Comments on: MiniLD #17 teaser: uncertainties

By: Sos

Sos — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:37:52 +0000

Sorry for being straight, but I won’t do it thisway. I want to have fun making a fun game about fun stuff, as opposed to scratching my head for ideas that would fit in a tiny screen using tiny set of colours.

By: Doches

Doches — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 22:29:48 +0000

I actually really dig this idea, especially if (as DrPetter mentioned) we can build the whole weekend’s collection of games together into one big (well, little) retro pirate cart-like thing. Very sexy.

A bog-simple sample game in Lua using the engine would really help get things rolling, I think. Come on, folks. It’s Lua. We’re all game developers of some variety; If we can’t learn simplified Lua scripting in a weekend and write a game in it, why are we here?

By: Jonny D

Jonny D — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 22:15:51 +0000

If there is a C API, then you can use any language you want.

By: 31eee384

31eee384 — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:34:17 +0000

Great! I’m in, even if I have to do it late again because of school. For some odd reason I like the idea of the palette and low resolution, even if it is a lot like the last mini LD.

Earlier I was thinking that releasing the API early would make it easy to cheat, but since the whole idea’s really honor-based anyways, that doesn’t really matter.

By: Tenoch

Tenoch — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 07:18:23 +0000

Thanks for your first comments. A few precisions that I forgot to mention in the post:

- I would release the software and documentation a week before the Mini, to let time to learn either Lua, or the API, or both, and intend to give a skeleton code, or simple example. And the C API is clearly necessary.

- The “API” is simplistic, no more that 10 functions, no objects, no special types, etc. A quick glance at the list should be enough to be able to use it.

thedaidan: yes, it’s *exactly* like “you must use gamemaker”

By: Gopher

Gopher — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 05:29:28 +0000

I’ve used it before, I’m just not a big fan of Lua, but that’s entirely a personal objection. Otherwise I like the theme. I dunno about actually releasing the actual api early, since it doesn’t sound like he intended there to be any theme other than the contraints of the “platform,” but releasing some kind of function reference for the api in advance seems like a good idea, assuming such a thing exists.

By: thedaian

thedaian — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 04:29:25 +0000

Yeah, that, mostly. The problem isn’t “I don’t want to learn something new” is that most people would have to learn LUA and the API at the same time, and if the first chance we get to work with the engine is at the start of the 48 hours, it cuts down time for making a game.

I think the best way to handle it is release the game engine thing about a week in advance, give people some time to play around with the code and become familiar with it, then the theme or whatever when the miniLD starts. That way people aren’t spending half their time learning how to use the required tools instead of making games.

By: 31eee384

31eee384 — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 03:30:39 +0000

It is bad to say that “I won’t do it because I don’t want to learn something new”, but that’s not what I’d say. The reason I don’t want to need to learn something new is that I’d have to learn the API in two days, sapping my otherwise useful coding time. And yes, I agree that this is a good way to learn LUA–I had my first experiences with LUA playing around with RigidChips (a physics simulator thing). Admittedly it didn’t teach me nearly as much as this would have, but an environment and set goals help with learning the language. But learning (relearning) LUA and an API in such a short time would really constrict what I could make. Of course I could use C (and I probably would) and then there’s only the API to deal with–but I’m somewhat out of practice with C and might find more errors than progress as I code.

That said, I do think it’s a cool idea. If I’m available when the MLD takes place, I’d give it a try.

By: DrPetter

DrPetter — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 02:40:17 +0000

Come on people. “It’s bad because I’d have to learn something”. That won’t fly. Learning Lua in the context of this specific basecode/framework should be a lot easier and more focused than learning it in a general bottom-up way for making your own game from scratch. If a small example game (shoot the invader) is posted to show how it’s supposed to be written/used, then it wouldn’t take many minutes to figure things out from looking at that code. Quick links to required compiler/tools would also be good.
Can’t say if I will join or not, but I definitely like the premise of many small retro games being made under similar technical restrictions. A compiled “pirate cart” should be possible if this is done properly, I’m sure. Neat selection menu in appropriate visual style, launching games seamlessly.

By: Gopher

Gopher — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 01:37:14 +0000

Sounds like an idea I was toying with myself you had me until “lua.” I’d likely enter anyway, but if you stick with this theme a C api would be highly appreciated.

By: thedaian

thedaian — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 01:10:42 +0000

I don’t really like the idea, since it seems like a lot of people would have to spend time learning how the engine you made works and either learn LUA scripting or learning the API you provide. Mostly, it just feels like saying “you must use game maker” or something.

That said, it is a cool idea, and a lot of people use LDs to learn something new, so if you want to go for it, that’s not a problem. You just might be driving away a few people.

By: mjau

mjau — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 23:54:06 +0000

I like the idea, but the timing could be better, yeah. Still, if you can’t come up with a good alternative, it’s much better than the lazy option.