I have a set of tiles in an hexagonal coordinate system, and I want to see whether it forms an "almost convex" region. By almost convex, I mean that a square with zigzaging hex edges would still count as convex. The idea is to split non convex regions into convex ones, and merge small regions into larger convex ones. What I don't want is merging a corridor with a room or 2 rooms separated by a wall together. I was thinking about sweeping a line along 2 axis and see whether it goes through any missing tile (in case of diagonal, the check would fail only if both tiles are missing). Would that work? Edit: it wouldn't, as a L or cross shaped area would pass. How can I do it?

Hey guys, I'm trying to develop an engine that supports consoles, as well as all PCs. I also wanted the users in windows, Mac, and Linux to use different graphics libraries. To that end I need to support many different windowing and graphics systems. To deal with that, I simply abstract them using Polymorphism, creating a base class as an interface before I inherit all the actual functions and data in another class. This approach is so far bad for data locality as I have to use pointers to objects and new rather than putting the data directly in arrays. While I'm going to use indirect multi draw and command buffers to alleviate this issue, it's still an issue. And in the case of compiling the libraries statically, I'd have to ship multiple, larger executables. To reiterate: Is there a way to use dynamic module based Polymorphism without requiring pointers to objects? If not, would the data locality issues be significant enough to warrant just making my libraries static and shipping multiple executables per graphics system (ie: Vulkan, Opengl, and Directx on Windows).

I am currently having a BSc degree in Computer Science. I want to get into AAA game industry. My focus is on the core stuffs like rendering, physics, graphics programming. I plan to get a master's degree for that. Now, should I choose a broader branch, Computer Graphics, or should I go for the specific Game Development for the degree? Note: It maybe easier for me to get the Computer Graphics degree. And I know that I have to show some complete projects, practical knowledge, passions to get the job in the industry.

Hi, I'm 16 years old (nearly 17) french guy who loves coding, and pizzas, and music, and a lot of other things... I started learning some programming languages 6 years ago, and always failed to achieve something with them. Then I decided to re-try Java 2 years ago, and it went pretty well. So well that from this time I did not stopped programming. I really started to dig into C++ a year ago because I wanted lower level programming skills, with one specific goal: create games. Unfortunately I always overestimate myself and my ideas, and I've not been able to create a single real game because of my lack of experience in that specific domain. So I'm looking for a 3D FPS game project (multiplayer would be great too) to see how that kind of project is managed, and to finally be able to create something. I would like for once to work with other people on the same thing, I think it could really help me to help back the others. I have a lot of free time right now and I'm ready to spend some (if not a lot) into a project. I learned a lot of C++ features when I started, but I feel like I'm missing a lot of other features and I want to learn them on something useful. I really prefer not working on a project with a pre-used game engine (GM, UE, Unity, ...) because for me the most interesting part is what happens at the lowest programming level of a game. I learned basics of modern OpenGL so if there is a graphical engine to improve, I can work on it. I'm also very interested into working on the game engine structure, and on implementing a scripting language if it's needed. If the game is multiplayer, I will not guarantee that I could really work on that (because I really don't know a lot about networking) but I'll try my best to continue learning things and maybe work on that too. If you're interested, feel free to contact me on Discord: Freezee#2283. If you don't have Discord, reply back a way to contact you

Starting from today, I will write about a mere mortal’s attempts to join the world of game development/design, covering a problem of choice, popular genres, career opportunities and so on. By mere mortals, I mean people like myself who lack game playing experience or have a vague idea about coding, graphic design, etc. Now I would like to talk about tools for creating games without coding. I have thought they are a good option only for those who like to create simple faceless platformers, or for game designers who need to quickly create a prototype and decide on whether the concept of the game is something worthwhile. However, I am about to change my mind, as new engines have appeared recently providing many new features. So I am about to download several of them and see if they differ much from ClickTeam Fusion 2.5 I have already tried a little. Today game constructors usually offer: · creating games in 2D and 3D, so you can implement light and shadow effects, animation and more· multiplayer mode· AI· advanced physics so you can simulate floating or sinking into the water, create vehicles, make characters interact with other objects, use destructible option, etc.· selling a game on Steam, App Store, Google Play or other stores. The majority of tools for creating games allow you to develop games on a PC, Mac, your browser, or even a tablet. As for technical requirements and good news as well:), you do not need to buy a super powerful computer. For instance, ClickTeam Fusion 2.5 worked ok on my MacBook Air. I only had to delete a lot of useless stuff, as my Mac needed a cleanup. Although it is better not to be a hoarder, sometimes I use trial versions of paid apps for computer optimization when spring cleaning is needed. Although I had to download the iOS Export Module to convert the code into Xcode after my game is finished, I am satisfied with the possibilities provided by this engine. You can create various mechanics with your imagination and a plenty of objects like: Active object – used for creating interacting objects including animated ones (main character, enemies, boxes, etc.) Counter object – used for creating health bars etc. INI object – saves the game after the player leaves it. Physic engine object – used for adding gravity Joystick control object – joystick emulator for a touchpad. IOS store object – gives a possibility to make in-game purchases for AppStore. Admob object – used for inserting an ad banner into a game. While I am just starting to delve into games creation, I can say that you definitely have to give game builders a try if you are into creating platformers or RPG. Whether you are going to become a game developer or a game designer, you need to understand the logic of the creation process. I suppose, some people may become disappointed; so you have to understand from the very beginning that you won't make the sequel for Ori and the Blind Forest. I have tried playing several games made without coding with GDevelop. Although I wouldn't pay for them, they look pretty nice and do not differ much from other games created by developers which I also wouldn't pay for.

