Board Game Design – The Concept
October 2020
In this post we'll take a look at the initial
concept for my board game. Much like any game
design, the initial concept evolves at a rapid pace.
How to design a board game
October 2020
It's finally time for a new project and, what I hope
will be, a brand new series of blog posts.
Ludum Dare Time-lapse and Results
August 2017
Last time I entered I produced a time-lapse of the
development. I find these pretty interesting so I've
done the same again.
Ludum Dare 39 – Liveblog
July 2017
Ludum Dare is a game development competition (and
game jam) that takes place over 48 hours.
Cardboard Dungeon on Mozilla Hacks
April 2016
Experience with A-Frame framework and virtual
reality development.
Cardboard Dungeon Devlog #4
March 2016
Final installment exploring VR as an interactive
experience.
Cardboard Dungeon Devlog #3
March 2016
Development progress report including Unity
investigation.
Cardboard Dungeon Devlog #2
February 2016
Explores VR game design challenges using Google
Cardboard and A-Frame.
Cardboard Dungeon Devlog #1
January 2016
Welcome to the first devlog for Cardboard
Dungeon...a devlog for experimenting with virtual
reality.
Equaliser – A Pebble Time Watch Face
June 2015
Developing a smartwatch application as an Apple
Watch alternative.
An excursion into the world of Arduino
May 2015
It's fair to say that electronic prototyping and the
creation of custom hardware at home has exploded
over the past few years.
2014 in Review and Plans for 2015
December 2014
Annual retrospective examining the previous year and
discussing aspirations for the upcoming year.
Procjam 2014 – A Procedurally Generated
Roguelike Using Phaser
November 2014
Participation in a game jam focused on procedural
generation techniques.
Modern Mega Drive Programming – Getting
Started
August 2014
Personal reflection on the Sega Mega Drive as a
childhood gaming console and nostalgia for classic
titles.
A digital facelift
August 2014
Website redesign and updates to the Bytesize
Adventures platform.
Update
July 2014
Reflects on creative restlessness and the desire for
ongoing self-reinvention.
Thoughts on Swift
June 2014
Post-WWDC analysis of Apple's new Swift programming
language as Objective-C alternative.
Puzzle RPG – What's going on?
May 2014
Development challenges faced when maintaining
long-term hobbyist projects.
Devlog – 5th May 2014
May 2014
Limited weekly progress update focused on level
creation planning.
Devlog – 28th April 2014
May 2014
Significant milestone achieved with level editor
completion matching engine features.
Devlog – 21st April 2014
April 2014
Hello again. I suppose you're wondering what
happened to the 7th and 14th devlog's? Well, I had a
few weeks break but I'm back now and ramping
development back up.
Devlog – 31st March 2014
March 2014
The first week of April has seen some good progress.
As promised last week, I've been continuing work on
the level editor.
Devlog – 24th March 2014
March 2014
These months are really flying by; the end of March
is upon us. I'm afraid it's been a slow week.
Devlog – 17th March 2014
March 2014
Development focused on map graphics and UI design
consistency improvements.
Devlog – 10th March 2014
March 2014
Work centered on character progression system
implementation.
Devlog – 3rd March 2014
March 2014
Limited development time spent on level select
screen animations.
Devlog – 24th February 2014
February 2014
Level select screen implementation work in progress.
Devlog – 17th February 2014
February 2014
Concept development for the level select screen
interface.
Devlog – 10th February 2014
February 2014
Progress on separating foreground elements from
tiles and scenery points.
Growth Animation
February 2014
Brief animation demonstration shared on Vine.
Devlog – 3rd February 2014
February 2014
A bout of illness early in the week slowed me down
somewhat. Progress continued in the latter part of
the week.
Devlog – 27th January 2014
January 2014
Sprite Kit porting completed but performance issues
emerged with scene transitions and tile placement.
Devlog – 20th January 2014
January 2014
Still more porting! Level select screen successfully
migrated across devices, though layout refinement
needed.
