HemiGames.com – Developer Blog

Five years ago, when I played games I either used a Windows PC or a dedicated gaming device. Occasionally I’d play a web-based Flash game for free. For the last few years I’ve been able to buy and play games on my mobile phones and tablet computers from dedicated app stores (Android & iOS). Today I personally spend more time playing games on my phone than I do on PC or console, and many more people play games almost exclusively in their webbrowser, very often on Facebook, and more recently on Google app store.

As a game developer, once you’ve decided on a new game idea the toughest decision is deciding which market you should target. The choice of markets has never been more diverse. Should you aim for one of the dedicated consoles, or the PC/Mac downloadable market, or one of the major mobile platforms, or a social game for Facebook…etc, etc? There are many, many markets out there and each has it’s own pros and cons

Once you have chosen your market, deciding on the technology to use is the next big challenge. If you choose wisely you might be able to target many of the big markets (Unity3D for example), but this has to be weighed against the risk of becoming dependent on 3rd party software which might not exist in a few years, or for which the licensing model might change.

When I started porting Orbyx Deluxe to the PC I gambled that the investment in a solid Windows OS-based engine written in C++ would be worthwhile, and that I’d use it to release at least a couple of other games on the PC downloadable market. However, as things stand today I don’t believe that targeting the downloadable PC market with a native C++ code-base is the best option for a new casual game. This has made me think long and hard about what the best way forward for Hemi might be.

In short the answer is HTML5.

I could go into the problems (as I see them) with the other technologies out there, but from where I’m standing I truly believe that it’s the only technology that will have maximum device penetration and that can instantly reach users on current and future devices for years (if not decades) to come.

Now, if only there was some off-the-shelf software available that I could use to make the next HTML5-based Angry Birds-killer…

I spent some time this weekend experimenting with the new Flash player 11 release – it’s awesome! Adobe have finally added 3D hardware support (where available), which obviously has potentially huge implications for casual gaming. IMHO it’s now the #1 platform for releasing indie games. Nothing else has the same level of mass penetration, back-end server support, client h/w support, and h/w graphics.

I’ve put together a small demo app using the Alternativa 3D engine. Why not give it a go – it’s h/w accelerated where available.

I found this review of the XBox version of Orbyx yesterday on ExHardcoreGamer.com.

They awarded it 7.5/10 and said :

I give kudos to HEMI Indie Games for at least making a quality clone and a quality product in a sea of crap coming out of the XBLI channel

Nice to see the game’s still getting some attention more than 2 years after release!

Cheers.

Hi.

I’m very happy to say that Orbyx Deluxe v1.4.4 is now available exclusively on GameHouse.com and partner sites.

For me this is a match made in heaven as many Game House users are the exact target audience for Orbyx Deluxe.

Every Game House user review so far has awarded the game the maximum 5 star rating, so the game certainly seems to be connecting with the Game House audience

Version 1.4.4 includes some brand new user-interface graphics and some minor bug fixes.

Cheers,
Chris.

Just a short video demoing the current state of the engine. More to follow in the coming weeks…

Making a 2D game was a great way to take my game framework/engine to the first level. Now I’ve got an effective & efficient tool-chain and solid ‘real-world-tested’ core libraries. Taking the engine to the next level means supporting character-based 3D games, and every good 3rd person character game needs a good chase camera.

What is a Chase Camera?

Think Super Mario 64, Tomb Raider, Ratchet & Clank etc. Chase cams generally hover above & behind the player’s avatar.

What Makes a ‘Good’ Chase Camera?

At the very least a chase cam has to keep the avatar visible on the screen. Some games achieve this by locking the camera to a fixed position relative to the avatar. This works well for games when the user uses a mouse to steer (e.g. World of Warcraft), but with joypad controls can make some people feeling motion-sick (myself included). A good chase cam for joypad control should therefore not (IMHO) be fixed to a point relative to the avatar’s transform. Some games (like Deathspank) fix the camera to the avatar’s translation, which works well but is restrictive.

More advanced chase cams will attempt to maintain line-of-sight with the avatar. i.e. What happens when the avatar disappears behind a wall? Some games simply require the user to move the camera manually, but this creates a lot of extra work for the player.

A good chase cam shouldn’t pass through walls as this ruins the illusion for the player. Refusing to pass through walls can also create problems though, if the camera get’s stuck in a corner for example. A good chase cam will avoid passing through scene geometry, and elegantly handle ‘no-win’ situations.

Finally, a good chase cam won’t make the player feel motion-sick. This involves dampening all movements, avoiding jitter, and generally making as few changes to the camera’s position as possible. This can be quite subjective since some people never get nausea from games, and others get it a lot (like me).

Taking all the above points into consideration, here is my current attempt at making a good chase camera.

I’m very happy to announce that Orbyx Deluxe has finally been released for the PC and is available to buy right now on the Hemi website.

Thanks to everyone who helped or supported me over the last few months of development.

If you’ve been waiting for the full version, or haven’t played the game before I’d highly recommend picking-up a copy and giving it a go, you won’t be disappointed.

Cheers,
Chris.