Example 3D game, with source code

PaulH · December 2019

Here's a relatively simple 3D game intended as an example of how 3D models can be used in Gideros.

I'm not calling this a tutorial since I'm not walking through the steps of its creation, but I've added comments to main.lua in an attempt to thoroughly explain the function of all the code. I'm including the Blender files for the models used in the game. The attention to detail here is limited: I spent about 12 hours on this project, including 3D modeling, texture creation, sound editing, coding, and documenting the code.

Caveats:

I don't claim this game is in a state ready for publication on app stores. Publishing it was never the intent.
The game hasn't been thoroughly tested.
I'm not attempting to teach 3D modeling. There are great Blender tutorials already out there.
People might find the game fun to play, but the game play itself isn't the focus.

You can play the game in a browser here: http://www.pishtech.com/space_3d

You can download the source code here: http://www.pishtech.com/space_3d/gideros_3d_space_game_example.zip

Use this however you like, with the exception of publishing the game, either as-is or with only minor modifications.

I hope this is helpful to those interested in trying 3D development with Gideros.

Paul

MoKaLux · December 2019

@PaulH THANK YOU

SinisterSoft · December 2019

Is it ok to include it with the official distribution in examples?

PaulH · December 2019

I don't object to the sample being included in future Gideros releases, or elsewhere as an example of Gideros 3D programming. The only thing I wouldn't approve of would be someone taking the game and publishing it as is, or with only minor changes. In less formal terms, if someone published a game and people could recognize it as essentially the game that I provided as an example, I'd object to that. I'd publish it myself if that were my goal. But feel free to share this project wherever the intent is to help people learn Gideros 3D programming. And yes, please do include those distribution terms anywhere you share it.

Thanks!

Paul

PS -

@SinisterSoft, I remember checking out your 3D space game. That's very cool! I was impressed and inspired then, and I still am. That's great work! My sample isn't nearly as detailed or complete a game as what you created.

I've mixed 3D and 2D in Gideros before, but until recently I've always done the 3D part in my own code, displayed through the 2D support of Gideros. My biggest source of income is Fly Fishing Simulator HD. In that game I use 2D images, built from photos and video to make an animated loop of an actual river, and then add 3D content like a fishing rod and line by scaling and positioning 2D elements based on their 3D coordinates. For instance, I use a function to generate 2D screen coordinates for a 3D point based on the field of view and angle of the camera, which I configured for each fishing site. That allowed me to render the segments of a fishing line in 3D with a series of 2D Shape elements. There are other ways to accomplish 3D effects with a 2D engine, and I was exploring doing more of that in my next project before I learned just how much could be accomplished with Gideros as a thin layer over OpenGL.

oleg · December 2019

PaulH said:
I don't object to the sample being included in future Gideros releases, or elsewhere as an example of Gideros 3D programming. The only thing I wouldn't approve of would be someone taking the game and publishing it as is, or with only minor changes. In less formal terms, if someone published a game and people could recognize it as essentially the game that I provided as an example, I'd object to that. I'd publish it myself if that were my goal. But feel free to share this project wherever the intent is to help people learn Gideros 3D programming. And yes, please do include those distribution terms anywhere you share it.

Thanks!

Paul

PS -

You have to publish this game otherwise someone else will publish it.
You can publish it for free and it will bring you new users for your other games

PaulH · December 2019

I gave that some thought, but it could potentially do more harm than good to my publisher status if the game is something that people install, play for a few minutes, then uninstall. If I were planning to publish it, I'd add an increasing variety of obstacles, more variety in weapons and shields, etc., power-ups, and other things to try to maintain player engagement That is, I'd do more work to make sure the game will hold people's attention for more than a few minutes.

That said, if you (or whomever reads this) wants to make some improvements and then publish it, contact me. If you make changes that make it a game that will sustain people's attention, and want to sign a publishing agreement that gives everyone involved a fair share of the revenue it might produce, I'm open to discussing that.

oleg · December 2019

PaulH said:
I gave that some thought, but it could potentially do more harm than good to my publisher status if the game is something that people install, play for a few minutes, then uninstall. If I were planning to publish it, I'd add an increasing variety of obstacles, more variety in weapons and shields, etc., power-ups, and other things to try to maintain player engagement That is, I'd do more work to make sure the game will hold people's attention for more than a few minutes.

That said, if you (or whomever reads this) wants to make some improvements and then publish it, contact me. If you make changes that make it a game that will sustain people's attention, and want to sign a publishing agreement that gives everyone involved a fair share of the revenue it might produce, I'm open to discussing that.

You can publish an unfinished game as a beta. And if it is popular you will be able to revise it and release a full version.

MoKaLux · December 2019

@PaulH I like it a lot, especially the intro part. Unfortunately it runs slow on my samsung J6.

PaulH · December 2019

I'll admit it's really tempting. I love the idea of developing a new game every few days. If they're done well, just maybe, one might become a hit. But the business model that has worked for me has been to make more detailed games designed to keep people engaged for months or years, that people will recognize as more fun than the competition. So my new fishing game will be very detailed, with lots of opportunity for players to move up in levels, compete for global leader board positions, upgrade equipment, etc. But it's really tempting to crank out some much simpler games. The arcade games of the 80s were crazy addictive, and with tools like Gideros, it would be easy make a bunch of those kinds of games.

But we may need a new thread about how to make a game succeed in today's market. I'll make a new post on that subject. But if you or anyone wants to publish a game based on my 3D space game sample, shoot me a PM and we'll discuss it.

Thanks!

SinisterSoft · December 2019

@PaulH Just create a second publisher account and publish the 3D space and arcade games through that. It should only cost $15 to setup (or whatever google charge to setup nowadays). That way if you get uninstalls it won't affect the fishing games.

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