Devlog – 13th January 2014
January 2014
Sprite Kit migration progressed with texture atlas
creation for multiple device targets completed.
Devlog – 6th January 2014
January 2014
Opening devlog of 2014 using weekly development
updates discussing progress achievements.
2013 in Review and Plans for 2014
January 2014
Retrospective reflecting on the previous year and
discussing upcoming development goals.
On Board Games
August 2013
Discussion of importance for game designers to play
diverse gaming experiences beyond AAA titles.
Merlot Update #19 – Bridges and Teleports
August 2013
Level 3 of my demo is at last complete. Added river
tile and bridge/teleport widgets.
Merlot Update #18 – Widgets and Tiles
July 2013
Development momentum building with level 2 progress
on the five-level demo.
Merlot Update #17 – Level 1
June 2013
Relative positioning implementation enabled iPhone 5
compatibility and future device support.
Merlot Update #16 – Rebooting the project
June 2013
This is a post I didn't think I'd be writing. Mini
Mob recently got to the stage where its feeling...
Coffee Cellar is on Sale
June 2013
If you're into coffee and have yet to try my coffee
App, now is a good time...
Website Redesign
May 2013
It's been a long time since Bytesize Adventures had
a face lift.
Book Review: Developing Mobile Games with Moai
SDK
May 2013
Packt Publishing recently got in touch and asked if
I'd like to review their newly published book...
Coffee Cellar Development – 2 years in 2
minutes
May 2013
A friend recently pointed me at a tool called
gource. It analyses a version control repository...
Tactical Overlay – Mini Mob Development Diary
#5
April 2013
Mini Mob is going through a bit of a rough patch at
the moment with motivation dipping...
The beginnings of an art style – Mini Mob
Development Diary #4
March 2013
Time for another short update. I've spent some time
away from the game recently to get perspective...
Coffee Cellar Achievement Unlocked
February 2013
Achievements come in all shapes and sizes and today
marks a considerable achievement in iOS
development...
Structure – Mini Mob Development Diary #3
February 2013
Just a quick update. I've now implemented the core
gameplay changes mentioned in my previous diary...
Roasting Coffee at Home
January 2013
Whilst this blog is predominantly about game and App
development, its nice to sometimes blog about...
Basic gameplay strategies – Mini Mob
Development Diary #2
January 2013
As predicted, porting the prototype from MOAI to
Cocos2d was relatively simple.
Getting Started – Mini Mob Development Diary
#1
January 2013
2013 is upon us. Its a chance for a clean slate and
an opportunity to dive head first into a new
project.
2012 in Review and Plans for 2013
December 2012
Annual tradition featuring yearly review and goals
for the upcoming year.
Coffee Cellar on TUAW – The week that was
December 2012
Discussion of Coffee Cellar 2.0 reboot and app
marketing efforts.
Micro Mob Time-Lapse (Ludum Dare 25)
December 2012
Development time-lapse for Ludum Dare 25 game
competition entry.
Ludum Dare 25 – My Liveblog
December 2012
Documentation of 48-hour game development
competition participation.
Coffee Cellar 2.0 is out now
November 2012
Release announcement for Coffee Cellar 2.0 with free
updates for existing users.
Coffee Cellar 2.0: Rethinking the App
November 2012
Overview of redesign approach for previously
released Coffee Cellar application.
I'm getting married
September 2012
Personal announcement with blog hiatus notice.
The state of things
August 2012
Update on new game project Subterranea after
blogging gap.
Moai – Part 2
July 2012
Continuing to explore the Moai framework and Lua,
leading towards a second game.
Project Puzzle RPG – Big Ol' Development
Thread
July 2012
Documenting progress on the next iPhone game,
temporarily titled PPRPG.
Getting started with Moai
June 2012
Introduction to the Moai framework that I had my eye
on for some time now.
Weekly Update #15 – Widgets
June 2012
Development update noting a bit of a struggle with
social media and game design challenges.
A break from Twitter
May 2012
Reflection on Twitter's role in connecting indie
game developers to the community.
