For those of you who may not know, I've been in the process lately of learning about programming, 3D modeling, and game development. I've spent many hours educating myself and now I'd like to jump in and get my hands dirty, which brings me to...

LOKI'S 24 HOUR TOTAL NOOB GAME JAM!!!


LOKI'S 24 HOUR TOTAL NOOB GAME JAM is a self imposed challenge to attempt to create a game (my first game actually) within 24 hours. The game will be created in UNITY over the course of 24 non-consecutive hours since I can't set aside 24 hours in one sitting. The plan is to knock out an hour or two a day, streaming each session live as well as recording them to be uploaded to Youtube for those who miss the live stream. The game will be made mostly from scratch, with all of the game assets minus some external code libraries to speed up some of the process.

Then of course when I'm finished, whatever is created will be released to play.

VOICE YOUR OPINION...

During the process the viewers will be able to help shape the game via chat and user poll feedback.

OK, so before we begin I'd like to hear from you for what type of game you'd like to see created. Here's a couple examples I came up with. Each has a basic goal I'd like to achieve and what I will do if I have extra time.

#1 PROJECT: BATTLEFIELD 2600

A modern military combat game (FPS) as shown in stylized classic Atari visuals (simply poly, little textures, limited color pallet). Think 3D COMBAT with similar vehicles and detail as Battlefield 3. Since the scope is so large I will probably focus on creating a tank-focused demo with a destructible environment.

Project goals:

Local and online multiplayer
At least one tank type and one multiplayer map.
Destructible environment

Stretch goals:

More vehicle types
Out of vehicle combat
Enemy AI

#2 PROJECT: MOTOR COMBAT

A destruction derby style car combat game with the ability to perform amazing acrobatics in order to attack and evade. I will be modelling the physics after my GTA IV mods as displayed here: http://youtu.be/ft_utTjUSt0?t=2m30s (2:30 - 2:40).

Project goals:

Local and online multiplayer
At least 4 vehicle types
At least one arena
Multiple special moves and weapons

Stretch goals:
More vehicles and more arenas
AI controlled bots

FILMING DATES - COMING SOON
PART 1 - ??? - Youtube
PART 2 - ??? - Youtube
PART 3 - ??? - Youtube

I hate to be the one to say this, but...

...Both of these are extremely ambitious for someone who's never done this before.

These aren't "first time I've ever touched game programming" material. I know they may sound simple in your head, but they're really not.

I would seriously suggest that, before doing these projects, really do sit down and do a very simple project, such as a Breakout or Pac-Man clone, just to get used to thinking about game loops, physics (yes, even those simple games have geometric and physics equations you have to deal with), garbage collection, memory management, etc. I know you said in chat "Yeah well that doesn't interest me so I won't do it"...You're going to have a rough time completing a project if you only want to do the parts that interest you. The last 10% of game development is the most boring, mundane, frustrating part, and it's why most people never actually finish a project. (The last 10% also takes 90% of the total development time.)

Disregard my advice if it isn't your intention to actually complete a project. I just don't want you to get overwhelmed and discouraged. Creating something from scratch with your own engine is a lot different than modding an existing AAA title to make it do funny stuff, and it's really best to start REALLY SIMPLE. I've been programming for 25 years and my usual first games in a new language are Hangman, Breakout, or a simple card game. (Crazy Eights was my XNA game, and I stopped at the 90% part and never finished it.)

_________________
Bobby Blackwolf
Co-Founder, Editor in Chief: Technical
Host - The Bobby Blackwolf Show
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Eh maybe you're right Bobby. Besides, there doesn't seem to be a lot of outside interest in this project. I'll just table it for now.