Flare 0.14 Characters, Quests and HD video

The last version of Flare that Free Gamer took a look at was 0.11. The newest version is 0.14.

Character customization in Flare

Title and savegame loading screens now exist, adding to immersion.

Character customization (gender, portrait and name) is now possible. (Note how much depth this part of starting a game can acchieve in some cases). The character portraits are a product of Justin Nichol's fantasy portrait marathon.

Joystick support, conversations, vendors, quests, a new area and many more smaller additions included. It is now possible to configure keybindings and resolution, which leds to my first 720p HD video of Flare gameplay:

Watch this video in 720p HD here

Clint Bellanger, main developer of Flare, posted a reflection on game progress in Flare, which includes some simple but interesting statistics.


You can show Flare some pocket love via Flattr.

SDL job offer, open art funding opportunities, tiny java/Slick game competition...

SDL-makers Galaxy Gameworks are looking for a talented developer who would be interested in developing and maintaining SDL.

Pfunked might support artists starting their own funding campaigns for creating art for FLARE, as he did with Justin's. Here are some asset ideas.

Then there's the option to offer high-quality art for being 'funded into free' at OpenGameArt. The current target is $130 for this dwarf warrior.

I wish there were (more) open source projects at 8bitfunding, Kickstarter, Fundry and IndieGoGo. The only open source game dev projects I found are a flash game (successful), FAR Colony and an interactive fiction engine iphone port (successful). I'm sure not only full game projects could make use of these fundraising services but free content creators as well.

Slick contest - art by danc

Then there's a game competition by the Slick java game engine. Check the image above for rules and prizes.

That's about all I can find and think of right now. Got anything to add? :)

PS: do you use flattr? Then share your data for great justice! If you're not using it yet but are sharing content on the web, then start using it already! :D

PPS: Wesnoth is still offering $200 for a swamp sound loop.

FLARE leaping forward to 0.11 .. and problems with FOSS games

Flare v0.11 gameplay (spoiler warning)

v0.11 of FLARE got released and developer Clint Bellanger writes in the FLARE blog about how it is tempting to add features (like adding more skills or replacing old ones) instead of moving to the next target (in this case vendors and action bar customization). Luckily what leads to a complete game wins in this case. :)

Note: polish != re-inventing/re-creating.

FOSS games are vulnerable to feature-creep and in many cases just don’t feel “finished” because they never really are. [...] It may be more fun to add new features than it is to polish those you already have, but polish is far more important if you want your game to be any good.
- William

In his 4 problems with FOSS games the author identifies following weaknesses of FOSS:

1. Technical problems
2. Lack of originality
3. Lack of personality
4. Design by committee

By the way: if you haven't read the challenges of developing long, plot-heavy FOSS games by OpenGameArt-admin Bart K yet.. you should.

From Open to Free, visual programming, new SumWars RPG and Berlin game dev summoning

FLARE logo

OSARE is now FLARE. From an OGA tread:

I sent an email to Richard Stallman asking if he's interested in supporting Justin Nichol's Creative Commons Fantasy Portrait Project.

He pointed out that the difference between "open source" and "free" or "free/libre" and noted this:

"However, if you decide to describe it "free" or "free/libre" instead of "open source", then I would be honored to participate."

Stallman's lectures are what convinced me in the first place to use the GPL for my work, and to be interested in copyleft licenses in general. I'm quite honored that he answered my email at all, and I agree with his reasoning.

IOSKETCH visual programming

IOSKETCH is a cross-platform visual authoring tool for games. It is written in Common Lisp.

Summoning Wars 0.5.3
The new version

SumWars 0.5.3 is out:

• Upgrade to Ogre 1.7 and CEGUI 0.7
• More art and story content
• Russian translation

See the arrow?

There's a little meeting this Saturday for making little games in Berlin. Artists, programmers, designers and whatnot are welcome! We speak English. Wir sprechen Deutsch. At least one speaks Spanish, at least one speaks Russian.

You might want to bring a multiple outlet strip (don't forget your converter if you need one).

Berlin Game Developers Meet-Up #5 on Facebook.
Where:   Cafe Osswald
When:    Saturday, December 18 from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm