nyarlu labs

look over there ->

2011-11-03T02:00:00.002+11:00

Finally got around to getting a domain and webhosting... this blog is now dead.

New Nyarlu Labs HQ is......
http://nyarlu.net

and back.

2011-10-29T14:24:00.000+11:00

Okay, Forget-Me-Not and Magnetic Shaving Derby are back up on the App Store. Hurrah!

what happen!

2011-10-22T18:00:00.000+11:00

1) Forget-Me-Not for iOS is temporarily unavailable. Oops. I let my Apple dev license lapse.. I'll be renewing it on thursday (27th of october). The game will appear again when that's done. Meanwhile, grab the free PC/Mac version from my page o' games if you haven't already.

~

2) Sorry about my recent silence.. here's what's going on: someone close to me had a stroke a couple months ago. They're now doing ok, but are severely disabled. They might get much better, they might only get a little better, it's too early to know. Been doing lots of traveling to, and waiting around in hospitals. I'll be learning how to be a carer some time soon.. Such is life!

So, yeah, everything else has been on hold. I've mostly gotten to grips with it now, and starting to get back into things... been doing a little coding here and there.. There WILL be more from nyarlu labs! and there will be that update for iOS F-M-N, eventually.

Thanks for all you mob's enthusiasm. You rock. <3

big fat videos

2011-08-29T02:01:00.002+10:00

Cool, a couple people have made FMN videos..

First up, seasoned Forget-Me-Not pro Deihlanos, with this really long and funny video which shows the gameplay far better than I managed to:

Also this one by MrECHOfox, which shows how horribly hard the game can be, especially at first:

Thanks guys =) It was very cool to watch someone else play it. I've only seen myself play it before. And my long suffering family members who I sometimes coerce into it who now try to set me on fire whenever I say "how about a nice game of Forg-arrrgh" *WHOOMPH*

~

Oh yeah, so that first Mac build doesn't work on OSX 10.4 or 10.5... If you're running one of those, there's a [possibly] fixed version ~~here~~. Don't know if it works or not yet. If anyone tries it, let me know! ta.

EDIT! Ok that apparently works... updated the main link with fixed version. EDIT#2! Ok it's still broken on 10.4 :( Looking into it......

destructadelic dungeons

2011-08-27T03:30:00.003+10:00

I made a PC/Mac version of Forget-Me-Not. Grab it here:

Windows
OSX

It's the same basic game as the iOS version, but tweaked.. a bit harder, faster, more balanced. It's meant to be more arcadey. It has a few new enemies, things-that-happen, and MORE FRUIT. Now you can play with joysticks in front of the telly, yay!

(please forgive the horrible and quiet audio on this video.)

Hope you like it! Tell me your high scores. (tell me if it doesn't work for you.. it's been tested on a few different setups but my coding skillz aren't so hot....)

There are no bells and whistles. The keys are: P1: cursors (+ enter to join game), P2: WASD (+ tab to join game). Or joysticks... Press 'O' from the start screen to bring up the options menu, from where you can turn on joystick, fullscreen, CHUNKY MODE, etc...

Big thanks to the lovely people who helped me test it <3 and thanks to everyone who bought the iOS version or wrote about it! You make things shiny.

Three more FMN reviews...

2011-07-13T22:06:00.005+10:00

Edge magazine reviewed Forget-Me-Not. It's a nice review but they didn't like the lack of tutorials and such. I guess it could do with a bit more help...

FindMySoft also reviewed it here.

Aaaand the Guardian put it on their list of the top 25 phone games of 2011 so far. Cool! Also on that list are the lovely Bumpy Road and Hard Lines. Check 'em out if you haven't already. <3

Thanks Edge, FindMySoft and Guardian!

More reviews 'n' stuff

2011-06-28T15:26:00.003+10:00

Ace! Forget-Me-Not has been reviewed in a couple REAL PAPER magazines from the UK - the retrolicious Retrogamer and the sleek, futuristic Tap! Magazine.

You can read Tap!'s review online, here. Or go and find paper copies in newsagents (I haven't managed to find a copy of either magazine yet.)

And and and... FMN on Metacritic. Current metascore: 90! That's pretty blingin'.

Also, Marcus over at the lovely Australian retrogaming site Retrospekt interviewed me about lots of stuff. Check it out here. Hopefully I didn't ramble on too much...

Next FMN update is still awhile off....more news soon.

[edit!]

A lovely review just appeared on Kill Screen. I've heard of Kill Screen but never checked it out until now.. I like their style! This review kinda blew me away...made me think things I'd never thought before about my own game :O Thanks James Dilks who wrote it!

