The blog of Noel. http://www.drazzke.com/blog rBlog Copyright 2009 As some of you may know, I've been diving into the world of Flash, using Chevy Ray's great Flash Punk Library, which I've already wrote several tutorials on.   Anyways, I recently finished my first flash game a few weeks ago, called Pixel Runner 2, which is basically a sequel to one of my games from 2008, Pixel Runner. If you're interested in playing it, you can do so on Kongregate, or here on my site.   Since then, I've also started work on a new flash game with my brother, called Can't Swim which is essentially a platformer about a guy who can't swim, and has to escape the climbing water, by reaching the door (later to be replaced by a floating barrel). Currently all the sprites are place holders, until Liam redoes them later.Play Can't Swim. Give it a try. Any feedback is welcome. Cheers,Noel.  http://www.drazzke.com/blog/index.php?page=blog&id=19 http://www.drazzke.com/blog/index.php?page=blog&id=19 Thu, 04 Mar 2010 17:36:46 MST   Hey everyone. AndyWiltshire and I have been working on a game for the last few weeks (2, I guess), for the gamejolt competition. It's not actually done yet, as there are a fair amount of bugs I have to fix (going to recode the engine. It got a bit messy after we kept adding more and more features), but this demo should give you a pretty good idea of how the final game will work. I'm pretty pleased with it over all.   You can check it out here: http://gamejolt.com/freeware/games/platformer/no-pants-pedro-in-under-plunder/1458/ http://www.drazzke.com/blog/index.php?page=blog&id=18 http://www.drazzke.com/blog/index.php?page=blog&id=18 Mon, 25 Jan 2010 09:05:52 MST I updated the site today/yesterday, including the blog design. I simplified it even more, and cleaned it up a bit. I also uploaded all of my games (that are worth playing) on the games page.   I'm going to be releasing a few new games within the week, and also hope to update the rBlog engine for all of you who are using it.   That's it for now. Hopefully I'll be a bit more active with my blog posts :) http://www.drazzke.com/blog/index.php?page=blog&id=17 http://www.drazzke.com/blog/index.php?page=blog&id=17 Sun, 24 Jan 2010 14:05:45 MST Yesterday I decided to try out the newly released Flash Punk, an AS3/Flash Library created by Chevy Ray. I had previously made games in AS3, and also had tried out Flixel. I never really went very far with either.. AS3 was too frustrating for me, and too complicated much of the time. Flixel, though much better, still  didn't do quite what I wanted.   However, even after 2 days of using Flash Punk, I realized that it's just want I want when developing flash games. It's easy to learn, organized, and does everything I need it to do, from drawing sprites, to doing nice collisions with walls. I'm still experimenting, but you can definitely expect to see a few games in the future using this library and flash. I'm really enjoying it. I already created a small platform engine.   I also spent the last 2 and a half hours writing a tutorial on how to create a platform game in Flash Punk, which can be found here.   I'm really too tired to type anymore.. soo, that's it. Good night. http://www.drazzke.com/blog/index.php?page=blog&id=16 http://www.drazzke.com/blog/index.php?page=blog&id=16 Sun, 10 Jan 2010 00:59:41 MST I've been working on a new game the last few days for the YYGs competition entry. Still going to finish EggLegg, but after the competition is over.   Over The Edge is a game similar to one that I made 3 years ago, called BlasterBall. BlasterBall was never really finished, though it did contain about 10 levels, and lots of obstacles. The original BlasterBall     I always felt that the game was reasonably fun, except looking back I realize I didn't really understand how to make a game work well.   So, when the YYGs competition came around, I thought it was a good time to try and recreate this old game, into something completely new.   You can download a version of the game here. It only has 10 levels at the moment, and there are a few bugs, but most things are in working order. The goal is to get to the finish line in each level. Oh, and the "I.H.A.N.I. Corporation" stands for "I Have Absolutely No Idea Corporation". I'm not sure if that will be included in the final version. It's kind of weird.   Controls... Arrow keys to move.. X to start level, and X to restart a level (in some levels, you will probably need to restart). Also note that any scores/time runs saved in the game will not be saved after you close it. Finally, only the first 10 levels work. I would play them in the correct order as well... :P   And.. I think that's it. ANY feedback would be greatly appreciated. http://www.drazzke.com/blog/index.php?page=blog&id=15 http://www.drazzke.com/blog/index.php?page=blog&id=15 Fri, 01 Jan 2010 11:30:32 MST Happy new year everyone. 2009 is gone, and 2010 has come. I still think of the 80s as 20 years ago, and the 90s as 10 years ago, but I suppose that's a bit off now, more then ever.   2009 had a lot of great stuff in it. For me, GameCOG was released and developed considerably, more then I ever imagined it would. I also made a few games here and there, and learned a lot more about the independent game scene in general. I'm sure for all of us 2009 also had it's draw backs. My 2 year old dog died this year, after being hit by a car, GameCOG still needs a lot of work and has a lot of issues, I still have another year and a half of highschool...   