremely hard to a beginner to get the full picture.
A thing very important since the language is less straight forward
compared to earlier versions. This is due to the object oriented direction
the language has been given.
Ok there are communities and online documents but this is simply not
enough. Not to such a strong, big and complicated language (in part).
These two things pushes this tool down to the bottom of the heap.
The strengths simply does not matter if they are overshadowed by the
weak points.
All this is a shame. The language has huge potential becoming one
of the biggest 3D:rd party development platform under 200 USD.
But as it stands it will simply never reach critical mass. Not to the
average user.
An honorable mention goes to Blitz Basic 3D which is very much
a viable and alive development tool many years after it's
conception.
As a Windows only software in all aspects it has it's limitations.
But with BB3D you can do all kinds of software as well as
2D/3D games which do NOT look bad at all.
See my earlier text of "Tank Universal" to get one proof of this.
And to make things even better: BB3D now, thanks to good
old age, has access to good documentation, many, many examples
and super nice Ide editors, which help development in so many way.
If price and user friendliness is the way to measure BB3D
would come first to the average small user. As least as long as
OS independence does not matter.
In many ways it is actually superior to BlitzMax.
You can find this software at the same place as BlitzMax.
So there you have it. The biggest development tools out there.
There are others. But these are the strongest candidates with
good OS independence at fair prices.
With these you can do nearly whatever you want.
So go forth and multiply and do not forget you compiler
of software which you can use to develop games (software) on your own.
Some are geared towards games only, others software in general. Some can
be called "Rapid Development Environments" and some pure game engines.
Most however are mostly frameworks with big language support of some sort.
A few of them are very OS independent. Editors in at least both windows and
MacOSX systems. Compilation and final executables in Windows, Mac and
Linux.
In general the situation is much better compared to a few years back.
If you want to build your self a career as an Indy software developer you have
all the tools you could ever want.
We are talking of titles like:
Unity
Torque 3D/2D Game making engines
Real Basic
BlitzMax
So here comes a quick rundown of them all. Good and bad and general
impressions.
We start with Unity.
To begin with this package is Mac only. Or rather the development it
self at least. When you are done with your project you can deploy it
to what ever platform you want depending on what version of the
software you have. Only the Pro version offers windows deployment.
Since this is a pure MacOsX development tool is is very nice looking.
Clear GUI and easy to use. Actually I found it to be the most promising
development tool of them al. You can even test your 3D environment
directly in the editor. Works fantastically as long as your hardware can
handle the strain.
With a huge number of tools and function you can create nearly any
type of game you want. The engine as well as the script support is
very strong and in the end only your skill and imagination will set the
limit. The online support is big and inviting and the price to buy the
regular version is quite reasonable. The Pro version however is
somewhat expensive, but all that is relative to what you your goal is.
To make money you have to spend money and it's my
impression that Unity creates HUGE value and possibilities to the
right person/organisation.
Add to that the very engaged creators of the tool. They have made
a great foundation with the website, community and many other
things to promote and educate existing as well as future customers.
If you have the money, will and skill, look no further - this is it!
Torque 2D/3D game making Engines are the clear number two in
this list. Great options in both 2D as well as 3D. Equally generous
and engaged in their software tools. Big communities and what it
seems well made software tools.
They offer tools to both pro and semi pro. Even beginners have
their part to play. The prices reflect this well and beginners will
not have to shell out very much at all to get a good head start.
These game engines are geared toward both MacOsX and Windows,
both in deployment and creation. So you are really not locked down
in any significant way.
Even if the value is one step down from Unity the greater support
to OS'es in the development mode, in combination with more
diversity to different skill levels makes the Torque engines a big
contender.
The only less good thing I can come to think of is that both the
editors and script type is clearly not as well looking or easy to understand
as the Unity tool. But other than that they are nearly equals.
On the third place comes "Real Basic", a true rapid development environment.
If you have had any experience with .NET or Visual Basic you will be right
at home in Real Basic.
A true object oriented environment that works both in windows and Mac.
The final result can exported in form of a single executable to both these
platforms. Simple, nice looking and seemingly easy.
There are plenty of examples and help file. A fairly big community to ask
questions in. The tutorials are quite many and very detailed.
Even 3D support exist through a open software library, which has to be
installed separately but comes with the installment package of the main
software tool.
One irritating thing is that the program is separated. So if you have payed
the reasonable price to both develop and deploy to Mac, you soon discover
you have to buy one more license to deploy to the windows platform.
