BlockDodger by Jishenaz

[raw]
made by Jishenaz for LD28 (COMPO)
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IMPORTANT: Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studios 2012 is required or you'll get a missing MSVCP110.dll error. Download on the URL provided below. Be sure to download the 32-bit version (x86)!

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=30679

ALSO IMPORTANT: Make sure your computer has a decent graphics card (Nvidia or AMD). Computers without dedicated graphics can overheat to the point of shutdown!

If providing feedback, please provide some details. Don't leave vague feedback like "The game doesn't run". Tell me what you did, what messages you see, etc.

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This is a really simple game made in C++. You are the green cube and you must avoid all the red cubes. You can shoot blue bullets to destroy red cubes, but you can only have 1 bullet on the screen at a time.

The codebase for this game is a graphics wrapper for OpenGL that I made that's based off the tutorials at http://open.gl/
You can download the wrapper at the "GraphicsWrapper" here: https://app.box.com/s/p533pm7vea8ho9rihnuq

The point of this project was to make a robust GameObject system that would facilitate the making of little games. The GameObject system uses the GraphicsWrapper to render cubes on the screen.

Controls:

- Left and Right Arrow Keys: Move
- Space: Shoot bullet
- Enter: Restart game (only if Game Over)
- Esc: Quit game

Notice: This is a really simple game. There's probably more impressive stuff people made here. Don't expect anything innovative. The whole point is to demonstrate the GameObject system and GraphicsWrapper made in C++.

Libraries used include GLEW, GLM, FreeImage, and SDL. I didn't know how to do fast input with SDL, so the player movement will be odd. It will act like a text cursor being moved with arrow keys. May require a Windows computer that supports OpenGL 3 or greater.

I encourage anyone to look at the source code on Github (link provided above).
You can look at the list of commits here: https://github.com/JISyed/JIS-LudumDare28/commits?author=JISyed

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Update 01-12-14: A little late, but I made a post compo version of the game with more interesting block spawning behavior. It has difficulty scaling.

Ratings

Coolness 66% 3
Overall 1.90 1002
Audio 1.29 790
Fun 2.03 945
Graphics 2.23 814
Humor 1.14 776
Innovation 1.45 1001
Mood 1.57 922
Theme 1.75 977

Feedback

acp_ld
16. Dec 2013 路 19:41 UTC
Got an error: This program can't start because MSVCP110.dll is missing from your computer
馃帳 Jishenaz
16. Dec 2013 路 19:46 UTC
Thank you for reporting this error.

Apparently, you need to download Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studios 2012 here:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-au/download/confirmation.aspx?id=30679

Tell me if that fixes the problem.
MrBlade
16. Dec 2013 路 21:21 UTC
Also missing MSVCP110.dll.
馃帳 Jishenaz
16. Dec 2013 路 21:44 UTC
@MrBlade: Have you installed Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studios 2012?

http://www.microsoft.com/en-au/download/confirmation.aspx?id=30679
Piat
17. Dec 2013 路 22:46 UTC
Game starts with game over and the blocks fly past in the blink of an eye. Still a little buggy I think.
馃帳 Jishenaz
18. Dec 2013 路 05:26 UTC
@Piat I encountered the bugs you mentioned on a separate computer. I'll have to find a way to fix it. It might take a while. I never seen this problem in my computer, even with a release build.
Sytech
18. Dec 2013 路 20:49 UTC
Seems to run too fast. I get a game over screen as soon as I start.
馃帳 Jishenaz
18. Dec 2013 路 21:34 UTC
Thanks for the bug reports. I have a delta time calculations now, so hopefully blocks move at "normal" speeds. Tell me if it doesn't.
mortl8324
19. Dec 2013 路 07:36 UTC
Couldn't run the game. The installer crashed my explorer...
馃帳 Jishenaz
19. Dec 2013 路 17:25 UTC
@mortl8324 The installer (vcredist_x86.exe) is only for getting the Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studios 2012 installed. Have you tried running BlockDodger.exe without installing the redistributable?

If that doesn't work, you should try installing the redistributable again. Hopefully it won't crash Explorer again. Unfortunately, I have no control over that because the installer is made by Microsoft, no by me.
tobbez
20. Dec 2013 路 17:13 UTC
Like the graphics, the gameplay was a bit lacking.
bowlercaptain
21. Dec 2013 路 08:23 UTC
Definitely very simple, as you said. I think it could have done with some kind of scorekeeping or difficulty curve. Way to go finishing something, though. Good to hear you came up with a basic engine, although generally I would work on engines outside of LD and then during LD either use something I'd already made or someone else's engine (Unity, Game Maker, Flixel, Flashpunk, etc.)
馃帳 Jishenaz
21. Dec 2013 路 19:12 UTC
@tobbez: Appreciate the feedback.

@bowlercaptain: I actually wanted to do a scorekeeping system of some sort, but ran out of time.

Yeah, I definitely should have worked on this engine before LD, but there's never enough time. Usually I would use something like Unity, but I need to demonstrate that I could make something in C++.

Thanks for the feedback!
Daveloper
21. Dec 2013 路 19:37 UTC
Good attempt at the theme, though the difficulty didn't scale leaving the experience a bit lackluster.
馃帳 Jishenaz
22. Dec 2013 路 19:14 UTC
@Daveloper: Thanks for the feedback. I would have loved to implement difficulty scaling but that would probably take too long to test.
jarnik
22. Dec 2013 路 21:11 UTC
Looks like a nice little OpenGL exercise!
The only issue I had was with controls - upon pressing and holding the arrow key, the player moved a bit and then stopped before moving again. It might be because of the framework limitations, but it'd feel much smoother if the player could move without the initial stutter.
馃帳 Jishenaz
25. Dec 2013 路 17:03 UTC
@jarnik: Thank you for the feedback. :)

Yeah, I was aware if the strange movement. I have to find a way for SDL to handle multiple keys. That will probably solve the movement problem. I would like to make a tiny post-LD version of this game fixing all the issues, but I wouldn't expect it soon.
patrickgh3
03. Jan 2014 路 05:23 UTC
Nice job using OpenGL. It'll take me a long time before I have the courage to learn it, haha.
stefan
03. Jan 2014 路 23:54 UTC
This is a very minimalistic entry, but it runs perfectly. It would be great if it could get harder over time.
馃帳 Jishenaz
04. Jan 2014 路 00:28 UTC
@patrickgh3: Thanks man!

When I was introduced to OpenGL in college, I couldn't get my head around it. It's programming style is a little weird and takes getting used to. The more graphics concepts you are exposed to, the more easier it is to understand. Good modern tutorials for OpenGL include <http://open.gl/> and <http://www.opengl-tutorial.org/>.
馃帳 Jishenaz
04. Jan 2014 路 00:30 UTC
@stefan: Thanks for the feedback. I'll try to make a post LD version this month for #1GAM that will include increasing difficulty.
Jupiter_Hadley
04. Jan 2014 路 15:00 UTC
Nice, simle game! I included it in part 20 of my Ludum Dare 28 compilation video series, if you'd like to take a look :) youtu.be/O9M3TIYW4UU
馃帳 Jishenaz
04. Jan 2014 路 18:45 UTC
@Jupiter_Hadley: I'm humbled that my ridiculously simple game would get a video review. Thank you :)
馃帳 Jishenaz
13. Jan 2014 路 19:00 UTC
I made a post Ludum Dare version with difficulty scaling and better controls. Download link at top of page.