Hi, I am trying to implement rotation tool in my own engine, which will have same user experience as rotation tool in unity or maya. When user rotate object by tool, it also rotates, but its axis visually does not rotate on the back side of the tool - they are always near camera view +/-90 on the X/Y/Z axes. I used this code to achieve rotation to face for each of the axes: // objectPosition is your object's position // objectToFacePosition is the position of the object to face // upVector is the nominal "up" vector (typically Vector3.Y) // Note: this does not work when objectPosition is straight below or straight above objectToFacePosition QuaternionF RotateToFace(Vector3F objectPosition, Vector3F objectToFacePosition, Vector3F upVector) { Vector3F D = (objectPosition - objectToFacePosition); Vector3F right = Vector3F.Normalize(Vector3F.Cross(upVector, D)); Vector3F backward = Vector3F.Normalize(Vector3F.Cross(right, upVector)); Vector3F up = Vector3F.Cross(backward, right); Matrix4x4F rotationMatrix = new Matrix4x4F(right.X, right.Y, right.Z, 0, up.X, up.Y, up.Z, 0, backward.X, backward.Y, backward.Z, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1); QuaternionF orientation; QuaternionF.RotationMatrix(ref rotationMatrix, out orientation); return orientation; } And then I just apply resulting rotateToFaceQuaternion for each axis. If I apply rotateToFaceQuaternion, axis always move towards to the camera (which is correct), but when I try to rotate the whole tool by some quaternion, it will not rotate correctly: current_rotation * rotateToFaceQuaternion = incorrect result, because after applying this rotation to the axis of the tool, they will rotate to the other side of the tool (which is not correct). My question is: how to rotate axis of the tool in such way, that they always rotates towards to the camera, but also could be rotated +/- 90 degrees and if current axis reaches edge of the tool from one side, it will appear on the other side immediately (like in unity or maya) i. e. not to allow axis to appear on the other side of the tool.

So I recently started a Hobbyist Project on Game dev, to turn a project I've already created into a video game. I've recently hired a programmer I think looks promising and we are getting to work on the project. I don't expect profits and my main goal is to complete the project, but just in case I figured I should start a contract between us. I know it's a good idea to just get a lawyer, but for a project that I have no *expectations* of making money, I'd like to keep the costs down. Someone suggest I just make a contract in plain english, so I did, I'm wondering if anyone here can critique it or offer advice. One possible complication is that I am in Canada and my programmer is in Saudi Arabia. The basic thing I'm trying to get across is: 1) I still own the rights, including whatever he makes 2) We both get paid if the game makes money 3) It lasts for 5 years. Anyways, here it is: -------------------------------------------------- This Profit Sharing Agreement is entered into as of (Date) by (My Name) located at (Address) and (Second Party), both of whom agree to be bound by this Agreement. Whereas, (My name) has developed Wars of Keridor (“the game”) and holds ownership of all current intellectual property rights in this product, in addition to those developed by (Second Party) for the creation of the game. (Second party) may not use works created for the game unless for a function that does not compete or hinder the sales of the game, or use its likeness in anyway. The contract will be binding if the game is sold with coding created by efforts by (Second party). If the game is sold with no work created by (second party) the contract will be void. The contract does not apply to any derivative works, including but not limited to expansions or sequels where (second party) does not contribute additional work. (My name) and (second party) will share profits realized from the sale of the game as follows: % of net income will be kept by (My name) % of net income will be kept by (Second party) (Second party) will be paid any profits realized at these times: At the end of each month following the release and sale of the game, if the game makes $250 Canadian or more within that time period. Otherwise, at the end of each 3 months following the release and sale of the game, if the game makes $250 Canadian or more within that time period. Otherwise, at the end of each year following the release and sale of the game. This profit sharing contract will become null and void at the end of 5 years of the release and sale of the game. ------------------------------------------------------

