-Based in New York, USA
-Diplomat
-Aspiring Unity Game Developer
https://sertac.me
https://github.com/esfekia
| Unity | 3D Game Design |
| Virtual Reality | Interactive VR Experiences |
| Web3 | Kernel #KB5 Cohort, Decentralization |
| Governance & Power Sharing Models | 14 years of governance & decision making Experience |
Probably covered by others but ICYMI, the AI skybox creator at https://skybox.blockadelabs.com/ is absolutely amazing. Excellent UI, fast results and free while in beta..
I am attaching 3 examples from the same prompt, with different "themes" for reference.
Absolutely in love with the simulations that machinations.io is making possible.
Not only it is great for explaining certain game mechanics to your fellow devs before implementation, it also allows you to simulate the economy and see what tweaks/balances (more gold sinks in my case!) are needed.
Highly recommended to all game & economy designers!
Over the course of last 15 months, I took a plethora of Unity 3D / Blender focused beginner & intermediate courses through the humblebundle/fanatical deals I found. A considerable number have been total disappointment in terms of recentness, production quality or teaching style.
One exception that shines among the courses I tried is the Low Poly Landscapes course on gamedevtv, which I highly recommend to anyone interested in a low-poly style beginner Blender course.
https://www.gamedev.tv/p/low-poly-landscapes
The pacing, the repeat-to-learn approach across multiple stages and the personal style of Grant come together for a learning experience unlike any other. Left image is the reference image and right one is my humble attempt by the end of the course :) :)
Next on the list is Blender Texture Painting course, onwards!
https://vrcreatoracademy.com/ announced the instructors today:
-Justin Barnett
-Andrew Connell (VR with Andrew)
-Quentin Valembois (Valem & Valem Tutorials)
-Dilmer Valecillos
Can't wait for the start of the course!
I wrote this article about difficult scaling in video games back in 2016 and it never really got any engagement.
It was actually one of the things I enjoyed writing the most, but the stuff that gets more read tends to be stuff like development tips.
Anyway, if you are bored and looking for something to read about video games, this exists.
https://iaincollins.medium.com/the-difficulty-with-difficulty-d314c56f8458
Thank you for this interesting take on scaling difficulty - I especially agree with your points on level scaling and asymmetrical balance.
Level scaling was a terrible attempt at a compromise to incorporate into a roleplaying game like TES series. I still remember the fear and thrill I felt in Dark Age of Camelot when I went over and over near a zone of "purp (difficulty) mobs" but could not take them, and the subsequent feeling of accomplishment when my character was finally strong enough to beat them. That feeling should not be taken away under any pretext of balance or compromise.
Asymmetrical balance seems like a holy grail to implement in today's crowd, we no longer have the playerbase that appreciated the approach the original starcraft / warcraft 2 took.
On the issue of difficulty, failure and pain in games, I highly recommend "The Art of Failure" by Jesper Juul, even though it might be a bit too philosophical for some people's tastes.
I hope to see more articles like this, Iain!
Question on object pooling vs instantiate/destroy in Unity: I am trying to understand if there is an objective point beyond which you would consider using object pooling for a specific aspect of your game vs instantiating/destroying. I know it is a subjective question, but for things like spawning tiles once every few seconds in a game, performance wise, do you think it is worth employing object pooling?
Freya Holmér
Iain Collins
Louis du Mont