Greg is a database developer that got into HTML5 game development and published his first game for Android: Outer Limits War.
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I am a web applications database developer and always wanted to start working on web based games.
Can you tell us about the game you have developed?
Defend the Earth in this arcade space ship shooter game. Wave after wave of Alien ships attack, with several different boss ships. It integrates with google play for high score and 5 achievement tracking. Earn power ups like rockets, shields and health to make your mission a success! The game has a web version and a android version. The android version has more features and achievements that can be earned.
What inspired you to create this game?
Having played many arcade space ship shooters, I wanted to make one of my own.
Can you tell us about the development of your game?
I worked on this with one other developer. He assisted with the google integration for ads and in app purchases.
Can you tell us an important lesson you learnt while developing your game?
Keep ideas simple and once they are working enhance them.
What would you say to persons beginning in game development?
Work on different languages and platforms to find the one that works best for you. Make backups of your code when you reach feature sets that you like so if you have to revert, you can easily do so.
What frameworks and tools did you use to create this game?
Construct2, Crosswalk and intelXDK.
What did you use to integrate all these services like ads and AIP in a HTML5 game?
IntelXDK allowed the install and use of AIP and ads. Intel XDK takes your HTML5 code as a imported project and lets you install plugins that work for your Android. IntelXDK then lets you modify your config files to add your google play ids. So you could use any html5 game code to import into Intel XDK.
How long did it take you to make this game?
I did not have much time to dedicate to the game development, so it was a nights and weekends effort for about 2 months. I had a couple restarts in my process along the way.
What’s your next project?
I want to add more boss ships, levels and achievements to the current game. After this is completed I want to take this code base and make a tank game.
What ZENVA courses did you take and how did they help you to make this game?
Introduction to game development. This helped me plan out my game structure and flow. Also helped understand the game loop idea and using variables to change levels, amount of enemy ships. Also helped to understand the use of variables to track player attributes.
Thank you Gregg for sharing with the GameDev community and we wish you all the best in your future endeavours.
Check out Outer Limit War here!