I recently decided to play through the All-Stars version of SMB 3 without using any Warp Whistles. SMB 3's playful title screen has Mario & Luigi messing around with a bunch of enemies and powerups. The sequence is fun to watch, but it also serves as a great preview of numerous game mechanics. I suspect that the majority of people who replay the game are familiar with the secret and use it to skip to the last world. This also means zooming past a plethora of well-designed levels. It’s been my habit as well, but this time I resolved to experience SMB 3 in its entirety. A lot of small, geometric stages later, here’s an overview of what I found to be the most notable points in the first world: 1) World 1-1 As with the original Super Mario Bros., the “?” Blocks are encountered as soon as the game begins. Since they utilize a fairly universal symbol for a question, they inherently invite the player to investigate. In addition to being positioned over Mario’s head, a slowly approaching Goomba encourages the player to jump up and discover that hitting the blocks from below can yield rewards (in this case, some Coins and a Super Mushroom). The red Venus Fire Trap is also introduced here and — in typical Mario fashion — doesn’t respawn if killed and only comes out if Mario isn’t standing next to its pipe (or on top of it). Although the player can’t go down this particular pipe, the fact that an enemy emerges from it hints at the possibility of Mario being able to do the same. 2) World 1-1 Immediately after collecting the mushroom powerup, the player is presented with a red Koopa Troopa, an enemy that hides in its shell after a successful jump attack. If the Koopa Troopa is touched while in this state, it quickly slides away from Mario. Although the big white block is a bit in the way, the player can still accomplish this feat fairly easily. If he does, he’ll learn that shells can be used to activate “?” blocks (which is the only way to do it in this case as the block cannot be hit from below) while discovering the game’s new powerup: the Super Leaf. Immediately to the right, a strip of flat land with three enemies — one of them a red Paragoomba — lets the player experiment with Raccoon Mario’s glide and spin-attack mechanics. 3) World 1-1 Following the three Goombas (which don’t respawn if killed, leaving the strip clean of enemies), a diagonal trail of coins leads up into the sky. The player must jump over a bottomless pit at the end of this runway and is encouraged to collect the coins, so it makes sense for him to get a running start and jump as high and far as possible. When the player starts running, a HUD meter fills up, the running animation changes, and an urgent sound effect begins looping in the background. All these events signify that something important is happening, and when the player jumps and soars into the sky, the screen — for the first time in a Mario game — begins to scroll horizontally and vertically at the same time. 4) World 1-1 As soon as Mario lands on a series of clouds, he finds an isolated Brick Block that floats in the air much like the “?” blocks. This similarity encourages the player to interact with it in much the same way, i.e., by hitting it, which yields the first 1-Up Mushroom. The clouds continue to the right creating another clear runway that ends with a trail of coins. In a dare of sorts, the coins ask the player to throw caution to the wind and make a blind leap into the unknown. The newly acquired flying ability is quite thrilling and liberating, and having just earned an extra life, it stands to reason that most players would want to pursue the extra treasure. Doing so takes Mario off-screen and gradually lowers him by a tall pipe. With no other obvious place to go, the game stresses the significance of the pipe. If the player figures out how to enter it, its path leads him to a neat little Easter Egg: a room filled with coins that are arranged to form the number 3. 5) World 1-1 If the player misses the opportunity to fly up to the cloud passage, the next two sections serve to introduce some new enemies. The first contains a green Koopa Troopa and three green Koopa Paratroopas that drop from the sky (hinting that there’s something up above). The Paratroopas demonstrate their ability to jump onto and fall down from platforms, while the two pits to the sides serve as an opening to show that enemies can also fall to their deaths. The second area contains a Piranha Plant and a green Venus Fire Trap. Their proximity makes it more likely that the player will have to stop by one of them on his route to the level’s end. If he does, he’ll have another opportunity to discover that the plants can’t come out of pipes if Mario is standing near them. The immobile version of Super Mario will also encourage the discovery of crouching in order to dodge the fireballs, and a Raccoon Mario will get a chance to dispatch the plants with his spin-attack. 6) World 1-1 Right before the level’s end, the player encounters two grounded piles of Brick Blocks. Since the player had two previous chances to pick up a Super Leaf, he’s likely to try the spin-attack on these glowing objects as there’s no way to hit them from below. In addition to this lesson, there’s also a solitary red Koopa Troopa pacing atop the second group of blocks. Since the player already had a few chances to learn that Koopa Troopa shells can take out other enemies and activate powerups, he might try to do the same here. If he does, the shell will break through a bunch of Brick Blocks and leave one of them unobstructed. If Mario hits this block from below (or spin-attacks it from the side), it will reveal a P-Switch. The P-Switch functionality immediately turns all the remaining bricks into coins and plays a jaunty countdown theme. When the countdown ends, the remaining coins turn back into Brick Blocks, teaching the player that the transformation is only temporary. The music change is important as there are no other visual cues to indicate if and when the blocks will return to their original form. 7) World 1-1 The final part of the stage is segmented by a jagged black line that spans the height of the map. This clearly denotes the end of the level while keeping with Super Mario Bros. 3’s stage motif — crossing this boundary is almost like stepping behind a curtain. The only object in this area is an animating Goal Panel that instantly draws the player’s attention and ends the stage when touched. Since the floor leading up to it is flat, it encourages the player to run in at full speed and jump into the panel. More often than not, this rewards the player with a star, the best possible Goal Panel prize. 8) World 1-2 As soon as the second level begins, the player is introduced to slopes and gets to experiment with how they affect Mario’s movement. Once Mario reaches the first peak, he can also dispatch a Goomba with the slide-attack while being pursued by more Goombas spawning out of a horizontal pipe. 9) World 1-2 The second major area in the level shows an almost unreachable series of coins, a floating pipe with a Venus Fire Trap, and some Brick Blocks located just above the ground. The player is likely to collect most of the coins and then attempt to break through the Brick Blocks, and perhaps learn the run-then-duck-to-slide maneuver. If the first block is hit, it reveals a P-Switch. Unlike the P-Switch in the first level, this one turns coins into other Brick Blocks. This results in the coins (or at least what’s left of them) being transformed into a path that leads up to the pipe. This clearly labels the pipe as a destination and allows Mario to use it to get to another bonus room. 10) World 1-2 The final new object introduced in level 2 is the Jump Block. Much like the other types of blocks, it’s uniquely (if a bit abstractly) decorated, naturally drawing the player’s attention. The first two Jump Blocks are spotted in a valley with a Paragoomba, increasing the chance that the player will bump into them while dodging/attacking the enemy. The bouncincess of the blocks is quite intuitive as it’s reminiscent of a trampoline — or a really springy bed, which most anyone will immediately understand — encouraging the player to jump off of them as they dip to their lowest point. The second block also spits out a powerup, and it’s possible to initiate this by bumping it from below or landing on top of it. In case the player misses this point, the next area contains a pit and a stairway of Jump Blocks. In order to safely traverse the pit, the player is likely to use the Jump Blocks above it (instead of risking bumping into them from below), the last of which drops a Starman. 11) World 1-2 The level end introduces a new enemy, a flying Paragoomba that bombards Mario with Micro-Goombas. Since there are no other enemies or obstacles in sight, it’s a safe place to demonstrate the mechanic of Micro-Goombas slowing down Mario if they attach themselves to him. If the player lets the Paragoomba follow Mario, he might also learn that any enemies on screen will instantly perish when Mario touches the Goal Panel. 12) World 1-3 As the third level begins, the player is greeted with a few large blocks and a Koopa Troopa. Both of these elements seem to be an aid in dispatching the Boomerang Bro. that stands behind ’em, i.e., the Koopa Troopa’s shell can be rocketed into him, while the higher vantage points makes it easier to dodge his boomerangs and squash him from above. 13) World 1-3 Following the Boomerang Bro., another Brick Block pile is presented where a red Koopa Troopa can be used to set off a chain reaction that destroys many of the bricks. This time around the pinballing turtle shell shows how Jump Blocks react to its touch (simply deflect it like other blocks) while rewarding the player with some extra coins. When the turtle shell leaves the screen, the player is encouraged to jump down into the cavity it created and investigate the leftover blocks. One of them yields a powerup , while another proves to be a Coin Block . The newly formed brick configuration leads the player to jump back out once he’s done, at which point he has a chance to encounter an invisible Jump Block. This pink block can only be hit from below, and when activated, it sends Mario into the Coin Heaven bonus section. 14) World 1-3 Although Level 3 is mostly flat, it doesn’t hold any rewards up in the sky. The Cloud Heaven, though, contains a bunch of extra coins and a 1-Up if the player uses it as a runway. 15) World 1-3 Past the pile of Brick Blocks, the player encounters a series of stacked Wooden Blocks. The reason they’re grouped this way is to encourage the player to press against them as he jumps forward, giving him a chance to discover that Wooden Blocks can yield powerups if hit from the side. 16) World 1-4 Although level 4 is not incredibly challenging, it’s much more difficult than the previous three stages. It’s almost completely devoid of solid ground, and its auto-scrolling nature makes it a much more intense experience. This is perhaps the reason why it’s skipable on the overworld map. In addition to the automatic scrolling that can push Mario to his death, the stage also introduces moving platforms. The platforms only move horizontally, and drop as soon as Mario lands on them. This is a pretty intuitive mechanic as it’s easy to imagine Mario’s weight overpowering the ethereal strings that hold up the platforms. Once the player learns this, he can use it to his advantage in an area where a vertical stack of coins is positioned next to a wall. With some quick thinking, the player can figure out that if he jumps on the incoming platform, it’ll drop and he’ll collect all the coins, and then still be able to jump off of it and through a gap in the wall. This is a great example of rewarding the player for proper environmental analysis and making him feel like he’s mastering its traversal. 17) World 1-4 Unlike the previous stages, level 4’s main area ends with a solid wall and a pipe. Since there’s nowhere else to go, the player — for the first time — must learn to travel through a pipe in order to finish the level. On the other side, he’ll be ambushed by a Boomerang Bro. and find the standard Goal Panel. Somewhat emphasizing the level’s optional-challenge nature, if the player collects all the coins in the map, Toad’s Blue House will also open up in the overworld area. 18) World 1 Fortress Podoboos and Roto-Discs are first introduced in spaces where it’s easy to avoid them. Once the player gets used to their functionality, the difficulty is ramped up: multiple Podoboos emerge from lava (with different timing), while Roto-Discs occupy platforms that Mario must jump on in order to proceed through the level. 19) World 1 Fortress The Fortress marks the first in-level appearance of the Fire Flower. This is significant as there are no regular enemies in the Fortress that can be defeated with Fire Mario’s fireballs. This is a tactic that’s used multiple times in the game, but because powerups carry over from level to level and it’s always adventagous to be in “big” Mario mode, it never feels like a handicap. 20) World 1 Fortress If the player chooses to trade in the Fire Flower for a Super Leaf, he can discover another secret in the sky. This is hinted at by the open ceiling and — if the Dry Bones is temporarily dispatched with a stomp — a runway right next to it. This particular secret leads to a Warp Whistle, and is much more intuitive than the obscure duck-on-a-white-block-for-an-extended-period-of-time maneuver required to get the first whistle. 21) World 1 Fortress The first door the player encounters leads him to a room with a spiked ceiling. The ceiling starts to descend as soon as the player enters the area, but he is also shown a gap that might keep Mario safe. With no other options in sight, it’s natural for most players to strive to reach it before the ceiling crushes them. When the ceiling drops down all the way, it begins to recede and Mario is forced to jump over a bottomless pit. There is no second hiding spot in sight, so the player has to trust the game to provide one for him. This creates tension and forces the player to perform a leap-of-faith, but he’s ultimately saved by a final tiny gap (much smaller in width and height than the first one) at the end of the area. The gap is located next to a wall so it’s fairly easy to get into it, but its small size makes the whole sequence feel like a nail-biting escape. 22) World 1 Fortress The Fotress level ends with a boss battle against Boom Boom, an enemy that needs to be stomped three times before being defeated. If the player still possesses the Fire Flower, he can also dispatch him with its fireballs. When Boom Boom perishes, he drops a “?” Ball that ends the level when touched, adding to the “specialness” of the Fortress level. 23) World 1-5 In case the player never discovered that he could slide down slopes to take out enemies back in World 1-2, this level does it for him. Unlike all the other stages, it begins with Mario on a slope already in a butt-scoop position. He then proceeds to barrel through some Buzzy Beetles that just happen to be climbing up the hill. This not only shows the mechanic, but also displays its usefulness. In addition, sliding is pretty much a universally fun activity, and its presence is another incentive for the player to experiment with the moveset. 24) World 1-5 The level contains another Fire Flower that allows the player to test out the enemies, but it’s only accessible after the section pictured above. This is notable due to the pipe that hosts a Piranha Plant located close to the ground, making it likely that the player will stop and wait for the plant to recede. During this interval, an approaching Buzzy Beetle will prevent Mario from running through the opening. When the Buzzy Bettle finally reaches Mario, the player will likely jump on top of it, learning that the beetles’ shells act much like those of the turtles. At this point, the careening shell will have a high chance of taking out the Piranha Plant as it comes out of the pipe, teaching the player another useful combat mechanic. 25) World 1-5 And in case the player missed the pink Jump Block in World 1-3, he gets another chance to discover it here. Walking up slopes is never fun so the player is encouraged to jump through the area, and in the process possibly bump into the invisible Jump Block. As usual, the pink Jump Block leads to a Coin Heaven area where — once again — he can discover extra coins and a 1-Up if he uses it as a runway. 26) World 1-6 Although this level is not autoscrolling like World 1-4, it’s similarly devoid of a floor. This creates some interesting airborne hijinks with the red Koopa Troopas that do not walk off of platforms by themselves. As shown in the above example, it’s very easy to start off the level by stomping a Koopa Troopa and sending its shell flying to the right. In turn, the shell will fall off the platform, travel through empty space, land on another platform, and eventually take out another Koopa Troopa that patrols it. 27) World 1-6 Unlike the floating platforms in World 1-4, these ones are attached to a thin path and are buffeted by end pieces. This allows the player to easily guage the platform’s movement and plan his jumps accordingly. The first platform is introduced with no enemies in sight, but the second one runs head-first into a Koopa Paratroopa. Also, its path doesn’t contain an end piece, forcing it to eventually fall off the path itself. This in turn forces the player to quickly jump to a nearby platform. 28) World 1-6 More opportunities for mid-air stunts are presented via the flying red Koopa Paratroopas. By the time the player encounters them, he’s more than familiar with the mechanic of clipping the wings of enemies and sending them plummeting to the ground. Since there’s never any solid ground below these turtles, the stomped Koopa Paratroopas simply fall to their deaths. This creates some rather satisfying scenarios where the player can kill two birds with one stone: dispatch an enemy and make a piggy-back jump onto a new platform. 29) World 1-6 The area above is a runway, but it’s punctuated by a single gap that slightly drains the run meter. If the player jumps onto it while running from a previous platform, though, he retains part of the run-charge and is able to take off into the air. A path of coins beyond the platform shadows Mario’s flight arch, and when he finally floats down, he’s safely deposited on a moving platform. 30) World 1 Airship The airship levels start off with a short cutscene of Toad pleading for help and Mario heroically leaping onto a moving airship in pursuit of Bowser’s minions. Like all “artillery” stages, the level auto-scrolls and is filled with unique enemies such as Cannonballs and Bullet Bills. This approach makes it feel almost like a shmup as the player is forced to concentrate on avoiding multiple projectiles while waiting for the end-segment to scroll into view. However, unlike most shmups, Mario has to deal with gravity, the movement of the ship, and the cramped architecture. This makes avoiding bullets much harder, but also steers the player into making another discovery: not only can Mario kill the projectiles by jumping on them, they can also perish if they touch his feet (even while he’s standing still). A single Fire Flower stresses this point as all the enemies in the level are invulnerable to its fireballs. When the end-boss is defeated, the significance of the level is further accentuated by a series of events: Mario grabs the stolen Magic Scepter , jumps down to the ground, cures the king, receives a congratulatory message, and finally reads a letter from Princess Peach that comes packaged with a powerup. Super Mario Bros. 3 contains many obvious design lessons that are also present in other games, e.g., the gradual layering of complexity that allows players to master a specific mechanic. What surprised me during my playthrough, though, was how some of these lessons were completely optional. For example, it’s possible to send a turtle shell skittering in the opposite direction of destructible bricks, or to take the cloud-route and skip certain powerups and interactive objects. Of course these same lessons are repeated multiple times, but they’re not always as heavily hinted. Personally, this hits a sweet spot for me. The game doesn’t have any forced hand-holding, and it isn’t afraid of the player simply exploring it at his own pace (even if it means circumventing chunks of the experience). This approach also serves to encourage multiple replays, and — back during SMB 3’s initial release — it probably sparked many playground discussions. Note: This article was originally published on the author's blog, and is reproduced here with kind permission.

