Status Report: Game Start

Now that I have finished the basic Python course, I am ready to start working on my game. I want to start with a simpler game that will work for people who are new to coding. So, the game will be about navigating a mouse through a maze.

Here is some pixel art I made for the mouse:

I also made some progress on displaying some basic things on the screen. Here is a rendered tile map with a mouse sprite moving on it:

The right side of the screen is the editor I have been using in my course. In this case, I am moving the mouse around the screen with the Python code by calling Javascript functions.

This covers the basic technical hurdles for the game. I did a lot of design brainstorming as well, but I will have to start building and see what does and doesn't work.

The next big step is working towards a Kickstarter campaign pitch. I have a few ideas for rewards and tiers, but I will still need to demonstrate some gameplay before I can start working on that. It's a nice goal as it feels acheivable compared to just finishing the game.

What went well?

My Wife has another craft market coming up, so I did a few edits to her website. There are getting to be a lot of Buddies! I will have to come up with a better way to display them all.

I did a little bit of updating to my course and then just went ahead and posted to LinkedIn. It feels a bit weird to post on LinkedIn, but it wasn't the big deal I was making it out to be, so I am glad I didn't spend a lot of time trying to make the course perfect before posting.

I also received some positive feedback on the course! So, some people did find it and used it, which is great.

And I did my taxes.

What did I struggle with?

It was a bit of a struggle to get PixiJS working with the editor in NextJS. I was using the pixi-react library, which is a React wrapper for PixiJS. Unfortunately, their website has the wrong documentation for the library, but their Github repo links to the correct documentation. This was pretty frustrating. I also didn't want to build a game using the React component style, but thankfully I was able to get it working just like the standard PixiJS library.

Things I used and discovered

• PixiJS - I am using this library to render the game.
• pixi-react - This is a React wrapper for PixiJS. Correct documentation link.
• aseprite - I used this to make the pixel art for the mouse.
• Kickstarter - I am planning on using this to fund the game.

How am I feeling?

It has been nice to get started on the game. I think the preparation of building the course first was worth it. Hopefully, it will be a nice reference for people that get stuck in the game. I am looking forward to getting to the game design and start building the game mechanics. I also assume a game will be a more interesting way to learn Python than a course.