Going Blind is out!

Been teaching myself programming since the start of 2014. Making simple games for now but as my knowledge grows so will my projects!

Age 38, Male

Indie Game Dev

Oregon

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Going Blind is out!

Posted by HeroPower - August 23rd, 2014

Just published my second game called Going Blind. It was a project very close to me as it was about my mother's dog, Jake, who is the protagonist in the game. It was a very simple, short game but I really enjoyed making it. I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to connect with players or compel emotion out of them the way I had inteded, but it seems that I actually achieved my goal in doing so. This makes me happy beyond words :)

I am still learning to code (AS3) and I have only been teaching myself since the start of the year, but it is my new found passion and I never plan to give it up. After making this game, seeing the response from players and those close to me, I plan to make more games that express myself :)

More importantly, I have found a way to immortalize our beloved pet Jake. He may be blind, but he is still the happiest dog I have ever met. Love you "best buddy".

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kkots 2014-08-23 04:42:40

You did not convey his happiness through your game..

HeroPower 2014-08-23 04:42:40

Too true. Thanks for the brutal review. I appreciate the honesty. There was a mute button on first level but I didn't keep it at the top of the display list so once the "blindness" first happens it covers it. I haven't experienced any lag spikes and no idea why you did. Not much to lag on in this game....I'll look into it.

I totally agree with you on the controls. I can't figure out how to do what you suggested with variables. I really want to be able to do that in my game - but as you said - I am a rookie. I'll figure it out.

Yes, I f***ed up with no replay button. I know I had it in my first game. My biggest mistake with this game was not planning everything before I started coding. I was either going to have to create more code to add the bones back to the levels or ditch the replay option. I ultimately decided to just move on. The reason all my games are so short is because I make them to practice/learn new code. In this case, I didn't know shit about arrays/loops or passing parameters. I just wanted to move on from the project so I could start learning more code and better practices.

You know - so I can one day not be referred to as a rookie.

kkots 2014-08-23 05:59:34

Well, I can advice that experience comes with a lot of love and effort. Just relax and take your time to write the best code possible. You don't have to program any complex features, they are, after all, not necessary for viewers to appreciate your message. Nothing good come out of rush, when you think about finishing a project only to get over it and move onto the next ones. I did that in my life a lot, and it was a waste of time in most cases, except maybe improvement to my durability when working on huge projects that I hate doing, but have to.
What I suggested you to improve on is merely a suggestion - it's NOT a brutal stamp on your head that reads "rookie" and is supposed to punish you for doing a bad job. NO. Those are extra little things that can bring a lot of joy and experience if you solve them.
Just take your time, relax. Be persistent. Try to work out every small detail. Try to thing of what's lacking, what can be improved.

About the LAG problem: not sure why you don't have it and why I have it. Maybe it's because of ads - you're a supporter, so you don't see ads. Maybe the flash CPU-based graphics are lagging again. It might not even be your fault. If lags are caused by graphics, then you can use Starling for graphics acceleration, although working with animations and all artwork in entirely different in that case, and it requires lots of understanding of skins, for example, and how GPU draws stuff.

For God's sake, don't think I'm mad at you. Have a nice day, sir

HeroPower 2014-08-23 05:59:34

No offense taken. I was actually really hoping at least one programmer would give their 2 cents. Everything you mentioned that needed improvement was spot on. Well, don't know about the lag but you may be right about me being a supporter thus no ads on my side.

I realized after releasing this game that I do need to relax and take my time. My biggest enemy in life is time - I always feel like there is never enough time in the day to accomplish everything I want to do. This stresses me out and causes me to make stupid mistakes. It's a daily struggle. I'll try my best to relax and pace myself from here on out.

Touching on the lag again - I was considering learning Starling. Not sure if I'm far enough along in experience to tackle it. A member in the forums, Mintpaw, said using it would be overkill for my projects. I was assuming he was referring to using it for flash games for PC platform as opposed to mobile devices as I've heard Starling is great for making games for a mobile platform. I'll look into it.

I'm not mad and apologize if I came off that way. It just refers back to that time issue I have. Just want to be further along than I currently am, but it just takes time...

I hope you know that I greatly appreciate all of the help you have given me since the start of the year when I began this journey to learn to code.

Radaketor 2014-08-23 06:12:00

Hope Jake has a long and happy life.

HeroPower 2014-08-23 06:12:00

Me too. Thank you :)

deletedTAMyStudios 2014-08-23 22:05:56

Hi,

I've been programming for years now. (Since I was 13?)
My expertise isn't Flash, but I'm available if you want someone to review your code/projects.

Are you making these using Adobe Flash or the free tool Flash Develop?

HeroPower 2014-08-23 22:05:56

I appreciate the offer :) What language do you program in? I am currently making my games using Adobe Flash and coding with it as well. I soon plan to make the shift to using Flash Develop to handle the code side of things.

MHFU-TeamLeader 2014-08-24 14:18:46

Wow, so you did all that for Jake? He must have been a really great friend to you.

I hope Jake will have a long and healthy life.

And for you to be an expert programmer. You seem to getting pretty good.

HeroPower 2014-08-24 14:18:46

Yeah I did it for Jake and for my mom (it's her dog and best friend). Thank you for the kind words - I too hope Jake lives a long life. Despite his blindness he is still a really happy dog :)

And me - an expert programmer? No way dude hahaha I have only been teaching myself since the start of the year. I'm trying hard though to learn new code every day so I can make bigger and better games for you guys.

deletedTAMyStudios 2014-08-27 12:30:14

I'm a professional ASP.NET MVC / C# developer with experience in SQL, JavaScript (very similar to ActionScript in a lot of ways) and I even coded a game (and was working on a game engine/library) for SWF/vector-based art in Flash Develop / ActionScript 3. However, my full-time joke took precedence over my side hobbies, and I haven't touched ActionScript 3 or Flash in almost two years.

HeroPower 2014-08-27 12:30:14

Oh very impressive. I'll keep your offer in mind. Just know a lot of indie developers are hesitant to show send people their code - even if just for a review - as we don't want anyone to copy ("steal") our code. Usually if we have a question about one very specific aspect of our code we will post it here in the Flash forum to have people help us figure out any issues. But I do greatly appreciate the offer as I could use all the help I can get as I've only been teaching myself since the start of the year.

ThePeasant 2014-09-17 13:00:05

Dude... almost made me cry... seriously. My old dog is on the other side of the world with my Mom... she's 13 years old and at the end of her life. Last time I saw her was in February and it's probably the last time I ever will.

I want to add in my support for you becoming a programmer! If you keep making meaningful stuff like this you've got a future ahead of you. I've been programming for who knows how long. Only one good published game so far but over a dozen started and unfinished projects.

Seriously, if you have any questions about coding give me a shout (I won't steal any of your code - trust me my library is big enough). email is austerepeasant@yahoo.ca, or Skype me at yermiyah.hornick

Peace bro!

HeroPower 2014-09-17 13:00:05

I appreciate the review and I'm sorry to hear about your dog :/ I also greatly appreciate the support from one programmer to another. I've only been learning since the start of the year but I am hooked! I don't think I will ever stop learning to program and making games. So I genuinely appreciate your offer to lend a hand. I'll definitely keep that in mind as I am sure to encounter more difficult code down the road that I could use some help understanding :)

Going Blind is out!

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