You can make something more desirable by forbidding it. That something can be anything: an item, an action, an idea. Well this is possible and known as the reactance theory. Reactance is the feeling you get when someone limits your freedom or option. Basically when you’re not allowed to do something or when you are told you have to do something. This feeling results in you: 1. Wanting forbidden option even more. 2. Trying to reclaim your lost option. 3. Experiencing aggressive and angry feelings towards the person (this person may be fictional as well, or and AI) who limited your options or freedom in the first place. (These feelings can be very subtle and barely noticeable but motivate you to do the opposite from what you have been told to do.) The first scientist to talk about the idea reactance was Brehm in a theory of psychological reactance. He was the first to research the reactance theory and explains reactance as a motivational state people experience when their freedom is removed or threatened (1966). But you probably already know the reactance theory as reverse psychology. And that’s what reactance basically comes down to: Getting people to do something by telling them they are not allowed to do that something or the other way around. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work. Some people are just not as sensitive to experience reactance as others and circumstances matter too. For instance: reactance breaks down when people can rationalize why they shouldn’t do something. If someone told you not to buy the bag you really wanted, you’d probably buy the bag anyway. But if that someone explained that he bought the same bag and it broke after 2 days, you’d probably think twice before buying the bag. Portal 2 applies the idea of reactance brilliantly in their level design when the player enters Aperture’s dungeons. Along the way back up, the player encounters several warning messages as you can see in the picture below: “warning”, “do not enter”. Of course these warnings are not to discourage the player, they are meant to lore the player closer. Reactance helps the storyline feel less linear than it actually is. Player is more attracted to this option and goes on to explore it. It also guides the player through the level more naturally because they want to explore this forbidden option rather than going somewhere else. You probably want to know what’s behind those walls The Stanley parable applied the reactance theory to their gameplay using narrative. The player is encouraged to try all storylines since the end is never the end in the game. In fact, the game is all about discovering new endings and alternative storylines and that means you don’t want listen to the narrator most of the time. The blue door ending is a great example of this: The narrator tells Stanley to walk through the red door when the player approaches a room with a red and blue door. When you ignore the narrator and walk through the blue door, he’ll send the player back and tells Stanley to walk through the red door again. The blue door becomes a more attractive option now, so the player choices the blue door again. The player will be send back to choose the red door again but this time the blue door is moved behind the player and the narrator stresses Stanley he has to walk through the red door. The blue door has never been a more attractive option. Such an attractive blue door! Look at those curves! The reactance theory can easily be applied to your own games. It can help you design interesting levels or create interesting narrative for games that rely on (branching) narration. When you want to implement the idea of reactance into your own game you can make something more desirable by forbidding it or you can make something less attractive by forcing it. This something can be anything: an item, a choice you want the player to make, a path the player should walk, an action you want the player to perform. Be creative! Keep in mind that not everybody is equally sensitive to reactance and that the effect breaks down when the player can rationalize why they shouldn’t do something. Here are some ideas for you. Level design: – Use some art! Show something is dangerous or advise the player not to go there with signs or writing on the walls. Doesn’t have to be art-heavy, just tell them a certain area is closed off and that they are not allowed to enter. Narration games: – Somewhere in the narrative you can tell the player they are not allowed to make a certain choice (remember: don’t explain why). You can also “force” players to make a certain decision like the red door in the Stanley parable. – Empower the player by telling them they aren’t good enough to do something, they will do it. – Tell the player that he/she has to do something a certain way, they will do the opposite. Items: – Tell your player is a forbidden item and they shouldn’t take it. Want to read more (scientific) stuff on the reactance theory? Brehm, J. W. (1966). A theory of psychological reactance. London: Academic Press. Jack W. Brehm (1989) ,”Psychological Reactance: Theory and Applications”, in NA – Advances in Consumer Research Volume 16, eds. Thomas K. Srull, Provo, UT : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 72-75. https://books.google.nl/books?hl=nl&lr=&id=gd4iAQAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT317&dq=reactance+proneness&ots=RSjeInAUj2&sig=xBekeKqXAkdk5JPYckJvlgZkDdQ#v=onepage&q&f=false

