sidebetsol

[sidebetsol]

Use the Source, Luke

I want to make a video game for PC/Desktop in less than 160h. So far I’ve spent 7h horsing around with game engines and various experiments, and I’ve decided that my game will be about a ninja operating a pasta restaurant.

I registered a domain (pastaninja.com) and made a simple website running on AWS, with a button linked to an email address that is hosted on Zoho. I’ll expand my online presence later. 

My game doesn’t exist yet but I have quite a bit of code already: some html, some experiments in JavaScritp (Phaser), some stuff with Unity and Unreal, a few tests in Python with Panda3d, pygame and Pyglet. It’s all stored on my desktop computer, a magnificent beast that i built myself from parts and that runs on Fedora Linux.

My files are not stored on a single disk (I use LVM) but I could still lose everything if the hardware gets damage or stolen. Plus if I keep making changes I may want to rollback. In other words, I need to use source control for my code, and ideally I want to host my code repo somewhere in the cloud so it doesn’t disappear if something happens to my computer.

I could use github, but I spent a couple minutes looking at the subscription options and I have no idea what most of the items mean. Package storage? Actions? Dude, I just want to do “git clone” and “git push” once in a while, I don’t want to learn a proprietary platform, and I don’t plan on having collaborators. Pass.

So for now I’ll stick with AWS CodeCommit. Once I figured out how to set the git options it’s somewhat easy to use and it's free for up to 10,000 git operations per month. That should be plenty :-)

I’ll just use one repo for now and put everything in there: the code for my website, my experiments, all of it. While I’m at it I’ll go the extra mile and schedule a weekly backup for the entire volume on my hard drive where I put the stuff for this project. That way if I forget to commit some files they’ll be in the backup. I don’t need a special backup app, I already configured S3 when I worked on my website so I’ll just use that. I know that on AWS there’s a backup tier for S3 (Glacier) but I’m not sure how it works, and since S3 is already dirt cheap it’s not worth spending more time on that.

[sidebetsol]

Choosing a game engine

I want to make a video game for PC/desktop in less than 160h. It’s a game about a ninja operating a pasta restaurant alone.

I could write the whole thing from scratch (I'm comfortable with many programming languages) but I have a limited time budget, and there are problems that are just not worth solving all over again. I want to use a game engine to kickstart my project.

The two big dogs in the PC market are Unreal and Unity. It’d be hard to argue that some terrific games have been built with those game engines, and they both have affordable pricing/licensing options. However after spending some time with both, I realized that just learning how to use the game engine would eat a big chunk of my time budget.

Also I prefer to work on Linux (I particularly like Fedora) so I don’t want to use .Net, and I don’t have the patience to start coding in C++ or things like Rust. I’d rather avoid Java and all the cool languages that make me feel dumb, like Clojure or Haskell or whatever.

I want something cross-platform that is easy to code, that leaves three options: Go, JavaScript and Python. 

Python would be ideal, because it’s easy and could allow me to focus on the gameplay rather than on the code. I never really considered it seriously before, because it’s interpreted and I don’t see how this could be easily packaged to run on any computer. 

But out of curiosity I do a quick web search and realize that a Python program can be converted to a binary format that runs natively on Windows or Linux. That’s awesome! I don’t expect that it will perform as well as a Go or C++ app, but I’m not writing a flight simulator or a 3D FPS, I just want to make a game about a ninja that struggles to serve pasta to impatient customers.

I’ve done a few experiments with Python game engines; there’s a few of them and they all look good. In the end I decided to go with Pyglet, at least for this first release. Maybe if the game ends up really cool I can rewrite it later using a professional game engine, once I’ve nailed the game mechanics and all that stuff.

That’s decided! The Pasta ninja version 1.0 will be written in Python using Pyglet as a framework.

[sidebetsol]

Custom email

I want to make a video game in 160h or less. I already spent a few hours goofing around with various options (game engines, etc.) so I have 156h left.

My game will be about a ninja operating alone a busy pasta restaurant. I bought the domain pastaninja.com and uploaded a static website using AWS S3. Now I want an email address so I can start getting messages from future fans, or link social medias and similar things.

I don’t want a free email thing. I hate ads, and there’s just too many restrictions. I want a decent but cheap email provider that will allow me to have as many email address aliases as I want and that will handle spam.

