I haven't worked on my game in a while due to the fact that I have encountered a mere bug that I can NOT get rid of. (I'm VERY prone to bugs and giving in to them. ) Working on one level all the time can get boring, so I thought of starting on the next level. It'd be more fun anyway. If I started on multiple levels at a time, when i got bored of working on one level, I could go to another. What I'm worried about is... Would there be a downside to this? Can you think any? This is a pretty stupid question n all, but I don't want to screw myself up. (or run into any bad possibilites)
The biggest problem is that you'll have to copy your engine across all those frames unless your using a level editor. That tends to be a massive pain in the ass, but at the same time it can tell you any additions you'd need to your main engine.
I work on multiple levels at once all the time. Maybe it makes the development go slower, but for me it's faster because if I spent all my time working on the same level, when I got bored of that level I wouldn't want to work on the game at all.
"I work on multiple levels at once all the time. "Maybe it makes the development go slower, but for me it's faster because if I spent all my time working on the same level, when I got bored of that level I wouldn't want to work on the game at all."
I write notes on how I expect the future levels to be. That gets me excited enough to finish whatever I'm doing quickly, so that I could work on the future levels. It's safer for buggy games
The biggest downside I've faced.. is that you could end up changing the whole game engine and render all the levels obsolete, and have to do all of them again. Also, you'll be cloning bugs across every frame. But then again, that's a problem with everything you do in a game.
Otherwise, sure, go ahead with it.
Disclaimer: Any sarcasm in my posts will not be mentioned as that would ruin the purpose. It is assumed that the reader is intelligent enough to tell the difference between what is sarcasm and what is not.
Originally Posted by Cecil well realistically you should design your entire game on paper or in some form of notes/design document before you do any actual coding/implementing.
I think someone has forgotten what website he's on!
The only problem with ignoring a bug is that it's not going to go away. So you'll put it off until you eventually cancel the game or forget about it and release the game with a bug in it. (or if you're a n00b you'll release the game knowing the bug is there.)
@Cecil,
If you work alone (i assume most people do) It's perfectly fine to work on a game based on a few ideas you have floating around in your head.
The only time i ever write things down is when i need to remember things more complicated than i can remember.
Originally Posted by Cecil well realistically you should design your entire game on paper or in some form of notes/design document before you do any actual coding/implementing.
I think someone has forgotten what website he's on!
oh youre absolutely right.
but that would simply solve the problem now wouldnt it. if you have the bug in one level, assuming youre not spamming a bunch of genres and different gameplay into the different levels, youre going to have the bug in all the levels. its also just good practice to code an engine that is universal to the entire game, or at least a core engine like dr james suggests, and then just code level specific elements that are independant from the rest of the levels on top.
i have a platform engine complete with double jump, wall jumping, sliding, and ceiling hanging/walking(?) that uses backdrop and qualifiers so i can simply swap out the tiles, if and when i choose to make a platform game
Originally Posted by AndyUK If you work alone (i assume most people do) It's perfectly fine to work on a game based on a few ideas you have floating around in your head.
It's never a good idea to keep ideas floating in your head. For one thing, you could forget them completely. It's harder to reinvent a good idea than it is to write it down. Even worse, you will tire yourself out by juggling ideas in your head. Also, you'll get better ideas by writing them down.. and it's always fun to tick things off a list
Of course, you'll always have to juggle some ideas in your head, so it's acceptable if you're doing it for a while. But don't make a habit of it.. keeping documentation in your head is the most tiring way to code.
Anyway, W3R3W00F, why not post the source with bug somewhere? I'm sure someone who's bored enough would be happy to look at it I'm sure everyone here knows what it's like to copy and paste a bug across every level and facepalms when he realizes that he has to get rid of all of them later..
Disclaimer: Any sarcasm in my posts will not be mentioned as that would ruin the purpose. It is assumed that the reader is intelligent enough to tell the difference between what is sarcasm and what is not.
Originally Posted by Muz It's never a good idea to keep ideas floating in your head. For one thing, you could forget them completely. It's harder to reinvent a good idea than it is to write it down. Even worse, you will tire yourself out by juggling ideas in your head. Also, you'll get better ideas by writing them down.. and it's always fun to tick things off a list
Of course, you'll always have to juggle some ideas in your head, so it's acceptable if you're doing it for a while. But don't make a habit of it.. keeping documentation in your head is the most tiring way to code.
Anyway, W3R3W00F, why not post the source with bug somewhere? I'm sure someone who's bored enough would be happy to look at it I'm sure everyone here knows what it's like to copy and paste a bug across every level and facepalms when he realizes that he has to get rid of all of them later..
LOL I hear you man. But really I wouldn't think ANYONE would ever try fixing the bug. Concerning I'm not very organized... I never fully comment anything and somehow I manage to make progress. I'm sure alot of others don't even bother commenting, but I wouldn't want to waste somebody's spare time figuring out a really tedious bug- even if they were bored, they'd get even more bored of this. It makes me wonder if it's a no brainer type of bug. That or my MMF2 karma just hit me hard.
Your biggest concern should be the difficulty curve. Will focusing on one level at a time make a varied or absurd curve? Will making multiple levels create a curve that's smoother and easier for casual gamers?
What I did for my game, I would list obstacles that would define each level. Then, I would draw out those levels on paper, and just put where each type of obstacle would appear. Typically, the more obstacles the player would have to overcome at one time (or in a short period of time) would define how hard it would be for them.
What's an obstacle? It could be as simple as a pit of death in the floor they have to jump over. It could be as complex as a trigger-driven moving platform of delayed death. It could be as basic as someplace they can't get to without havinga certain power-up or item, like a purple door on level 4 needing the blue key from level 2 and the red key from level 3.
So by drawing out my entire game (levels at least), I'm able to keep a very rigid difficulty curve.
The game I'm currently working on fits entirely on one frame, so I have no problem working on multiple levels as long as I know where to fit them in the frame, that's why I prefer working on adjacent levels. Whatever ideas I have for future levels I write in my loyal ideas.txt file.
For me working on several levels together is a big advantage because sometimes I get bored of one level, or not sure how to do a certain section and prefer to think about it but not completely stopping my work just because I have a creative block.
Also if I don't know how to do something exactly but I have a general idea of how this area is going to look, I work on placing the tiles and surrounding backdrops, so I have that sometimes mundane task done already when suddenly I have a burst of creativity. Besides when you see something with your own eyes instead in your head, you have a better idea how to approach it.
Advertisement
Post Reply
) Working on one level all the time can get boring, so I thought of starting on the next level. It'd be more fun anyway. 
If I started on multiple levels at a time, when i got bored of working on one level, I could go to another. What I'm worried about is... Would there be a downside to this? Can you think any? This is a pretty stupid question n all, but I don't want to screw myself up. (or run into any bad possibilites)
Edited by W3R3W00F
But really I wouldn't think ANYONE would ever try fixing the bug. Concerning I'm not very organized... I never fully comment anything and somehow I manage to make progress. I'm sure alot of others don't even bother commenting, but I wouldn't want to waste somebody's spare time figuring out a really tedious bug- even if they were bored, they'd get even more bored of this. It makes me wonder if it's a no brainer type of bug. That or my MMF2 karma just hit me hard. 