This topic will probably be one of the more ambitious topics I will write about for a number of reasons. First of all emotions are not a just about feeling excited about playing that new game you bought today or feeling sad because your favorite character in game of thrones just got killed. It’s very closely related to longer lasting moods. Secondly, psychologists aren’t completely sure on how to explain human emotions. There are a number of different theories that explains what happens when we experience an emotion and many of them are support by scientific studies. I’m not going into those theories because I don’t think they are relevant to this article. There is a link to a crash course video in the references below just in case you’d like to know about emotions in general. So what is an emotion? And more importantly, why should you take them into account when you design and develop games? Emotions are a bit ambiguous, even psychologists can’t agree on a unified definition. One of the definitions I found: an emotion is an internal response to an event. Something within your body might change when you experience an emotion, for example, your heart rate can increase or decrease. Some other psychologists might say an emotion is more like a feeling or mood. From these definitions it feels as if emotions aren’t very tangible and difficult to study. However, specific emotions and moods can be very useful when designing games. Taking emotions into account when designing games can definitely help you to enhance the player’s experience. And although emotion is an ambitious and broad topic, it also means there are countless ways you can apply it in your game design. Russel’s dimensional model of affect Just like there are multiple theories of emotions, there are several models to classify them. I will keep to one: the picture below is Russell’s model of affect (Russell, 1980). This is a two dimensional model in which emotions are classified based on how active (level of arousal) and pleasant (positive or negative) an emotion is. Many action games use the model to some extent. You feel your heart pounding in your chest, your arousal is up, feel stressed and tense as you approach the enemy camp. On Russell’s model this would be high arousal and a sort of negative emotion. Now the important question: Why should you apply all this to your game? Here are a number of reasons: Emotions can help form memories so players remember your game in more detail (LeDoux & Doyere, 2011). This enhances the player’s experience, making it richer and feel more personal. Allowing your players to experience a positive mood can help them solve the puzzles and riddles in your game (Isesn & Daubman, 1987). Arousal in general can be quite useful as well. When you want something important to be noticed by the player, make it more arousing to grab their attention (Buodo & Sarlo, 2002). Arousal can also boost the player’s performance. According to the Yerkes-Dodson law (Yerkes & Dodson, 1908) easy tasks can benefit from high arousal while difficult tasks are handled best when the player’s arousal level is low. You can use this law to adjust the difficulty curve of your game accordingly. Keeping your player in a positive mood will motivate them and make them try harder (Nadler, 2010). Basically you can keep increasing the difficulty curve of your game as long as the player is in a good mood. More specific emotions can also be beneficial as well. Anger, for example, motivates players for confront a problem or pursue a goal. On the other hand, players who feel guilty about an action they did can be motivated by their guilt to do good and counteract what they have done (Parrott, 2004). Even negative emotion, such frustration can improve your game. It can motivate your player when done right. Remember when you fought an end-boss in a game but lost? What did you do? Did you quit the game or did you go back to the last save and try again? Most games have a difficulty curve of some form to keep players challenged and when the curve is just right, you will occasionally loose and have to try again. This trial-and-error will come with a bit of frustration but quickly changes to excitement and motivates to try again. Frustration in these situations only become a problem when the difficulty curve is too steep and the player gets stuck somewhere in your game. It that case they might even quit all together which is not very good for your retention. Of course there should also be a moment of joy when the player finally overcomes an obstacle to make all the effort feel rewarding. Be careful with too much frustration and confusion though. It’s never good when your players become frustrated because they can’t figure out how the controls work, how to read the UI of your game or don’t know what to do. Obviously you need to address this kind of frustration and figure out how to minimize it. Unfortunately, it’s not always possible to get rid of the bad kind of frustration in your game for all players. Not all players are the same and for some the difficulty curve might be a little on the steep side. While others will always be a bit frustrated about your UI. In those cases you can benefit from the Halo effect (Nisbett & Wilson, 1977): certain salient characteristics bias the perception of other less salient characteristics. It’s not about getting rid of frustration all together, make desired emotions stand out more and the player will focus on them more. You can apply the knowledge about emotions in your game design regardless of the genre, however, I’d like to show you some examples for narrative and puzzle games. Puzzle games are all about frustration, confusion and joy. The halo effect is at work here: the joy of the eureka moment when the player completes a puzzle is much more salient than the frustration and confusion from the trail-and-error. Puzzle games are a great example of the good kind of frustration as I talked about before. A great example of a puzzle game that uses the good kind of confusion and frustration is Anti-chamber. The player is told very little when they start the game, basically it’s the game to figure out the game (game-ception!). it’s can be great example if you want to make a puzzle game without a tutorial that takes the player by the hand each step of the way. Antichamber: all you need to know Narrative games probably are the best type of games to evoke emotions in players. When done right, your player will have a memorable experience of an emotional journey. As I talked about before emotions help form memories. There is nothing better than remembering the joy you felt when you helped your character do something amazing. Narrative games can allow players to really empathize with characters when something truly sad happens. My favorite example for such a game is Thomas was alone, one of my favorite games of all time. The emotional narration makes it such a memorable journey. The designers did a great job expressing a full range of passive emotions such as sadness, happiness and serenity. Everything within the design of the game supports these emotions: the choice of the abstract art style, music and the way it is narrated. I’ve never felt so much empathy towards any video game character as I did for Thomas and his friends (and they are just colored squares!). Thomas was alone: squares with a personality! Some tips and examples for you Now how could you implement all this knowledge into your game or narrative design? It seems like a lot of stuff to take into account but it all depends on your game. A good place to start is to identify the overall feeling or mood you want the player to get when they play your game. Ask yourself: how should the player feel after each session? And what about when they finish your game? Maybe your game has some key-events where you want the player to feel a certain way. Of course your game design document describes how players should interact with your game but why not add a section on how they should feel when they do it? PANAS example Playtesting is where you find out if players experience your intended emotions. Set your playtests up in such a way that you can either see or film the play-tester’s face directly. The decode all the different emotions you can use the coding system for facial emotions (FACS) developed by Ekman and Friesen (1978). Even better would be to use software to decode even the subtlest emotions for you. There is a huge range of apps, software and even APIs and SDKs to use such as EmoVu (http://emovu.com/e/). When you don’t have the money for these tools, time to get familiar with FACS or you want to be more thorough with your playtests, you can use PANAS (Watson, Clark, Tellegen, 1988). PANAS is a questionnaire where your play-testers answer questions on how much they experience a certain emotion. The picture at the right is a good example of what a PANAS questionnaire can look like. With PANAS you can find out what overall emotions the player experienced during the game or during key-events in your game. It will be a bit time-consuming to set up but once you’ve created one you can use it for all future games. There is a link to a PANAS worksheet in the references below to help you get started. Some useful links and references Crash Course Psychology: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KbSRXP0wik&list=PL8dPuuaLjXtOPRKzVLY0jJY-uHOH9KVU6&index=26 Worksheet PANAS questionnaire: http://booksite.elsevier.com/9780123745170/Chapter%203/Chapter_3_Worksheet_3.1.pdf LeDoux, J.E. & Doyere, V (2011). Emotional memory processing: Synaptic connectivity. In S. Nalantian, P.M. Matthews, & J.L. McClelland (eds), The Memory Process: Neuroscientific and humanistic perspectives (pp. 153-171). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Yerkes R. M. & Dodson, J. D. (1908). The Relation of strength of a stimulus to rapidity of habit-formation. Journal of Comparative Neurology and Psychology, 18, 459-482. Parrott, W. G. (2004). The nature of emotion. In M. B. Brewer & M. Hewstone (eds), Emotion and Motivation (pp. 5-20). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing. Posner, J., Russell, J. A., & Peterson, B. S. (2005). The circumplex model of affect: An integrative approach to affective neuroscience, cognitive development, and psychopathology.Development and Psychopathology, 17(3), 715–734. http://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579405050340 Isen, A. M., Daubman, K. A., & Nowicki, G. P. (1987). Positive affect facilitates creative problem solving.Journal of personality and social psychology, 52(6), 1122. Buodo, G., Sarlo, M., & Palomba, D. (2002). Attentional resources measured by reaction times highlight differences within pleasant and unpleasant, high arousing stimuli.Motivation and Emotion, 26(2), 123-138. Nisbett, R. E., & Wilson, T. D. (1977). The halo effect: Evidence for unconscious alteration of judgments.Journal of personality and social psychology, 35(4), 250. Nadler, R. T., Rabi, R., & Minda, J. P. (2010). Better mood and better performance learning rule-described categories is enhanced by positive mood.Psychological Science, 21(12), 1770-1776.