Ok, it's not bloody expensive (75 USD) but nevertheless one annoying way of
doing things. The licenses are the same. No normal or pro version but only
double the money to be able deploying onto two different OS'es.
Except from his and the obvious confusion created by true object oriented
languages, Real Basic is an excellent tool well worth the price.
On last place comes a true work horse. A wild card if you like. BlitzMax.
The reason to place this last is not due to poor quality. This is NOT a bad
product. In many ways it offers ways of doing things that is even stronger
compared to above mentioned tools. It cover both 2D/3D gaming as well
as productivity software development. You can do whatever you want
basically.
BlitzMax is the next generation Basic dialect which started with Blitz Basic
and Blitz Basic 3D (the latter one is still one of the biggest sources of
smaller windows indie games despite only directX 8.1 support).
It is a huge step up from earlier versions of the language.
It' module based so the possibility to expand in the future are very big.
The price is also very good. Fantastic value to be honest. Buy one
version of Windows, Mac and Linux packages and you own them all.
You can both develop and deploy in three major OS platforms.
Fantastic!
But here is where it starts to go wrong.
Despite all these good things BlitzMax has a number of real let downs.
First out is the poor Ide interface. It is so poor in function as well as look
that it feels like a beta software. Compared to the many GOOD Ide
interfaces to the older Blitz Basic 3D this feels really sad.
Next out comes the documentation. The Blitz Basic series has always
been plagued by this.
But with BlitzMax this is taken to a new low.
You do not get a physical book even. The included index and command
texts are extremely minimal. And while not incorrect they have much to
few examples showing how things are connected.
It is extremely hard to a beginner to get the full picture.
A thing very important since the language is less straight forward
compared to earlier versions. This is due to the object oriented direction
the language has been given.
Ok there are communities and online documents but this is simply not
enough. Not to such a strong, big and complicated language (in part).
These two things pushes this tool down to the bottom of the heap.
The strengths simply does not matter if they are overshadowed by the
weak points.
All this is a shame. The language has huge potential becoming one
of the biggest 3D:rd party development platform under 200 USD.
But as it stands it will simply never reach critical mass. Not to the
average user.
An honorable mention goes to Blitz Basic 3D which is very much
a viable and alive development tool many years after it's
conception.
As a Windows only software in all aspects it has it's limitations.
But with BB3D you can do all kinds of software as well as
2D/3D games which do NOT look bad at all.
See my earlier text of "Tank Universal" to get one proof of this.
And to make things even better: BB3D now, thanks to good
old age, has access to good documentation, many, many examples
and super nice Ide editors, which help development in so many way.
If price and user friendliness is the way to measure BB3D
would come first to the average small user. As least as long as
OS independence does not matter.
In many ways it is actually superior to BlitzMax.
You can find this software at the same place as BlitzMax.
So there you have it. The biggest development tools out there.
There are others. But these are the strongest candidates with
good OS independence at fair prices.
With these you can do nearly whatever you want.
So go forth and multiply and do not forget you compiler
Fate...
2008-02-24 14:29
Now and again you find true jewel. The indie scene
containing it's many shareware and
freeware titles is a fantastic source of these gaming gems.
A couple of years ago I stumbled upon a game called "Fate". At it's core it is a smaller
more colorful fantasy version of Diablo. Random generated levels, monsters which gives
a huge replay value. You can basically run around in these dungeons killing monsters
forever. It looks and sounds fantastic. The controls are simple without taking away choice of
tactics from the player.
Since I discovered this game both me and others have played it constantly. The thing is that
despite the fact that it's quite repetitive after the ten or twenty levels, it still manages to serve
you new cool weapons, spells, monsters and a nice increase of difficulty levels.
So for some reason you come back again and again. Like any good game should aspire to
offer.
As long as you do not install it on a windows vista system and keep away from the many mods
the stability of the software is very good.
So at a price of 1/4 of a full commercial game, you get a almost never ending fun and mayhem
until the end of time. THAT is the true wonder of indie shareware games in my book!
Home site
Wikipedia - about the game
freeware titles is a fantastic source of these gaming gems.
A couple of years ago I stumbled upon a game called "Fate". At it's core it is a smaller
more colorful fantasy version of Diablo. Random generated levels, monsters which gives
a huge replay value. You can basically run around in these dungeons killing monsters
forever. It looks and sounds fantastic. The controls are simple without taking away choice of
tactics from the player.
