I just uploaded a compatibility test that will check so your computer will support the graphics in Amnesia. Please test it as it will help us make the release version work on as many computers as possible.
You can get the test and more info here:
http://frictionalgames.com/forum/thread-3604.html
Please keep all feedback in the forum thread since that makes it easier for us to keep track of all data.
Thanks in advance to all who test!
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
What makes a profesional programming language?
One thing that I find a lot working at YoYo games is the disrespect GameMaker's built in scripting language (GML) gets. You see it all over the various forums, and in responses to glog entries, that if you really want to make games, you should learn a proper language. This does annoy me, and I'll explain why in a moment... First, I want to explain where I've come from in terms of games, programming and how I got to where I am today.
So, when I was around 13 a friend of mine got a ZX81 and we'd sit and play games, type in programs from magazines and on occasion try to make the computer do what we wanted it to do. Later, I bought the ZX81 from him and would make little games at home in BASIC, and then started to learn Z80 assembler. I then progressed to the ZX Spectrum and wrote a database for a solicitors office using Sinclair BASIC, and the progressed to the Commodore Plus4 where I wrote a few games in a mix of assembler and BASIC. Eventually I progressed to full assembly programs and moved onto the Commodore 64 and my first job at DMA Design. While writing Ballistix and Blood Money I learnt Pascal and wrote several tools on the PC for development, and when I progressed to the PC Engine and its 65c02 assembler, I again wrote many tools in Pascal, including a full (and very powerful) remote debugger. The same goes for the SNES and 65816 assembler, while all it's tools were in Pascal on the PC. While coding on the SNES I started to learn x86 assembler on the PC and did lots of game stuff in Pascal and x86, including the prototype that lead to GTA.
I then moved onto C and used x86 for all rendering stuff, and eventually SIMD and C++. I did lots of JAVA here including mobile phone J2ME and Java Applet code, including some Java Virtual machine assembler (if you can believe that!). I then did PS1 and PS2 C, and learnt some MIPS assembler while also playing with the Gameboy advance and it's ARM assembler. At home I was also doing some Dreamcast stuff and some SH4. These days I hardly ever touch x86 assembler and it's mostly C/C+ or C#.NET, although I'll probably do some Delphi pascal again soon. There you go... a pocket history. I've missed loads out (particularly home projects), but it's pretty close.
So... Why do I bring all this up? Well, you can see that I've progressed through many languages and use whatever is appropriate. On the PC where the machines are fast (these days), I don't need to dip into assembler any more, while on the PSP I'll happily drop down to MIPS assembler again.
So what makes a language? Well, you have variables, loops, branches and function calls. In more object orientated languages, you also have objects you can access, but these certainly aren't a requirement. Old machines like the C64 or spectrum didn't have them, and they managed quite well without all that. You just arrange your data differently, but it's all pretty much the same thing.
GML has all of this. The loops and branches are there, as are variables and function calls. In every important respect, it's a full language. Some might even say it's much nicer to use as you don't have to worry about lots of things and it makes it much simpler to throw things together. There are lots of ways to write games, I used to write in BASIC as did many others, some still do. There's plenty of jobs around for Visual Basic programmers, so this is definitely a proper language, but I would never write a game in Visual Basic. I would use a language better suited to making a game. GameMaker gives you LOTS of tools and support to quickly make games, just like many other game making tools do, but very few pull everything together for you into such an easy to use package.
So to put this in context. There IS no professional language. You use whatever you must in order to make the application or game you want to make. If you make a game or application, and you sell it, then it's a professional language, it's that simple. There have been many games created and sold that were done inside GameMaker, and there will be many more. If you make a Tetris game, can the end user tell that it's written in Game Maker? Would they care? No of course not... If your talking about a game, then the end user just wants to have fun and only cares about if your application delivers that.
Now... if you want to make a game for console, then Game Maker might not be the right tool - yet!! But that may well come, then you'll have a much wider choice as to what the right tool is.
In the old days we used to mock C programmers for using slower languages than assembler. We could do at least twice the amount, but they would develop twice as quickly, and now we hardly use assembler at all! We're getting the same thing with GML. Unless your talking about making Halo or GTA 6, then GameMaker and GML may be just fine. I suspect all 2D games (pretty much) can be done with GameMaker, and a LOT quicker than if you tried with C++ and DirectX too.
So... ignore the requests to learn a proper language. Use what's right for you, and what makes your life easiest.
