Well, you’ve seen the first few weeks of my prototype, coming from someone new to it. So here are the next few parts. These bring my prototype to an end … sorta. I’ll explain below.
First Prototype – Part 11 from Erik Briggs on Vimeo.
New version of Jing creates better performing videos. I still have problems with only a single joint being created, rather than many. Still has performance issues.
First Prototype – Part 12 from Erik Briggs on Vimeo.
Sometimes things don’t work the way you might think. I attempted using a patch which is supposed to cut down on excessive collissions. It definitely doesn’t work the way I expected, but the results are funny.
First Prototype – Part 13 from Erik Briggs on Vimeo.
Introducing the particles. The graphical style I have picked for the game definitely will require particles. I picked DPSF after playing with a number of particle systems for XNA. The results are fun, although it is more of a proof of concept than actually looking the way I wanted. Being a noob, I just wanted to get them in the system, so as I progress, I can start getting the style going quickly. I also added my original concept background art as well. Now it doesn’t look quite so boring.
First Prototype – Part 14 from Erik Briggs on Vimeo.
In this one, I finally fixed the camera class and the debug view of the physics engine to work properly. This was nice to finally see things the way they needed to be. The camera tracking the player (block) without going past the level was important.
First Prototype – Part 15 from Erik Briggs on Vimeo.
In this one, I added fire particles for the fire block. This is a fun milestone because it adds to the visual style I was hoping to get. This still doesn’t match the look I intended, but it is a step in the right direction. I also discover some immergent gameplay ideas that I got while playing around in my sandbox.
Nothing too spectacular there, but you can see the evolution of a game fairly well. The idea and a moving block themselves do look incredibly boring, I will admit that. For me though, since I do see the final idea (or at least a large portion of it; there is still a lot up in the air) in my head, it feels great to continually make mini-milestones.
There is a choice with progress on a prototye, however. At some point the prototype needs to either get added to the pile of prototypes (assuming you subscribe to the Experimental Gameplay train of thought), or it becomes a game. When you make the decision is up to you. I came up with a bunch of game ideas in my idea phase, and chose this one. I am new to prototyping, so I have to wonder if I really am going to make this decision. I have assumed from the get-go that this is a game that I am going to take all the way to fruition. That only means that I am not sure I even want to consider the decision, I made it already when I started making this.
So, with that, I am decided to continue on, but how does the transition go? For me, I am still using the Farseer demos framework while I continue on. At this point I still like to think I’m prototyping, but really I’m working on the game, just slowly. It’s easier to call it prototyping, because then there are no expectations or questions about the game. So, its still a prototype until I announce the name of the game, how about that? For those of you in the same boat, there can be a vague line between prototype and game, if you are working on it like I did. I am sure that there are others who will stop coding in the framework the minute they know its going to become a game, and then start from scratch, more or less, on their own game engine. I guess I’m still just a noob. The framework is like my safety blanket. I’m still busy prototyping, so mind your own business 
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Next post: The glamour of Gameplay (banging your head against the wall to get it to work right), aka the troubles I have been having.
