— Hopefully one more month (lots of random missions and all the triggers required is actually quite daunting as I am doing it now... depending on complexity it could be two months) and it will be on Android. I also hope Intel XDK has AdMob and Google Store ready then.

I just want to get the game out with all the vitals and storyline missions completed, then later patch it up to include a online PvP mode and extra ships or modules. Currently doing the random missions as well as major story missions.

Looks like Vash the Stampede from the Manga Trigun! Look it up if you don't know what I am referring to, because using it as inspiration for some other chars would be sweet too.

Star Nomad for Android/iOS. Combat, Trading and Equip system done. Now its time for the fun stuff, random missions and storyline missions!

[attachment=0:jao06qki][/attachment:jao06qki]

Actually pretty damn nasty to set a scam such as this. Not like indie devs aren't already poor to start with.. stealing from the poor...

As long as you avoid large images where its not required, you are doing nearly all that you can.

ie. Avoiding making something larger than power of 2 rule, since it will waste double the required ram in texture.

A 512 x 10 object may be 10kB as a filesize, but in texture, its 512 x 512 x 4 = 1MB memory

There will still be a difference, but it will be minimal, 20-25% performance penalty instead of the current 50-70%.

With JS supporting SIMD and improvement to ASM HTML5 has a bright future.

In the gaming industry there is no shortage of talented people or hard working people. In fact, its the norm. Programmers and artists are very hard working, pulling consistent overtimes and weekend work.

Why don't they all succeed and only a few do?

Luck and marketing has a lot to do with it, despite what some of you may wish.

Making a good game is not the only thing you need, because there are plenty of good games that nobody plays on Google Store or iOS, likewise for PC. That and "good" or "bad" is highly subjective. I personally hate the Call of Duty franchise, its a terrible un-creative recycling of the same old every year, or twice a year. But I'm clearly wrong because its always a blockbuster. It's also one of the most marketed game franchises out there.

Talk to people in marketing, they will tell you the masses are mindless, they want to be told what is "good" and not. Given enough money in marketing, they can sell turd.

This obviously does not apply to indie game devs, who are often already poor and cannot afford marketing but rely on word of mouth (forums) or the goodwill of editors. Here, talent and a "good" game helps a lot to get your game out there to be known, but getting the masses to play and like your game? Complete luck.

I mean, who would have thought a few years ago, that an endless running jumping (Temple Run) including a cow (Hay Day) would be an awesome success because its a "good" game? Did anyone think a game such as Flappy Bird is a "good" game and would be an awesome success?

How about these:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... ogle&hl=en

https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... nator.game

If someone said to you, hey, lets make a game where I send sperm to attack eggs because its going to be wild and successful, what would u say? Or an endless runner with a Sperm avoiding spermicide?

Dynamic UI, icons only shown if Modules are equipped. Launchers will have a SpriteFont to indicate number of missiles left.

Touch on Shield Booster or EW to activate the module. Touch on Launchers will toggle the next touch on screen, it will launch a missile towards your touch point.

Aiming for the most minimalist design that I can get away with while still providing all the info required for gameplay.

Note the small green circle trailing the NPC ships. It's the "Hitpoints" indicator. Changes colour to yellow or red based on % of ship shields left. I originally planned to have the typical ship UI, bottom right corner, touch on a ship to bring up a bigger icon and its stats/shields.. but felt it was not necessary and would add clutter. Now all ships show their current shields via a dot. Maybe too minimalistic??

I think the dream is to be able to make money doing what you love in a career that is entirely your own, not having to answer to a boss or something. People naturally are curious about monetizing and ads and making a quick buck because they want to dip their toes in the water. Most know that they will spend more on C2 than they will make on their first game. As for me, I'm dreaming big, but I wouldn't ever dream of monetizing or selling a game until I'm satisfied with it. I think it's too shameful to release a half-assed app with ads enabled or anything like that. You won't see me release unless I can personally assure you of its quality, and I may be a year or more away from such a release, but it'll be worth it when I get there.

Excellent post, spot on summation for most indie devs I would imagine.

It is a dream we are chasing, being able to feed ourselves, take care of loved ones, paying the bills and rent by doing something we love: making and playing games.

To not be poor at any creative job, especially indie games.. you need:

1. Talent

2. Marketing

3. Luck

Fimbul

Good post, very insightful. Atm I've been going full indie. If in a few years things don't work out and I have no luck, it'll be back to the 9-6 day job.

megatronx

There's been lots of criticism of C2 low performance on mobiles, I just think its up to the users to optimize their games. Sure, HTML5 is 50% slower than native code, guess what? People forget that phones this year are 100% faster than last year. And last year's phone certainly run HTML5 games just fine, so do phones from 2-3 years ago.

—

I had planned to do a point defense drone that shoots down missiles, but it wasn't required since ships can equip a PD module that fires a laser at incoming missiles already, it was kinda redundant. And the support drone heals by replenishing your shields.

Progressing on the Combat system.

Orbiting Drones with their own AI Turret. Combat Drones pew pew and Support Drones heal heal.

Also I was so stupid in spawning those parallax space-dust particles on the entire layout randomly... too many needless sprites when they aren't present onscreen. Changed it to spawn in particles only in the restricted ViewPort, and destroy the particles off-screen when the player ship moves. Doing it like this means I can have more particles on-screen (gives better illusion of movement) while reducing the overall count massively, making it run better on mobiles.