Final Thoughts on Independent Study

This whole semester was spent with me in mind, showcasing something in a solo endeavor where I didn't have a team or a group to share the work with. This independent study is the fruit bared from my own labors, and I have to admit that I am exceptionally proud of the end result.

Because what I wanted to do was eventually going to transition into a role-playing game (all of them taking countless hours to complete let alone create), I wanted to make a proof of concept to set me on my way to making that full RPG in the future.

I started out with no idea what kind of programs existed for Mac that could help me do this, and in the past I had roadblocks of me planning more than actually creating. It was during this semester that I found GameMaker for Mac, a game engine that could do create my proof of concept for possibly the cheapest price I could find: $20.00.

Other programs like RPGMaker are exclusive to PCs, and other versions of Mac operating programs where around $100.00 or more. GameMaker for Mac is an amazing engine, and has an easy to navigate layout to create what I see fit.

Another roadblock for me was how much coding that needed to be done to get some things to work, such as moving the player between rooms or pausing. I had to look online for tutorials to help me in what I wanted to do, and even then I found errors I wasn't sure why I got.

GameMaker itself did have a lot of resources within that helped set up sprites, objects, and backgrounds...or at least once I switched to Advanced mode and saw all the options. It kept all of the files and things I made organized in folders all in a line, so I never lost track of anything.

At the end of the semester though, I have come out with everything I wanted to really have at the beginning, and this was the first time I did more work than planning on a project. I created a player character with flipping sprites, multiple background art from sketches I did previously, and made a pause screen to relocate players to the main room.

I thought about making a turn-based battle for this proof of concept, but unforeseen problems came up with my dad's accident earlier this semester and issues with text boxes. But now when I continue this proof of concept into an alpha on my own time, I can focus on this battle system solely.

In conclusion, I can say I am most proud of this semester's work because this is something I did by myself instead of with a group, and I was even surprised with how much I accomplished in said time. I recommend GameMaker for Mac to any other Mac users who would want to try something like this, and that I feel I've only touched the surface on what GameMaker could let me do. I look forward to taking my progress further in my free time and over the summer.

Also, I'm not sure how to link the current proof of concept to this post, but I will manage on getting the file out soon.

IMM After Dark: Feedback From Others

Last Friday, I presented what I had available in the Independent Study along with my senior thesis project to not just potential employers, but also fellow TCNJ students, alumni, and future students.

The proof of concept contained the main character, Domino, being moved around by the player. Coming into contact with the arrows on screen will switch the background image and enter a new room, each image different concept art. The concept art itself was of Domino, the main antagonist currently under the name "Darkball", and two currently unnamed animals who would be potential party members.

The proof of concept was given lots of compliments and praise, much to my surprise. Those curious about my project asked me how long it took to have ready what I presented, and I told them it took me all semester to work on. That impressed them further, and they wished me luck before leaving to another station.

This is the very time I ever had face-to-face feedback from people I didn't know about a personal project like this. There was a lot of intrigue and interest in my project, and I'm very happy to have heard so many things and have as many people stopping by as I did.

Just from that, I can already think about how I can improve my independent study after this semester and where I can take the full project further as well.

Flipping Sprites and Other Realizations

I took some old art I made in previous years and edited it to make a turn-around sprite for the game! It faces the direction imputed by the player and stays facing that direction until commanded to move somewhere else.

I also tried to clear up the Pause Screen a bit as well as fixing models and backgrounds. As I was working, some of the room transitions started to flicker for no reason, I'm not sure what happened. But I fixed it by redoing the commands I gave them, as well as the rooms too. Luckily they weren't very full.

I want to get this ready to present for the winter showcase this week, so other than some sprucing up this might be all I work on. Depends on if I can work on it past today, due to the midnight deadline for things in the share drive.