Spore Creature Creator

Anyone following Spore with as much interest as me (by that I mean anyone who has signed up for the Spore newsletter) has no doubt already heard about the Spore Creature Creator. For everyone else, here's the deal:

On June 17 you'll be able to download the entire Spore creature interface, which lets you design as many zany, fantastical creatures as you want (I'm kind of curious how closely I can approximate millipede--or maybe one with hooves). The free version gives you access to about a quarter of the creature bits available in the full editor. For $9.99 you can get access to everything.

Aside from the little bit of extra income (yeah, I think they should just offer the whole thing for free), this little package does two important things for Maxis:

• It introduces people to the game's editors. Not that Spore needs anymore hype, but the creature editors and the others like it in the game are likely to be the heart and soul of this thing. If people get hooked, they'll come back and buy the full game.
• It gives the developers a way to populate their universe. This was one of my main questions about the game. How were they planning to create millions of creatures for people to interact with? Sure, the volume would be there over time, but a game has to be fun right out of the box if people are going to buy it in any large numbers. And, while I'm sure a sizable team of people is working on the game, they couldn't possibly create the number (or variety) of creatures necessary to make the game really stand out. This way, just get yourself a hundred thousand or so downloads (just being conservative). If each person creates 10 creatures, you've got your first million right there in a few days. Not bad at all.

For anyone who's wondering, any creatures you create will be available to you when you buy the full game in September.

Pretty exciting stuff. And since Apple announced a refreshed iMac line today, I can pick up my new Spore gaming machine in time for the June 17. Oh, and GTA IV tomorrow. When is that government rebate check supposed to get here?

SPUDZOOKA...almost...finished...

It's getting close. I can smell it. I'm putting on the finishing touches now -- well, the last touches before I call it finished. Then there's a little matter of creating a web site for the game to live on.

I'm going camping this weekend, so the big launch will be most likely be sometime early next week. Maybe I'll be ready to do it Tuesday in celebration of the GTA IV release. Plus, games always come out on Tuesday. It's easier for the press that way.

On second thought, while maximizing the amount of press for SPUDZOOKA should certainly be a top priority, I think I'll just release it when it's ready. What is a solo game studio for, after all, if not rebellion?

14 days and counting...

Shout out(s) and shaders

Wanted to give a quick shout out to a kindred spirit, Marraboy over at Unity 3D -- Zero to Hero. He recently started a blog to chronicle his progress building a game with Unity and Cheetah 3D. He's only written a handful posts so far, but I just want to say, "You can do it, Marraboy!"

It's still by no means proven whether I can do it, but I did get some much-needed words of encouragement from a good friend over the weekend. This no-budget-game-development thing can get pretty daunting, particularly on days when I realize how much more there is to learn.

Case in point: Unity's ShaderLab. It's a programming interface for creating shaders in Unity (a shader describes how an object will look in the game -- what textures it will use, how it will react to light, etc.). This mind-bogglingly powerful feature of Unity is, I'm beginning to discover, the difference between amateur work and real professional visual quality. Sure, modeling and texture art are essential, but custom shaders add the flair.

Of course, working with shaders requires some knowledge of OpenGL's shader language, of which I have none, so I feel quite outmatched at the moment. As usual, though, I'm probably getting ahead of myself. SPUDZOOKA isn't done yet, and I can't get too caught up in the next thing.

No, I shouldn't be worrying too much about shaders yet. They just remind me that I need to take things one step at a time. Visual polish is not my strong suit, since I never had any formal training. But that's ok. I like to think that what I lack in skill, I make up in blind determination.

Casual games, social portals, and lots of money

I've never been that interested in casual games. Aside from Tetris, which I played as a child when it was the coolest thing around, I've never spent more than 10 or 15 minutes playing a casual game.

And yet, with SPUDZOOKA getting closer to being finished, I find myself strangely drawn to the money-making possibilities of more laid back virtual entertainment. I don't expect SPUDZOOKA to make money. The main reason for this defeatist attitude is, of course, that I don't intend to sell it. It's my first game. It's not that good.

I do think a lot, though, about how I might make some extra cash making games. Developing casual games is one way to do that. It wouldn't be a lot of money, but this new feature article on Gamasutra by Daniel Cook (have I mentioned I really like their articles?) has put some crazy ideas in my head about how it might be possible. The secret? Online community. Create a place where people come to play your games and, once they arrive, make some friends. Sure they'll come back because they like your games, but they'll also come back to hang out.

There are some pretty daunting challenges, though, like customer support and the growing super-power of online casual game portals (or maybe the fact that you still have to crank out games). Cook suggests that well-known portals like Shockwave.com are essential to a blossoming casual-game business, but that their value is to help you win long-term customers, not sell one-off games. This is a good thought, since most portals don't demand exclusive rights to publish a game.

But, as one reader pointed out in a comment, what happens when the portals realize what's happening and won't promote your games unless you agree that they won't be attached to any other social space? Then you're left with nothing but word-of-mouth to generate new customers. That's where I am now with SPUDZOOKA. It's a struggle, and I'm not even selling it.

Despite the challenges, this article has my head buzzing with possibilities. But that's nothing new; my head is always fuzzy with crazy ideas and delusions of grandeur.

SPUDZOOKA beta is live!

The SPUDZOOKA beta test is now live and ready for vigorous testing. Please leave comments and let me know your thoughts.

I made a number of enhancements to make gameplay a little smoother and the overall experience a little more interesting. Keep an eye out for:

• Cannon animations
• A new ammo type
• Customizable paint jobs!
• A simpler cannon editor (It's no longer possible to have more than one cannon, but that feature wasn't necessary anyway.)
• Better ammo switching (Use the number keys now instead of the tab key.)
• Some new sound effects
  
• Two new levels

It's pretty exciting to have things coming together. There's still a long list of things I'd like to add to the game, but I'll have to decide how much more time to invest. Like I've always said, my real goal is to make games that tell stories, so I don't want to take away from that.

Hope you enjoy the beta!