Weekly Update #14 – Inventory overhaul
May 2012
Progress report on a second demo level that's
throwing up plenty of issues.
Weekly Update #13 – Data Persistence and
Levelling Mechanics
April 2012
Status update noting approximately 30% of the way
through development.
Weekly Update #12 – Stability
April 2012
Update on new GUI elements and tile queue to buffer
taps and keep animations in sync.
Weekly Update #11 – Character Classes
April 2012
Progress on artwork including dialogue, character
selection, and NPC designs.
Weekly Update #10 – Level 1
March 2012
Milestone post marking the tenth post in this series
of weekly updates.
Weekly Update #9 – A change of tack
March 2012
I missed my weekly update last week because I didn't
have much to talk about.
Weekly Update #8 – NPC's
March 2012
Work completed includes added NPC's to the game
engine and a data structure to support them.
Video Game soundtracks to code to
March 2012
When I'm coding my games I like to listen to music
or, more specifically, music without lyrics.
Weekly Update #7 – Tools Milestone
February 2012
Developer notes missing a previous update due to
taking time away.
AltDevConf 2012 – My Experience
February 2012
Attendee reflection on an online game development
conference.
Weekly Update #6 – Player Movement & Level
Exporting
February 2012
Its been a huge week in terms of progress with
system reworking and GUI additions.
Weekly Update #5 – Core Puzzle Mechanics
February 2012
Developer focused on implementing core gameplay
mechanics.
Weekly Update #4 – Early Artwork
January 2012
Game design insights from playing puzzle games.
Weekly Update #3 – Web tools
January 2012
Work on level editing tools development.
Weekly Update #2 – Inventory
January 2012
Focus on getting a basic inventory system
functional.
Weekly Update #1 – Laying the foundations
January 2012
Weekly updates covering the development of my new
game (working title – PPRPG).
Out of the frying pan and into the fire
January 2012
Exploring Unity and Blender tools for upcoming game
project.
A review of 2011 and plans for 2012
January 2012
Retrospective on blog's purpose chronicling game
development efforts.
Coffee Cellar on Sale
December 2011
Holiday season promotion offering 50% off the
regular price.
An update on PPRPG
December 2011
Development progress report on in-progress game
project.
Rocket Santa Remix
December 2011
Festive-themed icon creation inspired by Christmas
update.
Coffee Cellar Christmas Update is Out Now
November 2011
Release announcement featuring 3 new festive icons
and interactive features.
My first print review for Coffee Cellar
November 2011
Discovering an unexpected magazine review for my
application.
My Next Game
November 2011
Announcement regarding upcoming project development
plans.
Coffee Cellar Update
October 2011
Status update on application availability and
pricing.
Back in the Game
October 2011
Today, I, like the rest of the world, woke up to the
sad news that Steve Jobs had passed away.
From Idea to App Store in 6 Months
September 2011
6 months, 5,000 lines of code, 13 blog posts, 15,000
words and both the App and my blog series are
finally finished.
Coffee Cellar Postmortem
September 2011
Post-launch analysis examining what went right and
wrong after one month in the App Store.
Coffee Cellar – The Numbers
September 2011
Data analysis and project dissection focusing on
numerical metrics from the app development series.
Composition No. 1 – A Review
August 2011
Book review exploring interactive fiction and its
historical context.
Coffee Cellar is Out Now
August 2011
Launch announcement for the Coffee Cellar app across
multiple app stores.
App Development – The Marketing
August 2011
Final pre-launch marketing strategy post before the
app's public release.
App Development – The Final Artwork
July 2011
Culmination of six months of visual development
including design docs, wireframes, and artwork.
App Development – The Testing
July 2011
Overview of the testing process for the Coffee app
with public beta feedback.
App Development – Progress Report #3
July 2011
Update on beta build distribution and early tester
feedback.
A foray into App development
January 2011
Whilst I'm brainstorming ideas for my next game,
I've decided to take a slight diversion into the
world of application development.
Thoughts on game difficulty
January 2011
Findings from working on the first free update for
Astro Noughts, focusing on difficulty-related design
challenges.
