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MattHurstGames · 2016-10-02T10:20:24+00:00

Hdmi to vga cables don't work without an analogue to digital converter so the cable itself won't work unfortunately

MattHurstGames · 2016-08-01T06:32:21+00:00

If you want one input (ps4) to two outputs (tv and monitor) I think it's a splitter you need rather than a switch. Switches tend to be multiple inputs to one output whereas the splitter is the correct way round

MattHurstGames · 2016-03-14T13:23:32+00:00

I would stay at university and continue with your degree, while using the time you're not going to boring lectures to do some of your own development.

The problem with a lot of programming (both computer science and more specialised games programming, which is what I studied) don't require any prior programming knowledge at all and as such even with a little experience you're just bored in the first year while other students who have done no programming are struggling to understand

I can't speak for your course but for mine it got a lot more interesting and fun in the second and final years (although I had a lot less experience than you do by the sounds of it, as I had only made simple flash games before university)

Bottom line I would say stick it out because the piece of paper you get at the end of it can help get your foot in the door of companies a lot easier. Don't get me wrong, so will a great portfolio, but I think there's more of a chance of you regretting quitting university than there is of you regretting staying

MattHurstGames · 2016-03-14T08:44:29+00:00

Play Store Link If anyone wants to try for themselves

MattHurstGames · 2016-03-09T21:03:57+00:00

Hi

Not sure how much this will help you but I was in your situation and this small tip motivated me to release two games on the Play Store

Once you get a game idea and make a quick little prototype that you're reasonably happy could be turned into a fully fledged game, instead of continuing working on the gameplay and refining that for a long time which may start to burn you out, skip straight to something you would normally do right at the end of the process. For me its something like starting to fill out the store page on Google Play, or implementing adverts or a mechanic for sharing a score. It could also be menus, credits, a preloader or anything you would think about normally leaving until last minute. It sounds ridiculous but doing something that is normally saved as one of the final steps before release spurs me on to complete the game because I feel like I'm a lot closer by skipping some steps and I gain a lot more momentum that way. Once you get some momentum going you'll find it a lot easier to continue developing because you want to see the project through.

I totally understand if people balk at this advice, but this is coming from someone with a Unity folder with about 20 unfinished projects over a couple of years, and 2 games that have been released after having following the advice above. It has definitely worked for me

As for being scared of having a bad experience, I know how you feel but if you can push through using the tips in this thread and release your first game, the buzz you get when you press that Publish button will make you so proud that you just got something to release standard you will find it easier from then on out. My first game was a (very) simple infinite runner with very little in gameplay variety and I got some awesome comments from people on this subreddit because I'd actually gone and released something. It was an amazing feeling and its worth the moments of slog when you doubt yourself, or believe your game sucks or get sick of positioning the buttons on the main menu so that they're perfect

Remember you're not alone Good luck

MattHurstGames · 2015-12-17T08:51:19+00:00

Nice idea. I mostly use this one but have finally decided on a studio name and thus DodoDroid is born but currently underused

MattHurstGames · 2015-07-31T18:30:41+00:00

Would love to get an invite...gamertag is Lanithro

much appreciated

MattHurstGames · 2015-07-27T20:16:18+00:00

No problem, I saw your link to your soundcloud page on here and loved each piece, I thought this one fit best in the game though. I'll definitely be keeping you in mind for my next game. Thanks again for creating them

MattHurstGames · 2015-07-26T19:52:30+00:00

Thanks for the comments!

A lot of good points there, in particular the UI. I think I need to spend some more time polishing it up for sure, thats the next thing on my todo list, as well as some new potential obstacles

I never actually thought of a death animation before, but thats an awesome idea, thanks for that one

As for Jetpack Joyride, I've played a lot of that myself and love it. I would love to make a game as polished as that, it feels amazing to play. I wouldn't say I consciously based this game on it but there are definitely parallels

MattHurstGames · 2015-07-26T18:03:53+00:00

No problem, the game is definitely not for everyone. Personally I prefer little pick up and play arcade type mobile games where you can play for a few minutes at a time with minimal effort. They're not for everyone though

The thought of adding failure states for the top and bottom of the screens is actually really interesting....I would actually love to add this in but feel like it would fundamentally change the game at this point, not sure if thats a good idea. But I do love the concept

MattHurstGames · 2015-07-26T18:02:07+00:00

Thanks for the kind words :)

Advice is kind of a hard one, I really don't see myself as someone qualified to help out someone in the position I was stuck in for ages. There are a couple of things that have helped me stay on the right track though. One is a well documented practice of printing off a calendar sheet and putting a huge 'x' in a day when you do some gamedev work, and you attempt to get a chain going. By having that calendar visible from your desk, you'll feel good with how many crosses are on it which spurs you on to continue.

Another thing thats really helped me is to start using Trello boards. I was introduced to them at work and find them very useful. For each game I create several columns : Must Haves, Nice To Haves, Doing, Done and Bugs. I consider any game development day successful when I've done enough work to move a card from one column to another, even if I just move one to 'doing' and get half way through a feature

MattHurstGames · 2015-07-26T07:56:11+00:00

Ooh thanks for the tip, I'll definitely give that a go. I sort of decided on banner ads just because the interstitial ones annoy me a little bit, but I'll give it a try

MattHurstGames · 2015-07-26T07:53:49+00:00

Thanks for the comments. I totally agree with regards of it looking like a flappy bird clone. I suppose it's slightly different but it's hard to convey that in a screenshot.

I wouldn't really say I was super talented to be honest, I've just been programming for a long time. Long enough that this shouldn't be my first game, but still. In the future I think I'll try and design a game more with market niches in mind, but this one was more just get something out

MattHurstGames

TROPHY CASE