[Game] Gargs - Tower Defense - Windows Phone 7 Apps and Games

Finaly I managed to complete my first game for WP7
- Programming and Graphics done by me
- Music - Kevin MacLeod
GARGS:
Gargs – Challenging Tower defence !!!!
Play as Chixa's last hope and defend it from evil Gargs.
Test your defending skills featuring:
- 10 different Maps
- 9 different weapons
- upgradable weapons
- unique bosses
- unlockable weapons and awards
- mechanic, organic, air and shield units
- epic music by Kevin MacLeod
- free gameplay
Mighty defender, prepare yourself, Gargs are coming!!!
Marketplace:
FREE: http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/apps/012d2409-55e0-4bd8-a770-da1dd2102f23
NO-ADS: http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/apps/b7279f0b-1277-4315-8a91-6b4e6180ae72
Both version have same content.
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/DigitalSwell
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqLlagl8VUQ
PS. Enjoy the game
If you like this game - please leave a review.

I'm enjoying the game. Thanks for making it.
I have a thought though. I always love in these games that you can power up the weapons. i find it frustrating in yours that I don't seem to be able to max any of them out. The attacks are such that I need so many weapons to keep up. Or... if I build up something good (lv 4: 2 lazers, 10 guns, 1 turret) and get them to some good levels and am getting somewhere... then there's a flurry of planes that need some other weapon. Ugh!

Hi,
First of all thank you for your positive feedback. This is my first game ever and I am still learning.
It took me quite a while to create the game… especially graphics, since I am not a professional graphics artist and really can´t draw , so I created 3d models for everything you see in the game and then created spritemaps.
Sure they can be maxed, but you need better strategy
Some game tips:
1.) You need to check which weapon makes most damage to which type of units.
- machine/gatling tower does most damage to infantry.
- missile/rocket tower to vehicles,
- laser tower to shields
etc.. (just press the tower icon for more info)
2.) Also check how to place towers. Make sure to destroy shields with laser, put them before Gatling towers. Best strategy is to have laser tower first, then missile towers and at the end Gatling. After you unlock plasma or nuke tower, strategy may change
3.) Unlocok tower price drop... and other upgrades.
This way you do not really need to build a lots of towers
Thanks for playing

What do you get for a Gargs tower upgrade?
I'd like to know what kind of increases you get for upgrades to the different towers. For example, if I upgrade the fire tower, I can see how much the range increases, but what about the damage it can inflict? A laser is an expensive upgrade, for example, so should I work on that or go with upgrading a different tower? Most TD games seem to show you what you get for your upgrade cost. Thanks.

