Thursday 8th of October 2009 01:46:19 PM
Name : Nam
Idea : May I suggest a "Tower of Druaga" mode for Arcade Slots?

It's been a long while since I played inside the Arcade Slots source.
If I remember rightly, there was some odd little issue in the code that made adding more stuff a little difficult. Can't remember entirely.
Who knows..

I do remember trying to come up with drastically different gameplay styles for each game, so that the player wouldn't just get bored. Not sure if that worked or not, though.

Meanwhile, there's a PC version that I intended to create, but never really bothered to do.
I wonder if now is the right time to start that?

I'll leave it up to the comments section.
Have a good natter in the comments, and try to come up with as many Game -> Slot combinations as you can.
I'll also have a good think over the next day or so, and we'll all come together to see what comes out of it.

Windows or DS? Who knows!

..
In fact, given my collection, I could just create a JNKSlots, with entirely JNK based characters...

*incase you're wondering, there's no weekly mailbag anymore, because there's nothing being posted into the suggestion box. .. unless you count all the spam!

The last time we tried Munky Blocks we had 1 munky and many blocks. Munky had to collect the blocks, piece them together to form coloured areas, and blammo, they vanished.
This time, we only have one block.
Munky needs to pick up that block, and place it on top of the red button, to open up the red exit, and then he can leave.
A simple enough concept, but one that took so long to build I didn't really have time to build a decent set of levels.
A shame.

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Munky's Block is graphically coming along nicely, but unfortunately I've yet to actually start making levels.

So far it's all been "Niceness" stuff, and as a result things are lacking a bit.

Probably should've stuck to the blocky background like last time.
Oh well, no matter.

With only one day remaining, I'll be spending tomorrow messing around with the blocks, and trying to come up with some nice puzzle, and if I've some time adding music into the mix.
I should probably add a level editor, too, but that'd be horribly rushed at this stage, so you might have to start ascii-tweaking to do any form of editing!

Make sure you've got notepad on standby!

And wish me luck!!

Ok, let's try that Munky thing again, shall we!?

I've scrapped the "Portal" style stuff, and am instead focusing on a Munky Blocks styled affair.
Munky's Block seems an apt title, so we'll stick with that.

Currently I have only 1 setpiece, and 1 silly simple test level.
Woo!


But the engine's up and running, and Munky's hopping around about the same as he did in the last game. So, yeah, things are definitely coming together.

My biggest challenge over the next couple of days will be to try and come up with a batch of complex puzzles to keep you entertained.
And then add a batch of setpieces, and maybe add a level editor if I get time.
But otherwise, it's a good start.

Same game, different system.
I started working on the Munky Portal thing this week, but it didn't really happen.
A shame.
No matter, because it gave me just enough time to remake Blockman Gets and pop it onto the DS.



(Note, those are two different levels! Screenshots are single-screen so that they fit in the archive better!!)

I've removed the boulder. It didn't do enough, apparently, so now there's a ghost in there.
It just kinda wanders aimlessly but it's enough to put you off doing what you're doing.

Hurray!

So, if you've got a DS, you can Download Blockman Gets DS here, give it a whirl, and then complain about all the missing features!


AGAW Ratio, 8 weeks, 8 games, 6 PC, 1 DS, 1 J2ME.
Not bad! (But if I were one up, I could take a week off!!)

I think that's everything!!

hmmm..

I added the last (earliest!) stuff into the archive today, and I think I've pretty much done all the PC stuff, now.


JNK Fruit


JNK Car


Green's 8-bit Tiny Collection

And a few more, besides...

Other than now having a kick ass PC collection, it amazingly brings us up to OVER 250 GAMES!!!
250!! WTF!?!
Heck, it's nearly up to 300!

And more stuff is yet to come!

I've got DS games to add, those should be easy.

I've stumbled across my old MS Windows Smartphone games, and have NO IDEA how to emulate those!

I've also got a few DarkBasic games that refuse to run.. I think we'll call those a lost cause. Blitz games from the exact same time are still quite happy to run. You want a good reason to use Blitz.. There it is, right there!


Then after that, it's time to get the Amiga going, probably buy it a new Mouse and then try to transfer things over.
Boy, that's going to take a while!

..
Don't worry, we'll hit 300!

I've tried to come up with an interesting gameplay method, but nothing's immediately apparent.
I've still got a couple of ideas to try, but with only a day and a bit left to try it, it's not worth trying it now.

So, what else?
Well, I've not done a DS game for a while, let's try that.
And what better game to try than Blockman Gets!

Tuesday's release will be exactly that.
Nothing special, nothing magical, just a port of last week's game onto a different system.

In fact, whilst still on the subject of Blockman Gets, I might even take next week to build up a few extra chunks to both games.
I'll get this week's port up to about the same as the PC one, then kick 'em both up a notch until they're both a wee bit chunkier.

That's the plan..
Not sure whether it's a good plan, but it's a plan either way!

