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And here we are at day seven of seven. This is my final #render, made in #Blender, of landscapes around Africa. This particular one is (I believe) easily recognisable. Can you name the landmark? (7/7) #indiedev #gamedev #gamedevelopment https://www.instagram.com/p/B9gjz9JgnCR/?igshid=179luqqtj1hyh

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Day six of seven. Unfortunately this #render didn't quite come out exactly how I wanted, and I'll very likely redo it in future. I hope it doesn't rob from the majesty of the location. However, I really liked how the town next to the landmark looked. #Blender can really make some happy accidents. Can you name the landmark? #indiedev #gamedev #gamedevelopment https://www.instagram.com/p/B9bmSgMgoHD/?igshid=wt5zwx993z0i

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We are now at day 5. This particular #render was very nostalgic. I learned of this specific place back when I was like 10 years old, when I was going through my new Atlas back in primary school (yes I was very excited). Here we are, a few (many) years later rendered in #Blender Can you guess the landmark? (5/7) #indiedev #gamedev #gamedevelopment https://www.instagram.com/p/B9Y6zyjAXzz/?igshid=4x4jeq7zhqec

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Now at day four of seven, this particular #render might be a bit tough to figure out. I could only fit in and represent so much in #Blender. Can you name the landmark? (4/7) #indiedev #gamedev #gamedevelopment https://www.instagram.com/p/B9Wc_9BgjPC/?igshid=1ux5hjkwgs7o1

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Day 3 of 7. Still in the same country as day two's #Blender #render, and that they both had the same start a few million years back, the resultant was quite different. Can you name the landmark? (3/7) #indiedev #gamedev #gamedevelopment https://www.instagram.com/p/B9T3k7nAvsT/?igshid=15mdtfg7r9jzc

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Here is another one. Created in #Blender, this is another #render of a mighty mountain. Can you name this landmark? (2/7) #indiedev #gamedev #gamedevelopment https://www.instagram.com/p/B9Q996DgZIE/?igshid=10ycqnbqpqrot

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As I continue playing with #Blender and 3D terrain mapping, I figured I can have a bit of fun with my #renders and test your knowledge with them. Can you name the landmark? (1/7) https://www.instagram.com/p/B9OVbpwg350/?igshid=fog2ltn46yms

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Having fun with the #blender Eevee renderer #animation https://www.instagram.com/p/B8_Z_IuAmAM/?igshid=14ynj51st4b1v

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I can make a thing slide across the screen! Much #gamedev progress. Such #indiedev ness, successful #indiegame https://www.instagram.com/p/BwEbbiUFsXZ/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1xfj84jp54cd7

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Back to what I do best. Look out for more info... 😁 #indiegame #indiedev #gamedev #indiegamedev https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv4LJvSlk34/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1jfvcoz456vld

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Me: "You'd like to interview me about my #indiegame and my #indiedev passion? Aaahhh, YEAH! Sign me up!" (Disclaimer: May or may not have happened this way 😏) During this month's Kenyan #gamedev community meetup, we were asked to share a bit of info about ourselves and our work, as part of a segment covering game developers in Kenya. This is to be in an upcoming show produced by @whatsgoodstudios, so please stay tuned. It's always exciting seeing what started out as a hobby leading to greater things and also what small continuous efforts can result in 😊 (at The Twig Cowork Limited) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bni7RLAFukh/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=139ms46f7a398

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So, this is now a thing in "The Orchard". Ze permadeath mechanic has now been implemented. Have fun 😈 #indiedev #gamedev #indiegame https://www.instagram.com/p/BnbCoyjFDtV/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=nr0v66hdplh0

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Hi everyone.

I know it's been a while since I have posted anything. I had to take an unexpected break, but now I am back to work!

Looking forward to making ver 1.1 of my game "The Orchard" available for download soon!

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The Game Mixer and A MAZE Johannesburg 2017.

Hello everyone. I hope the first month of the new year went well?

So, I have been meaning to write this particular post for the longest time now, and finally I got the time (kinda) to do it. Towards the end of last year, I submitted The Orchard to A MAZE Johannesburg 2017, and it got chosen as part of the official selection of games. It was an amazing (pun not intended) feeling knowing that my game was set to stand next to awesome games such as Nidhogg 2, Isometric Epilepsy and 43 others. Unfortunately, I could not attend the event and stand next to my game during the showcase, but the organisers assured me that my work would get its own stand. Which it did :D

Now I can show off this nifty badge I made. I hope this to be the first of many more. You can read more on A MAZE by following this link.

