[Official] Game Development Monthly - Issue No.1

[Worldslayer608]

Game Development Monthly

Issue #1 - January 2012.

NEWS

Welcome to the Official Game Development Monthly Newsletter! Hopefully you all had a fun and safe closing to 2011.

I am letting this issue out a bit early, but in the future GDM is set to release on the first day of every month, giving you the latest news within the Game Development community here at PC. If you are interested in being a contributor to GDM contact me via PM.

Pokémon Essentials v4

With the closing of the year and the opening of a new, we would like to get things off to the right start here in the Game Development section of PC. One such start would be the latest release of Pokémon Essentials by Maruno. Now, I am not one to upgrade my Essentials kit with every release and am guilty of using a version from May 2010, but this latest release had me drooling at the mouth and I ultimately upgraded to it. This latest version is packed full of useful additions and tweaks which will certainly prove to be worth the updating. Here are just a few updates Pokémon Essentials has received with this update:

Pokédex
The Pokédex has had a facelift, and now looks a lot better. It also works a lot better too: multiple regions now have support, and you have the option to freely switch from one regional Dex to another. Only Dex lists that have contents can be viewed, and you can lock a particular list so that the player can't see it before they're supposed to. I think these changes will suit just about anyone wanting to use multiple Dexes.

Hidden abilities and multiple forms
Pokémon can now be given hidden abilities, which are abilities they will never have in the wild unless you say otherwise. And as for Pokémon that have multiple forms, each form can have a different moveset! Both very welcome additions, I'm sure. Spinda is also pleased that its spots are now the same colour as its fur.

Move animations
I've had a look at how these work, and I've improved them. You can now have different animations for a move depending on which side the user is on, and the way it is displayed has also been changed slightly to make them easier to draw (i.e. they don't rotate any more). A few new animations have been added to give you examples of how they can work. My favourites are Leech Seed and Sand-Attack.

Berry planting
This is another system that has been overhauled. Berry planting now works just as it does in Gen 3, and the growth times and yields depend on what kind of berry is planted. Oh, and the berry plant graphics have been included. That was important, wasn't it?

Soot grass
Imagine walking over a patch of grass covered in soot, and the soot disappears! Well, that happens now. There's no example of this in Essentials, because it would need some new graphics to look nice, but it's possible nonetheless. An interesting fact is that the same mechanisms can be used to make ice that cracks as you walk over it, which will be added soon.

Phone
Trainers used to insist that you add them to your phonebook. Not any more. They'll ask now, and you have the opportunity to tell them what they can do with their number. They'll only ask if you have a phone, which seems to make sense.

Abilities and items
Some new effects have been added, mostly courtesy of IceGod64. There will be more to come in future.

Bug fixes
Well, obviously. There are always things that don't work as expected, and some more of those things have now been fixed. Trainers now vanish when told to, the move Struggle now works (how wasn't this spotted before?!), the game no longer crashes when you ask it what time of day it is, moving fog doesn't suddenly run out, and you can no longer surf off cliffs. There are plenty more fixes too.

You can check out these updates in more detail HERE.

We are a Community

This is not necessarily the latest news, but it is important news for those who are not aware. Since early October Cilerba has been putting forth an effort to organize the section to accommodation rookie and veteran members alike. His thread 'What do you want to see in Game Dev' asks the community for input to help organize the forums in a user-friendly manner. This effort is not only to help with ease of access but also to help limit the number of posts in wrong sections as well as keep threads as clean as possible. So if you have an idea to help the community feel free to post it there.

TECH TUTORIAL

Adding un-catchable/un-fightable Pokémon to Pokémon Essentials

This tutorial shows you how to add pokemon that you can't fight/catch like those ghosts that are found in Lavendar Town's pokemon tower.

