OpenGL Tutorials

Now on Github!
Also a link on the sidebar —>

Yeah, it’s not much, but I’m posting it anyway.

There are more classes in the source for later tutorials if you want to try and understand my code.

HeroesGrave

Coming Soon: OpenGL Tutorials

I’m working on some OpenGL tutorials that focus on different aspects of rendering based on ‘pure’ LWJGL.

Things I plan to cover:

• Creating and Adjusting the Display (should be better when LWJGL 3.0 is released)
• Immediate Mode (for beginners)
• Vertex Arrays (on the way to learning VBOs)
• Vertex Buffer Objects
• Textures
• Shaders
• Frame Buffers

And other miscellaneous parts of OpenGL that are important to game graphics.

The first part (on Immediate mode) will be out soon.

HeroesGrave

Guardian II Tutorial Levels

I think I finally made up my mind on combining the tutorials with the story.

Hopefully it doesn’t get in the way of people who already understand how to play.

I’ve decided to spread the tutorial out, paying particular attention to each new concept, and to make sure that there is no wall of text.

I’ll post again shortly once I get the first part of the tutorial ready.
Okay, I got sidetracked on something else. Will post regarding this soon.

Also, I will try and put up more screenshots. I realise it’s been a while since people could actually see the game.

HeroesGrave

Updated Links for Games

Just a short notice:

On the games page, you may have noticed the ones unavailable for download had no link, even though there were forum threads about them.
I have added links to the threads for the games that aren’t downloadable.

In other news:

I have done a bit of work on the menu system, and now have customizable menus for each level. This means I can have short stories or dialogue related to the level, or custom options for the player to choose for each level (eg: do you want knights or archers?)

After some of the feedback, I also deleted all the tutorial levels, so I can combine the tutorials with the actual storyline, reducing the amount of text the player has to read.

Oh, and the goblins stole some crossbows from the castle armoury.
Beware the goblin shooters. They are extremely deadly in large numbers. DO NOT, I REPEAT DO NOT HIT THEM AND LET THEM ESCAPE! This switches their AI into hit & run mode, and since goblins are fast, a small group can easily take out a fresh warrior.

No screenshots/animations today, as I’m too lazy/busy. (Busy because of Guardian II, Lazy because I can’t be bothered creating the GIFs)

Anyway, There are still a few testing positions available. PM me on TIGSource Forums (Username: HeroesGrave) if you want to test.
For current testers: A new build will be coming out soon.

HeroesGrave

Guardian is now Open-Source

Download

Note that only the source is open-source. The art is not. If you want to redistribute, make your own art. If you really want the original art to redistribute, you need permission from me.

contact.heroesgrave@gmail.com

Please be sensible/moral/legal with the source. There is some info in the README.

Please note that this code is BAD. With a capital E. There are lots of ways to improve it. So don’t rely on this code in any situation.

If you want to set it up as a project, you may have a bit of trouble. I can’t help right now as I’m busy with Guardian II. For now you may just have to read the code etc.

Happy hacking.

HeroesGrave

Guardian II ready for first set of levels

Okay, I got back to work on Guardian II.

Firstly, the Paladin:

I have done several Paladins before with my previous styles of pixel/programmer art, but this is by far the most epic looking.

Secondly, I got custom coloured sky/clouds to help the atmosphere of later levels.

Thirdly, I got sick of having to hack around in the save files to skip the tutorials whenever I reset the save and instead added a skip tutorial option.

Finally, and most importantly, I am about to start work on the first chain of levels. I’ll post some design drawings soon.

Still to be worked on, but not for a while:

- Guilds to upgrade unit skills.
- Forge to upgrade unit equipment.
- SPECIAL ATTACKS!

HeroesGrave

Idea #3: Survival of the Careful

awesomegameideas:

This idea is going to be quite abstract, as there are so many ways to implement such an idea.

It is a perma-death survival game. The idea is to survive as long as possible. Or there could be a goal.

Basically, you have a few areas. You have one area that is safe sometimes and dangerous others. This is the ‘Risk’ area. Then you have another that is nearly always safe. This is the ‘Safe’ zone.

You can travel through the risk zone any time, anywhere. You can get from the risk zone to the safe zone at almost any place. You can not travel through the safe zone. This means that to move from place to place, you have to move through the risk zone.

Also, getting out of the risk zone takes a little while. You can’t just instantly leave the risk zone. However, you can enter the risk zone from the safe zone (almost) instantly.

Now, more on the risk zone:

Whether the risk zone is in dangerous mode or safe mode should be clearly visible, or at least so the player knows when it is safe/dangerous. It should switch between safe and dangerous based on time, and there should be a way in which the player is warned that it is going from safe to dangerous.

When the risk zone is in safe mode, you are free to do whatever you want with no chance of being harmed. But when it is in danger mode, every ‘tick’ of the game you stay there has a chance of you dying instantly (how you die is up to the game developer).

Important: There must be something in the risk zone that is essential for survival. There has to be a reason for the player to travel there.

So far, it creates a game where the player has to stay in the safe zone but still enter the risk zone occasionally to survive. You can also enter the risk zone when it is dangerous and survive, with possible benefits, but if you do so too much, the chance of you dying increases. It means that the player can either wait it out safely, or try to advance quicker and possibly lose.

But that’s not enough. There needs to be more reason to take risks.

Now you need to add a goal. The goal can only be reached by travelling a long distance through the risk zone. As you near the goal, the chance of you dying when in the dangerous risk zone increases. This means that while you can probably get quite far through danger at the start, near the end, you won’t last more than a few seconds.

Then, if you were really nasty, the goal could only be achieved when the risk zone is in dangerous mode, forcing the player to make one final dash for the goal, hoping the few seconds is enough.

So now you have a game where the player can play it safe, and take longer to win, still having to take a final risk in the last part. Or they could play risky and try to get to the goal quicker with a bigger chance of them losing before they get close.

Still, not enough

You need a time limit. Something needs to happen that means the goal must be reached in a certain amount of time. The limit should be so that you don’t have to risk it constantly, but so that someone who plays it safe the whole time won’t quite make it.

The most important part of the game is to keep the player unknowing. For example, maybe the player doesn’t know where the risk zone and safe zone are, or even that they exist. But after they die the first few times, they see a pattern and work it out.

I’ll write up an example at some point, as I have an amazing idea for such a game.

HeroesGrave

Awesome Game Idea #2: Mirror Platformer

awesomegameideas:

A platformer where you can enter mirrors.

Basically, whenever you enter a mirror, the world is reflected, but your motion continues.

If it were a tile-based world

There could be 4 or 8 mirror angles, depending on whether you want diagonals.

Say you fall onto a mirror on the ground.
The world is flipped upside-down, and you fall back onto the ‘ceiling’

So Horizontal (floor/ceiling) mirrors would change the coordinates to x, -y
Vertical (wall) mirrors would change to -x, y

Diagonal mirrors would work mostly the same, except they reflect diagonally, which would result in the 4 possible transformations:

(y, x), (-y, x), (y, -x), (-y, -x)

(Transformations relative to the mirrors)

Using these mechanics, it would create interesting levels.

But, that’s not it.

What if the player could place mirrors?
What if mirrors were breakable?

Adding these extra mechanics would create a really interesting game.

HeroesGrave

Awesome Game Ideas

Okay, I started a new blog.

It’s called “Awesome Game Ideas” if you didn’t work it out already.

Guess what it’s about?

Here’s the link

HeroesGrave