Forget-Me-Not FAQ

2011-05-19T03:15:00.001+10:00

Ok this is amazing, David Smith has taken the time to make a FAQ:

http://www.gamefaqs.com/iphone/625312-forget-me-not/faqs/62334

It's really in-depth, though there are a few little things missing (and there will soon be more things to add) but mega nice work! I can't believe my game has a FAQ on gamefaqs =D Thanks heaps David!

A couple more not-so-obvious things..

2011-05-15T23:53:00.001+10:00

..about Forget-Me-Not:

1. You can change the screen orientation by rotating your device on the menu screen. Orientation is locked during gameplay (this is because DUN DUN DUN... I didn't plan ahead! it was a last minute addition). If you use landscape orientation in 2-player mode you can sit next to each other instead of facing each other.

2. If you get a new high score while offline, you can submit it to Game Centre later (when you are online obv) by tapping in the "high score/flowers gathered" box above the main menu.

=)

Magnetic Shaving Derby for Android and WebOS

2011-05-14T20:32:00.004+10:00

..is out!
It is a very silly game.
Check out the Android version here,
and Palm WebOS version here.

<3

PS tap the penguin in a bubble for bonus Space Surfing mode.

video: how I control Forget-Me-Not

2011-04-25T11:19:00.008+10:00

Some people have said they're finding FMN's controls quite fiddly, especially when trying to turn around quickly and accurately. It's true, and I don't think touchscreen controls will ever be as accurate as a good ol' Dpad or keyboard (though some games, like the awesome and lovely Silverfish, do it very well, and better than FMN) - but:

From what I've seen, some people are controlling it with large swipes, and raising their finger before swiping again - the way you would usually scroll through a web site or navigate the iOS GUI.. This isn't necessary, and does make playing FMN a bit harder / less accurate.

So here's some nasty low quality shakycam video showing how I play it, on both iPad and iPod Touch - My finger stays on the screen most of the time and my swipes, they are tiny!

(Ok, watching this again, my swipes did get way bigger at times, when I got over excited. But you get the idea :P)

In other news, I just noticed there are now over 3000 people on the leaderboards. Aweeeesome! =D

GOOP

2011-04-09T04:09:00.001+10:00

You know those enemies in FMN which leave behind a trail of goopy stuff? A few people have mentioned getting into situations where the goop is covering up some flowers, but is positioned such that it's impossible to shoot at... so it seems like you're stuck on the level and you have to restart.

Just a quick note to say that it's not a bug, and you can actually destroy the goop. Hint: grind walls more. =)

Reviews an ting

2011-04-03T02:19:00.020+11:00

It's traditional to plaster your iOS game's app store description with quotes from reviews saying how amazing it is.. I'm far too lazy to do that, but here are some links to Forget-Me-Not reviews:

ArcadeLife
ONEMETAL
Pocket Gamer

Slide To Play
Good Game Get! + interview
The Gameroom Blitz
FingerGaming
NPC Comic (!)
Gamezebo + interview
148Apps
Game Side Story + interview (french)
AppSafari
MobileTechReview
Planisher
Zaxxon1-Retrogames

I've been massively surprised and engladdened by people's reactions to the game.. I'm so stoked that people are enjoying it. Thanks heaps you mob! <3

I have lots of ideas for new things to add to the game...new game modes and enemies and secret things. What's there already won't change much - just a bit of re-balancing to make certain things more challenging for advanced players... I'm looking forward to working more on it and releasing a cool update in the future.

Forget-Me-Not tips: grinding!

2011-03-28T01:47:00.006+11:00

Some people were asking about the wall grinding mechanic in FMN.. Here's what it's all about:

How to grind: Think of the controls as being like a 4-directional joystick which is always pointed in one of the four directions. A quick swipe or slight movement of your finger is enough to change its direction. Wherever it's pointed is the direction you'll move, unless a wall is blocking the way.

If you're moving along next to a wall, you can set your next direction ahead of time. Point the "joystick" towards the wall to grind against it (you'll keep moving in the direction you're already facing), until you either reach an opening or point the joystick in a different direction.

You can tell you're grinding because some sparks will fly out where you're touching the wall, and you'll hear a grindy sound.

What does it do? Grinding builds up a charge. When you're charged up enough you'll start flashing slightly, and the sound will change. This means you're all cool and powerful and can squish enemies by running into them.

If you keep building up charge you'll eventually start flashing red (or blue if you're player 2). That means you're approaching maximum charge and you'd better stop grinding soon or you'll explode! During this state your speed will increase.

The more you grind the more you'll get used to knowing how far you can push it. Playing with sound on also helps a lot... you can tell by the pitch of the grindy sounds how much charge you're carrying.

When is it good to grind? Pretty much all the time! It's not essential but makes things more difficult and exciting (speed boost), while allowing for much higher scores (squish combo). If you can balance your grinding so as to always be charged up without ever exploding you'll be a Forget-Me-Not champion. Like Kepa. Yay!

