Ring48 post-mortem

Tools used

Software:
- Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Express beta
- Libraries: Allegro, AllegroGL and FMod
- Discreet 3DS Max 6
- Planetside Terragen 0.9.19
- Adobe Photoshop CS
- Adobe Audition 1.5
- Propellerhead Reason 2.5
- (ZBrush 2 for a model that didn't make it to the final version)

Hardware:
- Pentium IV 3GHz, 1GB Ram, GeForce4 Ti4600
- Roland ED PC-300 USB midi keyboard
- Wacom Intuos3 Tablet

What went wrong

• Not ready in time: When the competition started I was still trying to get Allegro and AllegroGL correctly installed. I lost an hour due to that and didn't have time to learn how to use it so I lost even more time in the first few hours. Next time I need to have everything ready and tested before the start.

• Wasted time: At first I couldn't find an original idea so I thought about making a random dungeon crawler. I made a monster model and while it was quick to model and texture in ZBrush (about 45minutes) I lost more time trying and failing to get the texture properly aligned in the game. Then I thought I would rather generate some kind of "island" -like levels and wasted time writing a random level generator that I didn't use in the final game either. I also lost time on various little graphic details that we can't even really see.

• Gameplay issues: There are problems with the gameplay. First, racing along a ring is boring and the randomly generated track does not make it more interesting. Then it would need more power-ups and different ground tiles and a better track generator. The difficulty needs to be balanced.

• Theme adherence: The track is randomly generated but other than that I didn't fully exploit the theme. I would have liked to add random power-ups but didn't have the time.

What went right

• Time management: I was able to spend a lot of time on my game. Overall i had about 8 hours of sleep in the whole week-end which was enough to able to work efficiently the rest of the time. The first 24 hours I mostly concentrated on getting the basics done (model loader, tile system) and in the second half I worked more on the gameplay.

• Idea: It was 24hours after the beginning of the competition that I had the idea of creating a racer game. I had just made this grass texture with the checkered pattern which is kind of Sonic-style. I also had those nice little stars at random on my level and it made me think of Sonic. I wondered if I could get a curved level and it took just a few minutes to do it. Then I had to think of a gameplay to go with that.

• Tools: All very good, no problem there. I wanted to use Cinema 4D for the 3D stuff but i had a cool export script for max so i used it instead. Terragen is great for creating a quick skybox. I bought Audition on Adobe's buy and download site just a few hours before the competition start (I'm a crazy compulsive buyer ;), I had used it before when it was known as CoolEdit Pro and it rocks. Propellerhead Reason rocks for generating sounds and I also used it for the intro music (rather minimalist, I ran out of time).

• 3d tiles system: It was easy enough to code so it wouldn't take too much time. I think it looks OK and given more time the graphics could easily be improved by making more interesting tiles. Also the gameplay is basically 2d so there is no need for complicated and time-consuming 3d collision detection. And the amazing part was that just a few lines of code turned my originally flat level into a cool ring shaped one.

Overall

I'm quite happy with what I've managed to accomplish in 48 hours. The game is fun for a few minutes and looks all right. The competition was really fun and I already look forward to the next one.