In PokeBattle_Battle, find the following code and add in the yellow part. You can replace the switch number with another switch/item:

if cmd==0 # Fight
    [S-HIGHLIGHT] if $game_switches[70]
            pbDisplay(_INTL("{1} is too scared to move!",@battlers[i].pbThis))
            return
          end[/S-HIGHLIGHT]
     if pbCanShowFightMenu?(i)
      commandDone=true if pbAutoFightMenu(i)
      until commandDone
       [email protected](i)
       break if index<0
       next if !pbRegisterMove(i,index)
       if @doublebattle
        thismove=@battlers[i].moves[index];
        target=@battlers[i].pbTarget(thismove)
        if target==PBTargets::SingleNonUser # single non-user
         [email protected](i)
         next if target<0
         pbRegisterTarget(i,target)
        end
       end
       commandDone=true
      end
     else
      pbAutoChooseMove(i)
      commandDone=true
     end

then in the def pbThrowPokeBall(idxPokemon,ball,rareness=nil) function, at the top below the def line add the following

if $game_switches[70]
   pbDisplay(_INTL("It dodged the thrown BALL! This POKEMON can't be caught!"))
   return
 end

Thanks to -Desbrina- for the tutorial which can be found along with other great Pokémon Essentials tutorials HERE

GAME SPOTLIGHT

By Ęℓαчиıı

When the ancestors of our ancestors told stories of the "Age of Creation." It is said that, during the Age of Creation the creator of us all, Arceus, was not alone. The Alpha Pokémon had a partner who helped control the balance of life and death. While the Alpha Pokémon preserved the delicate lives of people and Pokémon alike, the other Pokémon was responsible for passing the ultimate judgment when the life was drawing to a close. These two Pokémon watched over the Earth for centuries and would do so for centuries to come. According to the legend, a war broke out which Arceus became weak due to the intense violence and wounds that the participants of the war received. Unable to take this any longer, Arceus laid three eggs, so that these new Pokémon would be able to be the guardians of the world while the Alpha Pokémon rested and and regained his strength. This left the mysterious Pokémon alone, to control the balance of life and death on its own.

Interview with Ęℓαчиıı

Spoiler:

ЩѻƦḽᶑʂḽдƴƹƦ™:Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions Ęℓαчиıı.

Ęℓαчиıı: It's certainly not a problem. :) You're very welcome~

ЩѻƦḽᶑʂḽдƴƹƦ™: To start things off, what brought you into Game Development?

Ęℓαчиıı: Well, I had always wanted to make my own game.

I had been inspired by some of my good friends on another Game Development forum. They were the ones who convinced me to take part in Game Development and I've loved it ever since!

ЩѻƦḽᶑʂḽдƴƹƦ™: Is Ironed Heart your first Game Project? If not, what other projects have you taken part in?

Ęℓαчиıı: Nope, it sure isn't.

I have another game that has been paused due to lack of inspiration. It's called Twilight Requiem.

A Pokémon game wasn't my first choice, but, I had been flipping through an old sketch book and found many concepts for some fake Pokémon I had done quite a while back. The Pokémon idea was also inspired by The Dewitty's game, Pokémon Ametrine.

ЩѻƦḽᶑʂḽдƴƹƦ™: What is the latest news with Ironed Heart? Any secrets you have been hiding about it?

Ęℓαчиıı: Latest news about Ironed Heart? Well..

I am reaching a point where a demo release is possible! I know I've said that many times before, but now, thanks to the help of quite a few good friends, I've improved myself to the point I can be proud of my work and release it without worry!

Regarding the second part of your question, they're called secrets for a reason. :P

ЩѻƦḽᶑʂḽдƴƹƦ™: Do you have any sage advice for those who are thinking about stepping into Game Development?

Ęℓαчиıı: Well, I would say don't overexert yourself.

The number one reason that I see most new projects fail is because the creator expected too much of themselves and the project just collapsed. All projects I've seen posted in the Beginner's Showcase have potential.

Don't be telling yourself that you're going to do this and that when you're just starting out. Take it nice and slow before you start getting riled up. That.. and back up your projects often.

ЩѻƦḽᶑʂḽдƴƹƦ™: What other games here on PC would you recommend others take a look at?

