Game Development So Far
Game development this week has been really good. One of the key areas in developing a gym management simulation game is actually have gym equipment to be able to build your own gym and that has been the focus of the past two weeks. Last week the plan was to add the following gym equipment and animations:
- 3D Animation : The plan was to get the gym mat, dumbells and barbell animations created in blender. After learning some new animation techniques the previous week I was able to quickly create the animations for use in game. This left me with enough time to continue beyond the planned set and develop animations I was planning for the following week. This included the squat rack.
- Gym Equipment : Adding gym equipment is now a relatively easy task after implementing the new game design. It enables me to manage the addition of items in a modular way. Therefore I was able to add more equipment into the simulation than I had originally planned. This includes dumbells, barbell, squat rack and pull up bar. I haven’t yet added the exercise bike but that is because I am waiting on getting a good 3D model for use in game.
Other Developments
As part of my new found game dev life I am continuously looking for new ways to learn how to make a successful video game. When I refer to how to make a game I don’t just mean the actual game development, I also mean all the extra work that goes around building a gaming community, marketing an indie game and building a game studio. There’s a whole lot more that goes into game development than Game Dev Story or Game Dev Tycoon would have you think. One of the latest areas I’ve been researching is how to build interest in your game organically. By this I mean being able to make your own game in a way where the fans of that niche will naturally come across it, as let’s be honest no one likes having anything forced down their neck! I already have a lot of the important areas setup for example, a website, Discord, Twitter and Reddit accounts. However I’m not always using them to the maximum of their capabilities.
My current focus is on improving the visibility of the website. I’ve posted a lot over the year and a half and I’m really pleased with the amount and type of content. However the more I learn the more I realise there are techniques to building and managing that content in a way where people who are interested in game development, building an indie game studio, tycoon games etc can come across it. If I’ve learnt anything from the development of GLO it is as I get closer to the prospect of releasing a new tycoon game into the wild I need to make sure I do as much as possible to ensure those who are interested in sim games, management games, business tycoon games and the like are able to hear about Gym Empire.
Time Management
The plan right now is to get Gym Empire into a state where it is a playable demo. The key to that is focusing on what are the core aspects of a good sim game. For the initial beta release of Gym Empire the plan is to provide a vertical slice that gives a good idea of what the business simulation is going to feel like. From that point on we can start to refine the core gameplay design to ensure that as we build Gym Empire up into a fully playable game it has a strong gameplay foundation. To ensure this the planned tasks for this week are:
- 3D Models and Animation : Complete the development of the 3D models and animation by adding in the exercise bicycle and relevant animation.
- Building : One of the key features to good tycoon games is that easy and effective way you can build. Gym Empire currently has a building option for growing the gym size, however I don’t feel it is up to the standard of modern management games like Two Point Hospital. Therefore the next task will be to look at developing the gameplay feature of building.
Gym Empire is now available to add to your Steam Wishlist.
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