How do you get better at game development? The answer is the same as how you get better at anything you do. Practice. So I've decided that I'm going to make games more often. I generally try to participate in every Browser-Based gaming competition I come across in order to get some practice. However, I rarely succeed in getting my entry in on time. This is usually because I start late because I'm busy with school work, or because I'm just plain lazy, or because I spent more time thinking about what to put in the game, than implementing what I'd already decided. One of the games that I did finish, I submitted after the deadline, but luckily, it was accepted, and added to the list of games submitted.
The deadline was 13:00 CEST, 13th September, but since the manager of the JS13KGames competition, end33r, still had a list of games already submitted left to approve, I got lucky, and slipped into the queue.
I thought about participating in the Ludum Dare challenge (multiple times), but I had a knack of missing the announcement, and then finding out too late to manage to finish a game. I never finished a lot of the games I started making for these competitions, but the competition ending shouldn't stop me from completing them. I want to make games regularly, like @Jayenkai does every week, but I don't think I have the time. So, now, I'm going to make a game each month. No matter how silly, how simple, I'll make one every single month. (Don't take my word for it. :P)
The current competition that I'm participating in and (mostly) failing to complete my game for in time (as usual), is the Github Game Off. For this one, I'm making a clone of a game called Tiny Wings, which is popular enough to have its own Wikipedia page! The game looks pretty cool and is quite fun, so I'd definitely recommend it if you've never played it before. It's iOS only; you can get it on iTunes. With a game being this famous, of course there are clones for Android, but I don't think they're as visually appealing or even as fun. One of these clones is called Dragon Fly, in case anyone wants to give it a shot.
So, back to my problems. Since November is almost over, my first monthly game starts in December. I'm going to grant myself the liberty to complete this Tiny Wings clone by the end of December instead of making a new game entirely from scratch. You can see how far I've gotten with the game and pester me to finish it on Twitter. This should be fun.
All the games I make will be available on my Github. I'd encourage all aspiring game developers to do this, since it seems like a fun way to improve (if you have all the time in the world, like I do). If you do decide to do this, show it off!
Swarm by @AmaanC js13kgames.com/entries/swarm/
— js13kGames (@js13kGames) September 13, 2012
The deadline was 13:00 CEST, 13th September, but since the manager of the JS13KGames competition, end33r, still had a list of games already submitted left to approve, I got lucky, and slipped into the queue.
I thought about participating in the Ludum Dare challenge (multiple times), but I had a knack of missing the announcement, and then finding out too late to manage to finish a game. I never finished a lot of the games I started making for these competitions, but the competition ending shouldn't stop me from completing them. I want to make games regularly, like @Jayenkai does every week, but I don't think I have the time. So, now, I'm going to make a game each month. No matter how silly, how simple, I'll make one every single month. (Don't take my word for it. :P)
The current competition that I'm participating in and (mostly) failing to complete my game for in time (as usual), is the Github Game Off. For this one, I'm making a clone of a game called Tiny Wings, which is popular enough to have its own Wikipedia page! The game looks pretty cool and is quite fun, so I'd definitely recommend it if you've never played it before. It's iOS only; you can get it on iTunes. With a game being this famous, of course there are clones for Android, but I don't think they're as visually appealing or even as fun. One of these clones is called Dragon Fly, in case anyone wants to give it a shot.
So, back to my problems. Since November is almost over, my first monthly game starts in December. I'm going to grant myself the liberty to complete this Tiny Wings clone by the end of December instead of making a new game entirely from scratch. You can see how far I've gotten with the game and pester me to finish it on Twitter. This should be fun.
All the games I make will be available on my Github. I'd encourage all aspiring game developers to do this, since it seems like a fun way to improve (if you have all the time in the world, like I do). If you do decide to do this, show it off!