But, the good and the bad, 2009 was pretty nice, and I think 2010 will be even more exciting and fun (though, I'm sure that gets said every year :P ).   Cheers. http://www.drazzke.com/blog/index.php?page=blog&id=14 http://www.drazzke.com/blog/index.php?page=blog&id=14 Fri, 01 Jan 2010 01:16:23 MST I recently downloaded and bought Game Maker 8, and wanted to try out some of the new features. So, I thought I'd make a little game using .png support, and a few other nice features GM 8 provides. This project turned into EggLegg. I decided I wanted to make this game using photoshop graphics, rather then my usual pixel art. I've got some practice in this style of art, through my drawing and constant messing around with the program, so I was quite pleased with the way the game is coming out, visually. I'm not a great pixel artist, but I seem to be able to make these high res graphics (well, kinda high res) relatively well.   I don't have enough for a demo, so here's some screenshots ;) (click for full size)   Oh, and, to those who celebrate it, Merry Christmas. I'm not Christian (Atheist), but my family does celebrate Christmas to an extent. http://www.drazzke.com/blog/index.php?page=blog&id=13 http://www.drazzke.com/blog/index.php?page=blog&id=13 Thu, 24 Dec 2009 23:23:53 MST I made some website designs today/yesterday. The two first ones are designs for just a strait out portfolio of my website stuff, mainly so people can easily see what I have done, as I have had a few people talk to me about potentially hiring me to do some website work. The last one is the new design for the rBlog engine (which I almost have V0.2.5 ready for release) anyways, to the designs..   The last design there wouldn't actually be used as the default design for people who download rBlog, but instead the design for the site where people go to download it. http://www.drazzke.com/blog/index.php?page=blog&id=12 http://www.drazzke.com/blog/index.php?page=blog&id=12 Mon, 21 Dec 2009 19:46:28 MST Random blog post. But I'm curious. What version of Windows do you use?Windows 2000 and Less | Windows XP | Windows Vista | Windows 7 http://www.drazzke.com/blog/index.php?page=blog&id=11 http://www.drazzke.com/blog/index.php?page=blog&id=11 Thu, 17 Dec 2009 18:58:54 MST I played Blueberry Garden today. I bought it a few months back, but my old computer was unable to run it, so I thought that, since I have a new computer now, I should give this game a play.   And I'm really glad I did.   Blueberry Garden, at first look, seems like a little exploration platformer.. Nothing special. When I started playing, I wasn't expecting much, and wasn't really interested in exploring around. But, I started anyways. After wandering around for a long time (maybe half an hour), and collecting big objects (apples, top hats, and the like), I realized that the water, which at the start of the game is really low, was actually starting to rise. I had skipped the intro, where it shows a large tap being turned on. It wasn't until i played again that I realized that you were playing as some sort of gliding bird, that was being drowned in a garden. Anyways, eventually the water got high enough that I did drown, for good. You can drown an endless amount of time without getting a game over, as long as your pile of objects is higher then the water. Otherwise, you die for good.   I was a little shocked at first. I had spent 30 minutes exploration the world with this little bird guy, and he drowned. The music just added to it. I didn't feel depressed, but I felt I should play again, and see if I could save him. It sounds a little silly, but the game really has some cool emotional stuff in there. I wanted to save the little bird from drowning in his garden.   I still haven't, but I'm going to keep trying. I little tip if you play, try eating all the different fruits. They give you special powers or change things.   Anyways, Blueberry garden is a really great little game. At first, a bit dull, but when you're gliding around trying to find high land to save the top hatted bird, it really gets interesting. http://www.drazzke.com/blog/index.php?page=blog&id=10 http://www.drazzke.com/blog/index.php?page=blog&id=10 Tue, 15 Dec 2009 19:40:42 MST In all honesty, I'm rather disapointed with my entry. I only got about 5 hours to work on it in the end, and that made things rather rushed. Still, it's playable and somewhat interesting, so give it a try. Should only take 10 minutes to beat (assuming you die a few times).   http://www.ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-16/?action=rate&uid=1527 http://www.drazzke.com/blog/index.php?page=blog&id=9 http://www.drazzke.com/blog/index.php?page=blog&id=9 Sun, 13 Dec 2009 20:22:51 MST   I've been posting blog entries too frequently. Oh well.   