So - the last couple of weeks I have been working on building a framework for some AI. In a game like the one I'm building, this is rather important. I estimate 40% of my time is gonna go into the AI. What I want is a hunting game, where the AI learns from the players behaviour. This is actually what is gonna make the game fun to play. This will require some learning from the creatures that the player hunt and some collective intelligence per species. Since I am not going to spend oceans of Time creating dialogue, tons of cut-scenes and an epic story-line and multiple levels (I can't make something interesting enough to make it worth the time - I need more man-power for that), what I can do, is create some interesting AI and the feeling of being an actual hunter, that has to depend on analysis of the animals and experimentation on where to attack from. SO.. To make a generic as possible, I Mediated everything, using as many interfaces a possible for the system. You can see the general system here in the UML diagram. I customized it for Unity so that it is required to add all the scripts to GameObjects in the game world. This gives a better overview, but requires some setup - not that bothersome. If you add some simple Game Objects and some colors, it could look like this in Unity3D: Now, this system works beautifully. The abstraction of the Animation Controller and Movement Controller assumes some standard stuff that applies for all creatures. For example that they all can move, have eating-, sleeping and drinking animations, and have a PathFinder script attached somewhere in the hierarchy. It's very generic and easy to customize. At some point I'll upload a video of the flocking behavior and general behavior of this creature. For now, I'm gonna concentrate on finishing the Player model, creating a partitioned terrain for everything to exist in. Finally and equally important, I have to design a learning system for all the creatures. This will integrated into the Brain of all the creatures, but I might separate the collective intelligence between the species. I'ts taking shape, but I still have a lot of modelling to do, generating terrain and modelling/generating trees and vegetation. Thanks for reading, Alpha-

