IanJun 5, 20191 minGem Smash Update #1 - Making the game harder!First update - added difficulty / duration options
IanMay 21, 20191 min4 new videos on YouTubeSince the build is all but complete, I've captured 4 new videos which showcase aspects of the gameplay that I'll launch with. They cover:...
IanMay 3, 20192 minAny day(?) nowA lot has happened in the last 2 weeks, or so. In no particular order ... EDIT: I realized I haven't previously posted the latest UI - en...
IanApr 18, 20192 minMicrosoft Store Submission has begunAs you can see from the image, some aspects are complete and ready to go while others need a lot more work. There were a couple of tasks ...
IanApr 13, 20192 minBack and GrumpySo, yup, been a coupla weeks since I've posted an update. There's been a few reasons. But excuses are lame, so moving on. The good news ...
IanFeb 7, 20192 minFailing to failIt's been a little slow here lately - I've missed some of my "post per day" cadence. What that's reflecting is my ongoing battle with try...
IanFeb 4, 20192 minMaking game art is hard!I could have started with something easier, but I chose to start "asset month" by replacing the gem images that I don't have licenses for...
IanFeb 2, 20192 minFebruary - Welcome to Asset monthMonth 2 of 12. In my rough plan, February has been designated Asset month - the month in which I need to get my game assets sorted out. A...
IanJan 29, 20191 minVery first game-play footage of Gem Smash prototypeAs promised I managed to grab some footage of the Gem Smash prototype in action. Here it is ... The demo illustrates one of the "special"...
IanJan 28, 20191 minThe Gem Smash prototype is doneThe build is complete. The UI has had a small polish (I'm aiming for minimal). I have sound effects for most game actions. I'm seriously ...
IanJan 26, 20191 minGemSmash holiday weekend updateIt's a holiday weekend here, in Australia, so just a brief update. I'm trying to complete the build-out of all the prototype's features b...
IanJan 24, 20191 minTesting + Should I do a web version?Today was mainly a testing day. Not much to report. I don't follow TDD - I code and then test afterwards. The good news from today is tha...
IanJan 23, 20191 minPrototype has had a UI makeoverI just couldn't live with my dodgy graphics any more. The screenshots in some previous posts have made me cringe! So I took some time to ...
IanJan 21, 20192 minGame Design: Over-rated?In a recent post, I mentioned that I've been finalising the code/test for the special gems in my game. This is progressing well, but has ...
IanJan 19, 20191 minReal quick Saturday updateA bunch of small, but important things got done today. I need to check if it's already taken, but I'm liking "Gem Crush" as the name for ...
IanJan 18, 20192 minWhat would success look like?Fast-forward to 2020. I've built my game and it's been published. Is that success? It's a great question to think about upfront, because ...
IanJan 17, 20192 minWhy Prototype?A couple of days ago, I promised to talk about why I've decided to start with a prototype. The obvious argument against prototyping is th...
IanJan 16, 20191 minOne of the main inspirations for this projectIn my last post I flagged that I wanted to talk about the motivation for the prototype I'm working on. I've changed my mind! Instead I've...
IanJan 15, 20192 minSo, what is this App I'm going to develop? It's a relatively simple game, similar to (but quite different from) Bejewelled or Candy Crush Saga. The game involves matching symbols (...
IanJan 14, 20191 minJan 15 2019 - What this site is aboutEvery year I set myself a challenge. My challenge for 2019 is to create an App and get it published and hopefully make a little money fro...