good game, still playing now

Related

Looking for some nice game

Hey i am looking some very good game for my Touch pro. I dont like thes gameloft etc copier over and over games but something you can play hours. It would be also nice if it was game known from pc. I have played heroes of might&magic, warcraft 2 and i loved them.
Ah, my rom is tael with wm 6.5
我有好多,不过没怎么玩的
@ klooher,
Hi. The two games I am addicted to are Huff n' Puff, which is an Angry Birds-like game, and Ivy the Kiwi. Both have great looking graphics and they are fun to play. They are also challenging. Here is some info on both games:
Huff n' Puff is a game to kill the pigs in their structures, or homes. You play as the Big Bad Wolf and you want to go out and collect your "hams". You go and kill Pigs using your breath to blow the house down. What sets this game apart is the game supports two modes of play: tapping the screen, or using the microphone on your device to "blow" into. What this does is when you are in the level, it activates the Wolf's breath inhale so depending on how soft or hard you blow air into the mic also affects the power Wolf will use to blow down the house. you can toggle between the two. As the levels progress, you could use something like a chili pepper to eat and then use Wolf's breath to set fire to wodden structures. There are also two other food items (ice cream and onion).
The drawback on playing this game on the Touch Pro, or on any VGA screen device, is it was meant for WVGA screens. The game formats itself (but there will be black bars on top and bottom of the screen when the game is in its default landscape mode), but the touch points where to activate the soft buttons are a little off, so you wouldn't be touching some the icon(s) directly, but rather slightly above them. If you can live with that then this is a great choice to play. Suggest to use your stylus when playing.
The second game, Ivy the Kiwi, is a platformer game (side scroll game like Mario). You do not directly control Kiwi (which is a bird). Kiwi moves back and forth on its own. What you do is you use your stylus to create vines for Kiwi to get across from the start to the Goal. The concept itself is fairly simple, but the levels do get harder and more complexed. Each level is timed, and the optional objective is to collect feathers. In each level there are 10 feathers to grab. The game was eventually ported to the Nintendo Wii and the Nintendo DS. Windows Mobile seemed to have been forgotten, but it is available in the marketplace. I havent beaten this game yet. There are two tutprial videos in the game so you can get aquainted with the gameplay. The color scheme is fairly bland in a way, since there isn't much color but at the same time there is a beauty in the game visually. It looks hand drawn and the versions for Nintendo have much more color, but I still enjoy the game immensely.
If you are into an RPG style action/adventure game, play Zenonia. I havent tried it yet, and I have the .cab file for it but i havent installed it yet so i can't really say. I would suggest going on youtube and check these games out and watch the videos to see if you woudl like them (better yet, do a Google search). If you are into the RTS games, how about checking out Autumn Dynasty Lite? The game is really short, but you can replay it. Both Autumn Dynasty and Huff n' Puff are made by Touch Dimensions. Go on their site and look up those two games. Autumn Dynasty looks like artwork. Trust me, it does!
If you send me a PM, then i can send you links to where I found games and you can check them out for yourself. i found certain full-games (that are on sale through Handango and such) on certain hosting sites and downloaded them from there but I suggest if you are going to do that then to find the .cab file, extract on your PC and run a virus scanner just to be safe. Not sure if a desktop virus scanner would actually pick up a virus extracted out of a .cab file meant for Windows Mobile, but it gives me peace of mind, and I have yet to get a virus. I also have Lookout Mobile Security on my device too for the virus protection (i highly recommend this product).
I hope I was able to help. Please let me know if you found any interesting games.
hsyeoo said:
我有好多,不过没怎么玩的
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good point , you must win a nobel price for that.
TKETZ196 said:
@ klooher,
Hi. The two games I am addicted to are Huff n' Puff, which is an Angry Birds-like game, and Ivy the Kiwi. Both have great looking graphics and they are fun to play. They are also challenging. Here is some info on both games:
Huff n' Puff is a game to kill the pigs in their structures, or homes. You play as the Big Bad Wolf and you want to go out and collect your "hams". You go and kill Pigs using your breath to blow the house down. What sets this game apart is the game supports two modes of play: tapping the screen, or using the microphone on your device to "blow" into. What this does is when you are in the level, it activates the Wolf's breath inhale so depending on how soft or hard you blow air into the mic also affects the power Wolf will use to blow down the house. you can toggle between the two. As the levels progress, you could use something like a chili pepper to eat and then use Wolf's breath to set fire to wodden structures. There are also two other food items (ice cream and onion).
The drawback on playing this game on the Touch Pro, or on any VGA screen device, is it was meant for WVGA screens. The game formats itself (but there will be black bars on top and bottom of the screen when the game is in its default landscape mode), but the touch points where to activate the soft buttons are a little off, so you wouldn't be touching some the icon(s) directly, but rather slightly above them. If you can live with that then this is a great choice to play. Suggest to use your stylus when playing.
The second game, Ivy the Kiwi, is a platformer game (side scroll game like Mario). You do not directly control Kiwi (which is a bird). Kiwi moves back and forth on its own. What you do is you use your stylus to create vines for Kiwi to get across from the start to the Goal. The concept itself is fairly simple, but the levels do get harder and more complexed. Each level is timed, and the optional objective is to collect feathers. In each level there are 10 feathers to grab. The game was eventually ported to the Nintendo Wii and the Nintendo DS. Windows Mobile seemed to have been forgotten, but it is available in the marketplace. I havent beaten this game yet. There are two tutprial videos in the game so you can get aquainted with the gameplay. The color scheme is fairly bland in a way, since there isn't much color but at the same time there is a beauty in the game visually. It looks hand drawn and the versions for Nintendo have much more color, but I still enjoy the game immensely.
If you are into an RPG style action/adventure game, play Zenonia. I havent tried it yet, and I have the .cab file for it but i havent installed it yet so i can't really say. I would suggest going on youtube and check these games out and watch the videos to see if you woudl like them (better yet, do a Google search). If you are into the RTS games, how about checking out Autumn Dynasty Lite? The game is really short, but you can replay it. Both Autumn Dynasty and Huff n' Puff are made by Touch Dimensions. Go on their site and look up those two games. Autumn Dynasty looks like artwork. Trust me, it does!
