Hello, and Welcome to a small tutorial (or should I say), rather it be a tips & tricks guide.
I dislike to call myself an expert at game-creation, but I can gladly say I care mostly about optimization in game-creation.. and that I believe if your game optimizes a-lot, not only can it save time, frustration, stress, and all that bad stuff, but once you grab the hang of optimizing your code/events, then it all goes up-hill (figure of speech) ;]
Level Editors & Random Generators
Recently, I've been thinking a-lot, I just couldn't believe it when I heard someone's world generator used 5 arrays! Let me get one thing straight here; You do not need to use a single array for level generation/level editors, The reason being so (100% correct) I created an example in-which you can find right here: Click Here!, It uses an array, yes but that was only because I added a feature to it in-which would require this, I didn't have to add that feature, That feature was "Grass-Growth" in-which the grass would grow if it had no other block above dirt, then it would turn that dirt into grass.. and blah blah blah. Just had to get that out of the way.
Optimization: The Way Through?
You DO NOT have to (in any circumstances) have to optimize your code straight off the bat! In my game-creation experiences this slows you down, This can not only frustrate you! But it can lower your motivation for your own damn game!!, Now what I'm saying is what I do now which works 100% legitimately and safe, whilst still keeping me occupied on my game at all angles and not just one particular spot! Keep to the safe zone!
Keeping in the Safe Zone, Keeping your Motivation and Stress-levels
Okay, When I create something.. If I've worked with it before (like I've worked with level editors & generators a load of times before) You can usually produce something similar or even better, and Optimize it right off the bat (like me)!, I can safely say that if you get stuck.. don't be affraid to look back to your existing project of your w/e (what-ever) it is!. When you create something and it's your first experience in that departure, Then don't worry how un-optimistic it will output! I can't stress this enough, Since I made this mistake for too long... If you can't optimize something right off the bat then put it to the back of your head and think about it over time! In that time work on other departures of your game and don't worry about the optimization until you can think of a way forward! Trust me, this'll lead to success, and you won't lose your motivation for your game!
Thank-you for reading!
If you enjoyed or found this tutorial helpful in any way, Then please go ahead and leave a like ;] Have a good day!