Javascript and HTML Canvas – Knox Game Design, January 2023

Podcast, Presentations

How to create a simple space shooter web game using Javascript and HTML Canvas, as well as drawing the Tennessee state flag.

Demo code – https://github.com/levidsmith/KnoxGameDesign/tree/master/javascript

Links and Notes

Knox Game Design
Knox Game Design
Javascript and HTML Canvas - Knox Game Design, January 2023
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QBasic IO and Graphics, Knox Game Design, December 2022

Podcast, Presentations

A look at various approaches for keyboard input and graphics display in QBasic.

Demo code – https://github.com/levidsmith/QBasicShooter

Links and Notes

Knox Game Design
Knox Game Design
QBasic IO and Graphics, Knox Game Design, December 2022
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Number Systems – Knox Game Design, November 2022

Podcast, Presentations

Overview of number systems, including decimal base 10, binary base 2, hexadecimal base 16. How to convert between the number systems.  Explanation of addition and subtraction in binary.

Links and Notes

Knox Game Design
Knox Game Design
Number Systems - Knox Game Design, November 2022
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Reading Text Files – Knox Game Design, September 2022

Podcast, Presentations

Explanation of how to read text files to display objects to the screen in Unity, GameMaker, MonoGame, Godot, and SDL.

Demo project – https://github.com/levidsmith/KnoxGameDesign/tree/master/textreader

Links and Notes

Knox Game Design
Knox Game Design
Reading Text Files - Knox Game Design, September 2022
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Fall ’22 Knox Game Jam kickoff meeting

Links & Notes

Knox Game Design will be meeting at Panera Bread on North Peters Rd on Friday September 30, 2022 for the Knox Game Jam kickoff.  The theme announcement is at 6pm Eastern Time.

The kickoff will just be for theme discussion and brainstorming.  We will not be developing games on site, but will be happy to answer any game development questions in general.  We have typically worked on solo projects, but people are welcome to work in groups if desired.

Guidelines

  • The goal is to create a game in 48 hours, but use as much time as needed.
  • The theme is announced at 6pm Eastern Time.  Make a game based on that theme, or just ignore the theme and make whatever you want.
  • Extra challenge – Don’t use any pre-existing assets (graphics, sound effects, music, etc).  You create everything during the jam.
  • Submit your game to any other game jams as you like.
  • There will be no voting/judging/ranking, but everyone is encouraged to play each other’s games.  You are free to submit your game to any other game jams with voting/judging/ranking.
  • No prizes.  Your game is your prize.
  • Use any game engine or library.  Some examples are Unity, GameMaker, Unreal Engine, Godot, MonoGame, and Allegro.

https://locations.panerabread.com/tn/knoxville/205-north-peters-road.html

Logo – Knox Game Design, August 2022

Podcast, Presentations

Introduction to the Logo programming language.  Useful for teaching functional programming to beginners.  Explanation of using “turtle graphics” to draw various shapes.

Demo project – https://github.com/levidsmith/KnoxGameDesign/tree/master/logo

Links and Notes

Knox Game Design
Knox Game Design
Logo - Knox Game Design, August 2022
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Curves – Knox Game Design, July 2022

Podcast, Presentations

Overview of four types of curves that can be used in game development.  Basic parabola for moving objects in an arc.  Sine function for moving objects in a wave motion.  Physics using velocity and acceleration for simulating actions such as jumping and falling.  Bezier curve for moving objects along a curved path.  Examples of functions for each curve type and how to calculate coordinates in a spreadsheet.  Demonstration of how to implement each curve type in Monogame with C# and review of source code.

Spreadsheet – http://www.knoxgamedesign.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/curves.xlsx

Demo project – https://github.com/levidsmith/KnoxGameDesign/tree/master/curves/Curves

New Knox Games this Month

Flappy Brid Clone by Andy – https://www.cowell.org/~andy/unity/test/

Links and Notes

Knox Game Design
Knox Game Design
Curves - Knox Game Design, July 2022
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I-Frames and Stun Lock – Knox Game Design, June 2022

Podcast, Presentations

Overview of I-frames, invincibility, stun lock, and knock back. How these are implemented in games, statistics from examples of classic games, and demo project showing various methods for implementing invincibility time.

Links and Notes

Knox Game Design
Knox Game Design
I-Frames and Stun Lock - Knox Game Design, June 2022
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Enemy Behaviors – Knox Game Design, May 2022

Podcast, Presentations

This month’s Knox Game Design presentation topic is Enemy Behaviors.
This is a look at various enemy behavior types:

  • Back and forth (timer / collision based)
  • Alert and chase, using distance / timer for stop chasing
  • Move random direction and wait
  • Orbital children, with varying radius length and orbit speed
  • Behavior combination (orbital children and move)

This presentation looks at a demo project using Monogame and C# and analysis of demo code for each behavior.

Links and Notes

Knox Game Design
Knox Game Design
Enemy Behaviors - Knox Game Design, May 2022
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