If you send me a PM, then i can send you links to where I found games and you can check them out for yourself. i found certain full-games (that are on sale through Handango and such) on certain hosting sites and downloaded them from there but I suggest if you are going to do that then to find the .cab file, extract on your PC and run a virus scanner just to be safe. Not sure if a desktop virus scanner would actually pick up a virus extracted out of a .cab file meant for Windows Mobile, but it gives me peace of mind, and I have yet to get a virus. I also have Lookout Mobile Security on my device too for the virus protection (i highly recommend this product).
I hope I was able to help. Please let me know if you found any interesting games.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I sent you PM and you dont answer
Same here..
Maybe he's bussy or not behind his desk for time being..
Let me guess.
You want to ask him where to get the games?
Google is your friend!
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Huff+n'+Puff+game+wm
Hello everyone, I have not had much of a chance to rest have been busy. Everyone who I PM hopefully you were able to get the emails from me.
Hey,what about this? http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=857681
I am sure,you know it from your young years. However it is for more people and the graphics isn't something breathtaking,but the fun is much bigger.
thanks for your suggestion. i do remember that game! brings back memories. Def worth a look at! I love all types of games and graphics is something nice to look at but should not define how good a game is.
TKETZ196 said:
@ klooher,
Hi. The two games I am addicted to are Huff n' Puff, which is an Angry Birds-like game, and Ivy the Kiwi. Both have great looking graphics and they are fun to play. They are also challenging. Here is some info on both games:
Huff n' Puff is a game to kill the pigs in their structures, or homes. You play as the Big Bad Wolf and you want to go out and collect your "hams". You go and kill Pigs using your breath to blow the house down. What sets this game apart is the game supports two modes of play: tapping the screen, or using the microphone on your device to "blow" into. What this does is when you are in the level, it activates the Wolf's breath inhale so depending on how soft or hard you blow air into the mic also affects the power Wolf will use to blow down the house. you can toggle between the two. As the levels progress, you could use something like a chili pepper to eat and then use Wolf's breath to set fire to wodden structures. There are also two other food items (ice cream and onion).
The drawback on playing this game on the Touch Pro, or on any VGA screen device, is it was meant for WVGA screens. The game formats itself (but there will be black bars on top and bottom of the screen when the game is in its default landscape mode), but the touch points where to activate the soft buttons are a little off, so you wouldn't be touching some the icon(s) directly, but rather slightly above them. If you can live with that then this is a great choice to play. Suggest to use your stylus when playing.
The second game, Ivy the Kiwi, is a platformer game (side scroll game like Mario). You do not directly control Kiwi (which is a bird). Kiwi moves back and forth on its own. What you do is you use your stylus to create vines for Kiwi to get across from the start to the Goal. The concept itself is fairly simple, but the levels do get harder and more complexed. Each level is timed, and the optional objective is to collect feathers. In each level there are 10 feathers to grab. The game was eventually ported to the Nintendo Wii and the Nintendo DS. Windows Mobile seemed to have been forgotten, but it is available in the marketplace. I havent beaten this game yet. There are two tutprial videos in the game so you can get aquainted with the gameplay. The color scheme is fairly bland in a way, since there isn't much color but at the same time there is a beauty in the game visually. It looks hand drawn and the versions for Nintendo have much more color, but I still enjoy the game immensely.
If you are into an RPG style action/adventure game, play Zenonia. I havent tried it yet, and I have the .cab file for it but i havent installed it yet so i can't really say. I would suggest going on youtube and check these games out and watch the videos to see if you woudl like them (better yet, do a Google search). If you are into the RTS games, how about checking out Autumn Dynasty Lite? The game is really short, but you can replay it. Both Autumn Dynasty and Huff n' Puff are made by Touch Dimensions. Go on their site and look up those two games. Autumn Dynasty looks like artwork. Trust me, it does!
If you send me a PM, then i can send you links to where I found games and you can check them out for yourself. i found certain full-games (that are on sale through Handango and such) on certain hosting sites and downloaded them from there but I suggest if you are going to do that then to find the .cab file, extract on your PC and run a virus scanner just to be safe. Not sure if a desktop virus scanner would actually pick up a virus extracted out of a .cab file meant for Windows Mobile, but it gives me peace of mind, and I have yet to get a virus. I also have Lookout Mobile Security on my device too for the virus protection (i highly recommend this product).
I hope I was able to help. Please let me know if you found any interesting games.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi TKETZ196,
Glad you enjoy Huff and Puff! We have just released an update with more levels, hope you like it.
More info about the game can be found at
http://huffandpuff.touchdimensions.com/
http://www.touchdimensions.com/category/huff-and-puff/
Game
My favorites games are Skyforce and Bejaweled
I did want to add another post to this thread: if anyone has played Rolling With Katamari, comment on if you liked it or not. The cartoon graphics look nice as it seems to fit with the franchise. There is no real 3D graphics but the game is fun to play and it is addicting. Some of the levels are quite challenging.
One criticism is the on screen controls are not that great. I have to sometimes swipe 4 or 5 times to get the character and the rolling ball to go fast, as that is a speed boost in the game. It makes certain levels almost unbeatable with the time limit and what your objective is.
Other than that, I believe the game is worth checking out. It is a bizarre game but fun nonetheless.
slot said:
My favorites games are Skyforce and Bejaweled
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, I would have to check out Skyforce, and bejeweled is a very addicting game to play. I like to just pick up my phone and play a few rounds.
anymore suggestions on what other games you like to play?
the most addicting game i have ever play on my device (well if you like scenarios game-type like i do) is Age of Empires. :x