Ęℓαчиıı: Pokémon Garnet by mercurysky
Pokémon: Super Eevee Edition by DarkDoom3000
Pokémon Forever Lost by Abnegation

Special thanks to Cilerba for the layout

​

 

[Pharetra]

Great to see this, I really like it. It is well-written and the content is decent too. I'd like to see some more articles, but this is great nonetheless. Good luck!

 

[Neo-Dragon]

Good read.
Nice to see a tutorial.
The interview was nice and short. Didn't drag out reading it.
I think you should of mentioned Atomic Reactor released a demo for Pokémon Obsidian Version recently too.

 

[The Dewitty]

I like this! Keep 'em coming! :)

 

[Ratty524]

Nice job on the newsletter. It was succinct and nothing dragged on for too long. Let's keep this coming. :D

 

[Maruno]

As others have said, a decent issue.

What kinds of articles would people want to see in GDM in future? There's news (obviously), and also tutorials, guides, interviews, reviews, opinion pieces, hints and tips, competitions, publicising causes, and so forth. I don't imagine all issues will have all of these, because the Editor would run out of material, but are there some you would prefer to see, or some you think shouldn't be in GDM at all?

Of course, a large part of keeping GDM going is having people contribute articles and point out newsworthy events and so forth. If you can think of something to write about, go for it. I'll be writing a couple of things, and if I can do it anyone can!

 

[Worldslayer608]

Glad to see you guys are enjoying it :).

This project was actually a very last minute kind of thing. It recently came up with little time to pump it out before the new year, so I was unable to add more to the news, and as mentioned, I did not want to drag stories or sections on.

As Maruno said, give us some feedback on what you would like to see. I am certainly going to mix it up when and where I can to keep things interesting and ensure consistent newsletters.

Feedback and articles written by member are strongly encouraged, it will help keep things going.

 

[Deleted member 143209]

Erm, not sure why Max didn't talk to me about GDM... Take a quick look at this Chris. If anything it'll be useful for future editions.

Good to see it back and everything, but I found this rather lackluster. I also think you referred to yourself, and your work on your game too much. Doesn't actually make the thread much like an article at all. I did enjoy the interview, would just rather see a little more in depth issue next time around. I felt this was way too rushed.

 

[Worldslayer608]

Gav... you trollin?

Check the date on your linked post before you start crying swiped, you could also direct me to any proactive stance you have taken to GDM lately.

I don't think I really mentioned my game at all outside of tying a sentence into my thoughts about the latest PE update, which essentially acts as a hook if anything.

Anywho, as far as it being rushed, it was, hence the lack of content. I also would like to add that this was essentially a solo issue. Rather than sitting and waiting to pick up members who are interested in writing it I decided to take the bull by the horns and get what I could done as best as I could given time constraints. If you find it lack luster then by all means, put forth some contribution to February's issue as opposed to fussing.

 

[Deleted member 143209]

Check the date on your linked post before you start crying swiped, you could also direct me to any proactive stance you have taken to GDM lately.

The date is completely irrelevant. The fact is, I was the last person to show interest in this, and I went through a nice bit of work and planning for the thread. Meaning I would have appreciated being contacted, or considered to contribute to the first issue. There's no need to start accusing me of not being proactive, I would simply have liked to have been considered in relation to GDM as I was trying to get it up and running most recently before you posted this. I don't mind at all that it was posted by someone other than me, so I'm not "crying swiped".

I don't think I really mentioned my game at all outside of tying a sentence into my thoughts about the latest PE update, which essentially acts as a hook if anything.

I stick to my point regardless, the instances I seen were:

Now, I am not one to upgrade my Essentials kit with every release and am guilty of using a version from May 2010, but this latest release had me drooling at the mouth and I ultimately upgraded to it

I've had a look at how these work, and I've improved them

In essence, you shouldn't particularly refer to your experience, or what you've done with what someone else released, it's not very informative.

Anywho, as far as it being rushed, it was, hence the lack of content. I also would like to add that this was essentially a solo issue. Rather than sitting and waiting to pick up members who are interested in writing it I decided to take the bull by the horns and get what I could done as best as I could given time constraints.