Since I discovered this game both me and others have played it constantly. The thing is that
despite the fact that it's quite repetitive after the ten or twenty levels, it still manages to serve
you new cool weapons, spells, monsters and a nice increase of difficulty levels.
So for some reason you come back again and again. Like any good game should aspire to
offer.
As long as you do not install it on a windows vista system and keep away from the many mods
the stability of the software is very good.
So at a price of 1/4 of a full commercial game, you get a almost never ending fun and mayhem
until the end of time. THAT is the true wonder of indie shareware games in my book!
Home site
Wikipedia - about the game
Tank Universal
2008-02-22 14:41
Since many years back I have been checking out
Blits Basic forums
around the net.
Most notably their own developer showcase forum. Now and again you see cool stuff
at that place.
Late last year I found the title "Tank Universal", which is what it sounds like.
You play a tank driver in a 3D "Tron Esque" world. The perspective is in third person
and the turret is controlled independently from the tank it self. This takes some practice
to get used to. It can be turned off so stop screaming
At the game web page you can download a demo. It's a BIG download so you better have
nice connection.
It does however not stop here. The game has not only one A-story but also a very clear
B-story. Both interlinked at special points in the game. This is also the first of several
parts, so the stories does not rely end at the end of the game.
The game it self is broken up in several levels. Some with tank, other on foot.
The goal is also different depending on the stories.
Also the physics absolutely rules! You can very much take potshots at enemies from
very long distances. And objects move when hit and from the weapons recoil. Yummy!
One thing that is VERY obvious is the beautiful environment you as a gamer take
part in. I mentioned the old classic movie "Tron" earlier. The colors are bright neon and
both particle effects as well as general 3D is brilliant. Some of the levels are so nice that
I actually forgot to defend my self.
The levels themselves are nicely made. The game balance is quite good.
Some are harder than others (much so to some). Others you transport your self from A to B.
But personally I enjoy the different types of pace you experience in the levels.
When taken in to account that this is a game title made by only ONE person,
and also created in Blitz Basic 3D (which only supports DirectX 8.1) you can
understand my excitement!
The only sad part is that it's windows only. I would have loved to run this
on my new macbook
To put it simply: this is THEE best blitz basic game I've seen so far. :-O
And it is one great indie game full stop! Worth to register no question!
So jump to the game web page (link below and in the portal link section)
and look at the terrific pictures. Download the demo, read the forum and enjoy!
Just a quick end note:
The author of the game is presently improving the game in many ways.
So hopefully a better and cooler version of this first parter comes out later this year.
Link
Most notably their own developer showcase forum. Now and again you see cool stuff
at that place.
Late last year I found the title "Tank Universal", which is what it sounds like.
You play a tank driver in a 3D "Tron Esque" world. The perspective is in third person
and the turret is controlled independently from the tank it self. This takes some practice
to get used to. It can be turned off so stop screaming
At the game web page you can download a demo. It's a BIG download so you better have
nice connection.
It does however not stop here. The game has not only one A-story but also a very clear
B-story. Both interlinked at special points in the game. This is also the first of several
parts, so the stories does not rely end at the end of the game.
The game it self is broken up in several levels. Some with tank, other on foot.
The goal is also different depending on the stories.
Also the physics absolutely rules! You can very much take potshots at enemies from
very long distances. And objects move when hit and from the weapons recoil. Yummy!
One thing that is VERY obvious is the beautiful environment you as a gamer take
part in. I mentioned the old classic movie "Tron" earlier. The colors are bright neon and
both particle effects as well as general 3D is brilliant. Some of the levels are so nice that
I actually forgot to defend my self.
The levels themselves are nicely made. The game balance is quite good.
Some are harder than others (much so to some). Others you transport your self from A to B.
But personally I enjoy the different types of pace you experience in the levels.
When taken in to account that this is a game title made by only ONE person,
and also created in Blitz Basic 3D (which only supports DirectX 8.1) you can
understand my excitement!
The only sad part is that it's windows only. I would have loved to run this
on my new macbook
To put it simply: this is THEE best blitz basic game I've seen so far. :-O
And it is one great indie game full stop! Worth to register no question!
So jump to the game web page (link below and in the portal link section)
and look at the terrific pictures. Download the demo, read the forum and enjoy!
Just a quick end note:
The author of the game is presently improving the game in many ways.
So hopefully a better and cooler version of this first parter comes out later this year.
Link