When programming a new game, most of the time you implement some basic features and start from there. As the game gets bigger, your code gets more interwoven, and the classes bigger. And before you know it you end up with spaghetti code and god classes, and that’s the last thing anyone wants.
Let’s assume we’re programming a racing game, and we have a class called RaceCar. Soon enough that class will contain a method to update it’s state, to draw it onto the screen, to accept user input, etc. It will become huge with all kinds of different functionality in there. So how can we divide up our game so it’s nicely split up into modules and classes? Just read on and learn 
.
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The game loop is the heartbeat of every game, no game can run without it. But unfortunately for every new game programmer, there aren’t any good articles on the internet who provide the proper information on this topic. But fear not, because you have just stumbled upon the one and only article that gives the game loop the attention it deserves. Thanks to my job as a game programmer, I come into contact with a lot of code for small mobile games. And it always amazes me how many game loop implementations are out there. You might wonder yourself how a simple thing like that can be written in different ways. Well, it can, and I will discuss the pros and cons of the most popular implementations, and give you the (in my opinion) best solution of implementing a game loop. Read more…
This guide describes the coding style that I developed over the years. My style isn’t very widespread. As a matter of fact, I don’t know anyone who comes even close to the weird way I program. But I like it and want to share it with you anyway (you lucky bastard!). I use it for all kinds of programming languages: C, C++, Java, C#, Python,… .
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Welcome to my brand new blog about how to create and sell your own games.
I’ll provide you all the technical, business and marketing info you need for creating your very own game development company. My plan is to publish a step-by-step, ready to use guide on how to do this.
First I’m going to publish the more popular articles from my http://dewitters.koonsolo.com site. Then I’ll start posting new articles for those who are just starting out, and work my way up from there.
Koen Witters
If you have suggestions for topcis you want to see covered, please leave a comment below. Thanks!
In our last post we told you that we’re now working on our next game. But as you might know this can costs a lot of money, especially for a small game developer. So to gain some funds quickly we’re going to do this crazy promotion and sell our current game ‘Mystic Mine’ at a huge price discount!
On Monday, June 1, we’ll send out a mail to all our newsletter subscribers, which contains the promotion code to take advantage of this deal. This promotion will then be available for a week, so you will have to act fast.
Only our newsletter subscribers will receive this code, so make sure you’re one of them! Subscribe at http://www.koonsolo.com/newsletter.php (Unsubscribe at any time you want ).
Some time ago I asked our mailing list subscribers to fill in a survey to help decide our next game, and I was amazed that so many took the time to fill this in. To be honest I expected only a few would give feedback. So a big “thank you” to everybody who provided their feedback!
It seems that a lot of you like the originality and optical illusions in Mystic Mine, so this is definitely going to be included in our next game. During the development of Mystic Mine I discovered a new twist on those impossible levels, but wasn’t able to use this in the game. But now I have the chance of creating a new game that makes use of this ‘new angle’, but I’ll tell you more about that later.
Sci-fi and fantasy are still very popular themes, but I don’t want to commit to that too much since there are already a lot of such games out there. And I want to create something unique. The world of our next game can be best described as “futuristic fun”. This probably means nothing to you, but once I’m able to show the first images, you’ll see what I mean.
And of course, it will be available for Linux, Mac and Windows.
I’ll keep you updated!
Koen
P.S: If you want to receive the Koonsolo newsletter, go to http://www.koonsolo.com/newsletter.php and fill in your e-mail address.
Koonsolo is pleased to announce the release of “Mystic Mine”, a refreshing game for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. In Mystic Mine you guide a gold car through a mine, switching rails with a single button. You can only go down, but thanks to an optic illusion in the levels, you can always reach every point. Play this game alone or invite some friends and play against each other. The game supports up to 6 people on one keyboard.
You’ve never played a game like this before!
Mystic Mine features:
- Family friendly gameplay for all ages.
- Single-button gameplay.
- Multiplayer with up to 6 players on 1 keyboard.
- Accessible to people and children with limited mobility.
- Adapts the difficulty to your skill.
Visit www.mysticmine.com now and download your free demo of Mystic Mine.
Koonsolo announces that their upcoming game Mystic Mine will be released in February 2009. You will be able to purchase the game through the Koonsolo website.
The game introduces a whole new concept that nobody has seen or played before. Its most remarkable features are:
- Levels with an impossible optical illusion
- Play with a single button
- Multiplayer with up to 6 people on 1 keyboard
Subscribe now to the Koonsolo newsletter and get notified when Mystic Mine is released.
Surf to http://www.mysticmine.com for more information.
The Media Kit with promotional images and information can be found at http://www.mysticmine.com/press.php
Mystic Mine will feature a multiplayer mode that allows up to 6 simultaneous players on 1 keyboard. Each player only needs one button to switch the track in front of their goldcar. By colliding into another car, you can steel diamonds and other valuables, or pass the dynamite before it explodes. Together with friends and family you can enjoy playing this game on Windows, Mac or Linux. Try to collect the most points and win the game!
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