After over a decade working on other people's projects I have finally begun working on a new game of my own conception and design. I thought it would be interesting for people to see what obstacles I come up against, how I'm approaching things and what I learn along the way, so I have started doing some development logs over on my trusty old blog. I'll like them here in case anybody here is interested:
Devlog 1 - Assessment of the situation and initial thoughts (https://ben304.blogspot.com/2024/09/devlog-1.html)
Devlog 2 - Very first steps of writing code and trying to prototype design ideas (https://ben304.blogspot.com/2024/09/devlog-2.html)
Devlog 3 - Relearning how to use the AGS editor. (https://ben304.blogspot.com/2024/10/devlog-3.html)
Devlog 4 - AGS is my friend again (https://ben304.blogspot.com/2024/10/devlog-4-ags-is-my-friend-again.html)
Devlog 5 - Getting it right. (https://ben304.blogspot.com/2024/10/devlog-5-getting-it-right.html)
Devlog 6 - Occam's Razer (https://ben304.blogspot.com/2024/10/devlog-6-occams-razer.html)
Devlog 7 - Late to the party (https://ben304.blogspot.com/2024/11/devlog-7-late-to-party.html)
Devlog 8 - Putting it to the test. (https://ben304.blogspot.com/2024/11/devlog-8-putting-it-to-test.html)
Devlog 9 - Taking direction. (https://ben304.blogspot.com/2024/11/devlog-9-taking-direction.html)
Devlog 10 - Progress, again. (https://ben304.blogspot.com/2024/11/devlog-10-progress-again.html)
Devlog 11 - Systems! (https://ben304.blogspot.com/2024/11/devlog-11-systems.html)
Devlog 12 - Dynamics (https://ben304.blogspot.com/2024/12/devlog-12-dynamics.html)
Devlog 13 - Nobody will ever grasp exactly how much effort I have put into getting the tiniest things feeling good. (https://ben304.blogspot.com/2024/12/devlog-13-nobody-will-ever-grasp.html)
Great news, I wish you all the best for your new game.
I've moved the AGS coding discussions to the technical boards to keep this thread about your devlog and game development: https://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/beginners-technical-questions/getting-up-to-date-with-ags/
Thank you cat, I have updated my blog post to point to the new thread!
Ooh, I really enjoy reading devlogs for games and your past blog post have always been very interesting and insightful to read. Definitely looking forward to following this journey. And best of luck to you in rediscovering the joys and challenges of AGS!
Thank you Hobo! I am curious to see how the process goes, and I get the feeling that eventually my posts will be "Yes, I am still working on the game, yes it still has a long way to go", but I am enjoying the process of recording the journey so far. Thanks for following along! :)
Nice! I was reading the entrys today, and it's interesting to see all the things you must to affort to get into the gamemaking. Do you plan to share in details some parts of the development? I mean, animation process, concept art, programming examples, etc. I'm interesed to see (when the time's come) how do you keep everything organized (dialog trees, dependency charts, sprites, etc), which tools do you going to use to do that and how, your workflow.
Yes, I will probably talk about most of it, if that interests people! I already have a post here (https://ben304.blogspot.com/2022/02/process-breakdown-using-3d-as-base-for.html) where I talk about some of the process of painting a scene while incorporating 3D. I think I've done many process posts over the years but most of these are probably outdated and I don't remember where I put what. But yes, I will share what I can, what tools I used and how as it's relevant to do so!
As for concept art, I even shared some at the top of my post today (https://ben304.blogspot.com/2024/10/devlog-5-getting-it-right.html)!
Just commenting to say that I am reading it along. Interesting stuff, please keep writing! :)
I'm glad to hear it! And if you see me post any code with poor formatting then I'd gladly welcome any suggestions to correct it.
Mod note: I split off the scripting discussion and moved it here (https://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/advanced-technical-forum/ags4-best-scripting-practices-ben304-devlog-case/)
Cool!
It looks like you are able to do some advanced effects in this engine.
And I didn't know blogspot was still around. :D
Yes, my old blog from forever ago is still working! I know it's kind of basic but it does exactly what I need, so I still use it.
As for advanced effects, I'm a bit reluctant to think of them in those terms, especially with some of the things engines like Unity and Unreal and Godot will give you out of the box. But I am enjoying fiddling about with AGS and seeing what I can generate at runtime, especially after 10 years of everything having to be pre-rendered because I'm doing graphics for the games but rarely ever writing any modules or anything, which always limits what one can do and how interactive a thing can be.
This week's post is up (https://ben304.blogspot.com/2024/12/devlog-13-nobody-will-ever-grasp.html) too, in which I mostly just state the obvious a lot!