There’s been no development on this project since last Sunday because I was admitted into hospital for major abdominal surgery.  Luckily I seem to have recovered pain-free from the effects of the epidural (and that horrible morphine injection!) so I was released after 6 days.  Anyway I’m still kinda recovering and am happy I’m still able to type properly. But surgically everything went well for me (so far) and the project will continue between my moments of sleep and rest *cough*video games*cough*.

I’ve finally completed the story’s first draft for the sequel. But the fun’s not over yet, as I’ve still got to read through it and refine things a little.  The story I’ve written is longer than the last one, and a lot more complex and in-depth.  Ideally this is how I’d have liked the first story to have been.

Its a dark, twisted tale which mixes classic-noir and neo-noir, and deals with an extremely controversial issue (inspired by real news articles from the BBC website).  It revolves around a series of events which effect the lives of two people.  One of the characters is of course our heroine, and the other chracter is a detective who is on her trail.  Its a typical good vs evil story which I’m not going to tell you right now! But I will tell you this.  You’ll see the more of the city, the crime, the people, her lifestyle/personality and a cast of supporting characters.  All it needs now is editing.  Once I’ve trimmed the rough edges, it’ll be good to go.

As it stands, the project is quite ambitious.  I really hope I can pull this off!!

In the meanwhile, here’s something interesting *cough*boring*cough* for you to think about.  A film script is called a “screenplay” and a TV script can be referred to as a “teleplay”.  So what do you call a script written for a video game?  You can’t call it a “gameplay”, because in gaming, that word is already taken and refers to something else.  And you can’t call it a “game script” either because you’ll confuse it with programming terminology.  So what do you call it?  Personally I just call it a script, but if anyone knows the answer feel free to leave a comment.

One of the things which annoyed me (and lots of others) about the last game was the lack of real gameplay.  To sum it up, all you did was wait for an oddly behaved character to turn up and shoot him in the head. I’ve spent the past few days have been spent thinking of how I can honestly make a sniper game, a lot more engaging and challenging and I think the answer is upgrades.  Not just any upgrades mind you,  each upgrade needs to be something useful (instead of some cosmetic feature like a prettier reticle!).

What I’ve come up with so far (on paper), is a game which starts off simple but as it progresses it has a more tactical/strategic feel and requires more thinking from the player.  Its no longer a case of find the guy and shoot him.  I think it would be better to allow the player to “purchase” upgrades/mods to build up their armory and then customize Anaksha’s personal inventory to suit each mission, according to what the player thinks is necessary.  If he/she makes a mistake, they can re-arm and try the mission again.  Being a sniper game, her M24 rifle is still the crucial element for every mission and all the upgrades will revolve around that.  Despite the limitations, I’ve already come up with a lot of upgrades/mods in several categories.

Its still early days and things could change, but I do like the overall directon its heading in - so far!

When people see that I’m a first time developer who’s created a successful game, they ask me the same questions.  How do you get started in creating games in Flash? How do you get started in illustrating?

When you see all these games being posted on various Flash portals, its not uncommon to look at those and say “Hey! I’d love to have a go at that”, or “I bet I could do better than that!”.  But the truth is a lot of people look at those games and say, “Oh man! I’d never be able to do that. It looks so complicated”

So the first rule of getting started would be: DON’T be intimidated by ANYTHING you see out there!

There’s no difference between you and some hotshot flash developer.  They have a brain, so do you! They have a nervous system, so do you! They learnt it, so can you!

I spent years looking at simple flash animations like a ball bouncing around the screen, and thinking to myself “Oh man I wish I could do that!”, when in reality (just like every other person) I had it in me all along.

The other thing is, DON’T be put off by the flash development system.  Just grab a trial copy of flash and start.  It doesn’t matter what you do, just play around with the controls, randomly if you like, and get to know the system.  Don’t do what I did for years, and try a few tutorials only to be put off. KEEP at it!  If you find a tutorial that isn’t helpful, scrap it and find a simpler one!  Get some books on Flash if you have to.

I’m guessing you’ve read this far because you have the drive and desire to create a game.  Thats good! I promise you, once you get your head round a few basic principles, nothing will stop you from creating the things you want to create.

Last year, when I decided I wanted to make a sniper game, I didn’t know how the hell I was going to do it. I just knew I wanted to do it.  I’ve always believed that if you’ve got the drive in you, the “HOW” doesn’t matter!  A way will always be shown so long as you have the desire.   Back then, if you asked me to create a game where a ball followed your mouse cursor, I didn’t know how.  It looked so complicated.  I was put off by many tutorials which didn’t explain things properly but I didn’t give up.  I just looked for tutorials which were simpler to understand.  Then I read, and re-read and re-read and if it STILL didn’t make sense I would just find another tutorial and do the same thing, until I understood it and began experimenting around for days to see what I could do with that knowledge.  Before I knew it I was creating little experimental things which were more complex than the stuff which used to intimidate me!