Ludum Dare is hosting another competition that starts in just a few hours! For those of you that have no idea what Ludum Dare is, it's a competition where you just have 48 hours to build a game based on the chosen theme. After the competition ends, the voting begins and the winner is later announced. Lots of fun.   I'm definitely going to enter. I need inspiration, so 48 hours and a theme should hopefully get me in that game making mood again. Don't expect anything spectacular from me, but definitely expect something. The competition starts at about 9:00 PM for me, so I should actually be able to get a bit done on Friday, and then have all Saturday+Sunday to finish it up.   Anyone else planning on entering? Has anyone entered before? http://www.drazzke.com/blog/index.php?page=blog&id=8 http://www.drazzke.com/blog/index.php?page=blog&id=8 Fri, 11 Dec 2009 12:20:06 MST Have you ever been in one of those moods where you want to make a game, but really have no inspiration what so ever? You have all these slight ideas, but nothing really comes to mind and stands out amongst the dozens of other bits and peices. I'm in one of those moods. I could always go and make some sort of platformer, but to be honest I feel like I've made too many of those. I want to make a fast paced something. A shmup or something. Maybe. If I had a good idea.   I go in and out of these moods every few months. Sometimes I have several ideas, too many to work with, and I make 3 games in just a few weeks (though usually they're unfinished), and then other times, like now, I can't think of anything.   Anyone else ever get this loss of inspiration, but you still really want to make something? http://www.drazzke.com/blog/index.php?page=blog&id=7 http://www.drazzke.com/blog/index.php?page=blog&id=7 Thu, 10 Dec 2009 15:47:58 MST I recently heard about the Gamma 4 competition that is being held at Tigsource. I'm not completely sure what it's all about, but it sounds pretty cool.   You have to create a game. A game with a single button. And the game has to be creative an original.   I think one button games are pretty cool, and of course the perfect example of a one button game is the recently released Canabalt by Adam Atomic. I may enter the competition, altough according to the rules (link above) the game will be using the xbox controller. You can submit .exe's and .app (for mac), but I'm not quite sure how you'd sync it with the xbox controller's "A" button. Nonetheless, if you can submit .exe's, you could probably make a game in Game Maker if you figured out the control scheme properly.   I'd like love to enter, and it LOOKS like I have the whole winter to do so (unsure of the submission date)...   ... I just need a game idea...   ... I'm sure it will come.   Anyone else planning on entering?   Also, for those interested, here's an article on 1 button games. I haven't read it yet, but it looks good.    ------------------------------------------------------ Some news... according to this blog, the xbox 360 button "A" is recognized by a PC as generic joystick button "1", in which case yes, you could enter a GM game, I do believe. http://www.drazzke.com/blog/index.php?page=blog&id=6 http://www.drazzke.com/blog/index.php?page=blog&id=6 Tue, 08 Dec 2009 19:13:44 MST Feng Shui Zombies is a game that myself and AndyWiltshire are working on, with the support and feedback of the GameCOG Community. Andy is making all the graphics and doing the main designing of the game, and I'm programming the game in AS3 (and possibly Flixel), and also helping out with the design of the game The game is about a housewife who's lovely house is suddenly under attack by a hoard of zombies. You have to move objects around your house to try to block out the zombies for as long as you can. You can also use a few weapons, such as a rolling pin, broom, etc, to decapitate and kill the zombies that happen to break through your defence of furniture. Currently, we don't have too much done on the game, but the overal game loop/design is in place, and you can check it out here. Any advice, support, comments, etc, on the game are greatly appreciated. We basically want as much feedback as possible, and try to get the game really community oriented.   Cheers! http://www.drazzke.com/blog/index.php?page=blog&id=5 http://www.drazzke.com/blog/index.php?page=blog&id=5 Mon, 07 Dec 2009 18:00:58 MST I was bored last night, and thought I would go check out what was new that I could get on my Wii. I found a demo for Bit.Trip.Beat, and the interesting title and screenshots made me download it and give it a spin. I quickly got caught up in the game, and when the demo ended, I had to go buy myself the game for 600 wii points. Bit.Trip.Beat is a really simple game. It's like old Pong game. You move your paddle or board up and down on the screen, and bounce the balls that come at you back. However, the game has a lot more depth then a simple pong game, and I had a hard time putting it down. At first the game is relatively slow, with a ball coming at you every few seconds that you have to bounce back. Over time, things start to speed up, and all of a sudden your moving the wii mote all over the place trying to hit every ball. The balls also don't just come at you from a strait angle. Some move in circular motions, other squiqqle around, some come to a