Taayakin's First Game: FOOL'S GOLD

Learned a very hard lesson about Unity metadata and GitHub compatability today....Suffice to say, I will NEVER make the mistake of trusting the Unity+GitHub combo again. Last night, I went to bed, riding high. I had solved the hardest challenge in my project, and had very little left. I was completely confident that I would be submitting the MVP (minimum viable project) version to my first game jam and was only unsure about how much polishing I would be able to finish. Today, FOOL'S GOLD does not currently exist. 💔 It's still hard to accept. I put my heart into this game jam and FOOL'S GOLD, and this turn of events almost seems surreal. I don't want to get into a lengthy technical explanation of what happened, and I'm honestly still feeling pretty deflated from the experience. Basically, using GitHub as a form of version control for Unity projects, not only just doesn't work correctly, but apparently when there is an issue, fixing it how GitHub is designed to ...

After about a day and a half, I FINALLY did it!! The ToMine logic for FOOL'S GOLD is COMPLETE!! 🥳 There were a few moments late last night (and very early this morning lol) that I thought about giving up on these game mechanics. At times I felt like I wasn't even making progress, and I started to seriously doubt if I'd be able to figure it out without wasting so much time I can't finish the rest of the needed game mechanics.  I know I can always submit a "demo version" if I'm unable to submit the MVP version. However, I really  want to submit the polished  MVP version, and I'm determined to do my very best to make it happen. I just got butterflies thinking how there are only 2 days left of the jam! 😳 So much to do, so little time lol. For now though, VICTORY CELEBRATION!!! I have about 3 important game mechanics to implement (all much more standard than what I just finished tackling thank goodness), so I'll definitely be working late again tonigh...

Good thing I always leave extra time for inevitable roadblocks, cause it's been a slow trudge the last day or so 😬 It would take too much time and space to talk about every obstacle I've hit on FOOL'S GOLD in the past 24-36 hours lol, but suffice to say I'm definitely behind my "ideal timeline". But, that is why it's "ideal" after all. 😉  I was hoping to have a "playable test demo" version for my friends to check out today, but, unless I give them the "backup plan version" (if I can't figure some of these features out in time LOL), I was unable to hit this goal.  However, I'm still making ( slow ) progress, and this (should) be the last, biggest chunk/obstacle to overcome. I feel like I'm very close to implementation! I hope I figure it out in time, and maybe even can show my friends tomorrow. 😁 For now, check out a lil cursor toggle mechanic I wrote and attached to Kenny's backpack (see clip below). This wa...

After thinking of several different versions of how to create the logic and gameplay for Kenny's "Mining Action", the MVP version has officially been decided upon! FOOL'S GOLD officially has its own (MVP version) "Title" menu screen, a "How To Play" menu screen, as well as a "Game Over, Play Again?" menu screen. For the "Mining Action", I've chosen to implement a HUD system. It's been created (check out the clip below), though it's still in progress. Still have a lot to get done, but making progress! 😁

I just have to give a quick shoutout to Trello, it's awesome!!! Every piece of game dev or game jam advice I've followed has been a huge  help, and using  Trello  as a way to organize my project's workflow has been no different. My  Trello Workspace has been a lifesaver   for FOOL'S GOLD!  It's made it so much easier  to break down my full project into smaller chunks, and then break those into actionable tasks. This has allowed me to continuously re-evaluate my project as I'm building it, especially with Game Jam constraints in mind. Using Trello has vastly improved my ability to fend off "Scope Creep", as I can quickly break down features by various versions as well. 

Lots to do today to have FOOL'S GOLD - MVP (unpolished) finished by EOD tomorrow 💪  Last night I knew it was worth calling it earlier around 9:30 PM. Mental fatigue was starting to really affect me, and I had already completed a bit more than my "minimum goals" for the day. I spent some time relaxing with my dogs and rested a bit, before going to bed relatively early.  Today I also slept in a bit more than usual, instead of waking up early to code for an hour or two. ☕ This longer mental break was just what I needed to be able to tackle Game Jam, Day 4! Now refreshed, I'm ready to (hopefully) crush today's FOOL'S GOLD tasks as well 🥊 : (DEMO/TEST) Start/Title Screen / End/Replay Screen (DEMO/TEST) miningAction "dialog box" to use w/ logic (DEMO/TEST) start coding miningAction logic (DEMO/TEST) visible to player game timer (DEMO/TEST) start on "loot drop" + scoring logic (DEMO/TEST) visible to player high score (shown on endScreen) I belie...

I'm a bit tired...but I also feel great about hitting my "ideal minimum progress" goals for the day 😎 FOOL'S GOLD is really starting to take shape!   In addition to what I planned on completing today, I also accomplished getting all (supposedly) remaining assets FG needs from the Unity asset store (music and SFX, in addition to UI). For my game art assets, I purchased what I needed. However for the remaining assets, I decided to go the "Free Assets" route, and I was able to find a good variety of options. In fact for my next game, I plan to spend a bit more time diving through the FREE section of assets, even for the art. You never know if you don't check lol.  Tonight I'm feelin' the fatigue a bit. There are still a few more things I want to add in before calling it a night (for example, adding some more functionality to Kenny's follow camera). However, I plan to go to bed a bit earlier tonight. Rest is crucial, and there's still "...

