Let's keep this simple, for now...
I have this vision of creating a blog that is both entertaining and beneficial to my fellow aspiring coders. Sounds simple enough, right? Well - truth be told, I've tried this before and failed miserably.
Usually, I start out posting with gusto, only to peter out after a short while. So, what makes me think I can do better this time around? Well, to be honest, my confidence has been dramatically improved by the overwhelmingly positive response to my recent game programming tutorials.
They're certainly nothing epic, but the positive feedback and code-hungry viewers have really driven me to continue in my endeavor to teach both myself, and others.
Mainly, I focus upon laying the foundations for game design in the Visual Studio (specifically VB) environment. Visual Basic is not typically pursued as a viable programming language for game production, but I've always maintained that it is highly underrated. In lazy man's terms: It's what I know, so it's what I do. ;-D
I have a deep fondness for the old, retro RPGs. I grew up playing the old Ultima series, as well as those golden classics, such as Dragon Warrior (NES), and Final Fantasy (NES, SNES). With the arrival of superior 3D environments and flashy game play, I feel that games have lost a great deal of the depth of play and richness of dialog that they once possessed. That's not to say that I don't enjoy, immensely, the all out bloodbath of those good ol' FPS games, like Quake and Unreal, or the arse-kickin'ness of games like the Battlefield series.
Still, when I attempt to make my own games, I pretty much always feel inclined to mimic the design of my favorite classic RPGs.
That said, I'm easily distracted... When it comes to programming, I find it difficult to stick with one thing for any extended period of time. that, or I simply learn a new trick or technique that takes me down so many rabbit trails that I forget what my initial intentions were. I also have a terrible tendency to procrastinate. To make things even worse, I have the memory of a goldfish, and I most always fail to take notes. Boy does that get me into trouble... ;-O
So, here we are... Another blog. :-P
If you find the contents helpful, or even fun, PLEASE OH PLEASE OH PLEASE leave me a note or something to let me know you were here! It's the feedback that drives me forward and will help to keep this blog from becoming yet another stagnant pond in the backwaters of the internet.
Hey dude, keep at your dreams! I feel like I'm in the same boat as you. I grew up on the NES/SNES classics of Zelda and Final Fantasy :) I've branched out since then and have played a variety of RPG's, but it is def my favorite genre of games out there. There's just something about those classics that seem to lay out the foundation of RPG's though.
ReplyDeleteIts easy to get distracted, I feel like I always run off on a rabbit trail when I get super intent on something, its inevitable lol. You're right though, there is a good enough demand of game-design-dreamers that are either just getting their feet wet or just want to learn more! I happen to be one of those people. Visual Basic is a fun language and its flippin awesome that its possible to create games with this language! You're doing a great job at pioneering your way through this madness. It seems like you have a good, small team to help blaze the trails ;)