The world of game development has always fascinated me. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been playing games (thanks to a certain other dtoider), and always looked at my games wishing I could add something new to them. I used to have notebooks in middle school that were filled with doodles and sketches for cool new weapons, or neat alternate control schemes for existing games. I used to think that one day, I would be able to say that I was a part of this game making world, creating the next big video game.

I came to Rice University with the plan to get a degree in Computer Science, and then hopefully somehow get involved in the industry. I didn’t even know I could take a class on game development here until I started reading the course offerings. Naturally, I jumped at the idea of a game making class, and enrolled in one of them for Fall 2008.


lol,codewut?

My final project wasn’t anything too amazing, just a 2D sprite that would run around, shooting bullets at aliens on a static, textured background. But this was the first time I was able to start from scratch, designing a game the way I wanted to. I added in a time control button and different little power ups, that made the game seem unique and different from all the other final projects. So when the next level course was offered in the spring, one that involved working in a larger group on a much more in-depth game, you know I had to jump on that opportunity. Now I’m in the class, and work has begun on our next game.



A semester of work, and my game was already basically an XBL Community Game

This blog is just going to serve as a way for you to read about my experiences creating a game, even one that is vastly less complicated than what you would see on a GameStop shelf. Keep in mind that I am definitely not the most talented person in my group; I’m just the enthusiastic freshman who almost died of excitement when he was given the opportunity to work on a game. The others know so much more about computer science it’s almost embarrassing, but that doesn’t mean I can’t contribute my own ideas to the game play concepts, and other things like that. I’ll try to update the blog every few weeks or so, to talk about developments in the game idea, design, concept, or whatever. I’m hoping that by the end of the year, there will be some kind of demo for people to download and play, so if you follow the blog, you get a treat at the end!

Most importantly, I’ll try not to suck.