Gym Empire is the first and only gym tycoon simulation management game!
Game Development
In the last Gym Empire update we discussed the major visual changes to the tycoon UI and the game logo. Since designing the new logo and user interface, the start menu, the menu panels and the graphs have now been updated to match the new look and feel. Making everything a much more cohesive experience.
With the new visual changes implemented, I was able to move on and finish the last step in the game loop for the alpha demo. The premises menu. Essentially to give a good slice of the tycoon management gameplay, the alpha demo will allow the user to develop their gym up until the point of buying a new premises to work from. In the demo the player will be able to continue in this new gym for a while to give a feel for the management style that gym Empire is going for, before the demo ends. Therefore the menu form which you select to purchase your new gym from is an important part of the game loop. Once this is completed, all that will be left is some bug fixing and implementing a dialogue/tutorial system to introduce the player to the basics.
Other Developments
I’m going to be totally honest, getting so close to putting Gym Empire into your hands for the first time is quite a scary concept. With GLO, development was so rapid I didn’t really have any time to build expectation or worry about it too much. With Gym Empire the development has been going on long enough for me to build a lot of personal expectation. Also a lot more of you know about Gym Empire than knew of GLO. So it’s kinds scary!
There have been times where I’ve thought “Right I said I was going to release the demo nearly a year ago, let’s just get it out there!” but I keep holding off for fear of putting out a crap first impression. However recently, I came across the following quote from Shigeru Miyamoto, the legend behind Mario and a load of other amazing Nintendo titles. “A delayed game is eventually good, but a rushed game is forever bad.” This has really resonated with me and confirmed that rushing Gym Empire is not the right choice. So thank you all and bear with me, I’m doing my best to make this a good game for us all!
How To Make A Game
Outside of the game development life as a YouTuber has continued. One of the trickiest parts of trying to sustain a YouTube channel is consistency. Consistency of uploads as well as content type. Over the past few months I have started to understand and focus on a the content I want to produce. Content that will satisfy the gaming geek in me but also content that will be able to support indie games.
Knowing where to draw the line between pure game development content and regular gaming content has been difficult. Therefore I decided to start a second channel focusing on how to make a video game. This channel will be focused purely on the game development side of things. But more specifically all hints, tips and tricks I’ve learned over the past two years that go into game development. Picking game ideas, choosing game engines, finding time and motivation, marketing, building an audience and even more. Firstly to keep a log of all the information I learn but also to help any other aspiring developers out there.
I will create and upload content as and when I can find the time, rather than trying to keep a regular upload schedule. The Chronik Spartan YouTube channel already takes up a lot of development time so I don’t want to dig into that pot even more. Especially now that I have a regular rhythm and plan in place.
The first content for the channel is already recorded and will be dropping in the next week. If you want to check it out the link is right here:
Time Management
This week development will continue on finalising the Premises Menu and finishing the main game loop. Once this is complete work will begin on the tutorial, where there will be a new person I’d like to introduce you too…
Gym Empire is now available to add to your Steam Wishlist.
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