Since I published the first article of “Micro-channel mini-game combat series”, it is also the time when my first mini-game officially began to make. Before, it was just an idea in my head, like this: Can I try to make a series of games like this? They have classic play, will not be out of date, still have a lot of audience, if I make a classic small game into a boutique small game, is it valuable, even can produce commercial value?
When you have an idea to test, it’s hard to ignore it. Every day this thought wandered in my mind, and every now and then it said: Hi! When are you going to start? Instead of being bothered by this little alarm in my head all the time, I know the best thing to do is to make the first little game, and then it will be quiet. So I started thinking about the genre of the first mini-game, the classics of game history: Tetris, Space Invaders, Snake, Pac-Man… .
Finally, I chose “1010”, although it will not be recorded in the history of the game, but its simple rules and gameplay, it does have the potential to be recorded in the history. It was my first little game, and I wanted to make it a great game.
After determining the game to be made, I began to think, there are so many “1010” type of games in the market, what kind of “1010” SHOULD I make? What can I make of it with my ability?
Since it is to do a micro channel small game, of course, is to take a look at the micro channel small game platform now has “1010” type of games are what? After playing all of the 1010s, I came to the idea that none of the 1010s here would satisfy me, none of them would be polished enough, and THAT I would have to and must make my own. A very narcissistic idea, but for me it’s a very powerful idea.
I’m going to make a game that is small and beautiful, simple, exquisite and timeless. It’s called exquisite 1010.
The following sketch is my first impression of it.
And this is what it ends up looking like.
As you can see, the interface is basically the same as it was when we first met, but it looks a little better.
It looks good, both in terms of simplicity and color scheme, but this is just one of thousands of small games, and that alone is not enough to make it memorable. Then I fell into a deep thinking: if a game wants to be remembered and deeply rooted in people’s hearts, it can only resonate and connect with players emotionally. How can such a simple little game resonate emotionally?
Hence I had such a scheme: the game’s four themes and spring, summer, autumn and winter seasons, then increase a bit in each season the season may be unique to the associated with some memories, cherry blossoms fall of spring, summer rainy autumn slowly falling maple leaf and quiet snowflakes falling in winter.
The result was this:
Cherry blossoms fall in spring.
The summer drizzle.
Maple leaves falling slowly in autumn.
The quiet snowflakes of winter.
The specific effects of each season do not appear at the beginning of the game, but for a few moments inadvertently. I hope it conveys the feeling that when you are walking in spring, a few petals of cherry blossom fall from your eyes, you stop and look up to see the beautiful cherry trees and the whole spring.
To simulate the cherry blossoms in the game the feeling of falling, I set up a lot of random data, and spent the whole day, just adjust the feeling I want: a breeze blowing, along with below the petals syncline, stop to look up, you see the whole tree (this beautiful cherry trees can how completely based on your imagination).
There wasn’t much sound in the game, and I didn’t add background music because I thought background music made it noisy. I wanted the sound to be simple and clear. At first, I looked at some open source sound libraries, but I didn’t find anything that I was happy with. Later, I tried to use some sound production software to make sound effects, but I was still not satisfied. Finally, I found the sound I wanted from my daughter’s musical toys.
All of the sound effects in the game were created with this little thing, and the original recordings were unpolished.
The melody is also extremely simple, and if you listen carefully in the game, you can probably hear it:
Cancelation of the sound effects with: Doramiffa Solacedo (12345671)
End of game sound with: Sofa Mirido (54321)
The shape is picked up with: m (3)
Shape down with do (1)
All button clicks are done with: Rry (2)
The above describes the production process and details of the game from the perspective of a game creator. For the average player, it can be a fun experience to see how the game is made and what it contains.
The following are my impressions and reflections after finishing this game.
After I finished the game, I sent it to my wife to play, and she felt something like this:
Hubby, you this game is not too simple.
Oh, and the petals fall off! It’s kind of interesting.
When she played more than two thousand points, the top of the chart after……
Husband, you this game is quite good, match color also quite good look, look at simple, things are quite many.
In the online game, I was to share it with the mother and mother-in-law, want to look at them for a game like this feeling, didn’t do too much explanation, seems to have no use for their difficulty, looking at their scores in the top, I know the game is finished, done for so many years of the game, this is the first to share with their games.
Every time my daughter sees me playing this game, she runs over and says, “Daddy, I’m playing.” Then with her little hands on the screen to drag drag, she can not understand the rules of the game, only know that as long as the graphics below the above is very happy, in many attempts to put up will say to me: Dad, put my hand, play together… . Then I took her little hand and pulled the shapes up one by one.
It was also the first game I opened every day for me, and it’s true that game makers don’t play their own games. But I often open it, I love the summer in the game, open it sometimes just to wait for the rain I do not know when it will start.
After years of game development, I have also made many games. This is the only one that I feel extremely satisfied to share with my family. It contains a lot of my thoughts and thoughts about the game, and makes me feel that I have made something different.
In a world where everything is fast, and where all games are trying their best to grab players’ attention and keep them engaged, I wanted to say something different with this game, as I wrote in a letter to players.
I wanted it to be a game that was simple and polished and comfortable to watch. It doesn’t steal your attention, and you can turn it on or put it down. It is just like an old friend of yours. You don’t need to say much or keep in touch all the time. It is just waiting there quietly, accompanying you through every spring, summer, autumn and winter. When we play a game, we are usually in a “manic” state, and I want it to convey a “quiet” feeling. It is a quiet old friend who will always be there for you even if he never speaks.
Personally, I’m happy with it, but does it make business sense? It’s a question you have to think about. Any one thing, only with love is difficult to last for a long time, for this niche game is possible to achieve profit, sustainable development?
I believe it is, because I think it is the right thing to do, and it will produce value in the long run.
Based on the experience and feeling of the first mini game development, I have the following initial intention and vision for my mini game development path:
Committed to the production of high-quality micro channel games, can share to parents, share to friends, share to children’s games, I hope that when players see this game is produced by small ants, they know that this game is made by heart, reliable.
Continue to write better game development tutorials to help more people who want to make games but don’t know where to start to make their own games and realize their own ideas and creativity.
Do the right and valuable things for the long term and stick to the long term value.
In the process of making this game, I wrote a “micro channel game development actual combat series” tutorial, teach you how to develop such a 1010 game from zero.
If you have no game development experience but are interested in developing your own game ideas and making your own games, check out my “Anyone Can Make Games” series to get you into the world of game development.
I almost forgot to introduce the main character of this article: Exquisite 1010. A delicate and warm game for you. You can search for “exquisite 1010” on wechat, but you can’t download it. Click on it and experience it.
If you are interested in game development and want to make your own micro channel games, welcome to follow my public number: Small ant Game development. Learn more game development tutorials or learn more original content related to game development.
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