total stop before moving sideways and then at you again. You can usualy tell what a ball is going to do by it's colour. If you miss too many balls, you'll go into a "Nether" state, in which the whole game turns black and white. In the nether state, if you miss too many balls, before you hit back enough balls, you get a game over and have to restart. The game features three levels which you can unlock after beat the previous ones, when you play you can also get power ups like double paddles, or occasionally a smaller paddle (where you can score more points for bouncing balls back, since they're harder to hit). Graphically, the game is really well done. Though the background gets distracting (I think that's the goal) I like the simple graphics over the high res effects floating around be hind the game. Cool idea. Lastly, the sound. The sound really makes this game special. As you hit balls back, they make a sound, and though there is a beat played behind them, you can tell the creators spent a lot of time making the balls be played in time with the music, and the end result is really cool. It makes you want to hit all the balls so you don't get a flat muted sound that occurs when you miss one.   Overall, this game is really well done, and I look forward to playing their other games (2 of which are already out on the wiiware). This game isn't for everybody, and can be pretty difficult, but I really enjoyed it.   Check out a youtube video of it in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6cjZF7m6fU http://www.drazzke.com/blog/index.php?page=blog&id=4 http://www.drazzke.com/blog/index.php?page=blog&id=4 Sun, 06 Dec 2009 15:51:51 MST Hey, and welcome to my new website. I still have to add the games back in, but will do that shortly. I also set up rBlog with my site, as you can probably see. Hopefully I'll keep it updated on a regular basis (like I've said with all my blogs). I'm going to guess people will like this design less then my last one, but I was getting tired of it and the small width that it had.. so, a new one was needed.   Anyways... yup. http://www.drazzke.com/blog/index.php?page=blog&id=3 http://www.drazzke.com/blog/index.php?page=blog&id=3 Sun, 06 Dec 2009 11:43:31 MST [Brought over from last blog]   I thought it was about time to post my adventures with AS3. As most of you know (if you follow my blog), I've recently started to mess around with AS3 using Flash Develop. I first started over a month ago, but had to stop for almost 3 weeks while I was away on a trip. However, throughout the last week I've picked it up again, and started making my little flash shooter, found here. AS3 is a really interesting language. It first reminded me of C#, as the syntax scheme is similar, and the way things are run are also similar. I don't know all that much C#, so I couldn't go into very much depth as to what is similar, but the basic layout of the code seemed similar. Anyways, it really didn't take me very long to pick up the basics of AS3. I had a running platformer with pixel perfect collisions within the first 4 days. I think this is due to the fact that I've been programming in Game Maker for over 3 years, and messing around with other languages such as C#, VB.NET and PHP. If AS3 was my first language, I can tell you right now I probably would have stopped dead in my tracks and quit programming the first day. Not to say AS3 is extremely hard. From a programmers perspective it's relatively easy. But, in comparison to Game Maker, it's a lot more difficult to work with. Some things that bothered me right away was the fact that when a child of an object is destroyed, some of its events aren't destroyed with it. If you think about it in terms of Game Maker, say you have an object that then destroy's another object. When that instance is destroyed, its step event doesn't necessarily stop. So, in the case of my shooter game, it caused very weird bugs when the game was restarted, enemies were killed, etc. The only way to fix this problem is to make sure you destroy the "ENTER_FRAME" event (along with all the other possibly interfering events). Game Maker has rooms, where you can place objects of certain types. When you're done with that room, you can simply switch to a new one, without a single problem. AS3, however, does not have rooms. It basically just has one stage, and you have to create and remove objects appropriately to build each part of the game (be it a menu, a level, or a highscore table). I've come to build objects for each part of the game I want. One sets everything up, another acts as the menu, another as the main game control. The Menu then adds more objects when it's created (such as the title, or the menu buttons). Once it is removed, all of its child objects are removed with it. So, it takes a little bit of getting used to, switching from Game Maker to AS3. (Not to say I'm stopping development with GM - I'm certainly not! I really like it). They both have their ups and downs, but Game Maker is definitely easier to use. hmm.. thats all I have to say about AS3 at the moment. Cheers. http://www.drazzke.com/blog/index.php?page=blog&id=2 http://www.drazzke.com/blog/index.php?page=blog&id=2 Sun, 06 Dec 2009 11:43:07 MST