Sometimes, it’s nice to get away from the EM glare of Computerland and get some of that much-vaunted Fresh Air. Half-term holiday for the kids means that, as I work from home, things get just a little bit more hectic. So we’ve been pretty frequently decamping to the local park/playground. The kids get to run around, see their friends and do all the horrible things that kids tend to do to each other, and I get to sit down outside in generally pleasant (if a little hot) weather.
So what does this have to do with game development? Simple – I take my “warbook”. This is basically a notebook (the paper kind) and a good pen. I’m pretty sure that Levelord coined the term some years ago, although I can’t find any reference to it now. Anyway, I get to sit at a picnic table with some cold drinks, and write stuff down. That may not sound too exciting – after all, I can write stuff down on a computer, can’t I? It’s just not the same. It’s a good metaphorical step backwards – I can take a look at the project as a whole and see what needs doing, rather than getting mired in the details of models, maps, textures etc.
Over the past week, I’ve managed to rework the entire progression of the demo, detailing where the player has to go and what they have to do. I detailed the information about the enemies, the way the AI works. I did rough sketches of important parts of the maps, and I laid out the groundwork for the scripting system. All while sat at a picnic table, taking frequent glances to ensure that my kids hadn’t killed anyone yet.
I’ve attached a shot of a couple of pages from my warbook. I had to blur it slightly – there’s quite a lot of details in there that I don’t want to give away yet (not that you’d be able to read my handwriting anyway!). I’ll reveal more soon. Promise.
