Troy GilbertGamedev 2.0

Okay, so I’ve been terrible about working on the Single-Player Project, i.e. my XGDX and IGF game. To be painfully honest: I’ve been lazy. But, to avoid embarassment in front of my peers, I will now enter the infamous crunch mode and churn this baby out.

To give a bit of status on where things stand: I’m working on the game framework that will be the basis for the game. I have done some prototypes of some aspects of the game already: world renderer, artwork drafts. I have done some extensive (for me) designs on paper for the actual gameplay. I’m on the road right now (Meltdown), but will scan and upload these once I return home.

The game framework I’m working on is called Sandbox. I hope to outfit it with the basics for graphics, events, task scheduling, pack file loading, video mode configuration, input devices, audio, etc. Once it is a bit further along I’ll post some design specs on it. I’ll also probably put it up online so that anyone else who wants to take a peek can. There’s nothing special in there, just all the boilerplate stuff any Windows game needs.

A colleague pointed out to me today how easy it is to integrate Lua into a game engine. I’ve always heard that, and figured it wasn’t too bad, but was really suprised to see how very easy it is. In fact, it inspired me to add it the Sandbox as well. Should be a nice little framework.

Okay, here’s the XGDX Proposal. Please don’t take the “auteur” part too seriously. I’m still trying to figure out how to best word the final title. I’ve shifted more toward “lone wolf” as opposed to “auteur,” it seems to have a (slightly) less presumptious sound to it.

A. Topic

Single-Player: Is Auteur Game Development Possible?

B. Abstract of Presentation

You can’t open an issue of Game Developer or sit in on a GDC roundtable without hearing the inevitable pounding of the drums: game development is becoming ever more complex; budgets are surpassing $10 million; teams have grown beyond the 100 people. Many see this growth as our industry’s inevitability, much alike our brethren in the film industry before us. A few, though, have peaked out from the hidden corners of weblogs and back-page editorials and asked, “Where is our independent market? Where have all of our garage developers gone?”

This presentation seeks to either prove or disprove the notion of the garage developer, or more appropriately, the auteur game developer. Given today’s technology in digital video, things such as prosumer cameras and desktop NLEs, it is possible for a single individual to author a complete film, much in the same way a novel has a single author. There’s no reason that games cannot enjoy the same advantages, particularly given the capabilities of today’s middleware and desktop content creation tools.

The race begins May 1st. The finish line is September 1st, the entry deadline for the Independent Games Festival. Four months with a staff of one working part-time. The goal is to prove definitively that a quality, professional game is possible under even the most limited conditions.

The XGDX session will serve as the official postmortem: What went right, what went wrong, what got done and what didn’t. The session will delve into what limits existed because of the minimal staff, limited production skills, and shortened development schedule. Additionally, the project will be tracked over the four months on a regularly updated website. The whole of the project will be out in the open for all to see, for better or for worse.

C. Target Audience

Anyone and everyone attending XGDX would be interested. In particular, the project will strike a chord with game designers and programmers. Being primarily a postmortem, the skill level expected would generally be beginner to advanced.

If you haven’t seen it, check out Indie Game Jam. Definitely owe these guys a lot of inspiration. Perhaps one day I’ll be invited to participate. Until then, I’ll be running my one man jam with Single-Player.

This year’s technology was a super sweet 2D physics simulator. Very fun to play with. Casey Muratori and Ryan Ellis’ hamster game was particularly fun, as was Jonathan Blow’s spiders.

Let’s dive in headfirst. First milestone: May 1. What’s due: initial game design including concept art and engineering task list.

I’ll post the XGDX proposal I submitted soon.

Well, that was certainly quick. Yesterday I submitted a session proposal for XGDX and this morning I received my “acceptance” letter. So, here’s the lowdown on Single-Player:

On May 1, I will begin work on a game. I have until September 1 to finish it. That’s the deadline for the 2005 Independent Games Festival. That’s four months to take a game from idea to gold master. Just little old me working part-time.

What’s the point? To examine the process of auteur game development. Design, programming, art and music, all produced by a single individual. How much can be accomplished? What genres can realisticly be tackled? What are the limitations and what are the advantages?

The XGDX session will be the post mortem for the project, October 9-10. Watch this space until then to be continually updated on the status of the project.

I’ll be starting a new project soon. It’s the “Single-Player Project” and I’ll hopefully be able to reveal more details over the next month. Part of the project will involve the Independent Games Festival. While I was involved as a judge last year, I plan on entering this year. The submission deadline is September 1.

In a closely related announcement, the XGDX (eXtreme Game Developer’s Expo) will be October 9 & 10. Today is the deadline for session proposals.

So, yeah, welcome to TroyGilbert.com, just like the title says. Watch this space as an interesting project is coming soon. What’s that project you may ask? I don’t know, but I bet it’s related to games…