Wednesday, October 25, 2017

Source Code Releases!

Hello once again everyone! I'm back for one more quick update, because I found the time to make those changes to some of my #1GAM games the I mentioned in my previous post. Specifically, I wanted to release all the games I made as free/open source software! Today I'm pleased to announce that I manged to update all the games that it was possible to do that on!

The games that I released as free software are my December 2015 #1GAM game Torso Ninja, my February 2016 #1GAM game Plitka, my March 2016 #1GAM game Keyro: Arena Lockdown, and my May 2016 #1GAM game Torso Ninja II! All those links will lead to GiHub repos that contain the source of the games. Grab copies for yourselves if you'd like!

On a secondary note, I want to discuss the reasons why I didn't release certain ones of my #1GAM games as free software. Here are the reasons by game as follows:

1. Cargo: January 2016 #1GAM game - This game was made with the Construct Classic engine, and though that engine is technically free software, I was not able to release Cargo as free software because I unfortunately lost all the data files in a hard drive crash this past summer.

2. SKRMSH: April 2016 #1GAM game - This game is already released into the public domain, and the source is already available here on my blog. The source code is in the format of an image file of course :)

3. Star Fall: June 2016 #1GAM game - Star Fall survived my hard drive crash, but the images included in the game were not made by me. I decided against releasing this game as free software for this reason.

4. RUNNERMAN: July 2016 #1GAM game - This game also did not survive my hard drive crash.

5. Chroma Road: August 2016 #1GAM game - This game was also lost to the hard drive crash. I probably am most disappointed by losing this one :(

6. Tic-Tac-25: September 2016 #1GAM game - This game was lost to the hard drive crash as well.

7. Annotated Rock Paper Scissors: October 2016 #1GAM game - This game is also already available in source code format. Check out this post for a download!

9. Corridor: November 2016 #1GAM game - This game is made with RPG Maker VX Ace, so I am not at liberty to release it as free software.

As you can see, most of these games were lost to a hard disk crash. This was actually a major impetus for my release of these games in source code format (along with my personal opinion that it is the right thing to do). Backup your data kids!

So that's about it! See you when I see you!

Sunday, October 22, 2017

Surprise Update




Wow! Has it really been nearly a year since I last posted here? Time sure flies! Though I doubt very seriously that anyone still checks this blog, I thought it was time for a little update on how things have been going for me these past few many months :) So here it is: a summary of my life's events for the past 11-or-so months!




This about sums it up, to be honest.


Those of you who read my last blog post probably saw where I mentioned that I was going to have a go at being a professional indie game developer at the start of this year. Well, unfortunately, that prospect fell through. I worked hard for several months to develop a game, and though I made much progress, it simply wasn't meant to be. I came to the realization that I could probably earn more money working a minimum wage job than what I could expect to see from the sales of my game. Coupled with the grueling schedule sapping all the enjoyment out of the game dev experience, and this was enough to dissuade me from becoming too invested in indie development as a solo career. I had a lot of fun with the #1GAM challenge, but fun was sorely lacking from the experience of making my commercial game. With no fun on the horizon, I looked to economics, and was disappointed by what I found. I thought I had prepared myself for the reality of being a game dev, the long, thankless hours, the lack of monetary rewards, the isolation, but I was wrong. I failed utterly. To all the legit solo indie devs out there, you all are better than me :)


Right around the time I abandoned my indie game dev ideas, I decided to try another goofy dream I've had for years: being a YouTuber! I never really took the prospect of making YouTube videos for a living seriously, but I decided to try it anyway. Unfortunately, literally days after I started my channel, YouTube decided to create an extremely steep barrier to entry for newcomers hoping to earn a living on their platform. I continued to make videos for fun for a while, and I really did enjoy it, but that too eventually fell through.


However, it was around the time that I was forced to accept that I would never be a Game Grump that an amazing opportunity sort of fell into my lap: a chance to go and work at a startup, right here in my own backyard, that was on the cutting edge of emergent technology. Specifically, I would be working on blockchain technology and related concepts, such as cryptocurrency trading and distributed databasing. I was excited to say the least! That's how I became associated with Procryptix, a software development house that is focused on blockchain tech. Its a wild new distributed world out there, and we at Procryptix are blazing the trail of the future, one block at a time!


It has been a crazy year for me, but I have not stopped being passionate about game development, even if my career is taking me in a different direction. Recently, I have been looking back on my #1GAM games. That's what led me to revisit this blog and make this post, to give any potential readers an update on what has been going on with me. I still hope to make and release games (as a hobby) in the future. Suffice it to say, I may be dormant in this area, but I am not dead :)


So there you have it! I don't know when or if I will update this blog again. There are some changes I would like to make to some of the games I released last year. Maybe at some point I'll get around to that.


Until next time! Good luck with whatever may come your way!