An Entry into Game Development
The Challenge
In 2017 I challenged myself to obtain a better understanding of the development aspect of video games. With a professional background in Community Management in the Gaming Industry, I took this on as a personal challenge where I could gain valuable knowledge into all aspects of game development.
By following along with various online tutorials I managed to grasp a basic understanding of Unity. Prior to this my only real experience with anything remotely close to programming or development was creating simple websites using HTML, CSS, and Javascript.
Hello World
As my knowledge grew, I quickly found myself caught up in my first real project.
This project was intended as a learning experience and took place over several months during which I had to seek out my own solutions rather than following what someone else had prepared. After studying up on C#, Database Structures, MySQL, and PHP; countless trial and error; as well as recreating game elements from scratch I managed to complete my first game in November of 2017.
Nekojima, a simple incremental game based on an island full of cats is currently available for both the iOS and Android, in both English and Japanese.
While it's far from a top-ranking game, it's had over 500 players from around the world as well as over 15 Million combined taps. It also has some very engaged users who have been playing since launch and participate in regular events.
Working Within Constraints
In addition to adding new content to Nekojima, I took part in the 2018 Global Game Jam in January. The concept of a 48-hour time limitation meant that careful consideration of design, scope, and available resources was necessary. A permanent crunch mode meaning that every consideration had to be carefully weighed.
Over this 48-hour period, I worked to create Hueniverse, a game that much like Flappy Bird, utilizes the concept of extreme difficulty mixed with extremely simple game mechanics.
Not only do players adjust the Hue of their character to pass through increasingly difficult waves of oncoming light, they'll also need to tilt the phone left and right to find the optimal path and survive as long as possible.
Hueniverse is also available for both the iOS and Android, in English and Japanese.
What Now?
This whole experience has been extremely informative and has provided me with a much better understanding of the game development process from a technical side.
It's been incredibly enjoyable and I plan to continue gaining knowledge and working on new personal projects.
I hope I have many more games to share with you all in the future.