Yay

My game, Agent won second place in the GameCOG competition, which was pretty much what I had expected. I've found that working with a deadline is actually very helpful.

New Game

Info
Agent is a third person shooter created for Gamecog's second competition. The goal of each level is to find a briefcase. Once you find it, you will be awarded points depending on your speed, accuracy, and whether or not you got hit at all.
Once you complete a level, you will unlock the next level in line.

Core Information
Title: Agent
Genre/Category: Third Person Shooter
Download Size: 6.6 MB
Game File-Type: ZIP (make sure to extract all files)
Resolution: No Change, Windowed
Current Version: v.1
Written In: GM7 Registered with the Ultimate 3d DLL

Screenshots:


Download Links:

Mirror 1
Direct Link
Mirror 2
Box.net

Other:
Thanks to everyone that plays this game. It is currently unfinished, and I hope to add a lot more content. Any feedback you have would be great! :)

Credits:
Everything (music, sounds, models, textures, programming, design, etc...): ninjutsu63

Finals

Well, I've just finished up with my final exams. They were pretty easy. I was only really worried about my finals for Spanish and Math. Luckily they both went well. While I got a B on the Spanish one, I still have an A for a final grade, and though I haven't gotten a score for it yet, the Math final was pretty easy. I figured out I only needed to get 28/50 questions correct to get an A. It was also multiple choice, so I could figure out quite a few of the problems just by looking at the question and the answers.

In other news, lately I've become obsessed with the Metal Gear Solid games. I first got interested when I played MGS4 at a friend's house, and now I've played through most of the series. The story is great, even though it is rather convoluted, and rather hard to follow at first. I'm certainly looking forward to the new metal gear solid games announced at E3, Rising and Peace Walker (even though I don't have a PSP).

JRPGs #1

RPGs are an interesting genre, because it can encompass so many different things. However, the kind of RPG I've been most interested in are Japanese RPGs, or just JRPGs. JRPGs have almost become their own sub-genre, because of their distinctive features. So what exactly are these features that make them unique?

1. Story takes the forefront. Often, JRPGs have a very linear storyline that progresses in a 'string of pearls' pattern. A cutscene or story moment will explain what's going on and make the player's next objective clear. Then, the player will go somewhere else, where the next cutscene awaits to tell them where to go next. The cutscenes are the pearls, and the gameplay is the string connecting them.
2. A focus on upgrading your character(s). Usually, you can level up and gain equipment and money by killing monsters. You can use new abilities from levelling up and new equipment to defeat even more monsters, and advance the story.
3. Random Battles are a prime staple of JRPGs. These usually occur randomly when the player is walking around on the world map, or when the player runs into an indicator of a monster on the world map. In either case, the player is taken to a different screen, where a battle is carried out, usually using some variation on a turn based fighting system.

Unfortunately, making a game that follows this guideline seems rather limiting, and for that reason many people complain about how all JRPGs are the same. I want to disagree, but these people are not far off. This begs the question of why so many people are ready to come back for more. I don't know exactly, but I wish I did. Is it the great stories they have to tell? The comfort in buying something that you will already be familiar with?
Whatever it is, hopefully I'll be able to trigger that primal urge with Urban Odyssey.

Urban Odyssey

I just thought I'd quickly post about a preview trailer on the RPG I'm working on. Check it out here: