Screenshot

So.... my Torque2D trial ended before I could finish so everything is getting finished in GameSalad so that it will be ready in time. I don't have $128 right now to buy the program. Maybe sometime later I'll be able to afford it so I can make stuff with it. But for now, GameSalad.
I just wanted to post a pic of the game's current layout. All that's really left now is adding the code to make the game work.

Ignore the giant black space above. I had to resize to the iPhone horizontal screen size and for some reason the black part is still there. It should still scroll when I'm done. It's due Tuesday so everything will finished by then.

Game art for Final game

I will post the game concept sketches later (I actually sketched these by hand on graph paper first).
While I was looking for Torque 2D tutorials I came across these AMAZING videos on youtube by HillBilly1Gamer (I think that was his name) on game design methods. These vids apply well to any program for games, not just Torque 2D. One of the tips he mentions is to use graph paper to design your game characters. That way you can measure out how big each one is in comparison to another and how in Torque 2D it helps you plan out how many blocks each game character or piece measures out to in game. Also he mentions that if you are creating the pieces in photoshop, you can turn on the grid function to do this same process.
These were very helpful and the tip on the graph paper is a life-saver!
Here are my photoshop colored pieces:

The purpose of the game will be to fly the spaceship through a scrolling landscape and fire the tractor beam to capture various game characters (chickens, cows, famers, and political figures) to earn points, varying for each character. I'm not sure if I will add a function that reduces points like capturing a pig, so if time allows, that might be a level 2 function. This is another example of my boyfriend having much better ideas for fun simple games than me. Thankfully, the art and concept is so simple I have more time to devote to the coding process. I have high hopes for this one!

Game Script updated and fixed kind of

Okay, so I managed to get the script to work at at least a demo level. I am going to pick the brain of my computer guru brother over Thanksgiving and ask Jeff's ActionScript guru friend for help as well. And, eventually I will get more game art from Evlon (the owner of the sim game website) and will be able to add more dynamic to the game. These pics are evidence of the new coding that I figured out yesterday to make it work as it stands now:

I will repost more as I fix this. Not sure what my last project will be.

I can't understand it

I have to admit defeat for now. Even if I stay up all night, I cannot understand ActionScript 3.0 in a matter of a few weeks. I want to improve this game. As of now, all I can do is move an animated character with the arrow keys and thanks to source codes from FlashGameU® I can make the mouse cursor look like a hand when it goes over an object (however those files were supposed to create an inventory system and this did not work because I have no clue how to re-apply the math that is used). Also, the ActionScript for CS3 in the book from Jeff is different from the AS3 in CS5.5.
If possible, I'd like to try to make a better effort to attend during the Game Production class and get help on this. I want to fix it, especially since it's for a close friend (who I am hoping will actually provide me more game art if she has more time). I want to improve this and am willing to take the appropriate grade until I can make it better. Or even keep the lower grade for it. I still want to come in for help if possible and will stay late tomorrow/today to work on it in the class.
(btw, the post says I'm putting it up at 11 something on Wednesday, it is actually 1:40 AM on Thursday that I'm posting this)

Starting Over

It's now 10:30 and all of the fighting I have done with Flash all afternoon has been for naught. I'm going to have to start over and make this less complicated if possible.
Also, found out that I also have a two page paper due tomorrow.

This Game

This game may have to be submitted tomorrow with some issues then resubmitted. As it stands at 7:00 tonight I have: this game, 4 thumbnails for O'Keefe (in a medium I'm not familiar with), a quiz for Bible, a group project meeting for presentation tomorrow, and a slideshow to compile. I'm already resigned to having not much if any sleep tonight. However, because the Bible project affects more than just me, it has to be a high priority.
I am trying over and over to code this game. This is the second Flash game I have ever worked on. It will most likely show tomorrow. However, because it is for my roommate's personal SIM website, I will be continuing to work on it and improve it. It may take a while for me to get home and get the other ActionScript book I ordered, because Amazon shipped it to my house, not the school, and my family cannot afford to mail it here as quickly as I needed it.

The Code isn't working

The codes from the book are popping up error messages all over the place. I'm assuming this is from the difference between the CS3 code in the book and my CS5.5. I'm trying to glean what I can from the updated source files.

Coding Update

The ActionScript 3.0 book from Jeff is very helpful. I typed in the wrong code at first so I've already had to start that over.

(tried to code the actions on the creature itself, moved it to the actual actions layer in the next image)

Creature Flash Game post 1

Hello, I know it seems really late to be getting all of my posting up but I'm getting all the images up for the game I am making for my roommate's website and for my second project. It will be done by Thursday, I promise.
This is the first image (I have the character animated, but not much other coding at this point):

Screenshots from ActionScript Lesson

Hello, I finished the lesson on Flash gaming that I was working on and managed to remember to take pictures while I was doing it. As soon as I get the game art I will be creating the game that will be done by Thursday.

By Thursday Due Date

Hello, by Thursday I will have an explorer style sim game with an inventory system done in Flash. I haven't remembered to take screen shots, but I'll try to remember better. I'm doing the game so that my roommate can use it on her sim game website. She is providing the art and I'm designing and coding the game in Flash, using ActionScript 3.0.
Things have been really piling up lately and there was a large issue with getting me set to graduate on time, so taking screenshots has been moved to the back of my mind usually, but hopefully I can get some taken of the Gopher Golf Game Lesson up this morning. Also, thanks to Hurricane Sandy, Shapeways studio was affected for a time and my printed model will have to be bumped to next project. I would still like to make an iPone case.