FOOL'S GOLD officially has a cave level with functioning walls and a protagonist with a fully implemented, 4-Directional movement input system, complete with functioning animations Mid-afternoon, and I've accomplished the first, and biggest, chunk from my "ideal minimum" goal list for today. I'm feeling great! Even though it's a lot of work, I'm having so much fun I can hardly tell. 🚀 At this pace, I believe the goal of having an unpolished "playtest version" of FG by EOD Thursday for my friends to playtest, is reasonable. On to the next objective! Check out Kenny's sweet moves in the clip below:  

I'll be including progress clips/GIFs in my posts when possible.  Check out the first game dev progress clip/GIF for FOOL'S GOLD below!  Kenny Idles

Looking forward to having a rough, but somewhat playable, version of FOOL'S GOLD by the end of the day 😄 As I was building out the (first) level of FG yesterday, I realized that, particularly given the time constraint of the jam, it was more efficient for me to build out a (rough) "full size" version of the (cave) level, instead of a small demo to be remade.  My (hopeful!) goal by end of day (EOD) today is to have a "playable" demo/test version of FG with: a movable and animated (makes sense to do these at the same time similar to building out the "full" level) player character with physics applied and correct layering player interacts with the placed environment correctly a follow camera on the player created and implemented have added some "intractables" sprites (ex. rocks) with physics applied and correct layering some type of "placeholder game mechanic" logic for the player action (ex. mining) on interactables (ex. rocks) to be...

The first version of the first level is beginning to take shape! 😏 I can always tell how much I'm enjoying a given task by how quickly it feels like time passes. While working on FOOLS GOLD, it's as if the hours completely vanish. ⏳ Today my goal was to get my primary art assets for the demo/test version of FG selected and purchased, and perhaps start making a very small prototype level. Instead, I imported, organized, and prepped all the art assets for FG (except the UI assets), and created a (bit rough) level layout for the MVP game jam version of the (first) level!  I'm immensely enjoying this process and learning so much. I'm elated and proud that I've been able to hit my daily goals, and then some. Although I could easily keep working on FG all night without even noticing, I know that would be very unwise, so it's time to go to bed.  FOOL'S GOLD at the end of Day 2

FOOL'S GOLD has some assets, its first Tilemap, and the very beginnings of its demo version! 🙌 Wow, lol. This was my first experience getting assets from the Unity store, downloading them, importing them, organizing them, cutting and prepping sprites from a sprite sheet, creating palettes from those sprites, formatting my palettes... I'm very  happy I went ahead and got started on FG now, instead of solely continuing the Unity 2D course. Even expecting the above process to take a good chunk of time, I was still surprised at how much time and energy it required. Finding the right assets for your game is crucial, however, and well worth effort.  I now (should) have the art assets I need to build my demo/test of FG: a player character and a good variety of level design elements. I've also imported all/most of what will be needed for the game jam version of FG; as well as some assets that might be, such as a creature/monster, if I implement an enemy functionality.  This expe...

 It's only Day 2 and I already feel the time crunch!  My goal for Day 1 was to at least   have a high-level idea of a realistically buildable game, given the time and my current skill level, and hopefully, it would be a game I would be looking forward to building.  Yesterday that goal was knocked out of the park! ⚾ FOOL'S GOLD (haven't decided if the name will be all caps or not yet lol) is a game I'm extremely excited to build. I feel it's realistic, it's fun and a creative interpretation of the theme, and it's completely my own original game and idea. I'm thrilled!  At the same time, I feel the pressure a bit more somehow; now I know I can do it, it's just a matter of execution. I'm going to do my best to accomplish my game jam goal of successfully completing the jam with a unique, completely "finished" (at least a fun, polished proof-of-concept haha), original game I created. 💚 🎮 Taking the time to write down my ideas on a google d...

My game idea for the "IT IS NOT REAL" theme is...FOOL'S GOLD! 😆 For whatever reason at around 3:30-ish AM, in between all the other extremely different   game ideas (lol) that started to enter and swirl around my head post theme reveal, the idea for FOOL'S GOLD  randomly popped up! Compared to my other initial ideas, the idea for Fool's Gold  got me very excited instantly. It had that great feeling like creative fire, and the possible game mechanics started to rush into my mind. I wanted to see if I might think of something better, but I soon found I kept coming up with ideas for Fool's Gold instead of different game ideas. That was when I knew I had found my game. 😉 I have had moments of doubt, as I'm sure my other game ideas might have seemed "cooler" to some (although I personally think Fool's Gold will be really fun!), as IT IS NOT REAL  could lead to an almost infinite number of game ideas.  However, I want to be mindful of my main goa...

Even with the game jam start (and theme reveal) time set as 3:00 AM, I intended to sleep in later... ...but that proved impossible thanks to my eager anticipation. 😆 Despite my sincere desire to sleep in (at least somewhat lol) in order to be well-rested, my night proved restless. After spending a couple hours "resting" as I futilely tried to fall back to sleep, I gave in and looked at the then newly-revealed theme at about 3:08 AM. Leading up to the theme reveal, I had two concerns. First, I worried that once the theme was revealed I wouldn't be able to come up with an idea that I was passionate about, and I would end up wasting too much time and energy trying to come up with one.  On the other hand, I knew the exact opposite was perhaps even more likely. What if I come up with too many ideas and create a giant mess of a project that I can't come close to finishing in time? Game jam "Scope Creep" is extremely common, especially for new game jammers, and o...

My first post for my first DevLog Blog for my first GameJam! I'm definitely feeling a mix of nervousness and excitement as I'm about to go to bed for the night. In less than 5 hours, the game jam will officially begin. At the same time, the Theme for the game jam will be revealed as well.  I would've liked to have more time and experience using Unity, but I'm determined to do my best to successfully complete this fun challenge! 🥳 I've been learning as much as I can as quickly as possible on Udemy and YouTube, but of course it always feels like there's simply not enough time.  I hope to use the advice I've gathered to keep my scope microscopic, focus on my personal goal (successfully completing the game jam), and remember to have fun!  I look forward to participating in many future game jams, but I'm very proud of myself for taking the leap to sign up for my first. 😁 This is also my first time making a blog, and I'm thrilled I'm taking the time ...