Another thing I’ve always been intimidated by is drawing comic book style illustrations.  I used to look at comic books and say, “Wow! How did they draw that? These guys must be really talented! I wish I could do that”, especially when you see those beautifully illustrated women!  When in reality, just like everyone else, I had it in me all along.  All I had to do was understand a few principles which I learnt from ordering books off Amazon.  There’s quite a few books out there which will teach you how to draw.  They’re cheap and effective.  Again, its the same lesson to be learned - don’t be intimidated by anything you see out there!

So how about some hints for those first timers out there.  Where do you go from here?

First of all, heal your mental wounds!  Stop telling yourself you’re incapable! This disease prevented me from creating anything for years. This is THE most important step of all, and takes the most time and courage. I can’t stress this enough!

Secondly, grab yourself a trial copy of Flash from adobe.com

Thirdly, buy a book on Flash CS4 or check out a few online tutorials.   Here are a few to get you started (Don’t be put off by them! Just relax, take your time, and try to understand whats going on):

Getting Started in Flash CS3 (By Adobe)

How To Create a Sniper Game in AS2

GotoAndLearn Flash Video Tutorials

Goto www.flashkit.com and sign up for their message board.  I’ve found these guys to be very helpful if you are stuck with anything.

And finally, if you have any specific questions you want to ask me about Flash games development then feel free to post your messages here.  I’ll try and answer your questions, the next time I log in.

I wish you all the best of luck in your games programming, and I look forward to seeing what you guys create!

Its been really cool how a lot of flash sites out there allow people to comment on a game and review it.  Most of the responses have been positive, a lot of them were raving about it, but yes there are a few negative comments too. But I think its a good thing, because they’ve allowed me to see a lot of the mistakes I made with the first game. These are the kind of mistakes I don’t want to make again, so its best I find out this stuff whilst I’m still in the pre-production phase of the second game, cos theres nothing worse than going back to square one when you’re 50% through development!

I think the main mistakes were the dumb AI, the rather bland storyline and no save game function.  The truth is, I agree with what’s being said.  I love what I’ve created but the truth is, there are some blatant flaws which I can learn from.  The storyline was rushed, I’ll admit, but thats not going to happen again, as this time round I’m taking my time and doing it properly. But then that poses another problem - what if I’m making it too complicated for the average person to understand?  As it stands, it IS a tiny bit too complicated and I’m having to simplify the plot a little at the moment.  But its all coming along nicely, in between doing my main job and getting migraines!

As for the AI, I’ve already solved that issue and have a reasonably solid algorithm which creates a slightly better behaved citizen on the street.  At least this time, if they saw a corpse with blood and guts splattered everywhere, they wouldn’t just casually stroll past it!

Finally the save game function - I don’t know how I’m going to tackle this cos I’ve never done it before.  Its more research for me to do.  The first game had 13 levels - the sequel has more, so some kind of save game function is definitely a good idea!

I just want to end on one final thought, which involves those wonderful people which no online community would be without.  The group we all love the most - the haters!  I’ve had one or two of these people who at first seem really determined to put me off, but in reality these people are my biggest fans!  The proof?  Well think about it.  These poor souls have taken time out of their lives to not only complete my game, but ALSO spend time writing something about it!  If a person hates something, then what on earth would possibly motivate them to continue giving it their attention?  They could easily have done something else with their time, but they chose not to.  Instead they willingly gave their time and attention to me, and it really gives me a deep sense of satisfaction knowing that!

OK I finally sorted out the music license for some of the soundtrack today which means I can officially release the game everywhere instead of being restricted to one website.  The updated, legal version has a green message above the preloader bar and the version number should be 1.02 or above.

Anything below that (which isn’t on Newgrounds) means they stole it, but I guess it doesn’t matter so much any more.  Still, its interesting to see all the sites who have the old copy, which blatantly advertises their total disrespect for a game creator’s intellectual property.

And just so you know, I’ve signed up with Kongregate today under the username ArifRocks and uploaded the game here.  Thats the only copy that should officially be on Kongregate. If you find another copy on there, please let me know cos its probably some clown trying to pull a fast one!  I’ll be uploading it to lots of other places too, so keep an eye out!