Friday 25th of September 2009 12:15:21 AM
Name : Thunderskull 4024
Idea : Sokoban-like game with hex-based grid.

OK, first off, not really sure what all the loving of Hexagons is about, but the word Hex is in the suggestion bag about 20-odd times!
People appear to really like Hexagons!
The Hexagonal Maze is in the archive. It's a half assed game, but I like it.

Sokoban kinda needs specific controls, since you have to be able to move exactly where you want to, when you need to..

Unless I make the controls something like this, then it's going to be hard to control.
And even then, it's still going to be hard to control!


So, probably not.
If I can come up with something, I will do.
Onto the next thought.
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Simple enough idea, not sure why it's not happened sooner.

There's a handful of little t-shirts online right now, and I'll be adding plenty more as time goes on.
And, maybe not just T-Shirts!!

Any requests?

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.

Instead I started a whole new game on Friday morning.


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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!!!

A few mazes are set up, ready to go, as well as the first of the neat little puzzle mechanics...
I'm now trying to come up with a nice batch of extra puzzle elements that I can add into the mix.


OMG!WTF!NO GHOSTS!!

Should probably be done over the weekend, with a final day to play around with the game and balance it all out.

I'm quite happy with this week's game!

No doubt some sort of really nasty bug will spring up out of nowhere, and destroy all the lovely work I've done!

Having done the DS and Windows editions of JNKSokoban and since the shooty game wasn't really happening, I figured, what the hey, might as well do a phone Sokoban, too.

(hmm.. I never did release the DS one, did I!?)

So, here's the phone one..

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Trying to add puzzle elements into a shoot-em-up never seems to work out as well as the idea in your head.
I should know that by now!
And yet, this week, that's what I tried to do.


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Tuesday 15th of September 2009 03:07:08 PM
Name : redmoth
Idea : invent a new gambling/casino game

A few years ago (2004!!) I created Kasino Green. It was supposed to sit alongside StringyThings (a nice collection of Word games), and be a similarly nice collection of Casino games.


Database Linkage! Go download it!
Thing is, after I added Generic Slots, Blackjack, Poker and a rubbish bingo/lotto/whatever game, I really didn't have anything else to add!

I'd already run out of ideas.

If you play it now, you'll see that it really could be a wee bit better. Although I have managed to make it look nice and swoosy, the interface just ends up slow and annoying.
Must do better.

And so, what the hey, let's do that.
If you'd like to suggest a game for a nice new shiny version of Kasino Green, shove it below and I'll see what I can do.

Awww..

I was thinking of doing some sort of fruit machine thing, but I didn't really have any kind of plan for it, so it didn't really get off the ground.
Poor thing.

Maybe this week for that?
Or the RPG!
Oops, forgot about that!
It's getting the Patent Wars treatment!Read More

I'm sat here at 11pm on Sunday night, trying to think of a game for Tuesday.
It's not happening..

I've spent all week long adding games to the archive. That's to say, I've spent all week playing all my old games, and having a whale of a time..
I guess that has a disadvantage, being that I haven't coded jack all, all week.
Oh well.
We can miss one, right?

Just means I need to make up for it next week.
Can't have the ratio dropping!

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I managed to get the Archive up to 100 games.
Counting subgames it's all the way up to 126! woot!

That's games from May 2006 up to now.
Not a bad count, but certainly not AGameAWeek.

I've overhauled the look of the Archive (which is now going by the less temporary title of "The Jayenkai Archive") so it's now a little more readable if the images don't load.

Other than that, though, it's the same as before.
You can look here to check out which games have recently been added.

Mmmm... Abandoned Super Mario Land game....
...
Mmmmmmm....

The big-ass catalogue is now up to 68 games, and I've reached a bit of a stumbling block.

If you search for "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 shame to have PRC counted as only 1 game when it so obviously contains around 20 or so different little games inside it. Pacman, Space Invaders, Asteroids, and a whole bunch more would all be confined to one single little slot.
What's the point in that!?

So, new feature is currently being worked on, and PRC will be added to the list shortly.
Meanwhile I figured I might as well carry on adding to the list, and as a result, RPG is again being put off.

Add to that the fact that Beatles Rock Band oughta be posted through my door yesterday, I'm on imminent-new-game-stand-by mode.. So, not really getting much work done

Oh well!

This week's AGameAWeek can be the catalogue, right?!
Let's pretend I haven't launched it yet, and make a bigger deal over it on Tuesday!!

If you've been keeping track, you'll have probably noticed an ever increasing number in the folders of my games.

These are the weeks of the Wednesday Workshop, and as you trace through my games, you'll see a whole lot of matches between the WW and the game's basic idea.
WW is fantastic for ideas, but sometimes things don't quite work out.

Take this image, from a basic engine, all the way back in week #142.. (That's 76 weeks ago!)
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I was struggling to come up with an interesting game, this week, when my Mum decided to show me her latest highscore on Yahtzee.
..
Pling!
New idea!

So, I stuck the dice into a grid, and called it YBox.



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