I’ve just uploaded a ported version of Swarm for Mac OS X. The game is basically identical to the PC release other than larger icons and the ability to control-click instead of right-click. Give it a spin and tell me what you think.
I think the game should work on PowerPC, but I don’t actually have a computer to test that on. If someone with a PPC Mac could try it out, I’ll know if did the universal binary thing properly.
I plan to port Pandora’s Gearbox and Circuit Breaker at some point in the future. Those programs a bit more complicated since I need to locate Mac OS X versions of some of the libraries that I used. Also, I’ll be releasing the current game for both Windows and Mac simultaneously.
I got a MacBook today, since I’m planning to develop games for the iPhone. It’s a bit hectic getting everything set up, but I think that there might be an OS X version of Swarm out this week. Somewhere in there I might get Linux builds going too.
Update: VICTORY! I managed to get Swarm running on my MacBook. Now all I have to figure out is how to create a neat .app file.
I’ve recorded a video of one playthrough of the prototype. I control the blue soldiers and my objective is to capture all spawn points by standing on them. The enemy sends swarms of zombies in various directions and can also build defensive structures around the points. The green and pink objects are ammo and health boxes that I deployed to resupply and heal my units. You’ll also see me build turrets and surround them with mines. If you look carefully, you’ll see me tossing grenades into the crowd.
Keep in mind that I haven’t added graphics or sounds yet, so the video is unimpressive in that department. Also, I haven’t cut it to exclude the boring parts. Once the game is finished, I’ll do a proper teaser.
The AI kicked my butt this time, but I think the video is more interesting that way.
The background song is “Consequence” by asbestoscape from http://asbestoscape.com/
The development of the game is blazing along. The zombies can now upgrade their spawn points with deadly traps. Fortunately, the humans have a couple of tricks up their slieve, like rechargable mide fields. Although the game is coming along quite nicely, I stil can’t say when it’ll be complete. I’m still at the design stage and I have a ton of ideas I want to try. For now, I’ve brought along a screenshot to satisfy your curiosity.
Here I’m holding off a horde advancing from the top and the left. I’ve set up automated turrets to defend the top spawn point and built a mine field to protect the turret. I’m also trying to push back against the lower left spawn. It’s going to be tough though, since the spawn point has grown some defenses. It has towers that can fire back at me if I try to assault the point. One solution is to chuck a bunch of grenades in to blow the defenses up.
I’ll see if I can post a video sometime soon to show this thing in action.
I finally have an idea on how to proceed with the zombie game. Originally, I was going for a desperate fight against the zombies. The players would set up traps and then defend against the zombie hordes, slowly falling back. They would win if they held out a set amout of time. Now that I think about it, I don’t know if that would be interesting for the player.
After playing around with the current prototype, I decided to add a bit of aggression into the mix. The player can now attack and capture enemy spawn points. That was always going to be a possible action, but now it’s the primary objective. Instead of waiting for a timer to run out, the player must actively attack the zombies and drive them back.
Now that I have the basic plan, there’s a sense of direction to the design. In the next few weeks I’ll work on making the basic tasks of defending and attacking more interesting. As usual, I’ll post updates on the blog.
I’ve been tinkering with the game, adding things and seeing how they work out. The game is not in the fun zone yet, but there are glimmers. I think that if I work at it more, I can get it there in a week or two. Just so you get a sense of the progress, I’ll post a couple screenshots of the game prototype. Keep in mind that I haven’t worked on the graphics yet, that’s why everything is a circle.
This is me getting stomped by the innumerable zombie crowds. Two of my guys are dead and the survivors are making a valiant last stand.
I’ve been working on the game over the last couple of weekends. It’s come a long way, but there’s a big problem.
It’s just not fun yet.
Right now, the game experience is rather flat. The player fends off crowds of zombies, but there isn’t much tension in the game. I need to think of more ways to challenge the player. In the end, I think that I’ll have to try lots of different ideas to see what works.
I have a fairly bad track record of giving release dates, so I’ll avoid doing that for the rest of this project. The only time I’ll set a firm date is when I’m sure that I’ll be able to meet it. I still want to keep people up to date on the progress, however, so I’ll post about how the game is going.
Right now, the game is still in the design stage, which means that I’m working on the gameplay. There are still no graphics or sound; those will come later. The plan for the next week is to make the game more interesting. This means presenting more compelling choices to the player. Thankfully, there’s a long weekend coming up and I’ll be able to get some decent work in. I’ll be implementing unlockable zombie spawn points, ammo boxes and traps in the next week.
Apparently, I’m getting a hang of this delay thing now. The next game will be out in 2 weeks time, not today.
Seriously though, I’ve just been slacking off a bit too much. The new game is maybe 30% done. However, it has zombies, which will make it all worth it.
The next game will be out on April 30th, or earlier if I can help it. I’ve switched to and from a couple of different ideas, but I have one that I like now. I’ll see if I can post a couple of screenshots in the coming weeks.
Today, I have invaded Pakistan and installed a puppet regeme. After applying intense diplomatic pressure, the new government agreed to catch Osama bin Laden, who has been hiding out in the mountains. Success! Shortly thereafter, China invaded the Scarborough Shoal and Congress passed a resolution to reprimand me for my neglect. Things got so bad that I had to resign; I was later replaced by a new charsmatic leader, promising change. I guess the people were still a bit mad about the UN censuring me at the request of North Korea. In my defence, I didn’t think that anyone would mind when I bombed Afganistan. Hrmph.
Pandora's Gearbox
Swarm
Circuit Breaker
Loading ...