Monday, May 26, 2008

Dynamite Dan

Whoa.... Sorry for the long delay inbetween posts. I have no excuse - I simply have not had anything interesting to write about.

Well, while it's half-term, I've got a week off work so I've been busy doing a little more work on the trainset, and I have also got back into programming and game creating and started making a game which I am currently calling "Dynamite Dan and the Demon-Possessed Factory From Hell".


The game is based on the classic cheap £1.99 games that you could buy during the 1980's and features wonderful quasi 3D graphics, 16x16 pixel tiled graphics and wonderfully authentic 8-bit sound effects. Although the graphics, sound and game design is by me, the game is based on three classic 8-bit platform games - Dynamite Dan (by Rob Bowkett for Mirrorsoft), Big Mac - The Mad Maintenance Man (Tony Kelly for Mastertronic) and Manic Miner (By Matthew Smith for Software Projects).

The game 'engine' is complete and I am now in the process of designing the levels. I actually find this part the hardest thing to do when developing a game, but fortunatly I have Michelle as a game tester so she can tell me if the level is too easy or too hard.

I am hoping to post a demo online soon for you all to try out.

Hopefully you will not have to wait too long for my next post.

Sunday, May 04, 2008

All aboard (Part 3)

Well, it has been awhile since I last updated you on on the progress of Kierans trainset that Michelle and myself are building. I have included some more pictures with this post to show you how it is developing. The first tunnel has now been covered with grass and is just waiting for some foliage (thanks to a massive box of lichen that I purchased from eBay quite some time ago!).

Michelle has done a wonderful job at building the railway station for me, and I have started work on building the frame for the second tunnel (the largest of the two tunnels).









Things have slowed down a little bit thanks partly to Grand Theft Auto 4 (which I am spending most of my spare time playing), but I am gradually getting back into the building mood, much to Kierans happiness! - the sooner he can have his trainset, the better!