Magnétite Agora

The summer knocks at our door. Then, we want to throw our computers through the window and go swimming with cute girls wearing a bikinis and eating ice cream with our little doggy. After a nice day like this, it is not important if you don't have window in your bedroom and no more Internet. That why it's hard to continue a videogame project, but we follow our little dream like a linked team.

One important thing I'm learning about team work is that; A man can have a dream. A team can built a dream. Everybody have skills. Some of them are better than others. If you are very good at creating game design, but you are just novice in drawing, don't do your project alone. Try to find someone better than you. Someone who has 100% of the drawing skills instead to 80%

If your project is a teamwork, open your mind and try to learn every time. Listen to what your teammates say. And when you must argue do it with moderation...

Well, humm... not exactly... at least a dishwasher in the way guys from Ska Studio depicted the job

As we are all about indie games here, I just wanted to say a word about this new xbox arcade game released yesterday. I spent my all lunch time playing this awesome game with one of my colleague today, and it was hard to stop I don't know people behind it, but if you have a xbox 360 and 8$ in your pocket (come on, I'm pretty sure you have that...) I think this is a good investment.

The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai is a traditional action platformer in its foundation, but the univers, with its funny-bloody style, and this classical but so polished gameplay result in a frenetic and really original game.

I think this game well represents the kind of ideas we want to put in Magnétite Agora... Simple but polished game mechanics, a bit of action and a pinch of original story... I hope that's a great recipe

It inclined me to believe we are on the right way.... but holy crap those guys are good !!!

see you !

Dream and Passion are not so easy to reach. We must work a lot to get it.

For now, we found a new fellowship. He is going to do the 2D characters design and maybe , if we are gentle, the music of the game. But we have lost an important element of the team; the level Artist. It's not easy but the project is not enough advanced to panic.

The most important for now, is to finish the GameDesign (Me) and the prototype of the game (Thomas).

Passion and Dream are linked with sacrifices. Working after working at job is not always easy, but we have to do it.

We will succeed!

Don't forget to read my part about the GameDesign of this week.

Ciao!

I began this project by proposing to my fellow programmer my game. I wrote a TWO pages proposal document. It's important to write few pages. ( 2 or 3 pages maximum).

Why ? Because :

1. People wants to know only the important things.
2. People needs to get quickly a global view of your project
3. People doesn't like reading.

According to myself, here is the things to put in a Game Proposal. I think this is the best way. But a lot of video games companies have other ways.

Page 1

1. Introduction : Introduce in few lines what is your game. Name of the hero, kind, Avatar, Story, gameplay.
2. Technology : Write on which hardware you are going to make your game. If there is special technology, write it too.
3. Story: If the game has a story, write a very short summarize of it. Don't forget, priority is the gameplay.
4. Main Goal : Every games have a goal. Write what is the goal in one or two line.
5. Secondary Goal : If the game has secondary goals, write it.
6. How win or loose : Write how the player can win or loose during the game.
7. Draw a Gameflow of the gameplay: Draw the loop of the gameplay. That must be the solid structure of your gameplay.

An example with the game Super Mario Bros on NES.

1. Introduction : Super Mario Bros is a 2D platform game in which the player plays as Mario and must save the princess from the bad Dragon. The avatar passes through the levels and must evades the obstacles and he can gets power up.
2. Technology : Game on NES
3. Story: A poor princess is kidnapped by a bad dragon. Mario must save her.
4. Main Goal : Pass through the level from the point A to B.
5. Secondary Goal : Collect coins, power up, beat enemies and points.
6. How win or loose : Mario wins when he arrives at the end of the level. Mario looses a life when he is touched by obstacles or if he falls in a hole.
7. Draw a Gameflow of the gameplay: Move-Evading and meeting obstacles-Collect (And those mechanics are looping during the game).

Page 2

From your Gameflow, make a summary of each mechanics. Don't go too far. Just list the mechanics.

Move : Mario can walk, run, jump and bend.

Evading and meeting obstacles : Kind of enemies, platforms and obstacles.

Collect : Power-up and Coins

Mario can't do something else than moving, evading and meeting obstacles and collecting. Keep in your mind that. It is important to don't go too far from your Main GameFlow. (Loop) Otherwise, you can loose yourself in the game concept.
I hope that text will help you. Don't forget, it is just my point of view.

THANK YOU!

Welcome to the Magnétite Agora website !

Magnétite Agora is an indie game project developed by a very small (but motivated) team... In fact a team of two guys (Once the game foundations set up, other team-mates will join us... good games require talented people right ?).

Here are the credits:

• Tom, in charge of the technical aspects and project coordinator.
• Doom, responsible for the design of the game.

Even if I said this is an indie project, Doom and myself are working for a video game company, but it is important to mention that we are doing this on our free time (yes we have !). Why starting such a game ? Because we are both video games passionate of course, but also because we wanted to explore and learn much about indie games. That's why we also decided to create this website (which is kind of a blog as you can see ): We wanted to share with you our (small) knowledge of game development and in the same time to keep a trace of our futur and exciting work on Magnétite Agora.

Doom will mainly write articles on lots of subjects related to game design as I will discuss technical issues and project development solutions... Hope you will like this new adventure, and please don't hesitate to leave comments

See you soon guys, and thanks for playing !!!