What is the grain of sand of your game?
Gamedev Dairy #93
Last week I broke down making a Snake game for a simple design bible.
It looks great and all, but you have to start the work at some point, right? 😉
I was heavily thinking about how to break down this bible into tasks but failed to prioritize them to achieve a proper start. And by proper start, I mean the very basis of a game. Not necessarily a prototype as I don't believe that in the case of the Snake game, the prototype diÂffers much from the final game 😉
So I need to think oÂf something easier to do, as basic as possible to PLAY it, but not less. Of course, it will not have all of the final features. But it will be executable. And do something, anything.
Do you know how a pearl is created?
A pearl starts as a grain of sand or a parasite that suddenly sneaks into the shell of an oyster. The oyster wants to protect itself, therefore it coats the grain of sand with layers of nacre, the same substance that lines its shell. Layer after layer of this iridescent material is meticulously applied, resulting in the formation of a beautiful pearl.
The Pearl is our video game. But what we want to start with is the grain of sand.
I guess it works contrary to 3D modeling. I think it was Michelangelo, who said that in order to create David he carved away excess marble to reveal the figure within.
So, what, will it take to make a base game?
At first, I thought I would have to implement the snake first. But then I realized, that’s not the basic of the game. That would be its heartbeat.
It’s a simple object, really, it consists of a timer and a signal. It only has only one property - the tact, which is then used to inform the timer when to emit a signal. That signal will move the character. For the time being, it can just send a log message.
Next, character. Not a snake, a single head. Just the tip 😉