Flash

I keep forgetting to take screenshots while I'm working (focusing intensely in work mode) but I just wanted to update saying that I am working through the lessons in the Against the Clock® books for Flash CS5 (the version I have on my laptop). So far I'm in the middle of scripting a gopher golf game. I'll try to remember to screenshot it the next time I open it up to finish it. The Actionscript 3.0 book from Jeff is also very handy! :)

Game Video

I just did a quick run through the levels. Also, I forgot to let the wasp kill me in the first level, but it restarts the game completely if the wasp hits you. Hopefully later tonight I will also post the concept for my next project model and game (I want to send a model to Shapeways® to have it printed and look at Actionscript games in Flash). Also hopefully, over break I will be able to get through one of the lessons in my Flash CS5 lesson book on Flash gaming. I'm usually pretty quick at those.

Here's the video:

Web Link

Got done faster than I thought.... I hope this link works. I'll upload a video of me playing it tonight as well.

Bumblebuzzzz Game

Web Executable Game Will Be Posted By Midnight

Hello, just a quick post. I'm remaking the last maze to match the first two. I fixed my programming issue (the bee was the wrong size) and now I'm just fixing the aesthetics a bit. I'll try to have a web-executable version of the game posted in the next few hours, before midnight at the latest.

Three Levels Complete and Playable!

I've only got three levels coded and ready to go now for the deadline. I want to eventually complete ten levels and sell them in the app store as a free app, and make a 20 or so level $0.99 app. Also, it was made in GameSalad, not Torque2D. GameSalad is easier to code by yourself, and since I hadn't really learned well last year. I wanted to get a taste of coding before I tackle Torque C++ coding in Torque. I might model some stuff next, but I would still like to learn and create things in Torque.
I'll post screen shots soon.

Putting Everything Together

Sorry I keep forgetting to post with updates. Other classes are one project after another and I haven't thought about posting while I'm working. So far, it's beginning to look like I'm going to be compiling this in GameSalad not Torque 2D. I'm running out of time and I don't have a lot of time to learn a new program, write a 4 page paper, paint a final illustration, and do tons of reading. If possible, I'd still like to mess with learning Torque on my "free time."
I redesigned the wasp to better match the bee. Also, decided to make the game simpler and make it a maze game more like Pac Man ®. Added antennae to the bee and the wasp. The new basic plot is collect the pollen, don't hit the wasp, and get through the maze. Only three levels at the moment. If I ever get more mazes drawn and finished I might make it 10 levels for a published version and 20 levels for a $0.99 version.
Characters and the first maze:

New Direction

I've been pondering how to complete this game.... and I'm not sure if my original plot line will work. After seeing an example in class of a different style of game, I began to think I could make the game use the same characters, but have a different goal. More of a game similar to the example, which is similar to the "balloon pop" game.
Perhaps the bee character can be directed around a maze like setting. Collecting pollen tokens increases points by so much and killing wasp characters increases points more. This sounds like it will be easier to complete by myself.

Brainstorming with a Gamer

So, I'm very grateful to be dating a gamer and have lots of friends who are gamers so I can pick their brains for ideas on game schematics. The second level might change to simply the dance on the grid to tell the Queen Bee and the rest of the hive how to get to the pollen. This does mean a change in my design for the levels, but that's okay at this point. I'm going to have to figure out a way for the player to save information on how each flower is found that way the grid is easier to navigate and understand in the second level. The third level I would still like to keep as a kidnap the "Princess Bee" in which the player has to fight off other bees (which means another character design soon to come) and kidnap their "Princess Bee."

Things still left to make:
Princess Bee
other Worker Bees
Queen Bee
Grid system for the map dance
direction collection system
hives
level backgrounds

 These should be completed pretty soon so I can focus on learning Torque 2D and composite the game.

I appreciate all constructive comments and critiques. :) 

Daisy and Pollen Token

I threw these together really quick. I intend on making a couple more flowers for variety's sake. The token is also really simple, but I'd kind of like to keep it that way to fit with the style I've got going.

Wasp Antagonist

This is the main antagonist in the game so far. The wasps pop out during the game and try to kill the player (the bee).

I'm still working on a "princess bee," the flowers, pollen tokens, the queen, and the general game background.  

New concept with the "princess bee:" apparently bees from one hive will kidnap young queen bees from other hives. I figured this could be a fun second or third level objective. 

First level: Learn controls while collection pollen tokens and fighting off evil wasps. Goal complete when player returns to the hive to give pollen to the queen.

Second level: Collect more pollen, fight off more wasps, collect dance step patterns to tell the hive how to get back to the best flowers. Goal complete when player arranges the dance steps and gives pollen to the queen.

Third level: Collect more pollen, fight more wasps, find the opposing hive, and kidnap the "princess bee." Goal complete when player returns "princess bee" to the home hive. 

Still open for suggestions on other levels. 

I'm pretty sure I'll switch to compositing this whole thing in Torque rather than GameMaker (Torque looked simpler to understand from the get-go). I'm trying to make the characters really simple, mostly because that's the style I want for a simple 2D game, and because I want all the extra time I can get to focus on learning the program really well. 

New Class. New Blog.

So going to produce three personal animation projects in this class. The first one I'm looking at doing is a bumblebee themed collection style game. I promised my boyfriend a while back that I would make a bumblebee game. So now I'm finally getting around to it. The basic plot of the game is to direct the bee around a garden and collect pollen from the glowing flowers. Along the way wasps will try to attack you and you shoot honey bombs (stingers are so over used anyway) at the wasps to kill them. Bonuses are achieved by collecting the random "artifacts" in the garden for the queen's treasury.
I'm still open to changes. Right now I'm just designing the environment and the characters. I might try GameMaker to put it together, or if that doesn't pan out then I'll switch to GameSalad. This is an independent study so any comments and/or critiques on here would be welcome.

The bee so far: