I'm currently working on a 2 player side scrolling racing game for the Winnitron, but I'd quite like to add in a single player mode that includes races as well as the far-easier-to-implement time trials etc.  And I'm just really not sure how I'd go about creating some non-crappy ai for the other racers.

The closest comparable game would be the Japan exclusive GBA game dotstream, so if you don't know exactly what I mean by "side-scrolling racing game" then just check out this video of dotstream:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGzUEz7hAGk

The left-to-right nature of the race makes it really easy to keep track of stuff like position, it's just the actual intelligence of other racers that I'm quite unsure about.

Any advice would be really appreciated! 

Someone recommended In Our Time to me a few months ago and I've been really loving it.  Not really a podcast proper, just a podcast of a BBC Radio show.  Each episode is about a topic (really anything and everything; history, science, culture, etc.) and features the regular host as well as three guest academics who know a lot about the topic.

As well as being able to get it on iTunes, there's a laughably massive archive on the website; seriously, just search a topic you're interested in and they'll have probably done an episode on it.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/features/in-our-time/

 

What I've generally done is handle sprite stuff in its own little separate section, handled in the object's step event.

I'll usually have some variables to keep track of what state the player is in (eg. mid-air, running, etc.); these would be updated in the part of the code that handles the object's movement.  If I remember correctly Matt's engine already has some variables in it that could be used to figure out what sprite should be displayed at the current moment.

So once you know those variables, you can just create a big if/else statement section checking the variables and changing the sprite index accordingly.  Sorta like this:

Code:

if(walking == true){
   sprite_index = spr_walking;
}else if(in_air == true){
   sprite_index = spr_in_air;
}else{
   sprite_index = spr_idle;
}

Hope that helps a bit! 

This is just really weird; someone has figured out how to use a webcam to read their facial expressions, then map it in real time onto a virtual character (well, it does look like there is a slight delay).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Phcdp7AjhBg

I'd like to see them improve the tool itself a bit before they try to farm the community for good games.

While I do agree with you on that, I think it is fair to say that great stuff can be made with it in its current form.

50/50 split is simply far too high; 20/80 or 30/70 maybe, but yeah, 50 is asking too much.

Allen: that's my middle name as well, for what it's worth.

"TheDustin" is stupid, I made it up because it was a riff on "The99th" -- another member of PTT. I would go for just "Dustin", but there's another dude named 'dustin' here and I would be a dick to ask him to change his seeing as how he was here first. I could go for my full name of "Dustin Smith", but smith is such a fucking boring last name.

I dunno, I'm taking a break from the internet anywho so whatever.

I always thought "Smith" was kinda dull too, but then I played Killer7 and "Smith" is no longer dull for me at all. 

all of this to say that I would very much enjoy a Christian game that wasn't full of proselytizing agendas, and was more concerned with asking questions, expressing doubts, or attempting to communicate something the author thinks is beautiful.

Really well said; I'd love a game like that myself!  If a game fulfilled the requirements you just said, I wonder if people would even think of it as a "Christian Game"?  Maybe the lack of proselytizing would make people just consider it a game that touched on Christianity and/or Christian themes.

Hey everyone, so a friend emailed me this new modeling program, and after giving the trial version a go I was really impressed!

I use SketchUp for a lot of stuff, but it goes without saying that SketchUp isn't really designed to be used for complex curved surfaces etc.  So yeah, I'm stuck using a NURBS modeling program (like Rhino) for that kind of work [which thankfully I don't do much of].

So MoI is basically a very well designed NURBS modeling program; certainly much nicer than any I've tried.  The whole UI is designed to be easier for artists/non-hardcore modelers to get into, and is even designed around the ability to be used with just a pen tablet.

So definitely give it a go and post your impressions:
http://moi3d.com/index.htm

It's weird; I thought that I might have posted about it, but when I searched I couldn't find a thread.

Hey everyone, so I've recently gone on a bit of a nostalgia trip with some old, brilliantly outdated CGI movies/demoreels from my childhood!

So, who else here remembers...THE MIND'S EYE! [and it's many sequels and spinoffs]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHpPpoz6e6Y&feature=related



[edit: sorry to the couple people who saw this as an unfinished post; somehow I accidentally hit post before I'd finished typing]

 

Awesome stuff man!  Thanks so much for gettin 'er done so quickly after finishing your contract for that other game! 

Ah, alright then; thanks for the clarification.

I'd need some specifics about what you'd plan before saying I'd get involved, but I do think it's a good idea.

Were I doing something like this I'd probably do it in level editors or something.  Probably Knytt Stories levels for 2d, and possibly SketchUp + Unity for 3d stuff (I've been quite pleasantly surprised by how nice those two pieces of software work for simple stuff).

Those two tools would really keep the focus solely on creating interesting levels, instead of allowing people to get caught up in mechanics.  I mean, heck, just look at how creative and amazing some of the community Knytt Stories levels are!

And by using standardized stuff like that, everyone would be able to easily compare their work; it would certainly make criticism easier.

Hmm, neat topic.

Level design is definitely an under appreciated aspect of games, but if you think about all of the best games you've played, the odds are very good that all of them had exceptional level design.

I personally take the stance that [with a few exceptions] all game design is level design, as mechanics mean absolutely nothing without a "world" to exist in.  Now, it's standard practice to create those mechanics before creating the world, and in games that are about their mechanics, I suppose that makes sense.  But if all your game really is is some abstract mechanics, then yeah, creating levels is going to be a real pain, as the game isn't really about its levels.

And an entirely different way of looking at it is exploration games.  I would say most good explorations games exist solely because of their levels, and the mechanics are only there to allow you to explore the world.  Generally I prefer them over games like Braid, because the levels in Braid clearly exist to take advantage of the game mechanics, whereas the levels in knytt stories just exist as their own places and don't feel contrived to match some mechanic.