Okay, so I’ve been messing around with this “fifer game” thing, and let me tell you, it’s been a bit of a rollercoaster. I wanted to share my journey, mostly ’cause it might help someone else, or maybe just so I can look back and laugh at myself later.
Getting Started
First off, I had to figure out what I even wanted to do. I mean, “fifer game” is pretty broad, right? I decided to keep it simple: a basic 2D game where a little fifer dude walks around. No shooting, no enemies, just… walking. Baby steps, people.
I’ve used a few different engines when playing, and I thought, “Why not try this one out?” So, I downloaded the Game Engine and installed it. The installation was pretty straightforward, just click, click, next, next, done.
The First Hurdle
Then came the fun part – actually making the game. I opened up the engine, created a new project, and… stared at a blank screen. Okay, I needed a fifer. I found some free sprite sheets online, they’re good for simple testing, and imported one into the project. Easy peasy.
Next, I created a new “sprite” object in the engine and assigned the fifer image to it. Boom, there he was, a tiny little guy on my screen. I felt like a god. A very, very small god of a very, very small fifer.
Making Him Move
Getting him to move was the next challenge. I dived into the engine’s scripting system. Each engine is different, so, I followed some tutorials to get that little guy to walking.
- I added a “script” component to the fifer object.
- I wrote some code to handle keyboard input (left arrow key to move left, right arrow key to move right). It was basic, just changing the fifer’s X position on the screen.
- I hit the “play” button and… he moved! It was jerky, and ugly, but he moved.
Polishing (or Trying To)
Of course, it wasn’t perfect. The movement was super choppy. I spent hours tweaking the code, trying to smooth it out. I read some more documentation, watched some more videos, and finally got it to a point where it was… acceptable. Not great, but acceptable.
I also added a simple background, just a green rectangle, to make it look a little less… empty. I’m no artist, so I kept it super basic.
The End Result (For Now)
So, what did I end up with? A very simple “game” where a fifer walks left and right. It’s not going to win any awards, but it’s something. I learned a lot about the basics of game development, sprite handling, and scripting. Mostly, I learned that making games is hard, but also kinda fun.
My next steps? Maybe I’ll add some animation to the fifer, so he doesn’t look like he’s sliding everywhere. Or maybe I’ll add some obstacles. Or maybe I’ll just leave it as is and move on to something else. Who knows? That’s the beauty of this whole thing.
