Developments

Another uneventful day, yesterday.
I say "uneventful", but what I actually mean is that someone on Twitter ((URL "https://twitter.com/ashervo">@AsherVo)) suggested I try out a new game on iOS, and damn...
Addictive!?

Yesterday I tweeted that Blockman Worlds isn't doing too well, at which point I got bombarded by people telling me that they've played it, and how I oughta give it time to spread.
Yeah, probably..
Thing is, though, I'm finding myself comparing it to Future Classics..

I usually try my best to come up with unique or interesting takes on existing games. Taking things in new directions, like Blockman which definitely isn't Pacman, or TetriPong which clumped together two completely different games.
Occasionally, though, it's nice to sit back, relax, and make a crazy lazy clone of something, just like everyone else.
<img src="https://AGameAWeek.com/complete/Every_Good_Bird_Deserves_Flappyness_20140318A_thumb.png"> <img src="https://AGameAWeek.com/complet...

Welcome to the Top 13 AGameAWeek Games of 2013
No other Top-10 lists appear to want to give any of my games any recognition at all, which kinda sucks since I've made a whole bunch of REALLY great games, this year! I don't even get a token "Made a shitload of games, this year" mention!
Sucks!!
So, sod them all, I'll make my own Top-10 list.

<img src="https://socoder.net/AGAWGold_128.png" style="float:right;"> AGameAWeek Gold peeks back at games I've released on this day in history.
Sometimes they're great, Occasionally they're terrible, but usually they're odd.
There are some games that you can pick up, tweak a little thing, and end up with a much different sort of game.
Pacman->Blockman is a great example of this sort of mechanic-tweaking.
Other times, however, there's not really a whole lot you can do to a ga...

<img src="https://socoder.net/AGAWGold_256.png" style="float:right;">Before I'd decided on the "Blockman Gets" mechanic, I tried many a different thing with him.
First, there was the Platform engine, where he had to run around and gather up the tiny blocklets. That worked nicely!
After that I tried a "Pengo" approach, but he didn't seem happy pushing things around, so that never actually got uploaded anywhere.
After that, I decided to go old-skool, and made a bog standard Pacman clo...

Even a (URL "https://AGameAWeek.com/2012/08/home-again-home-again-jiggity-jig/">Brain Tumor) can't stop me from achieving 12 games in 2012!!!
True, I'd've much preferred to have done AGameAWeek for the entire year, but.. meh.. whatever!
(stupid tumor! hmpf)

January

1. (URL "https://AGameAWeek.com/2012/01/rooty-tooty-shooty/">Rooty Tooty Shooty) - Garbage

We're getting back into the swing of things, now!
Here's a quickly remake of a game I did a long while ago as Nintendo DS homebrew. The basic idea was that you take a classic arcade game, and rework it so that it fits the logic and rules of a slot machine. Worked out nicely, and the DS edition ended up with 6 of these games to play, along with a nice "score to unlock" mechanic.
This is merely the Pacman edition.
If its popular, I might add some more, but if I'm honest, Id rat...

54 games. Last year I only managed about 30-odd, so I think that's pretty good going.
Sure, it might not have truely actually been A Game "Per" Week, but I did at least keep the ratio up.
If I hadn't taken the time out to build the framework, I probably would've actually achieved the target a little better
The stats show I was pretty much on top of things up until that point, but then things got slower and slower until my buffer zone was all dried up.
Anyhoo, this is a n...

A classic Blockman game, in the style he was meant to be in! Sure, he looks great doing his whole "Pacman maze, but hungry" thing, but this is the style he made his name in, so it seems only fitting that this would be where he finds his Mario Costume.
And not just once. He can find it over and over again!
<a href="https://AGameAWeek.com/complete/Blockman_in_a_Mario_Costume_20100330A.png"><img src="https://AGameAWeek.com/complete/Blockman_in_a_Mario_Costume_20100330A_thumb.png"><...

Ever since I came up with this whole MAR10 Costume idea, I've had three games in mind.
1. Ted Bob was a great game, and needed an update. By making it More Mario, I could easily add extra bits into the mix.
Job done, turned out nicely.
2. "Monsters Upside Your Head" played bizarrely, but nicely! Redoing that in DK style seemed obvious, but didn't quite turn out exactly as expected.

<a href="https://socoder.net/uploads/1/argh.png"><img src="https://socoder.net/uploads/1/argh_thumb.png" style="float:right"></a>
Because there may or may not have been resulting copyright issues, I've left this post on the backburner until the magazine went off the shop shelves. Usually I'd happily scan in a bit of a page if my games are mentioned, but this time it's a whole entire page, and that's a completely different kettle of fish. (Although, to be fair, I'...

Sometimes you have really productive days.
Occasionally, though, those really productive days seem to drag on and on, and not actually produce much at all!
Here's what I've done today.
1. We're up to 5 skins, since I added a plain rock+lava one.

<a href="https://socoder.net/uploads/1/KingPelLittsTomb.png"><img src="https://socoder.net/uploads/1/KingPelLittsTomb_thumb.png"></a>
Poor Blockman, all alone in a gigantic maze.
If only there were a way to zoom into the action..

I got the basic slot machine reels working.
A couple of nice functions. 1 to fill them up, 1 to draw them.
Nudges work, Holds work.
Everything vaguely important works..

And so another week trundles by.
I had hoped to finish off the ever elusive games, this week, (the RPG and the Patent Wars), but that doesn't appear to be happening at all.
Oh well.
If they happen, they happen. If not, carry on.

This week's Wednesday Workshop suggests we should make a Pacman game.
I've already done "Blockman Forever" this year, so I'm going to avoid retreading old ground.
Instead I'm going the Puzzle route.
Already I've got a lovely little set of graphics going, and am obviously reusing Blockman because.. .. well, why not!!!

The big-ass catalogue is now up to 68 games, and I've reached a bit of a stumbling block.
If you search for (URL "https://AGameAWeek.com/GameList.php?Find=multiple+games">"multiple games"), you'll find a few games that have more than one internal game.
Today I'm tweaking the engine so that it counts each of those seperately inside the nice ever growing total.
I wasn't going to do that, at first, but then I came across Platdude's Retro Collection, and decided to do it.
It'd be a sh...

The AGameAWeek 2008-2009 Retrospective

(URL "https://www.agameaweek.com/2009/08/agameaweek-2008-2009-part-one/">Part One), (URL "https://www.agameaweek.com/2009/08/agameaweek-2008-2009-part-two/">Part Two), (URL "https://www.agameaweek.com/2009/08/agameaweek-2008-2009-part-three/">Part Three), (URL "https://www.agameaweek.com/2009/08/agameaweek-2008-2009-part-four/">Part Four), (URL "https://www.agameaweek.com/2009/08/agameaweek-2008-2009-part-five/">Part Five)

The Home Str...

The AGameAWeek 2008-2009 Retrospective

(URL "https://www.agameaweek.com/2009/08/agameaweek-2008-2009-part-one/">Part One), (URL "https://www.agameaweek.com/2009/08/agameaweek-2008-2009-part-two/">Part Two), (URL "https://www.agameaweek.com/2009/08/agameaweek-2008-2009-part-three/">Part Three), (URL "https://www.agameaweek.com/2009/08/agameaweek-2008-2009-part-four/">Part Four), (URL "https://www.agameaweek.com/2009/08/agameaweek-2008-2009-part-five/">Part Five)

10 weeks, 3 ...