Through my adventures of Computer Science and my voyage through learning about electrical engineering, software architecture, modelling, and animation, I have been testing everything in various real-time engines to satisfy my curiosity. One of the bigger test scenarios have become so interesting that I decided to make a game out of it. The idea sprang from nothing more than a character model that I was required to do for the Game Institute (tm). It was just a model with some skinning, but I wanted to try and animate it and put it into a real-time engine. The model is a tiger-bird hybrid, and the idea of flying and hunting interested me, so I started programming some effects and controls for flying. Everything of course got pushed aside because of other courses and I forgot about it for a while. I have so many ideas sometimes, it is a bit hard to keep track of them all. I write them down and then they are forgotten. A year later and I'm sat with more time on my hands now. This project is small but requires good programming on the controls and the AI. The work, that has to be done, is affordable enough that I can produce it myself. The world requires vegetation and terrain, and some wild-life. Everything requires sound-effects and atmosphere. I need some very solid controls on the actual character and some good collision handling/animations ( falls, crashes , catches and take-downs ). Last, but not least, I need some cut-scenes to lead the player in and immerse them (All my fav games have some good cut-scenes!). Story is everything, and even though I can't afford voice-actors or mo-cap animations, I can definitely create lively cut-scenes using the graphics and sound I can muster up for my requirements. I have everything planned out and half the assets done. The rest should come swiftly as I get into routine, and I look forward to the first tests! I will keep posts here on GameDev, partly as a diary and partly as a way to get critique and new ideas. Test-versions might also come up for better feed-back, but I'm still green and, I must admit, shy to what the internet might spout in my face about my baby ( why should it matter, though? The point is to have fun ). It's not gonna be 50 hours a week, 30 is more likely. I have a full-time job to attend, a search for a new job to keep up and pheromones to apply to a hungry female of my species. Time-frame is about 2 months of work and I intend to keep as close to the deadline as my head will allow. -Alpha

