Drawing on thecatamites, BECOME A GREAT ARTIST, Powerpoint and Bitsy, this month’s piece is a tongue-in-cheek game making program/teach-yourself-game-development course.
Over the course of 7 (real-world) days you will develop an entire videogame. Each day will focus on a different key element of game design:
Day 1: Naming the game
Day 2: Creating the player character
Day 3: Creating the skeleton
Day 4: Creating the red key
Day 5: Creating the magic door
Day 6: Creating the sounds
Day 7: Creating the game level
In order to keep you honest, the software will require you to wait until the next (real-world) day before presenting the next lesson/stage. Once you have created your game you will be expected to delete it and start over. All the best art is temporary, after all :P
I was a bit hesitant about posting this now, as it feels like a weird time to be posting a playful, tongue-in-cheek “educational” experience like this, given everything that’s happening right now. Having spoken to some people about it, I’m hoping that the format of the newsletter and the fact that I’m not advertising it elsewhere or trying to distract anyone from what’s happening elsewhere, means it’s okay? I’m still not sure, to be honest.
Download become a successful game developer in just 7 days
Controls: escape: quit; mouse move/buttons: edit game; enter: advance slide; cursor keys: move player
The Rules:
The file at this link will be deleted 1 month from now (04/07/20).
All downloads are zipfiles containing a Windows executable.
All source code and assets are included, licensed under the GPL (code) and CC-BYSA (assets).
As long as you abide by those licenses, you can do whatever you want with the download.
Further Reading
I thought about dedicating this section to writing about the horrific police violence that’s erupted in the States over this past week, but having read this piece in Vulture, I’m really not sure the world needs another anti-racist reading list. Instead here’s some places to donate to, followed by just a couple of links to things I read this month.
Places to donate to:
The National Bail Fund Network: I believe this supports all the active bail funds in the US right now.
And closer to home:
Black Minds Matter UK: Mental health support for black people in the UK.
Unity Centre Glasgow: The Unity Centre works to support asylum seekers and other migrants to the UK; they do a lot to support people at risk of deportation or detention by the home office.
Ubuntu Women Shelter: A charity supporting women at risk of destitution and dehumanisation by the UK’s immigration system.
Petition to rename Glasgow street names that are named after slave owners.
A few things I read this month:
The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin is an incredible thing. The story of a New York that becomes sentient and summons avatars from the five boroughs to fight off an attack by an incomprehensible lovecraftian entity, which is itself working with proud boys and racist cops to try and destroy the city.
My friend Ren published their second Spindlesticks zine earlier this month (Spindlesticks One is here). A collection of modern queer fables and collage taking in mysterious coaches and quests for forgiveness. I’m biased, but Ren’s really good at evoking a particular sense of unease and strangeness in their writing (maybe not surprising, considering their podcast).
I also read Nathalie Olah’s Steal as Much as You Can, and I want to quote large chunks of it, but instead I’ll leave you with this, which I think is particular relevant for those of us working in higher education:
“While I wholeheartedly believe that it is right for all people to have the same access to, and opportunities of, education, irrespective of their financial profile, I also believe that in the British context at least this has been skewed more towards the attainment of human capital, rather than being an end in and of itself. It is an imperative of a punitive class system, rather than a freedom or a choice. Higher education and cultural immersion might constitute something more valuable than straightforward wealth creation, but we would be fooling ourselves if we didn’t also accept that the former is in many ways equally driven by capitalist thinking.”
(emphasis mine; I’m not sure I can exactly articulate it just yet, but that sentence in particular gets to the core of something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately)
Okay, I’ll stop there. Take care wherever you are. Black lives matter.