Astro Noughts Postmortem featured on
Gamasutra
January 2011
Brief announcement that the Astro Noughts postmortem
was featured on the gaming industry publication
Gamasutra.
Astro Noughts Postmortem
January 2011
Written a postmortem of my latest game Astro
Noughts. I'm using the traditional format of 5
things that went right and 5 things that didn't.
A look back at 2010 and goals for 2011
January 2011
New Year reflection article marking the return to
iDevBlogADay blogging community.
Astro Noughts out now for iPad
December 2010
Astro Noughts has just been approved by Apple and is
available now on the iPad App Store for $0.99.
Astro Noughts shopping list
December 2010
Pre-launch post written while the game awaited App
Store approval.
Astro Noughts submitted to Apple
November 2010
Announcement that Astro Noughts was submitted for
Apple approval, with expected December release.
Dynamic hint system
November 2010
Tutorial systems are a part of game design that
can't be avoided.
Digital Legacy
November 2010
Philosophical exploration of creating lasting impact
through creative work.
Astro Noughts
November 2010
When I started porting Star Fusion to the iPad, I
expected it to be just that – a port with a few
tweaks.
Resources for Sound Effects and Music
November 2010
Useful responses from Twitter about sound design
resources for game development.
Rocket Santa and Star Fusion now Free
Forever
September 2010
Announcement that Star Fusion, my first iPhone game
from June 2009, was made permanently free.
My favourite blogs
September 2010
Discussing upcoming content related to Star Fusion
HD's approaching launch.
BrainWave v0.4
August 2010
Update on a project management tool created for game
development that generated interest from other
developers.
Star Fusion HD development update
August 2010
Progress report noting the project's advancement but
greater-than-anticipated challenges.
Coffee and Code
August 2010
A lighthearted post exploring coffee culture within
programming and creative work.
My iPhone game graveyard
July 2010
Discussion of abandoned game projects and the
various reasons for discontinuing development.
Star Fusion HD
July 2010
Introduction to a new version of my original iPhone
game from over a year prior.
10 don'ts of iphone game development
July 2010
Practical lessons drawn from experience developing
multiple iPhone games.
Inspiration for your next iPhone game: Retro
Games
July 2010
Modern games are highly derivative, boring, and
predictable. They nearly always involve some form of
shooting.
A beginners guide to iPhone game development
June 2010
iDevBlogADay initiative where developers publish
daily blog content about game development.
Weather dot Rain
June 2010
Game development update covering progress and
changes made to the latest project.
The Sketchbook Project 2011
May 2010
Reflecting on childhood aspirations and artistic
background.
The one with the videos
May 2010
Development progress update on game projects Star
Fusion and Rocket Santa.
On OS4
April 2010
Work on level manager and core level editor
components.
Risk vs Reward
April 2010
Refinement of the exploration mechanic as core
gameplay feature.
BrainWave – Idea Management for Game
Developers
March 2010
Tool addressing project management challenges for
independent game developers.
Explorer
March 2010
Focus on game theme and artwork style development
beyond placeholder graphics.
Early Screenshot
March 2010
Weekly development update with visual screenshots of
project progress.
Negative Critical Reception
March 2010
This week i've been stripping my next game back to
its core mechanics.
Apple Trees
March 2010
This week has been an interesting one, i've been
playing with 2D physics engines.
Another week gone
February 2010
Another week over, so time for my weekly update.
Unfortunately I've been ill for most of this week.
Writer's Block
February 2010
Experiencing temporary inability to continue writing
work.
A new design for 2010
February 2010
Discussion of redesigning the site with improved
direction and cohesion.
iPad thoughts
January 2010
Developer perspective on Apple's new tablet computer
announcement.
Rocket Santa sales figures
January 2010
Analysis of a rapidly developed Christmas-themed
game project.
10 most popular posts of 2009
January 2010
Year-end review of top-performing blog content and
site statistics.
The Great App Bake Off
December 2009
Coverage of an annual app development contest with
prizes.
