I sense a change in me. For the longest time, for a couple of months now, I haven't been reading due to reasons as silly yet tempting as spending time on games. Playing with people, that is. Monster Hunter caught me with its net weaved with the fabric of time, and it hauled more than a hundred hours in. And before I know it, I had eye bags and lethargy would bang at my door every morning like a mad person would.
It did not go to waste. If it did, I would've felt regret, but the times where I helped new and young players climb up their ladder, it felt really good. I don't know the person at the end of the line, but I know I've helped them along their monster hunting life and hopefully added the fun factor into their chemistry with the game.
Now, with all the hours gone, my books collected dust every second I was away from them. But since a week ago, I received a reply from Mindvalley with a practical challenge. Eh? How are they related? Questions are fine, but they must know their time and place :) *failed attempt at being Professor Oak*
There were 3 options to choose from: Game of Life simulator, 2048 and a URL shortener. I went with the latter two. URL shortener because, it has been a while since I last coded things unrelated to gaming. 2048 because, why the heck not? Hahaha! Sorry Game of Life, I would like you too, but I have a different game in mind to develop before I turn life into a series of digital cellular experiments.
I began with the URL shortener. I learnt the basics of how it worked- create random strings and link the generated string with the URL the users provide. That's simple.
Or so I thought. Then it eventually became a godsent vision that I would need a place to store all these strings and their respective destinations. That's right, a database. I never did score highly on database subjects in university- they were theories and theories but no hands-on practicals. So okay, that's cool, brainwashed my mind into thinking "Oh piece of cake, you can definitely do this!". Then just as the storm seemed to have cleared, another bad weather decided to loom overhead: that means I need a host. And that also means I need a website. Oh boy.
After doing much soul searching and contemplating on life at least twice in a minute, which by the way is just a way of me saying "I went through my mind back and forth", I decided to roll with it! For the first time, I'm managing a database! And I learned how to host things using a hosting service! Andddd I now own a website! All of which I never had in my life (blogs don't count okay!), so it was a great learning experience although the beginning was riddled with knowledge holes.
Moving on, the 2048 was a boat with very frustrating oars. If you haven't heard of the game 2048, I think you might want to poke around the Internet for a bit. With my experience using Unity 3D, developing a clone of the 2048 game is simple. The only thing I require are tools to handle my aesthetics. Which I didn't have access to. Talk about cost, these days. Thus the river of time swept me in its current, along the way I must've bumped against what you would call boulders blocking your path. They didn't do as much as a scratch, so I said, "Hey, let's try using HTML instead! After all, I've never built a game beyond the walls of Unity 3D".
Firstly, I know I wouldn't be using numbers although that's what the game is all about. I deviated, my designer's soul was screaming so loudly I began to worry I'd go deaf if I let it be. So came the idea from above, that I'd use a theme. And that alone isn't enough. As an aspiring game designer, no way I'd let players play a game without rewarding them. Hence the idea of nature came in. I mean, who doesn't like nature?! *stares*
In order to do that, I'd need icons, sprites. To handle that, I have to rely on Javascript. But Javascript alone isn't going to handle the animations. I needed an external framework, and stumbled upon Phaser which is, by the way, amazing! Learning an entirely new framework is a hassle, much more so in the face of an hourglass. I pulled through the sands just like a surfer!
I made a couple of hundred and one mistakes along the way. My algorithm for the 2048 was imperfect. I didn't account for saplings that stood between two trees. I made some forests so resilient they wouldn't budge an inch from their position. I made people so happy they disappeared into the white abyss. Nightmares! I stayed up late for a few nights, my days were fueled with mediocre sleep. But THANK YOU UNIVERSE BECAUSE I MANAGED TO SOLVED THEM ALL!
RANDOM THOUGHT: I NEED TO START USING PICTURES IN MY POSTS !
That leaves the animations. Because of how my algorithm works, the data for each tile is not always synchronized with its sprite all the time. Animating would mean I need the sprite to stay in the room for a little longer, but I know its soul has ascended elsewhere. When they decide to become one again, my code decided to be Mr. Badass and separated them totally. What a cruel programmer I am. Fortunately, I cooked up a working method by introducing a third party to the relationship! Wait, no, while most couples would hate that, I assure you the assimilation was beneficial to all of them. With all of them done, I drew my stage performance with a slight finishing touch before the curtains are drawn: I decided to play Universe and tell every person who completes their life of their great doings; the seeds they've planted, the trees they gave life to, the people they made happy.
I am happy with my outcome. It isn't perfect, the designer in me has critics all over the place, but given just one week I am amazed at myself of achieving this much, learning even more ( ^.^)/*
So...apparently I ran away from my original topic. About books. I haven't been reading for a while now. But at the moment, I feel at peace. I feel like I could enter my quiet room, find myself spellbound by the enchanting magic, and flip the pages as my lose myself deeper and deeper in my own world.
