Dev Links: Knight Time
In today’s Developer Links: Procedural generation, meaning in video games, and the downside of Kickstarter.
5 Tips For Using Procedurally Generated Content In Your Game (Gamasutra)
“OK, so procedural generation doesn’t always work so swimmingly, and there are plenty of mediocre games that have tried and failed to incorporate randomly-placed content. But taking the “less is more” approach, as Eufloria dev Rudolf Kremers recently called it, is a great way for indie studios to free up time to focus on other areas of development — if done successfully.”
Super Meat Boy Galaxy (Team Meat blog)
“So a little over a year ago, I turned 30. For my birthday a good friend,Aubrey Hesselgren, whom I used to work with on Goo! and before that on stupid Hoopworld, made me this Super Meat Boy Galaxy Prototype. I played it, it was awesome. I thought he did a great job with the controls and that is really saying something because I am very picky about controls. Below is a video:”
Announcing “Desperate Gods” (Wolfire blog)
“Last week we participated in the 7-day “F This Jam” event, and created an online board game called “Desperate Gods”. It was great hanging out with those of you who watched our livestreams! Here’s a video showing the results:”
Meaning In Video Games (Independent Gaming)
“I am a bit of a English literature geek. I know, that’s pretty sad, but aside from writing, reading is basically my favourite thing. I like reading the classics, like Nineteen Eighty-Four, or Lord of the Flies. What makes these books awesome is that they saysomething. George Orwell’s 1984 is a terrifying vision of the future from the perspective of 1949, one in which a small force called “The Party” has taken full control over it’s citizens, using mind control and constant surveillance to keep people in a state of constant obedience.”
Major Patch Now Live + Plans For The Future (Chivalry: Medieval Warfare)
“Now just a month after release, Steve Piggott, the lead game designer of Chivalry: Medieval Warfare sits down to answer community questions and speak about the future of the game. In the video Steve promises a ton of new, free content coming to Chivalry and also talks about the surprising success of the game and the excitement for the whole team at Torn Banner Studios right now:”
The Video Game Kickstarter Report – Week Of November 23 (Zeboyd Games)
“This week is all about the revivals of famous old series. First, we have Molyneux’s Project Godus – a sequel to Populous. Some individuals have criticized 22cans for doing this kickstarter so soon after their last game, Curiosity, which had serious problems (they seriously underestimated how many people would play it and as a result their server couldn’t handle the load). There have also been complaints that they’re doing a kickstarter at all since Molyneux could easily raise the money via traditional means. In any case, it’s up to £105k of its £450k goal with 28 days left to go.”
What’s Next? (Computer Games)
“I was quite busy this week working both on Heileen 3 and Bionic Heart 2 (you see a new video of it above), so this post will be mostly an attempt in having a sort of ‘planned release schedule’.”
Kickstarting Inequality (Cliffski.com)
“I’m not a huge fan of kickstarter. There, I said it. I know that makes me unpopular. I’m not a fan for a number of reasons, but ultimately, if people are happy to fund games that way, then good luck to them. And of course, anything that serves as a kick in the vulnerables to big evil publishers will always get my vote. There are lots of reasons to like kickstarter, but those are commonly discussed. So let me lay out briefly, my reservations, and then expand on one I find never mentioned.”