[Game] Astro Flare - Action packed rampage space shooter

Just released my first game, I hope you like it Sorry about the links, it's my first post but I will tidy it up later.
Astro Flare - Gameplay Trailer:
youtube.com/watch?v=Tvfr5Niu7KQ
App Page:
windowsphone.com/en-IE/apps/f8049a52-2a5e-4778-b0e5-74dabff0f752
Astro Flare is an exhilarating and action packed rampage space shooter.
Similar to Geometry Wars the goal is to survive for as long as you can while you build up amazing scores!
Collect powerups such as extra bullets, laser defence charges, homing missiles and charge up your ship's active ability by performing killstreaks while you lay waste to your enemies!
Unlock different ships each with their own unique passive and active ability and fit them out with upgrades to take into battle.
Control your ship either by using motion/tilt or you can pick from a selection of different virtual thumbstick configurations.
With 6 game modes to choose from:
Rampage: Fight waves of enemies with ever increasing difficulty.
Rampage – Timed: 5 minute timer.
Alter Ego: Battle an AI controlled clone of your ship who will fight you as well as collect/steal powerups and kill enemies for score.
Alter Ego – Timed: 5 minute timer.
Time Bandit: Start with a 60sec countdown. Collect time powerups that will briefly slow time around you as well as increase your countdown timer.
Extermination: Pit yourself against a horde of alien space bugs that break down and split into additional enemies when killed.
Online leaderboards and local top scores.
Trial version includes full “Rampage mode”. Give it a go!
astroflare.com
DigitalMarsh said:
Just released my first game, I hope you like it Sorry about the links, it's my first post but I will tidy it up later.
Astro Flare - Gameplay Trailer:
youtube.com/watch?v=Tvfr5Niu7KQ
App Page:
windowsphone.com/en-IE/apps/f8049a52-2a5e-4778-b0e5-74dabff0f752
Astro Flare is an exhilarating and action packed rampage space shooter.
Similar to Geometry Wars the goal is to survive for as long as you can while you build up amazing scores!
Collect powerups such as extra bullets, laser defence charges, homing missiles and charge up your ship's active ability by performing killstreaks while you lay waste to your enemies!
Unlock different ships each with their own unique passive and active ability and fit them out with upgrades to take into battle.
Control your ship either by using motion/tilt or you can pick from a selection of different virtual thumbstick configurations.
With 6 game modes to choose from:
Rampage: Fight waves of enemies with ever increasing difficulty.
Rampage – Timed: 5 minute timer.
Alter Ego: Battle an AI controlled clone of your ship who will fight you as well as collect/steal powerups and kill enemies for score.
Alter Ego – Timed: 5 minute timer.
Time Bandit: Start with a 60sec countdown. Collect time powerups that will briefly slow time around you as well as increase your countdown timer.
Extermination: Pit yourself against a horde of alien space bugs that break down and split into additional enemies when killed.
Online leaderboards and local top scores.
Trial version includes full “Rampage mode”. Give it a go!
astroflare.com
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice music in trailer. There is a slight lag in response of our ship when we turn it in a particular direction. I mean, there is no lag in the game, just that it turns a fraction of a second late after we tilt it in a particular direction. Hope you go my point. Otherwise, great game
Please consider informing wpcentral.com and wmpoweruser.com about the app.
Depending on the speed the ship is going it can take a fraction of a second to transfer its momentum to the other direction, which is intended but I'll check it out again as it might need to be tightened up a bit.
For more precise control of the ship you can also try out one of the thumbstick control options.
I've posted a thread on wpcentral and I'll let wppoweruser know as well.
Thanks
I've recently released a new version of the game called Astro Flare - Rampage for free. Let me know what you think.
windowsphone.com/en-us/store/app/astro-flare-rampage/fdfc11c1-040d-4c15-8869-c32e13a3efcc
not fun

