Duel Demo 2

Since #ggo12 I’ve moved my game’s repo to a new location so that the old version and contest fork stay intact while we work on new features and content.

Screen shot of our characters on the new test map

In the latest version, the gameplay remains the same, but we’ve added new content and features that will help us produce the kind of experience that combines old-school gaming with kungfu cinema story telling and modern web technology.

Some of the updates include:

  • New 2D map system with depth and height for floors and walls
  • Layer and Z sorting to keep everybody where they belong
  • Characters can climb steps and walls and fall from elevated planes
  • Narrative scenes using the game engine’s camera and sprites
  • Maps and scenes use JSON data and images that can be setup and exported from Adobe Flash timeline

 Play the new demo

Duel of the Devs

I recently participated in the GitHub Game Off competition. I’ve been doing some JavaScript game development in my spare time, and this was the perfect chance to share as well as focus those efforts into a single release.

The game demo, titled “Duel of the Devs”, is an HTML5 web based game that runs in modern browsers on desktops and mobile devices. All rendering is done using a single canvas element. This is important because I want to be able to use WebGL in the future, or explore other platform and graphic options that do not rely on the DOM.

In the game, you play a fighting monk who must defeat a ninja and his shadow clones. The real ninja runs around cloning himself. His clones will turn to a puff of smoke if hit once, or if the original is defeated. The ninja can take a few hits before going down which ends the game. There are some credits to wrap up the experience.

I have to thank my love Sun for the awesome character design and animation. You can read more about what we used and download the full source code here.

Enjoy!

5 Crucial Lessons Learned by Watching Kids Play Video Games…

Some interesting points about conventions in video games that a lot of players would rather skip or just not put up with.

5 Crucial Lessons Learned by Watching Kids Play Video Games | Cracked.com

My take away was that “play” is more important than elements that may distract from, rather than enhance it (reading, cut-scenes, consequence).