Great things are created with a good plan, which is why any animation project must begin with a storyboard. Sometimes, it’s hard to figure out whether a story is a great idea. When you put the breadth of it on paper, it becomes more apparent if it will work. Having a plan to refer to […]
About Dustin Tyler
The Role of Computer Science in Video Games
If you’re an avid gamer who loves computers, you may be thinking about pursuing a career as a game developer. Game development is a specialized, comparatively small, and lucrative industry. Retail gaming in the United States is estimated to be worth $4.19 billion in 2023. As expected, graduates who work on video games are well […]
How to Start Keyframing in Animation
Terminology in the world of animation and video editing can stop you in your tracks. As you dip your toes in the industry, you will come across words like “keyframes,” which seemingly everyone talks about like they are immediately understandable. Every video has a keyframe. What exactly are they, and why are they so important […]
The Journey of a Comic Book Artist
Believe it or not, the demand for comic books, manga, and graphic novels is steadily increasing—beating mainstream books. The comic book industry is currently valued at $15.5 billion and is predicted to be worth a whopping $22.37 billion by 2030. If you’re a creative person, love comics, and absolutely love drawing, pursuing a career as […]
How to Build a Video Game Economy
Just like reality, games need an internal mechanism for the distribution of resources during gameplay. This system is known as the video game economy. The in-game economy creates balance within the game by enabling the player to earn and spend resources as part of the game’s progression. A game economy design will differ from one […]
Module 4: Designing vs. Programming (Lessons 4-5)
Lesson 4: Sound Engineer Summary In this video, we’re tuning into the world of sound engineers, the maestros behind all the immersive sounds and epic soundtracks in your favorite games. Join us to discover the art of sound design in gaming! Lesson 4 Transcript So now we’re going to talk about what a sound […]
Module 4: Designing vs. Programming (Lessons 1-3)
Lesson 1: Game Designer vs Game Programmer Summary In this video, we’re breaking down the jobs of game designers and game programmers, showing you how sometimes, they wear each other’s hats, especially in small teams. Tune in to get the lowdown on who does what and how the designer and programmer work hand in hand […]
What Are Asymmetrical VR Games?
Gamers are often forced to sit around while others play because of the lack of a joystick. Not being involved can make you feel left out, which is unfortunately the case when several people want to play traditional video games. Fortunately, advancements in gaming systems are helping solve this problem, especially in the field of […]
Module 3: Attack of the Snake (Lessons 11-12)
Lesson 11: Game Difficulty Summary In this video, Aaron delves into the nuanced topic of difficulty in video games, emphasizing the role of a game designer in setting the difficulty level to align with the narrative and the intended player experience. Lesson 11 Transcript Let’s talk about the difficulty of video games. This is one […]
Module 3: Attack of the Snake (Lessons 7-9)
Lesson 7: Randomness Summary In this lesson, we explore the role of randomness in games, distinguishing between input and output randomness. The discussion emphasizes balancing randomness to maintain fairness and enhance player satisfaction, sometimes even tweaking probabilities in the player’s favor to foster a sense of achievement and prevent frustration. Lesson 7 Transcript So what […]
Module 3: Attack of the Snake (Lesson 6)
Creating New Food Summary In this lesson, we enhance our snake game by introducing a feature where a new piece of food appears at a random location every time the snake consumes the existing food. We delve into the concepts of instances and objects and learn how to use the “instance_create” function with random ranges […]
Module 3: Attack of the Snake (Lesson 5)
What Are Functions Summary In this video, we explore the concept of functions in GameMaker Studio, highlighting their role in simplifying complex codes into single lines and facilitating various game actions. Learn how to utilize built-in functions, understand the manual, and get introduced to debugging through the “show message” function. Lesson 5 Transcript So what […]
Module 3: Attack of the Snake (Lessons 3-4)
Lesson 3: Comments Summary We take a break from the coding process to discuss the important yet often overlooked aspect of adding comments to your code. Give your variables descriptive names and discover how to create both single and multi-line comments in GameMaker to make your code more readable and manageable. Lesson 3 Transcript I […]
