lazy game developer
lazy game developer
The first attempt to create a classic stacker game in an isometric projection was made at Synesis. The custom engine and game code, written in C++, allowed the game to run on multiple platforms simultaneously – Android, Android TV, iOS, and Apple TV. Development was done on macOS, so the game also ran perfectly on macOS. The engine even allowed the game to run on Windows.
This game belongs to the category of my creations that I’ve enjoyed playing for many years.
I worked on the engine and game code while at Synesis. Graphics, music, animations, and all other non-programming aspects were handled by other talented specialists.
I can’t go into full detail about the development process or the internal structure of the engine and game. Both the game and the engine – as well as the toolchain needed to build the game – were written in C++.
The development process itself was similar to most casual games: we chose the game concept, the artist/designer created sketches, and we approved them together. Animators and integrators then got involved, while I focused on writing the game code and, when necessary, refining the engine.
Everything was then combined into a single project, resulting in a game for iOS and Android.
This is a space-themed endless runner. Unlike other runners, it stands out with its setting. The game features a variety of ships, each with unique characteristics.
The game was also developed at Synesis. I worked on the engine and the game code itself, while other specialists at the company handled the rest.
This is my version of the game King’s Valley for the ZX-Spectrum, which I wrote back in my school years. The game is not a clone of the original MSX title but rather inspired by it. The main character was copied pixel by pixel from King’s Valley 2 with the help of graph paper, a few keen eyes, and a pencil, thanks to my friend Yevgeny Yanushkevich. My brother Ilya and my friend Yevgeny also helped me design the levels. All the development of the game and its resources was done entirely on the ZX-Spectrum.
In the video, there’s quite a serious player – completing the game in just two hours.
In fact, the game turned into quite a long-term project, stretching out, if I remember correctly, for about a year. It was written right after I lost the disks with the source code of my previous game – a port of Knightmare from the MSX.
The game can be found in the World of Spectrum archive and on other sites.
Strangely enough, World of Spectrum claims that the game was released in 1994. That doesn’t quite match reality, since that was already my third year at the Academy, while I had actually written the game back in school.
To this day, I continue working on reviving the game for mobile devices (iOS, Android), TV set-top boxes (Apple TV, Android TV), desktop platforms (Linux, macOS), and the web. But I’m doing this VERY slowly – sometimes putting development aside altogether, and sometimes spending just a few hours a month on it.
Yes, it’s another game inspired by Krakout.
Mid-2013.
The idea was simple: “I’ll take Krakout and Arkanoid: Space Ball, quickly rework them, and release something new.” Yeah, right – wishful thinking. “Quickly” didn’t happen for several reasons: the old game code was useless, and even looking at it hurt my eyes; plus, the plan was to use a new (for that time) version of the engine and replace my old simplified math with the Box2D physics engine.
So the old projects “voluntarily shared” only some assets and ideas – the game itself was written entirely from scratch. Levels in the game were grouped into worlds – there were 10 worlds in total, each containing between 10 and 40 levels.
To save time, some worlds were copied from previous games. But several levels and even entire worlds were newly designed. Different people worked on different levels and worlds.
Because the game’s levels were meant to be dynamic, an external editor was created for building episode worlds. Level data was stored in XML, describing object types, appearance, behavior, and durability. The editor worked with object groups – for example, a circular trajectory with radii R1 and R2, rotation speed and direction, and the number and type of objects on it. When loading a level, each object became independent in the game while still visually belonging to its group.
Target platforms were iOS, Android, Android TV, OUYA, Linux, macOS, and Windows. Both the game and the engine were written in C++. Development was done under Linux, in my favorite editor – VIM.
At one point, a publisher from China requested the game. I had to implement special, localized payment methods. The tricky part was that each mobile operator had its own SDK for different payment systems. It was impossible to test integrations locally, so I had to rely on sparse documentation and my own experience. I don’t remember how long it took to implement all the payment options, but the work was eventually completed. A special build of the game was sent to the publisher for testing – after which the publisher disappeared.
And that wasn’t the first publisher to vanish after receiving a build.
«Geniuses learn from others’ mistakes, smart people learn from their own, and only fools keep repeating the same ones»
© Folk wisdom
A hidden-object game with a mystical yet detective-style story. The player must move between the real and mystical worlds to solve various tasks.
The game features a range of logic and arcade mini-games.
The game was developed on a modified HGE engine using SDL libraries. Target platforms were Windows and macOS, while development was carried out on Linux. Versions for Windows and macOS were sent to publishers, but the Linux version remained on the development computer.
For a time, Between the Worlds was at the top of iWin’s publisher charts.
If memory serves, the game was released in 2008.
I check the logs of my web server fairly often, though not very closely. Referrers are particularly valuable to me. Usually, I’m aware of all the reviews related to my games, but this review came as a complete surprise…
The modern boom in Arkanoid-style games arguably began back in 1997 with DX-Ball. It’s not that the game brought much new to the genre — it was simply made very well, and its popularity can be explained by the clever use of Microsoft DirectX’s technological capabilities.
Following the same technological path were the developers from the ‘WE’ Group, who released Krakout RE. To be fair, this game isn’t based on the original Arkanoid, but on a later clone — Krakout, which was once well-known among ZX-Spectrum, Commodore 64, and Amiga users. The authors managed to create a visually stunning game that actively uses the power of modern graphics cards and delights the eye with pleasant animated graphics.
A key feature of the game is its unique level generator. Essentially, the game is endless, as completely new levels are created each time you start it. Also noteworthy are the excellent musical soundtrack, the ability to save your game, and the option to share your achievements with other players by publishing results online.
In addition, the authors added several original bonuses that don’t “drop” from broken bricks but remain in place. For example, among negative bonuses, you might encounter a cannon that shoots at your paddle and freezes it upon impact.
Source.
Two versions of this game were released — one for DOS and one for Windows.
1997 and 2002
It was a classic Tetris that included several variations: Tetris, Pentix, and Color Tetris.
What made this Tetris special was its support for network play with up to 5 players. When a player cleared two or more lines at once, random blocks would be added to the opponents’ wells.
The DOS version was written in Borland C 3.1. Apart from the network mode, its distinctive feature was a Windows 95–style interface. The network was implemented over the IPX/SPX protocol.
The game was written in C entirely from scratch, without any engines or third-party libraries, except for the IPX/SPX library. For graphics output, it used direct memory access. On startup, the game created interface elements in a memory area outside the visible screen, then copied them into the visible part for rendering. Because of this approach, the game wouldn’t run under Windows 95, even in compatibility mode. Unfortunately, the source code for this version has not survived.
I couldn’t find a screenshot of the DOS version.
If I recall correctly, the Windows version was written in C using Visual Studio 6. For the engine, it used the CDX library. The game had a client-server architecture: any player could act as the server, and the others would connect to them. It ran over TCP/IP. Thankfully, I was able to preserve the source code for this version.
