Posts on Oct 2011

A new engine

I’ve been trying to code all the stuff we are planning for the next release which you can read here, like coins, workshops and movable ladders. Unfortunately it has become increasingly difficult for me to add stuff with the current engine. The problem with it is that it is a mash-up of 3 games I’ve been working on for the last 5 years and all of the KAG code is more like prototype code than proper game code. I did this because I wasn’t sure KAG would be a success so I just coded it really quickly without thinking much how that will affect the future.

This method is great and I spent an entire game development lecture last month emphasizing this approach. So if you’re a game developer – please do prototype your games and don’t think much about what will happen later!

However last Monday I just sat for an hour or so trying to add points scoring for digging resources and I couldn’t do it! I couldn’t figure out a way to do it without breaking the existing game elements or completely rewriting the game.

So I decided to actually rewrite the KAG engine completely from scratch. Now this is an amazing opportunity for everyone so please take the time to read what benefits there will be from this change:

1. New additions a lot faster
2. Less bugs
3. Much deeper gameplay mechanics

1) New additions a lot faster

The rewrite will probably take about 3-6 months before it reaches the stage the game is right now. This will take some time and this is the only negative side of this decision. I know you guys are waiting for new stuff!

I decided not to drop the current KAG engine and continue developing it along with the new KAG. This means there will be new updates as usual, it’s just that they will probably happen less frequently (as at least half of my time will be spent on the new engine).

What will happen after these 3 months will be worth the less frequent updates. From then on additions to the game will happen extremely fast. This is because:

• I am designing the engine in a way so that I can add new stuff very quickly without breaking any code
• It will be easy for new people to jump in and code with me (Geti is actually designing the engine with me, so we’ll code together)
• Modding will be even easier than it is now (the engine will use scripts and a plugin architecture from beginning)

2) Less bugs

In the current engine it takes me a large amount of time to track and fix bugs. This is because of the spaghetti nature of the code. With the new engine, bugs will happen less frequently and if they do, they will be very easy to debug.

3) Much deeper gameplay mechanics

What we have presented publicly is the tip of the iceberg of what we are planning. We are redesigning things like building mechanics and the user interface around building and using items. So the game will not only have more stuff but it will be easier to use them.

Wish me good luck. I hope we have an even more awesome game in the next half year. In the meantime expect (a little less frequent but still) updates. This will come as promised probably next week:

MM

Interview with MM on IndieGames.com

There’s an interview up on IndieGames.com and Gamasutra.com with me. Half of it is about Soldat and alpha funding, so it’s not strictly about KAG but I’m posting because it’s exciting to have those sites write about us.

MM