What's going on, Tidekeeper folks? We are back with a Tidekeeper devlog!
In this post, please look forward to meeting Greg and learning what it's like to program a game like Tidekeeper. We'll be in touch soon for another update!
===========================================================
Kylie: Morning, Greg! Could you please give us an intro into who you are and what you do for the Tidekeeper team?
Greg: Good morning. My name is Greg, and I do the programming for Tidekeeper.
Kylie: Thank you! So, let’s get right into the questions. It feels like when people generally think about making games, they assume everyone on the team needs to know how to code. That’s not the case for us, but it’s absolutely the talent you bring to it. How would you describe your programming process?
Greg: It usually starts with me getting a request from another team member. This could be a new feature to add to the game, or a tool that will make development easier, or an alteration to an existing system, etc.
Once I have the request, I start thinking about how it fits into the current overall organizational structure of the project. Sometimes, it can be neatly added without disturbing too much other code. Other times, it will require me to rework existing parts of the project to make the new request easier to fit.
Once I have a plan in mind to implement the request, I start making changes. However, it's not uncommon for me to have questions about implementation at this stage. So I'll have some conversations with whoever put in the request to clarify some things too.
After the changes have been made, I test it out. I rarely get it 100% right on the first try, so I'll go back and make more changes until it's right.
After I've tested it, I give it to the rest of the team members to test. Sometimes they find bugs that I didn't, so in that case, I go back and make additional changes until it's all good.
Kylie: That process is awesome! It's fascinating to get a peek into how everything works, from communication to implementation. On a related note, you talked about existing parts of the project, and how sometimes they need reworked to fit new content. Now, Tidekeeper is a huge game compared to some of the other stuff Simcoach has made. Do you have a strategy for making sure everything in the game works well together?
Greg: Most of it comes down to organization. whenever I add something new, I have to think about where it should go- where in the code should the logic go, where in the folder structure should the file go, where in the level layout should the game pieces go, etc. I've also found it useful to use certain patterns as shorthand to help me remember the structure of code I wrote in the past. For instance, one pattern I've used frequently in Tidekeeper's code is called a Singleton. How I use it is this: most features and systems in the game have a centralized "Manager" script, which handles the overseeing and maintenance of that part of the game. As an example, there is a "WaveManager" script, which gives wave information to both the water and anything floating in the water. There's also a Manager for Scrap, and Dialogue, and Minigames, and so on. Having that repeated structure makes the mental load easier.
Kylie: Sweet! That also sounds like it could be good advice for any aspiring programmers out there. :) And it shines through very clearly the dedication and talent that's been poured into Tidekeeper. In a similar vein, what is your favorite thing you have worked on for the game so far?
Greg: Probably the Waves system. It uses some pretty neat multithreading technology to handle the mesh deformation on the water, as well as the physics for buoyant objects. But the fish behavior, and Scrap system, are also up there for me too.
Kylie: These are great examples! Let's see if keen-eyed players can find the secret of fish behavior...
As we're starting to wrap up, is there anything else you want to mention for the good of the cause?
Greg: I'll just say that I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of Reputation high scores the players can get with this new update. As fun as it is to work on Tidekeeper, it's even more fun to get feedback from players, and see how they play the game!
Kylie: Love to hear it! Thank you, as always, for everything you've put into Tidekeeper, Greg!
Greg: Of course, no problem.