Module 3: Attack of the Snake (Lessons 1-2)
Lesson 1: Breaking Down Snake Summary In this lesson, we break down the classic Snake game to understand what makes it tick. Learn the key elements that define the game and get ready to create a unique version of it yourself. Lesson 1 Transcript So what we’re going to do in this module is take […]
Module 3: Attack of the Snake (Lesson 10)
Adding Difficulty Summary In this tutorial, we enhance the challenge in our snake game by increasing the snake’s speed each time it eats food and introducing blocks that appear where the food was consumed, eventually filling the level. Lesson 10 Transcript So what I would like to do to add challenge to this is one; […]
Module 3: Attack of the Snake (Lessons 13-14)
Lesson 13: Adding A Score Summary In this tutorial, we add a scoring system to our snake game, utilizing GameMaker’s built-in score variable and learning how to manually draw elements on the screen to display the score. Lesson 13 Transcript What I want to do now is add a score to our game, a visualization […]
How To Perform Video Game Critical Analysis
More than 730,000 video game apps are available for download on Google Play and the App Store. Over 10,000 video games are released each year on Steam and other platforms. With so many video games on the market, an avid gamer may have a hard time choosing one to play. They could do the trial-and-error […]
What Is Iterative Game Design?
One of the most important steps in game development is iterative game design. It’s built on the idea that games aren’t perfect after one round of development. It encourages developers to repeatedly perform certain steps in an effort to come up with a final version that is playable, enjoyable, and as technically glitch-free as possible. […]
Unity DOTS for Beginners
If you’re looking for efficiency, performance, and data-oriented programming in your game development platform, Unity’s Data-Oriented Technology Stack (DOTS) may just be what you need. Apart from leveraging its powerful engine, you also get to widen your skillset and enjoy a growing market demand for Unity DOTS professionals. Today, we take a closer look at […]
What Is a VFX Compositor?
Visual effects (VFX) compositors are in high demand in many industries such as film-making, gaming, and animation. Most studios need compositing in some form, whether it involves the seamless integration of special effects (FX) with environments or VFX shots with computer-generated (CG) characters. VFX compositors also work on less noticeable VFX elements like rain, fog, […]
Are Video Games a Sport?
The introduction and rising popularity of home consoles and arcade games in the 1970s transformed entertainment for children and adults worldwide. Gaming has become a popular and well-accepted hobby for many people. But most avid gamers and non-gamers have a common question, “Is gaming a sport?” The advent of competitive gaming and international competitions promising […]
Module 2: Programming & Design Basics (Lessons 7-8)
Lesson 7: The Manual Summary In this video, Aaron highlights the importance of the GameMaker Studio manual, a resource that explains everything from functions to built-in variables. Unlike many technical documents, this manual is comprehensive and user-friendly. Aaron demonstrates how to access relevant sections of the manual, discusses the manual’s structure, and encourages the use […]
Module 2: Programming & Design Basics (Lesson 6)
GameMaker Variables Summary In this tutorial, Aaron discusses the significance of variables in GameMaker and in programming languages in general. He guides you through the process of creating a variable, navigating potential warnings, and underscores the importance of using descriptive names for variables. Lesson 6 Transcript Variables inside of GameMaker and pretty much across all […]
Module 2: Programming & Design Basics (Lesson 5)
Event-Based Programming Summary In this video, Aaron explains the basics of GameMaker Studio and the fundamental concepts of 2D game development. He discusses: how the X and Y coordinates work in the GameMaker grid system, how to modify object properties, and the importance of the ‘step’ event that runs every frame of the game. He […]
Module 2: Programming & Design Basics (Lessons 4)
Easing Into Code Summary In this tutorial, we dive into GameMaker Studio 2 and learn the basics of creating a sprite, an object, and writing our first line of code. This video serves as a practical introduction to GameMaker Studio, demonstrating key features while guiding new programmers through their first steps in game development. Lesson […]
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