Archive for the ‘Misc’ Category


The Creative Process

(I started writing this as a series of tweets and realized it would be better served as a short blog post)

As I get closer to the end of development on Finger Tied, I’ve reached that point of development where there’s not a lot of fun stuff left to do. The tasks left on my list as the things that need to be done to finish the game, but none are particularly exciting. As a consequence, I’ve been thinking a lot about the process of making a game lately, and the changes in confidence levels that I experience throughout the process.

For me, my own confidence in my game ranges from those moments where I’m SURE that the game is going to be GREAT, to those where I start to wonder if ANYONE else will like it?

Yesterday, @HelloCakebread wrote up a great post  where he had a conversation with his own doubts. The post reminded me that we mostly talk about the positive in our work, and I think, keep the negative hidden away. For myself, I think I’m nervous talking about doubts because I don’t want anyone to see the flaws in my work. (Which is ridiculous because all great creative work is flawed, I think)

However, in being surrounded with only positive comments from others, it can lead us to feel like everyone else is succeeding all the time, while we struggle away wondering why it’s not as easy for us. While the truth is that at least parts of the process are a struggle for everyone…I hope. 😉

With that in mind, I thought I’d share a somewhat tongue-in-cheek diagram of how the creative process feels to me sometimes.

The Creative Process from Idea to Launch

The Creative Process from Idea to Launch

Here’s hoping I’m not the only on who feels this way. 😉

Owen


S.O.U.L. Survivor

Last weekend (May 11-13, 2012) I took part in the annual Toronto Game Jam (or TOJam). It’s an incredible three day jam that happens at George Brown College in downtown Toronto. This year there were over 400 people jamming there!

I teamed up with Matt Rix, Dan Cox, and Whitaker Trebella to make an iPad game this year. The result is a game we’re quite proud of: S.O.U.L. Survivor

S.O.U.L. Survivor Title Screen

S.O.U.L. Survivor Title Screen

The game design started as an Action RPG, but we ran out of time to do any actual levelling or progression, so the game’s just and action/adventure game, I guess. 🙂 We wrote the game at the jam using cocos2d for iPad, but we liked it enough that I spent a couple of days porting it to run on the Mac this week. So with that, we’re making this Mac build available for download so you can check it out!

You can download the build here: S.O.U.L Survivor – Mac OS X (8.3MB)

Just unzip and run the app inside. Toggle Fullscreen with CMD-F. There’s a README with instructions and story in the zip, but I’m also including them here:

S.O.U.L. Survivor Gameplay

S.O.U.L. Survivor Gameplay

S.O.U.L. Survivor
(Where “S.O.U.L.” stands for “S.O.U.L. On Unknown Lands”)

Created at TOJam “The Sevening” (www.tojam.ca) – May 11-13, 2012 in Toronto, ON, Canada

By: Team Plain Cat
Dan Cox – Art
Owen Goss – Programming
Matt Rix – Programming
Whitaker Trebella – Music and Sound

Requirements:
Mac computer running Mac OS 10.6 or higher.
Unknown hardware requirements, but they should be pretty reasonable (it runs fine on my 2008 MacBook).

Story:
You have just crash landed on an island and you are the sole survivor. Parts of your plane have been scattered across the island. You must gather the parts of your plane, then return to the crash site to fix your plane and get off the island. But be careful…the island may not be as deserted as it looked from the air…

How To Play:
Goal: Gather plane parts (marked with wrench icons on the minimap) and return to the crash site to fix your plane.

Moving: Click on a tile to move to that tile.

Attacking: Click and drag a path from your character to plan an attack path. Release the mouse button to unleash your powers.

Note: You can combine a move then attack by clicking and dragging from a tile. You will first move to that tile, then launch your attack.

Good luck!


Best Infant App Ever

Thank you to everyone who voted for Baby’s Musical Hands in the 2011 Best App Ever Awards. Baby’s Musical Hands was voted as the winner for Best Infant App for iOS! Now I get to display this icon on my site (when I update it):

You can download Baby’s Musical Hands from the App Store.

Thanks again, everyone!

Owen


Best App Ever Voting is Open!

I want to thank everyone who nominated Baby’s Musical Hands for a Best App Ever Award. The app is a finalist in two categories, for both iOS and Android! If you wouldn’t mind casting your vote once again (this time to win the award), I’d really appreciate it. That is, if you think the app is deserving, of course. 🙂 Just click the buttons below to vote:

iOS:

Vote for Baby’s Musical Hands for Best Infant App

Vote for Baby’s Musical Hands for Best Kid Distraction App

Android:

Vote for Baby’s Musical Hands for Best Infant App

Vote for Baby’s Musical Hands for Best Kid Distraction App

Thanks!
Owen


Best App Ever Nominations

As 2011 wraps up, many websites will be running their “best of 2011” lists. One of my favourites every year is the Best App Ever Awards created by the fine folks at 148Apps. This year I released Baby’s Musical Hands, both on iOS and Android. If you think the app is great, please consider adding your nomination in one, or more, of the following categories (you can do so by clicking the buttons below):

iOS:
Nominate Baby’s Musical Hands for Best Infant App

Nominate Baby’s Musical Hands for Best Kid Distraction App

Android:
Nominate Baby’s Musical Hands for Best Infant App

Nominate Baby’s Musical Hands for Best Kid Distraction App

Thanks!

Owen