The time constraints were set by yourself, I don't see a point in rushing a GDM to start for the new year, this seems like it was a last minute choice. I'd rather have had an in depth, larger, and less rushed GDM come out half way through January, with more people contributing, than you just throwing out as much as you can as fast as you can.

You said it yourself, "We are a community", really? I see no community effort in this GDM. Which is silly, what's the point of having an official issue of GDM if it's "solo"? As a member of the community, I feel pretty much back-stabbed due to the fact nobody else was even considered, so how do you think GD is going to become a community if things like this happen?

And before you say "Oh well next month I'll be looking for help and contributions." I'm talking about this issue. As I said, there was no reason to rush it. How do you know future issues are going to work with contributions if you just did it all yourself this time? As you say.

If you find it lack luster then by all means, put forth some contribution to February's issue as opposed to fussing.

First of all, I'm talking about this issue. So what I do or do not contribute to February has no bearing on the points I'm making now. "Fussing" is something I am not doing, I am offering you criticism on the GDM laid before me. I want to see it improve, but I can't show my opinions on the GDM if I keep talking about February.

Basically Chris, what I wanted to say is above. I'm not "fussing", nor am I "crying swiped". There's no need to defend yourself just because I've offered negative feedback. I'm simply saying that this should have been more of a community effort and you have little excuse as to why you didn't allow others to contribute, asking them to do so next month is inconsistent.

In saying this, yes, I did enjoy reading through aspects of the GDM, as I said, yes, I did enjoy the interview. I also found the concepts of things such as adding tutorials and so on was a good idea. You seemed to skip over the fact that I added positive comments. I simply think this could have been better, and could of had more of a community effort. There's no need to put the shield up when I'm only wielding suggestions, advice and feedback.

 

[Neo-Dragon]

I do agree Abnegation should of been contacted. ЩѻƦḽᶑʂḽдƴƹƦ has been absent from the community and I'm sure he was not aware of your thread Abnegation. He should of searched to see if there was a GDW thread, or Cilerba should of informed him that Abnegation was doing it.
I do also agree that if a "monthly" thread was set up like 6 months ago (longer right?) it should be assumed as dead. I still believe the rule here is a month older then last post and it's considered dead.

 

[Maruno]

In essence, you shouldn't particularly refer to your experience, or what you've done with what someone else released, it's not very informative.

I'd just like to point out that the large quote talking about the features was quoted directly from the Essentials v4 thread. I was the one who wrote: "I've had a look at how these work, and I've improved them". The quote wasn't attributed to me, and should have been (although simply quoting isn't good journalism anyway), but that's what happened.



I'm in the middle of this little argument. Yes, you put some work into trying to revive GDM, but you didn't do so and that was 6 months ago. You do seem a little too offended to be saying you're not "fussing" (about you not been asked specifically, not just because you're part of the community; myself and Ęℓαчиıı were asked, at least). On the other hand, I agree that it was rushed and not quite what it could have been (e.g. the recent starter's guide would also be news, but wasn't mentioned). ЩѻƦḽᶑʂḽдƴƹƦ's attitude didn't help.

Let's consider this a starting point. GDM exists now (again), and that's bound to provide more incentive than "I want to do something in the future". Let's put together a team of Editors, come up with categories, gather contributions and go from there. Abnegation's thread contains useful insights into how the GDM should work, and there are always past issues to look at, and there's much that can be improved. Let's do that.

 

[Worldslayer608]

Gavin, Max was the only one I really contacted about the newsletter and that was to see if it was something that was okay if I did. Maruno and Ęℓαчиıı were contacted afterwards because they were involved in some of the topics I was going over.

The fist issue, however rushed it may or may not have been, was essentially a solo thing for the sake of launching things. I have always advocated putting in private and solo work before asking for future help as it not only showcases the project but also commitment to the project. It will continue being a solo thing if it has to be, but I would rather have help that also brings and fosters commitment to the project rather then help that only wants to showcase interest rather then contribution.

