I’m making a game

I’ve been brainstorming ideas for a long time now, as I do with a lot of things, but I’ve finally come to the decision that I should actually go ahead and make my own game.

I’m not doing it to make money, I’m not doing it to get famous and I’m not doing it because I think I have better ideas of what makes a good game than other people.

I’m doing it because I love video games and before my time ends on this planet, I’d like to create something that embodies the kind of games that I like to play. Basically, I’m doing it for me and as an expression of what I enjoy.

With that said, this wasn’t a decision I made just today, I have been dabbling here and there creating different things in relation to “a game” at different points throughout the years. Mostly creating outlines for scenarios, gameplay ideas and sprites…

The sprites shown above are from a cyberpunk type game I’ve got an idea for… which, until now, I haven’t really shown anyone. These are just a small sample of what I created, the reality is that I’ve done so many sprites for the characters of that game idea that I can fully animate them doing a whole bunch of different things.

Hell, going through those old sprites, I realised I got so pedantic about creating them that each piece of clothing for a character was made on its own layer which also affected the shadow pixels when the character wears a jacket or not!

…and yes, I even drew their skeletons.

However, the cyberpunk game I had envisioned was beyond the scope of what I am able to do practically since it requires a tonne of writing and dialogue with branching story paths, etc, to make work. Instead, I’ve gone back to basics with another idea that I’ve been brainstorming.

I want to create a Metroidvania.

Yes, I know… there are countless indie Metroidvania games out there and the market continues to see more and more of them being made. But like I said before, this game is being made for me and what I like. I’m not creating a Metroidvania type game so that I can show others how it’s done, or anything like that. I’m creating it because I’m a huge fan of Metroid and love that style of game.

Instead of focusing on a dialogue driven narrative, I want to tell a story with visuals alone and focus more on exploration and action as a way to drive that kind of story home. To start this off, I have decided to focus on creating sprites, because I seem to be getting better at it the more I do it.

I have an outline, I have ideas for the playable character and the world that the player will be exploring. The first thing I need to do from here is to create the visuals and make that work.

Once I’ve created the visuals, then I’ll focus on the technical aspects (though, that is still in my mind when I’m creating the sprites/art). I’m not artist and I’m no “leet haxx0r” programmer, but I’ve found ways to make it work through perseverance and the will to get things done.

Whatever challenges I come across, there is an entire Internet of resources and people out there who I can learn from to make it happen.

If there was ever a time for a guy like me to make his own video game, it’s now.