Voice Acting: Only War (C&C Generals Mod)

Some time ago I voiced the Imperial faction for a Command and Conquer: Generals mod called Generals 40K; Only War. The same team is now working on Only War 2 which re-uses these voice assets.

I worked from a script provided by the mod lead which also explained the roles of the various units I was voicing. I had to interpret these requirements, record dialogue and submit it to the mod lead for approval.

GML Tutorial – Converting the Gamemaker 1945 Demo to Use Code

I wrote this tutorial for those interested in learning game programming who are already familiar with the graphical user interface offered by Gamemaker.

The tutorial takes you through re-implementing the standard 1945 Gamemaker demo using GML, the Game Maker scripting language, instead of the graphical action editor. Some thought is required!

Download

The Tutorial – Tutorial.pdf (124 KB)
The Source – 1945_code.gm6 (99 KB)

N.B. The tutorial notes are not fully completed but do comprise 6 whole pages of juicy goodness. The source file has the complete game implemented in GML for reference.

C#: Super Console Hangman

This was one of my Software Development 1 assignments. It’s a console based game of hangman with a few nice features like sound and high-scores.

Update – 1 Feb 2007

Turns out this hangman game won me a few Waterstones vouchers as it was one of the best two submitted.

Download

Win32 executable (.NET Framework required)
SuperConsoleHangman.zip (18.7KB)

C# source
Hangman_Source.zip (18.9KB)

Report: Women in Games

I researched and compiled this report as part of my degree course.

Executive Summary

As game development costs rise, it has become more important than ever to reach new markets, outside the traditional 15-25 year old male niche.

This report considers the current state of the female game market and women in the industry, as well as a number of barriers preventing women from engaging with games, such as:

• Lack of a female avatar.
• Negative representation of female game characters.
• Gratuitous violence.
• Lack of alternatives to violence.

The report also considers the prevailing attitudes of men in the industry, concluding that change is needed if the rewards of new markets are to be reaped. However, new types of games need not necessarily be found; research shows that in fact the mere removal of barriers from current titles would suffice.

The key recommendations of this report for game developers seeking to expand their market are:

1. Seek diversity in development teams, not just in terms of sex, but in all respects.
2. Take every precaution not to create barriers for female players in your title.

Download

Women in Games.pdf (308KB)

Postmortem: Birds (XNA Team Project)

Introduction

This game was the result of a first year team game development project. The team consisted of three Games Programming students and one Games Modelling and Animation student. The project was voluntary and not assessed, but there were prizes for winning (a Nintendo DS per team member and priority on trips to the UK XNA launch event and Rare Headquarters). Best entries would also be displayed to industry and placed on the university’s website.

The criteria were:
• May be based on existing game or an original idea.
• Must have a two player co-operative mode.
• All code and artwork must be original.
• Prototype to be developed in Game Maker.
• Full version must be developed in XNA Game Studio Express.
• “There are no provided tutorials […] it is a test of what you’re able to find out on your own.”
• Deadline: 4 weeks.

XNA Launch

I was lucky enough to be invited to attend the UK launch of XNA at Warwick University on Wednesday. It was a great day; the speakers were interesting and Microsoft were extremely generous. I missed out on a free XBox360, but did come away with a free creators’ club membership and .NET book.

However, the highlight for me was seeing my XNA game used as the university’s display game. Even better, people were actually playing it (one pair even played it through twice) which was a really great feeling.

Poor quality photo follows!