That being said, the thread is starting to be derailed. Any further issue regarding what has been discussed should be taken to PM or MSN, where you are more then welcome to vent and bounce ideas with me, as always and that goes beyond just you Gavin. Anyone interested is more then welcome to contact me.

 

[Deleted member 143209]

Actually, the thread hasn't been derailed, I've done nothing but talk about the topic at hand. I think it's quite under sighted if you don't seek contributions directly. I'm simply trying to throw my opinions here. My point was that more people could have been included, and I would have appreciated being one of those people given that I'd tried reviving this within the year, I'm not exclaiming that I should have published it at all. I'm saying that to add to the point in the community factor, which is what I'd like to see in the next addition; more of a community effort.

 

[Rossay]

In an attempt to get this topic back on track...

I think it's a good start & I like the CSS layout a lot -- makes it easy to read. The writing style of the articles would benefit from being less conversational: I think that style is more appropriate for the interviews (obviously) and possibly even the tutorials.

What I would really like the newsletter to take into account is the fact that this is the GAME DEVELOPMENT SECTION. What I mean is that you need to talk about more than just Pokemon fangames (although, I understand they do make up the vast majority of games here given that this is Pokecommunity).

There should be a section discussing and encouraging people to make other types of games, giving them information & tutorials on how to do so as well; as well as highlighting games which aren't all Pokemon fangames (for example, SphericalIce's 'Monokid').

 

[DarkDoom3000]

It does seem rushed, but it's good to see a version of the gamedev mag back in circulation.

Agreed with Rossay- would be interesting to have a section dedicated to non-pokemon fangames.

 

[Riansky]

This seems cool. Hope it will last long and won't be forgotten after 3 months. I like the idea to putting a tutorial in here. Keep it up!

 

[Yuoaman]

Gavin, I don't see why you're angry at all, you did literally nothing with GDM, you started a thread about it over the summer and it never amounted to anything. Going by your reasoning I could chew both of you out for stealing 'my' newsletter, even though that would be beyond ridiculous, I didn't do **** with it and now other people get their chance to do their own thing.

 

[KingCharizard]

Gavin, I don't see why you're angry at all, you did literally nothing with GDM, you started a thread about it over the summer and it never amounted to anything. Going by your reasoning I could chew both of you out for stealing 'my' newsletter, even though that would be beyond ridiculous, I didn't do **** with it and now other people get their chance to do their own thing.

Yeah I was trying to remember who did the original GDW(I think that is what it was). Anyways it was a nice read...

 

[Deleted member 143209]

Gavin, I don't see why you're angry at all, you did literally nothing with GDM, you started a thread about it over the summer and it never amounted to anything. Going by your reasoning I could chew both of you out for stealing 'my' newsletter, even though that would be beyond ridiculous, I didn't do **** with it and now other people get their chance to do their own thing.

Lol, nobody is angry. Furthermore, I don't think you understand what my "reasoning" was. I never accused Chris of "stealing" anything. You're under a misconception that there was aggro over Chris posting the newsletter and not me. As I said, about 3 times, I have no problem with it being posted, and I am in fact happy with it being so. So instead of dragging further unnecessary drama to the thread you could focus on the prosperity of the newsletter (which is exactly what I was caring about), except I bucked the trend of positive comments and simply added some feedback on how it could have improved. There is absolutely nothing personal about the whole situation. So don't assume there is.

Furthermore, Chris has spoken to me and has asked to help out for the next issue, which is fine with me, as I would enjoy helping out. I shouldn't have to explain the fact that I would have liked to been in the loop before it was posted, that is all. And I don't think I did nothing, I created a form of structure, and went to Max about it, it simply never took off due to me being busy with some other things at that time of the year. I admit that, which is why I have no problem with Chris posting it. In addition, I wish you and others would stop assuming such things that do not exist.

So in conclusion, no, what you're saying is completely non-existent, you've created an alternate universe in which everything in relation to my view on the letter is dramatic and where I'm complaining that I should have posted it. No, it's nothing like that. I offered feedback, and in conjunction to this, I will be working with Chris on the next issue and seeing how we can improve it upon January's issue; that's it. Period.