[Game] Cyber Attack

Oh Hai,
I've got a new game out there, Cyber Attack. It is a nice little variation on the old Missile Command type of games from back in the day.
Features:
-Upgradable guns
--Each with their own unique abilities
-Two game modes
-Online leaderboards
-Various enemies for you to kill
There is also already a patch in the pipes that improves the loading time and makes it more consistent visually. I hope you all enjoy this.
Logan Nowak
http://windowsphone.com/s?appid=701ca6c3-6dbd-4090-ad48-8ac74e0aca78
PS - Releasing this around the same time as Bullet Asylum is going to hurt
This is actually pretty fun. I still feels like it is missing something, though.

What are some of the best Android games?

What are some of the best Android games to use the power of the nexus? I mostly play computer games, right now my main game I play on my phone is Texas Hold 'Em.
I am also aware of N64 and Playstation emulators, will probably mess around with some games on those. But right now I feel like I'm missing a void. I have this power house phone and I only play Hearthstone and poker on it.
What can you recommend me? I mostly enjoy multiplayer games. I absolutely can't stand waiting games, like Clash of Clans or Boom Beach. Sorry for being so vague
Hey, if you're into arcade-type games and don't mind wasting some time away there is a cool pinball one called Zen Pinball HD; be forwarned it only comes with one table and the rest require a small sum to be spent. They just released a Portal (from Valve) based table which I'm addicted to at this time. This one is single player.
Otherwise, if you want multiplayer there is one called Taichi Panda which is multiplayer and has stuff going on at all times. They have just received an update which raised the level cap. If you decide to jump on this one, play on server US-S16 Gubbly and add me, my IGN is LiQuiDDiGitZ.
It depends what you like really.
Dead trigger 2 looks great with the graphics set all the way up, however I don't like the control system.
Some of my favourite games that look nice:
Warhammer 40,000 Space wolf (beta) - Geeky turn based strategy
Need for Speed Most wanted - Arcade racer
GT Racing 3 - Nearly simulation racer
Hitman Go - puzzle / micro strategy
Modern Combat 4 - FPS, much better control system than Dead trigger 2
Edge of Tomorrow - FPS based on the Movie
Sould Calibur - Sega Dreamcast "port" beat em up
Galaxy on Fire 2 HD - Space flight / trading / dog fighting
Limbo - 2d platform game
Frozen Synapse Prime - Sort of a turn based strategy
GTA San Andreas - Needs no introduction
IMHO Emulated games are always a let down. The controls work poorly on a touch screen and the graphics are never as good as native games. PSP games look OK but you're stuck with one joystick which is a pain in modern gaming.
6 best multiplayer android games 2016
1. Clash of Clans - is without doubt the most grossing game on every ones list. Not to forget, the game has already been awarded the best multiplayer game in 2013. This probably is one such game which shall never go out of trend. Here, basically what you do is protect your village from the enemy.
2. 8 Ball Pool - This one is for all the peace loving people out there. Generally people associate multiplayer games on android with fighting and war; but this is one of the best games to keep you busy and well entertained. If you like billiards and you can play it well on your android phones, then this is it for you.
3. Ice Age Village - Now that is something, isn’t it? All you do is unlock levels by building up a new habitat for all the characters from the movie. Though there isn’t much to do (unlike COC, which needs you to come back every once in a while), but it surely is a great way to pass your leisure time.
While you visit the villages created by your friends, you also get additional benefits and points. What makes this game stand out is the fact that it needs nothing much to be done; just work on it when you feel like doing nothing and you have your way out!
4. Asphalt 8: Airborne - is a one of the best racing multiplayer game on Android. A game from Gameloft needs no definition, and this is asphalt we are talking about. This is one of the most trending game from the entire series of Asphalt and I am sure it has surely been the all time favorite of any of you!
5. Modern Combat 5: Blackout - This one is probably the ideal replacement for Call of Duty on your android phones. This is a great multiplayer game on your android devices. Team up with your other friends on the game and fight the enemy. The leader boards allow you to keep a track of how fairly you have performed; all you need to do here is make use of the right weapon, right tactic, at the right time.
6. Words With Friends - The best multiplayer game to always keep up with the times when you are bored. This game allows you to chat with friends, challenge people who you think you can out do and of course better your vocabulary. Play it with the best possible person who matches your level and see if you can still be the winner.