Rocket Santa 1.1 Approved
December 2009
Update on game approval after addressing a critical
bug.
Rocket Santa approved and hastily removed
December 2009
Rocket Santa was approved by Apple on Thursday 3rd
December at 11pm just 1 week after submission.
However, this good news quickly turned sour as we
found a major bug.
Rocket Santa submitted to Apple
November 2009
I'm pleased to announce that my next iPhone game has
been submitted to Apple.
Review of Star Fusion by App Girl Reviews
November 2009
Star Fusion has had another professional review,
this time from App Girl Reviews who scored the game
7/10.
Early Art for my Christmas Game
November 2009
Early artwork shared for an upcoming Christmas game
by artist ClintonMc.
A review of the iPhone Tech Talk World Tour
2009
November 2009
Review of the iPhone Tech Talk World Tour event
hosted by Apple in London.
iPhone Tech Talk World Tour 2009
October 2009
Announcement of Apple's iPhone Tech Talk World Tour
with expert advice.
On the horizon
October 2009
Update on development changes and project status
adjustments.
Star Fusion goes Free: An App store
experiment
October 2009
Discussion of making Star Fusion free due to low
sales figures.
5 tools to encourage creativity
October 2009
Creative exercises and tools explored during game
development.
A short update
October 2009
Progress report on second iPhone game development.
Early art for game two
September 2009
Here are some early art assets for my next game.
These don't represent the final look and were
created using Inkscape.
Mood boards
September 2009
Development process documentation for my second
iPhone game project.
The harsh reality of indie iPhone game
development
September 2009
Reflection on five months of iPhone game development
experience, starting without Objective-C expertise.
Website Redesign and Star Fusion update
Approval
September 2009
Announcement of site redesign featuring HTML5
compliance.
Star Fusion 1.1: what's in the update
August 2009
Update announcement regarding Star Fusion patch 1.1
submitted to Apple.
Handling help in iPhone games
August 2009
Discusses instructional design challenges in game
development.
AppsAddicts Star Fusion review
August 2009
First professional review scoring the game 8/10.
Week 1 sales and promotion
August 2009
Download statistics and promotional efforts after
Star Fusion's July 26th release.
Star Fusion approved by Apple
July 2009
Announcement of App Store approval for my first
game.
iPhone Game Development Toolkit
July 2009
Overview of hardware and software tools used for
game development.
Star Fusion submitted to iPhone App Store
July 2009
Some great news today. Star Fusion has been
submitted to the iPhone App Store for approval.
Star Fusion Teaser Shots
July 2009
Release date approaching with mechanics complete;
currently refining graphics, sounds, and game
difficulty.
Storyboards
July 2009
Game nearing release with difficulty balancing and
polish work underway.
On Sound Effects and Music
July 2009
Focus on refining gameplay elements to improve
overall quality.
A new look and a new name
June 2009
Significant changes made; the Icarus theme has taken
a backseat.
Gameplay trailer and iPhone Developer
Program
June 2009
Update on Icarus project including an early gameplay
video preview.
Icarus concept and early screenshot
June 2009
Progress report on new game using Cocos2d iPhone
framework.
Icarus
June 2009
Mythological opening quote about the legendary
character.
Knowing when to quit
June 2009
Reflection on recognizing the right moment to
abandon projects.
Researching the story
May 2009
Game prototype development complete; moving to story
research phase.
A brief project update
May 2009
Progress on the game is pretty good. I'm currently
getting a handle on using multiple views.
Project Management for iPhone Game
Development
April 2009
It occurred to me the other day that I don't really
have any sort of project plan.
Some progress at last
April 2009
I have to confess that it's taking me longer than I
expected to get this game going.
Talking to the game world
April 2009
Progress has been pretty slow. I have written a
basic php page that talks to my database.
...And so it begins!
March 2009
After a month or so of conceptual scribbles, I've
finally begun to develop my first game.
Unpacking the boxes
March 2009
Bytesize Adventures is the community portal for my
future game projects.