Developing a Web Based Game
As a long time pen-and-paper role player and an avid video game player, I have always wanted to develop my own game. Back in the early 90′s, a couple of friends and I developed a Mech combat game that was our first attempt to create a system from scratch. With a blank notebook(We used paper back then), some colored pens, a ton of dice and some Lego’s we created an Anime based Mech combat game. It was broken in so many ways that we never really played it more than a couple times. But it got the juices flowing.
At some point in High School, we started creating text based adventures in VB. We created pretty complex combat systems and inventory systems. The only problem was that it was only fun for the small group of us that worked on it. (We did get an A though)
Fast forward a couple years and another game system. I had started learning Flash and realized I could create all types of graphical games. That is when I realized I am a systems guy and not a “graphic” guy. I ended up spending so much time trying to create basic graphics that my games rarely went anywhere.
That brings me to today. I consider myself pretty close to an expert with PHP. Over the last 7 years or so I have been working with PHP through work and in my free time. (Full Disclosure: I am not a programmer by trade….I am in Transportation. Programming is a hobby. A useful hobby but a hobby) On and off for the last couple years I have been toying with the notion of creating a web based game. Shockingly, Facebook is what inspired me to do it. I saw all of the basic games like Mafia Wars, Vampire Wars, and Ninja Wars…..scratch that. Ninja Wars could be awesome though. That is when I realized even a basic game with limited graphics could be fun.
So that brings me to starting my project. I plan on keeping a record of the good and bad of creating a game while creating it. I currently have the game up (A couple people have been playing a VERY basic version of it). I hope to have frequent updates regarding the development.