Hi, everyone! We are so so sorry for not posting for so long! There are a lot of exciting things we would like to update you on regarding “Project SpaceVille” and FAXIME. Well, there’s been a lot of changes to this project. That includes both adjustments to already planned details, and lots of new stuff too! We’ll be posting regularly from now on. We promise! (wink) So, onto the good news! The two programmers on the project have been really busy finishing their B.ASc. on Game Development Engineering. But it's finally over and we are now back track again! Since our last devlog, FAXIME was basically just the two of us, so you might think that our absence meant that development had stopped. Thankfully, our team size has expanded since then, and we added two new young and cool artists and a public relations guy. (Maybe we can do a post about them in the future, who knows?) (laughs). So, basically, what we want to say is that, while we were mute we were very busy! Now that that’s said, let’s tell you some of the new features we have implemented on “Project SpaceVille”! In this post, we’ll focus on some social features. Am I still alone? We are glad to tell you that you are not alone in this crazy world anymore! We have implemented a new AI system for the characters’ dialogue to allow them to be aware of their surroundings when speaking with you. In other to achieve this, we have also developed a tool that helps create new dialogues. It’s only in prototype phase right now, but it’s already making our life a lot easier for us as developers and game designers. Our goal is to have villagers that feel “real”, and not not some mindless robotic terminators! (laughs) We hope that you’ll be surprised of how aware your fellow villagers are when talking with them. Cool... Cool... And what about real people? Well… Since “Project SpaceVille” is targeted to mobile platforms, it has been a priority since day one to implement social features into the game. So, with that in mind, we’ve been experimenting some features and some technologies. We ended up creating a prototype multiplayer mode, which allows you to visit your friends’ villages and interact with each other! Right now, everything that you can do in single-player mode, you can also do in multiplayer mode. But, of course, it’s still very rough in the edges so there are still a lot of things to fix. Sadly, do to the nature of this feature (server requirements, security, etc.) it might not make it to the initial release. But we’re still exploring our option. Meanwhile, we have had a million other ideas of gameplay experiences we wanted to create and we will be telling you about them and other work we’ve done in these past month in a very soon future! See you soon! (this time, probably next week) (laughs)

The Leadwerks Game Engine updated to version 4.4 this week. This release includes a new GUI system, support for inverse kinematics, and enhanced visuals. From the announcement: Leadwerks Game Engine can be purchased at a discount during the Steam summer sale for $19.99 USD - 80% off the regular price. Learn more at https://www.leadwers.com.

The Leadwerks Game Engine updated to version 4.4 this week. This release includes a new GUI system, support for inverse kinematics, and enhanced visuals. From the announcement: Leadwerks Game Engine can be purchased at a discount during the Steam summer sale for $19.99 USD - 80% off the regular price. Learn more at https://www.leadwers.com. View full story

Who We Are We are Forged Interactive, a small team of like-minded game developers with the sole purpose of making games we love! Currently, we're progressing very quickly with our first project and there are plenty of opportunities and work for new interested programmers. With this project, our development platform is Unity 5.5.2 and C# as our behavioral language. Since this project is our first release, the game itself is a smaller project though progress is moving quickly. We are looking to finalize the current project and get started on future projects in the near future and are expanding our team to do so. Who We Are Looking For Programmer (Game Mechanics) Level Designer UI Specialist Art Director(3D Modelling, Concept Art, Animation) About the Game Ours is the tale of two siblings, thrown into a world of chaos. Living in the shadow of their parents' heroic deeds and their Uncle's colorful military career, Finn and Atia are about to become the next force to shape our world. How will you rise through the ranks of Hereilla and what will be your legacy?Once defeated your enemies turn coat and join you in your adventures. Players can enjoy a range of troops and abilities based on their gameplay style which become more important as maps introduce more challenging terrain, enemies and bosses. Strong orc knights, dangerous shamans, and even a dragon are out on the prowl. Knowing when to fight and when to run, and how to manage your army is essential. Your actions alone decide the fate of this world. Previous Work by Team Although we are working towards our first game as Forged Interactive, our team members themselves have worked on titles including and not limited to: Final Fantasy Kingsglaive FIFA Xcom 2 Civilization What do we expect? Reference work or portfolio. Examples what have you already done and what projects you have worked on academic or otherwise. The ability to commit to the project on a regular basis. If you are going on a two-week trip, we don't mind, but it would be good if you could commit 10+ hours to the project each week. Willingness to work with a royalty based compensation model, you will be paid when the game launches. Openness to learning new tools and techniques. What can we offer? Continuous support and availability from our side. You have the ability to give design input, and creative say in the development of the game. Shown in credits on websites, in-game and more. Insight and contacts from within the Industry. Contact If you are interested in knowing more or joining, please email or PM us on Skype. A member of our management team will reply to you within 48 hours. E-mail: Recruitment@ForgedInteractive.com Skype: ForgedInteractive Regards, David, Colin and Joseph

The GitHub for Unity extension announced by GitHub at GDC 2017 is now open source. Developers can now download the extension and use Git and GitHub without leaving Unity. The extension includes support for Git LFS, file locking, and the GitHub workflow from Unity. Learn more from the blog announcement at https://github.com/blog/2385-github-for-unity-is-now-open-source.

The GitHub for Unity extension announced by GitHub at GDC 2017 is now open source. Developers can now download the extension and use Git and GitHub without leaving Unity. The extension includes support for Git LFS, file locking, and the GitHub workflow from Unity. Learn more from the blog announcement at https://github.com/blog/2385-github-for-unity-is-now-open-source. View full story

In this daily blog (and video)-series I take a first impressions look at the best mobile games that I come by. Be sure to share your favorite mobile game with the rest of us in the comments below! Nexon is just pumping out mobile games these days, with base defending deck builder, Winions, being the latest (soft-launched in the Philippines, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland). With a PVP and campaign mode, the game has you building a base in best TD-style, a defense deck used by your AI to protect your base when attacked by other players, and an offensive deck used for the campaign and PVP. Monetization is alright, with no ads and plenty of premium currency rewarded throughout the campaign, which can be used to unlock chests gained through PVP faster. Although it might disappear in a sea of somewhat similar games, it's an interesting take on the side-scrolling base defender genre that got popular in the Flash browser game days. My thoughts on Winions: Mana Champions: Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nexonm.woh&hl=en iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/ph/app/winions-mana-champions/id1183499130?mt=8 Subscribe on YouTube for more commentaries: https://goo.gl/xKhGjh Or join me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mobilegamefan/ Or Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nimblethoryt/ Or Twitter: https://twitter.com/nimblethor

Hey everyone. I'm new here and I just wanted to show off some stuff. I'm trying to really get into game dev, I've been stuck in comic book hell for about 8 years. (It's been mostly awesome but it's time to move on.) I'm all over the internet as Sketchsawyer if you want to see more and I stream on twitch every day but I don't want to over promote or appear as if I'm trying to sell myself. I just wanted to say hi! Cheers rio-runner.mp4