So, when I was around 13 a friend of mine got a ZX81 and we'd sit and play games, type in programs from magazines and on occasion try to make the computer do what we wanted it to do. Later, I bought the ZX81 from him and would make little games at home in BASIC, and then started to learn Z80 assembler. I then progressed to the ZX Spectrum and wrote a database for a solicitors office using Sinclair BASIC, and the progressed to the Commodore Plus4 where I wrote a few games in a mix of assembler and BASIC. Eventually I progressed to full assembly programs and moved onto the Commodore 64 and my first job at DMA Design. While writing Ballistix and Blood Money I learnt Pascal and wrote several tools on the PC for development, and when I progressed to the PC Engine and its 65c02 assembler, I again wrote many tools in Pascal, including a full (and very powerful) remote debugger. The same goes for the SNES and 65816 assembler, while all it's tools were in Pascal on the PC. While coding on the SNES I started to learn x86 assembler on the PC and did lots of game stuff in Pascal and x86, including the prototype that lead to GTA.
I then moved onto C and used x86 for all rendering stuff, and eventually SIMD and C++. I did lots of JAVA here including mobile phone J2ME and Java Applet code, including some Java Virtual machine assembler (if you can believe that!). I then did PS1 and PS2 C, and learnt some MIPS assembler while also playing with the Gameboy advance and it's ARM assembler. At home I was also doing some Dreamcast stuff and some SH4. These days I hardly ever touch x86 assembler and it's mostly C/C+ or C#.NET, although I'll probably do some Delphi pascal again soon. There you go... a pocket history. I've missed loads out (particularly home projects), but it's pretty close.
So... Why do I bring all this up? Well, you can see that I've progressed through many languages and use whatever is appropriate. On the PC where the machines are fast (these days), I don't need to dip into assembler any more, while on the PSP I'll happily drop down to MIPS assembler again.
So what makes a language? Well, you have variables, loops, branches and function calls. In more object orientated languages, you also have objects you can access, but these certainly aren't a requirement. Old machines like the C64 or spectrum didn't have them, and they managed quite well without all that. You just arrange your data differently, but it's all pretty much the same thing.
GML has all of this. The loops and branches are there, as are variables and function calls. In every important respect, it's a full language. Some might even say it's much nicer to use as you don't have to worry about lots of things and it makes it much simpler to throw things together. There are lots of ways to write games, I used to write in BASIC as did many others, some still do. There's plenty of jobs around for Visual Basic programmers, so this is definitely a proper language, but I would never write a game in Visual Basic. I would use a language better suited to making a game. GameMaker gives you LOTS of tools and support to quickly make games, just like many other game making tools do, but very few pull everything together for you into such an easy to use package.
So to put this in context. There IS no professional language. You use whatever you must in order to make the application or game you want to make. If you make a game or application, and you sell it, then it's a professional language, it's that simple. There have been many games created and sold that were done inside GameMaker, and there will be many more. If you make a Tetris game, can the end user tell that it's written in Game Maker? Would they care? No of course not... If your talking about a game, then the end user just wants to have fun and only cares about if your application delivers that.
Now... if you want to make a game for console, then Game Maker might not be the right tool - yet!! But that may well come, then you'll have a much wider choice as to what the right tool is.
In the old days we used to mock C programmers for using slower languages than assembler. We could do at least twice the amount, but they would develop twice as quickly, and now we hardly use assembler at all! We're getting the same thing with GML. Unless your talking about making Halo or GTA 6, then GameMaker and GML may be just fine. I suspect all 2D games (pretty much) can be done with GameMaker, and a LOT quicker than if you tried with C++ and DirectX too.
So... ignore the requests to learn a proper language. Use what's right for you, and what makes your life easiest.
Friday, July 2, 2010
A cry for help!
Release of Amnesia: The Dark Descent is now getting dangerously close and we are hard at work polishing, fixing bugs, spell checking, feeding the beast and answering mails. In between this we also need to have time to do PR work, but unfortunately we do not have time nor resources to do as much as we like. We therefore would like to ask you, dear Reader, for a small favor.To be able to continue making games we depend on people knowing about them. This is something that you could help out with! Doing so requires very little effort and below follows a list of a some things that would help us tremendously:
- If you see a preview, news post or whatnot about Amnesia, please Tweet, Facebook, Digg or in some other way post about it and help spread the word.
- If you find one of our blog posts interesting, up it on Reddit, Retweet and/or share it on Facebook (buttons found at the end of the post)
- If your favorite gaming blog / website / magazine does not cover Amnesia, drop them a mail saying they should. They are free to contact us here.
- If a website you frequent is lacking up-to-date information on the game, such as box-shot, release date, etc, mail them about it.
- Any sort of help in spreading, no matter how small, will be greatly appreciated by us! Many small streams eventually form a river. :)
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