Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Life is not a Game...

August will mark the 3rd year I've been developing TAG. My goal was to have a finished game available by the end of August. Even though the game is so close to being done, unfortunately, an August release is not going to happen now. When a project takes three years to complete chances are that some real-life event will occur that will delay progress, and that's exactly what has happened to me. Before I get into the details, I just want to assure you that TAG is still well on it's way to completion. It's just going to take a little longer than I had hoped for.

Two weeks ago my dad was admitted to the hospital for pneumonia. I just moved away recently, and wasn't around at the time, but my understanding was that he waited to go until he could barely walk on his own. That, combined with a heavy smoking habit, has really done a number on his lungs and it's really adding to his recovery time. As I'm writing this he's currently recovering from a tracheotomy that was needed to help him ween off of the respirator that's been keeping him alive. 

Because of all this I've been back "home", helping out the rest of the family as much as I can. I've hardly had time to even think about TAG. Not to mention, I don't have my computer, notes and the rest of the resources I need to continue working on the game. TAG has been close to an obsession for me for these past three years. I hardly went a day, or maybe even an hour without thinking about it. It's amazing how all that can change so quickly when life demands your attention elsewhere. 

I believe that there are always positive things that come out of even horrible circumstances. For example, I'm learning a lot about what it means to be an adult, as well as a son. Also, since there is a lot of down time:  waiting around at the hospital and babysitting and what-not, I've been trying to take advantage by doing a lot of reading and researching about Unity 3D. I've been wanting to get into it for a long time but was forcing myself to wait until TAG was finished. Now that I've got to find ways to stay busy, and distracted I'm taking the time to learn and I'm really excited about the possibilities of using Unity for my next project. 

I know this post is pretty "rambly" and of a personal nature, but I wanted to let every one who is following the progress of TAG know why I haven't been active lately. Oh, and that reminds me, the "baddie naming" gimmick, from the last post, worked out great! I got so many great names so far. I want to thank Stefan "bitowl" Hanßen, William "Skywilly" Bertin, Patrick "Ezekiel" Ezechiele, Simon Kaizen and Peter Stock for their name suggestions. All of them will be included in the game's credits. There are still some baddies left to name. So if you want to give it a shot, refer to the last post for details on how to help out. 

Thanks again to everyone who has expressed an interest in my silly game. It will get done, I promise you all. It  will probably only be a couple more weeks before I can get back to a normal life. I think it's realistic to say that Treasure Adventure Game will be ready for you to play sometime this fall. 

Friday, July 1, 2011

You are no match for Baron von Blubba!

I've always been a huge fan of the super cheesy instruction booklets of old video games. Many times the only way you would even have a clue as to what the game's story was about was by reading the manual. And who can forget the ridiculously named baddies and the silly descriptions that would often accompany them.

Except from Super Mario Bros 2 Instruction Booklet

That's actually why I'm posting this blog entry today. I want to give silly (yet fitting) names to all the baddies in TAG. However, I don't want to do it on my own. Therefore I'm reaching out to the strangers of the internet (aka YOU!) to help me in this endeavor.

I'm looking for creative people who'd be willing to take a crack at naming the enemy characters from the game. If you come up with a name that I like, that baddie will be officially named by you and I'll give you a credit for it in the game as well.

If you want to help here's what you have to do:


Follow me on Twitter and send me a private message.
http://twitter.com/robit_studios

OR

Follow my TAG fan page on Facebook...
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Treasure-Adventure-Game/193541930697027\


... and send me a facebook message.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1192775331


I've put together a list of all the enemies of the game with pictures and simple descriptions. When I get your private message I'll send you a link to the list with instructions on what to do. *WARNING - If you don't want the game's many baddies to be spoiled for you, you might want to pass on this.

If you need some guidance: I'm looking for silly/cheesy/off-the-wall, but also somewhat descriptive. Hullaballoon for example. Doesn't that really say it all?
Excerpt from Bubble Bobble (NES) Instruction Booklet