~

Bugfix update...

2011-03-24T23:38:00.002+11:00

...has been submitted. F-M-N now works on devices running iOS 3.1.x.

Fixed some other little bugs as well, and added a swipe sensitivity option -

A few people have said they're not getting on with the controls. I originally made it really sensitive because it felt best to me. I tend to play a lot of the time by resting my finger on the screen and only moving it very small distances - like it's resting on a miniature invisible joystick - rather than doing normal swipes.

So if it feels too fiddly to you, try a lower sensitivity once v1.0.1 comes out :) (sensitivity 3 is the highest and default setting, and the same as what v1.0 uses). This is just a small quick bugfix update though.. I'll add more control options later.

Forget-Me-Not crashing on older iOS :(

2011-03-23T11:40:00.001+11:00

Oops! There's a bug which causes Forget-Me-Not to crash when you try to load it on devices running iOS 3.1.2. I've figured out the cause.. working on a bugfix now, and then I'll submit it to Apple for an expedited review. Hopefully the fixed update will be out very soon. Sorry about that!

App storin' it up

2011-03-22T16:54:00.002+11:00

Forget-Me-Not for iOS is out! It's two bucks.
App store link: http://bit.ly/Forget-Me-Not
Check it out, if you want to!
<3

Forget-Me-Not gameplay vid

2011-02-19T19:02:00.002+11:00

Procedural sound, well not really but sort of.

2011-02-01T22:13:00.003+11:00

Forget-Me-Not has sound now. It sounds like a zappy old arcade machine, hopefully. Eventually I want to learn how to code a synth so I can make games generate their own audio, but for now I'm just making sounds with good old sfxr... it's easy and makes the kind of stuff that suits a game like this.

But! It's amazing what you can do with a bit of pitch shift. I'm using Finch for .wav playback.. cool little bit of code that makes OpenAL very easy. Much thanks to Zoul who wrote it! Finch lets you change the pitch of samples, all nice and smooth. Playing stuff back at different rates depending on what's happening makes things come alive. Looping very short samples and changing the pitch = game-controlled instrument. Awesome. Try it.

Here's what it sounds like so far: fmnsfx.mp3 .... is it weird to upload the sound of your game being played? =P

How to draw sprites on an iThing

2011-01-30T09:33:00.004+11:00

Here's a tiny little example Xcode project which might be useful for anyone starting out making games for iPhones and such: Download.

It's mega simple, just shows how I load .png spritesheets and draw sprites with 'em, using OpenGL ES 1.1, in C++.. (except for the bits which have to be Objective-C). Other useful things about it are, it builds universal apps and handles multitasking.

It's probably mostly self explanatory if you've looked at some iOS OGL stuff before. There are lots of tutorials around, and big complicated libs like Cocos2D, but when I was starting I just wanted to know how to draw one sprite. So that's what this shows ya.

The main game loop is in game.mm. The GL setup and draw commands are in GLInterface.mm.. the actual rendering is done in RenderBuffer.mm. The big 1024x1024 sprite sheet (mostly empty) is because that is the maximum size texture you can load on 2nd gen devices. On the new ones you can go up to 2048x2048.

How it works is basically DrawImage() adds textured quads to a list, and RenderBuffer sends everything on that list to the gfx hardware all at once, every frame. It's the "all at once" bit that makes it fast.

Probably some of it is silly and could be made way better but it's fast enough to throw around masses of sprites, with colour changing, scaling and rotating, at 60 FPS, even on 2G iPod Touch! So it's not too bad.

Feel free to use this code for whatever, I hope it's useful to someone. I'll try and update it soon with multitouch capability and sound playing stuff. Any questions, ask away!

Forget-Me-Not

2011-01-30T07:12:00.002+11:00

I'm working on a new iOS game, a simple little maze based shooty thing probably called Forget-Me-Not.

It's largely inspired by a C64 game called Crossroads. Check out this nice page by Dessgeega about the two Crossroads games: CROSSROADS and CROSSROADS II: PANDEMONIUM. It's also obviously a bit inspired by Pac-Man, as well as this neat little iOS game called DungeonMoto.

So.. it's a game for one or two players. There's a maze. The openings at the edges of the screen wrap around. The maze is full of tiny little creatures, including the players. You run around shooting stuff, collecting flowers and trying not to be killed. The walls of the maze can be blown up. That's about it. It's good fun with two players on the same iPad.

One of the things I loved about Crossroads was, if you fired down a screen-wide corridor, your bullets would end up just screen wrapping forever or until something got in the way.. it gets a bit chaotic. So that happens in this :D

The levels are procedurally generated in a pretty simple way, at different sizes, with a few different possible symmetries. There are only three types of enemy so far, making some more now. Then it's on to making sfx and adding some polish, and it's about done...