Limitations Make you a Better Dev: How to Improve Efficiency and beyond.

Hear me out for a few minutes guys.
Programmers now days are great...right? No... they really are not. Because programmers are making programs/games on extremely powerful machines (if you think about it) and have zero concept of "limits". A game for example, Titan Fall on PC is 50GB's. Why... for the love of all that is good, is this game 50GB's? Why? Because the programmers that made it suck. There are so many games that take up WAY too much space and take WAY too much power to run...
BUT
But this is NOT the programmers fault... They were not trained correctly. Hence my topic point.
Limitations Make you a Better Dev.
What is a limitation? It's something that limits you, like a gallon container can... only hold a gallon. Makes sense right? Well, let's move on the programming. Most programmers now days are making games/programs in what I like to refer to as "Creative Sandbox Mode". They don't really have limitations. They can almost do anything! But this is a problem... let's see an example to illustrate the reason why.
We will use the game "Kerbal Space Program" as our example for this topic. (Fantastic Game BTW) For those who have not seen/heard about it. It is a game where you build space rockets in, for the most part, a very well simulated Solar System. You start from a planet similar to earth. The only difference is the size of everything is scaled down. But just keep in your mind, "You build rockets to go to space".
Now, moving on...
When this game came out at first as early access. It was basically a sandbox, while you had no "God mode", you had access to all the rocket ship parts and they had zero costs. You could build anything, and people made all kinds of nonsense, went to the Mun (Game's name for the planet's moon) and beyond to other planets.
Sounds great right? It was... but then something changed a few years later.
Career and Science Sandbox were added. What is this? Well it's a mode with progression in mind, Career has you earning money through space missions and contracts, and Science Sandbox requires no money... but requires "science" points to acquire new parts.
You start out now...with very limited parts, and the things you are asked to do in the missions seem "impossible" at first.
"You mean I have to get to orbit with ONLY these parts? WHAT? THERE IS NO WAY!..."
Except...it was possible. Suddenly people, while under a great limitation, began to progress. They learned new and better ways and deigns to make more efficient rockets. You advance, and learn and become better. You progress, slowly unlocking more parts...but always being under this limitation wall, it forces you to grow and learn even more.
Now...end game. You've unlocked all the parts. You build the "best rocket" you can muster. Compare it to your "best rocket" while you played in Free Sandbox mode... It's a 1000x better. It can go much further on less fuel, it's less heavy, and it has far more research and science ability that ever before. Smaller rockets can now go beyond the moon and back, where as before, huge ones barely made it into orbit...
What does this mean? Now...with your super efficient skills, you can go EVEN further than ever before, you're able to truly maximize the potential of the parts given to you.
You've become efficient . You've become a better player.
But the KEY here for relation to my topic is... "truly maximized potential"
Now, let's get back to programming. Now that we have an understanding of what my point is. Back in the day, game developers had extreme limits. Hyper tiny storage sizes, extremely low amounts of ram and processing power. You couldn't just do whatever you wanted. The PC wouldn't even run.
Look at games like Super Mario Bros, a classic simple game... But, fast forward to later in the NES's lifespan, look at Megaman. The difference in total quality, and game play, it's a night and day difference. You go from a super basic, jump on enemies, beat the same boss over and over, running through basic one color levels... to a game that has a "level select" and unique and difference bosses, and... TONS of different enemies. You see levels with lots of animations and color! Holy crap! This is amazing! AND WHAT!? YOU GET WEAPONS THAT DO DIFFERENT THINGS!? *mind explodes*
See what happen? NES programmers got better over time, they learned to maximize what the NES could do despite its limits. Games that at the start of its' life that would have been thought impossible... were suddenly happening.
So let's fast forward to today... what do we have? For the most part... our computers today have near limitless abilities. Most computers have over a 1000GB's of storage, over 4GB's of ram (if not over 8GB), and processors that can do millions, if not nearly billions of calculations per second... Vs computers with 32KB's of Ram, 1 MB of storage, and a 10 mhz processor.
