One Game A Month

2013 marks the start of a new adventure in my life. I have enrolled in Train2Game, a distance learning course, in order to learn how to code video games (i.e. Game Development).

 In the spirit of learning, I have joined up to the One Game a Month Challenge in the hopes that doing so will  give me more knowledge, contacts, and confidence in my work.

You're probably wondering what this challenge is all about. In a nutshell, you make one game a month, every month, for a year. Which means by the end of December 2013, I will (theoretically) have 12 completed, playable games.

The first few games that I make will be done in Game Maker. This is primarily because I have yet to learn any programming languages. Hopefully in the months to come I will be able to start making games using Python and C++, but that's then and this is now. For now, baby steps.

Already I have a list of game ideas for each month. This list will not be posted here however - not because I don't want to share, but because the list will probably change as the year goes on. However, I will say that the first several planned games are based on the Game Maker game tutorials that Train2Game students make at the beginning of the course. My plan is to take these games and polish them up a bit, changing the mechanics slightly, adding bosses, levels and various bonuses. Think of them as a stepping stone of sorts - building on what I already know so that I can reach a higher level for the next game(s).

Also, in the spirit of goodwill (the 1GAM motto is "Be good to each other"), I will feature one game per week on this blog. The first person to @ mention me on Twitter (@MuirDH) each week with a link to a playable game (WIPs are allowed as long as they're playable) will get their game reviewed and featured on this blog. For clarity, since the 1GAM challenge officially starts on the 1 January 2013 (Tuesday), each week will start on a Tuesday. I will post reminder tweets each Monday so no one forgets.

Happy gaming!