Game Engine Redux: Sim Mine
Sim Mine is a game where you build a small, old west style mining town from the ground up. The original version was created around September 2007, as was basically a flat 2d style game, with terrible, small graphics.
Additionally, the coding turned into a horrible mess and it got to the point where adding any more features would be too painful. The project was scrapped with plans to revisit it at a later date. I spent some time with Ludum Dare projects to get better at coding overall, and get a better grasp on what was needed to complete a game. Post Mortems of those games are on this blog.
Almost two years later, I returned to the project of Sim Mine, starting it in October 2009. This time, using a isometric tile engine, I was able to make graphics that were larger, and thus, generally more recognizable, plus the code was vastly improved overall from 2 years of learning. Adding features to the game was a lot easier, since the code was more modular and things weren’t tied together as much. The overall game was designed to be much like a combination of the Caesar series of games and Dungeon Keeper, plus some additional variety to keep things interesting.
Above the ground, and below the ground, in Sim Mine 2007
Above the ground, and below the ground, in Sim Mine 2009