So we should be seeing games with extremely outrageous levels of ability and graphics right...? No... we don't. Well, we have a few. And I think the reason is older devs who were used to coding efficiently. They suddenly become god like. But new programmers? They don't understand limitations like older ones do... so they code poorly without knowing it. This is why you have games like Dark Souls 2, which on PC runs at 60fps at 1440p without the SLIGHTEST hint of issues. (Seriously, it's the smoothest PC game I've ever seen). But then games like Arkham Knight, just barely run at all. (if it even starts...) Also... the version of the Dark Souls 2 that contains all the DLC and improvements to the game (SotFs), weighs in at 23 GB's. Whoa... that's so much! ... Well, it's an extremely huge game, most playthroughs will last you at least 50 to 70 hours. There is so much to see in the game, and it's intense. And...then you have Titan Fall. A multiplayer game with a few maps, no singleplayer (at least when I played it), and it's 50GB's? What? Why? Even GTA 5 is 55GB's (ish) and it's an absolutely MASSIVE map, with detail unlike any seen before. And they crammed it into 50GB's? Wow. While Rockstar and From Software have had a few bad ones *cough* GTA IV and Dark Souls 1 on PC *cough*. They still proved in the end, they knew how to properly make a PC game.
Also, for an example of "getting a ton" from very little processing power. Look at the gameboy advance. It had a 16.78 MHz processor... yet look at the outrageous abilities it had. Look at the games, compare them to mobile "games" (Mobile games are trash). Could you honestly recreate The Legend of Zelda: A link to the past run with just 16mhz of power? If someone didn't tell you it was possible, you'd most likely say, "You cannot do that...". But you can, they did. This is highly efficient coding.
Another example is Roller Coaster Tycoon 1 and 2. If you've not played this game series, I advise you ALL to look it up. This game, released in 1999, was coded by one man. And in 1999 (where the average CPU was Pentium 3) this game let's you build Parks, like with roller coasters and rides. This game could have THOUSANDS of guests (People in your park, 1000 to 4000+) , all with different likes and needs (ride types, needs like food or the restroom), with dozens, if not 50 to 100+ rides going on at the same time... and it ran perfectly fine. In fact, when I played it, I never remember it ever slowing down or crashing, not once. Could you build an entire game with 100s of rides and 1000s+ of guests each with their own unique needs, and plus all the other things going on, on a Pentium 3? With ZERO lag and near instant startup?
This is just one of my issues with devs/programmers today. It's not just about games, or graphics in games mind you. It's about programs, applications, media, just everything. Devs today, learn in a near unlimited environment. They don't learn tricks, they don't learn workarounds, they don't learn how to truly maximize what they have because nothing forces them too.
Now, as a big note... I don't want to sit here and sound like I'm saying any devs are dumb, or don't work hard. I don't mean that at all, because it truly isn't their fault. Schools and such today don't teach with limitations, in computer science and in everything else (that's another topic).
They don't force you to make a massive game that fits in a CD (700MB) that runs well, they don't teach you how to truly optimize, they don't teach you how to overcome limitations because they don't challenge you with limitations.
Limitations, force you to get better. I ask that all new and aspiring devs now days, to try to limit yourself... because in the end... you'll become a far better programmer than you thought possible! You created an android app that runs fine on a snapdragon 810? Alright, how about you make that same app run just as well on a phone with a dual core processor and half a GB of ram from 2010. Start with limitations, you'll think... "This is not possible" , but image to yourself that it is the only way... you soon start finding tricks and learn how to overcome the limitations and create an app that works fantastically with very minimal power and resources. Then, with your new found efficiency skills, you'll see a whole new world of possibilities on more powerful chipsets. Just like in the space game, when you are forced to do more with less, you soon found yourself able to go much further than before when you did have more.
Limitation Forced Growth increases your efficiency. This can allow you to make night and day more powerful applications that run with far less power.
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