The top dog in that game is Office365. For $5/month I can get the Cadillac of email hosting, plus some space on OneDrive and a bunch of other tools I don’t need. Thing is, I already use Office365 for work with two different clients (on their accounts) and it’s always a pain to switch between profiles. I don’t want to deal with that.

Another popular choice is Google, I think it’s called G Suite. I tried it in the past and I wasn’t thrilled. It’s not as advanced as Office365, and I personally prefer to organize my inbox rather than search. I don’t need Google Docs or the other tools.

Recently I’ve discovered another email provider: Zoho. Unlike Google or Microsoft, it’s an Indian company, which I find kinda cool. I gave it a try and I was impressed with the email hosting options. So let’s go with Zoho for this one.

The first step is to add a domain to my Zoho email control panel. Essentially I’m going to add records in my DNS zone hosted on AWS (for $0.50/month, which annoys me) using whatever values the Zoho wizard gives me. 

Once the domain is configured, I’ll configure two security options: SPF and DKIM. Without getting into too much details, those options are additional records that I created in my AWS Route 53 zone, and they will prevent spammers from sending emails using my email address. That’s easy to do with the Zoho wizard, and in the control panel I can even see warnings if those options are not enabled.

Now that the email address works, I’ll updated my website (which is hosted in a S3 bucket) and replace the hyperlink in the “tell me more” button with a mailto link. It’s not ideal (when people click it will open their email app) but I don’t want to deal with a contact form just yet. I’ll do that later, maybe using mailchimp or some other provider.

[sidebetsol]

Web presence

I want to make a video game in 160h or less. I already picked the market (PC/desktop) and I have a vague idea of the gameplay: a ninja that operates  a pasta restaurant alone. 

I registered the domain “pastaninja.com” with AWS. Now I want a website, even if it’s really minimal, so I can start building the online presence for my game even though I haven’t even written a single line of code yet.

I don’t want to make it complicated. I just wanted something that somewhat relates to pasta and ninjas and I want it online in less than 10 minutes.

What I’ll need:

- a single HTML page. I could find a template, do some fancy design, etc. But it’s not necessary. I can look at very basic Bootstrap examples and get my index.html page done in a couple minutes. A catchy title, maybe a “tell me more” button that I’ll tie to my email address. 

- a pasta background photo. I can find something pasta related on pixabay.com or unsplash.com. This means I need to add CSS stuff in my index.html, so I might as well create a stylesheet and link it. I’ll apply the photo background CSS rules on the body tag.

- a cartoonish ninja. I can find one on pixabay.com and position it somewhere on my web page using a div with absolute positioning. That’s just a few more lines in the HTML and CSS files. I won’t use that specific ninja in my game but it’s a start.

- web hosting: I don’t want to deal with web servers or web hosts. I can use AWS S3 directly, it’s easy and dirt cheap. Instructions to host a static website on S3 are easy to find. Create a bucket, upload my files, enable website hosting, apply permissions. Easy.

- things I’ll skip for now: SSL, web analytics, SEO. I’ll deal with all that at some point, but it’s low in the list of priorities.

Time to create that website!

[sidebetsol]

First, branding

I want to make a video game for PC/desktop in 160h, and the game will be about a ninja that tries to operate a pasta restaurant alone.

Game name: the pasta ninja. 

I don’t have one line of code written, not one pixel of art done, I don’t even know exactly how I’ll make the game. But as they say, it’s best to dig a well before you’re thirsty so as a first step I’ll nail down the branding and web presence.

Step 1: domain name. Let’s go with “pastaninja.com”. I’ll use AWS to register the domain name. It’s cheap ($12/year) and it will be easy to host a website using other AWS services. 

Step 2: DNS. When I register the domain AWS will automatically host the DNS stuff. It works okay (done it before) but they’ll charge me $0.50/month for that privilege. It’s not my favorite setup but I don’t want to deal with DNS servers for now, I have too much work on important parts of the project. 

Let’s get that domain before someone else reserves it!

[sidebetsol]

Refining the game idea

I want to make a video game in 160h, for the PC/desktop market. It will be some kind of RPG/simulator, with a simple gameplay. 

I was thinking about a fast-food simulator, where the player controls on what task the character should focus (taking orders, cooking or handing out food). But today I had an epiphany: why not take it to the next level, and make it a pasta restaurant?