So after that, I had pretty much believed the year was wrapped up, and that it had ended on a high note. However, a little while later, there was a call for game developers around Africa to apply to participate in a programme organised by the Goethe Instiut, Johannesburg branch. I looked over the application process and realised I did not have half the things they were asking for. Regardless I applied and to my surprise got picked to attend. You could imagine how excited I was.

The programme was The Game Mixer. This was the 3rd time it was being held. The first was in Jakarta and Bandung, Indonesia back in 2015, the second in  Sao Paulo, Brazil, 2016 and finally Johannesburg, South Africa was the next destination. You can read more on the programme here.

 In brief, I got to meet a bunch of awesome game developers, both from The Continent and beyond. It was really exciting talking shop, sharing experiences, and generally hanging out with like minded people. The games we all showed off can be viewed here.

There was lots of food and drink as well and quite a bit to see. At the end there was a “48″ hour game jam with the theme as “Sun, Escape and Food”. It was my first ever jam and I had no idea what to expect. In the end, I was kind of all over the place helping out where I could.

All in all, it was a great trip. I know people often say this, but I got to see it first hand that this is a big world with lots of different people in it.

Also the fact that my "hobby” as some people might call it, actually gave me the opportunity to travel and meet others in my field, and promises to do so much more, so long as I remain dedicated. It really gave me a much needed boost.

Now before I get all mushy, here are some of the photos as promised!

Arrival

A few shots of Rosebank, the neighbourhood in Jo’berg we would terrorise for the next 10 days with these awesome guys.

Welcome dinner

A few shots of Goethe Institut, Johannesburg with talks and presentations going on

Our studio visit to 24 Bit Games.

Introduction of the studio, and what they do.

After lots of looking around and talking we tried for a group photo...

Getting us all together for a photo is like herding cats :’D

Then finally we landed one with everyone in it.

They have an amazing break room. Personally I would never be able to get any work done...

Shenanigans ensued... 

Lunch break!

And then we met with the Robot Wizard team who showed us the game they were working on Jengo (NSFW)

It was a really fun day :)

N.B. No #gamedev s were injured during this outing.

A few shots of the private showcase...

To be continued...

(Images are not in chronological order as far as I can tell :’D)

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On to a new year!

Hello everyone!

New year, old game! Wait, does it go like that? Ah well...

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday.

Today is the day I officially get back to game development things. In order to get rid of the rust that accumulated over the break, I threw together the above poster, in addition to saying “hi” of course :D

So, despite not posting much in 2017, it was a super busy year. For starters, I bit the bullet and began releasing closed alpha builds of The Orchard for testing purposes. I’m thinking of doing a whole post regarding the closed build series of the game. We shall see.

Though it was really demanding, getting play testers to work my game over proved to be the right move as it allowed me to take advantage of new opportunities.

Thanks to having a (kinda) working build, The Orchard made the official selection of games for the AMAZE Johannesburg 2017 exhibition; a first for Broken Helmet Entertainment.

Just when I thought things couldn’t get better, and that SA was done with me, I applied and got accepted to participate in the South African Goethe-Institut organised Game Mixer Programme. The gist of it is “You want me to participate in a fully paid, 10 day trip, which will help me promote my game? Uh... YEAH!” It was awesome. However I think I’ll save the details for another post, which I will furnish with many pictures :D

Now, regarding the game testing exercise, December 2017 was supposed to see build 0.9 released with open alpha 1.0 released in early January 2018; basically around now.

That was the plan, but after getting back from the trip, the full force of my exhaustion hit me, and I knew I just had to take a break. Which I did, and that gave me the opportunity to re-organise myself, get some R&R, and basically enjoy high quality bumming, none of that “just for the weekend” nonsense.

And now I am back.

Here is to 2018.

More to follow...

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What a difference 20 months makes! Above is the Slime Rancher proof of concept with random assets. Below is our current pre-alpha build.

It’s coming along!

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I am so looking forward to this! I can’t wait to meet up with the fellow devs, talk shop and make contacts.

If you are a Kenyan game developer or are simply interested in game development, please do apply!