Also if you own a flash games portal, and you want to host a copy then drop me an email or post a message on the forum.

And finally I’ll end by saying, thanks for all the support you guys have given me by being so vigilant and letting me know about all those sites who blatantly stole the game.  I’ll keep plodding on with the sequel so at least theres something to look forward to. 

Well as you’ve no doubt seen from the bars to the left, the game’s story is progressing quite nicely so far.  I’ve had to cut out a lot of the complexity from the story in order to make it a little easier to understand.  This has trimmed a LOT of unecessary fat and streamlined the story quite a bit, which is what I want.

Trust me folks, 10-15 minutes per cutscene is really BAD and boring!  A couple of minutes is all most people can tolerate - thats if they’re even interested in the first place!  Once its all written, I’ll see if I can boil it down even further.  Stay tuned!

From the way things are progressing so far it looks like I’m going to be presenting the game’s dark and twisted story from 2 different view points.  One is from Anaksha’s perspective and the other one is from someone who is out to tear her down.

I think it would be interesting to see life in the city through someone elses eyes during the cutscenes (as well as through Anaksha’s eyes).  I also think its fascinating to see how two different characters respond to and interpret the same events, and how it effects their lives.

I want to add more variation to Anaksha’s character.  In the last game, you only get her private thoughts and some dialogue with D.  This time, I’d really like to reveal more about her personality by showing how she interacts face-to-face with different people.  I think its also about time I showed what D looks like.

What I feel I’m going to end up with, is a game which has between 2 - 5 minutes of cinematics between missions.  It sounds like a lot but I’m not against the idea.  If the story is entertaining then most people are more than happy to watch.

As usual, none of this is carved in rock, but I’m pretty sure this is the direction its all heading… for now.

OK thats all I’m letting out of the bag for today.

Just a quick update to let you guys know I’ve added a set of “Game Status” bars which will show you how things are progressing with the sequel.  Cast your eyes left and you’ll see it.

The success of Anaksha Female Assassin has been better than I expected!  Judging from the site stats (and the stats of those morons who blatantly stole it and ignored my emails!) I’m estimating over a quarter of a million online plays so far, with a lot of raving reviews and 90% positive feedback.  Not only that, but Anaksha has also been featured on the front cover of FHM Magazine’s website who praised the game and compared it with the likes of Sin City and Max Payne!  That’s pretty impressive for a no-name game with a never-seen-before character that was only released 8 weeks ago!

I think I’ve been sat here long enough pondering over what I’m going to do next.  There’s been a lot of demand, and I mean a LOT of demand for a sequel, and I think its only fair that I show those fans some respect and start work on a new game.  Its one reason I’ve created this blog (normally I can’t stand blogs and I actually avoid them online whenever I can), but I think this is a good enough reason to create one.  At least people can see how things are progressing and read about any other blurbs, publicity, development obstacles or Anaksha related news on here.

OK so what’s new?  Well I’ve been busy writing the new script.  Yes I said the word “script” - with my background being in the film industry, I always write stories the “Hollywood way” which means everything is formatted in the style of a movie script (call it hard-wired, geeky, nerdy if you want to, but that’s just the way I am).  So what’s the new story is about?  Well I don’t want to give anything away but I promise you more depth, interesting characters, better dialogue and a deeper look into the city and the citizens themselves.

The visual style will more or less remain the same but I want to clean it up and make it look slightly more “comicy” (not too much though).  I think some of the illustrations in the last game were a little too “realistic”, and I’m mainly talking about some of the other characters in the game, not so much Anaksha herself.

As for the main gameplay, I still want to maintain the whole violent sniper theme, but with a hell of an improvement on mission types, citizen types (both men and women), and perhaps even weapon upgrades, plus a few more surprises I don’t want to let out of the bag just yet.

Another big question - what about the level of crime, violence, sex and drugs?  I got a few complaints about that on the last game, but not as many as I expected.  At the end of the day, its crime-noir which means that without those dark elements, I might as well be writing games for Sesame St where you go around shaking people’s hands and giving flowers to Elmo.  Anaksha is an adults game - it deals with adult issues and is only meant to be played by adults.  Therefore I’ve actually decided to increase the sex, violence and drug references.

So to sum it up - more characters, deeper storyline, more artwork/cinematics, better looking citizens, a little AI, more engaging gameplay and of course Anaksha wouldn’t be complete without a powerful, dramatic Hollywood soundtrack to accompany it all!  If I actually manage to pull this off, then you’re in for one HELL of a sequel!

So keep an eye on this website, and if you feel like contributing any ideas towards the new game, then you’re welcome to do so here.