The character would have to take orders, maintain a reasonable volume of pasta and sauce, and carry food to tables. And there could be the occasional disruption like a customer wanting more bread. 

To make it more fun, why not pick an unlikely character? Like, for instance... a ninja! That could be funny, and the game name is easy: the pasta ninja. Hopefully neither the Italian nor Japanese communities will feel that this is cultural appropriation.

Let’s roll the dice and go with the pasta ninja!

[sidebetsol]

Gameplay

I want to make a video game in 160h or less, for the PC/desktop market. Something like a mini Stardew Valley but not on a farm.

For some reason I like delayed reactions. A while ago I read about an experiment someone did; they put people in control of a meat locker. Participants had to keep the temperature in a specific range otherwise the meat went bad. Their only control was a button that either increased or decreased the temperature, but with a catch - it took 5 min to take effect and couldn’t be cancelled. At first most people were doing fine, but as the temperature started to fluctuate, they started to overreact more and more to their own actions. Temperature going down? OMG, +1. Now it’s getting too high, OMG -1 -1 -1. And so forth.

I think that kind of thing would make a terrific game. The player controls a character and has to respond to conflicting priorities. For instance it could be an employee in a fast-food restaurant who, for some reason, has to do everything. There’s people waiting to place an order, there’s a cooking plate where stuff will burn if left unattended for too long, and there’s the area where orders are handed over to customers.

It wouldn’t have to be complicated to be entertaining and challenging. The player could simply decide on which task the character should focus: taking orders, cooking, or handing out food. The challenge would be to juggle with the three tasks, knowing that switching to a different task has a productivity penalty since the character has to move.

Let’s do that. A simple fast food restaurant simulator, where the player only decides what the single employee should work on. There’s probably a billion similar games already but mine will be better!

[sidebetsol]

What kind of game?

I want to make a video game for the desktop market, and I want to make it in 160h or less. What kind of game should I pick?

I don’t think I’ll have enough time to get terrific game design skills for this first game, so things that require hardcore physics like shooters, VR, racing or flight simulators are out. Music games also. Action/combat is also too ambitious.

Platformers are out too, because I personally don’t like them. Puzzles can be fun but would probably take too much design time. Same with world-builders.

That leaves RPG and casual simulators, like Stardew Valley or even an adventure like the good old Space Quest.

So let’s do that. An open-ended RPG/simulator, like Stardew Valley, but smaller and not on a farm.

[sidebetsol]

Choosing a game platform

I want to make my own video game. Now I have to pick the platform. 

There’s mobile. I looked into it, and almost instantly I was turned off by the whole Apple ecosystem. That’s where the money is on mobile - iPhone users spend more  - but I really don’t like working on a Mac and the whole App Store submission process seems like a big ordeal. So I looked at Android, and after installing the development studio I knew it wasn’t for me either. That leaves me with things like writing a game using HTML5 and JavaScript and converting it using Cordova or Capacitor. That sounds time-consuming.

Why not a browser game? There are fantastic game frameworks for JavaScript, like Phaser. I gave it a try, and it’s really nice. The built-in physics are great, the programming model is easy to grasp. I could totally see myself writing a game using Phaser and JavaScript. I always liked the idea of “micro-gaming” (a term I made up) - the kind of game one can play in the waiting line at Starbucks or on an elevator ride. A game optimized for short sessions (less than 5 min), offline friendly, cloud sync, etc. But how do you make money with this kind of thing? Ads? A “Donate” button that generates a $3 revenue on occasion? Pass.

That leaves the two big markets: game consoles and desktop. Already I liked that idea better. Serious gamers are on PC, there’s Steam, there’s Gog, it looks like a great ecosystem. And if I have a game working properly on a desktop, the path to a game console is not that daunting.

So that’s it. my first game will target the desktop market.

[sidebetsol]

The video game project

Lately I’ve been thinking about making a video game. 

I kinda tried in the past. I started to look at game engines, gaming platforms, relevant programming languages, etc. And quickly I got lost, and the project fizzled out (like so many other projects before).

But every time that I fire up Stardew Valley to check my crops and cut down a few trees, I ask myself the same thing: could I make this? 

I can code in many programming languages. I have good computers and access to cloud computing. I have a few game ideas. And I have some free time.

So there we go. I’m going to make a video game, and finish it by Halloween, working part time, up to 20h/week. That’s 160h total. It will be as good as I can possibly make it.

Starting now!