Working Toward a 2D Game Engine

Going back 12 years as an 18 year old faced with a choice of what university course to do, I put down a bunch of courses at my local university, with computer science being the main preference. After my exams were over and I faced the wait to see how I did, I came across a computer science degree at a different university that specialised in game development. I switched preferences, thinking that it was a long shot to begin with. But somehow I did just well enough to make it in, and off I went to do a degree in Game Programming.

Yet when I finished my degree, I didn’t go into the games industry. All the companies I applied for weren't interested, and I was employed to develop Enterprise Java applications – something I've been doing ever since. In a way, from what I hear about the game industry, I don’t consider this a bad thing. But there is a part of me that wishes I was able to do something with that knowledge –at least make something of my own.

It seems every couple of years I have this urge, and I try hard to get something together, only to find I hit a stumbling block, lose interest, and then get on with something else. That cycle of drive, a half-arsed attempt, then ultimately giving up in futility makes me appreciate what people trying to lose weight go through. But clearly it wasn’t working, and like most people trying to lose weight, the exercise achieved little more than highlighting a sense of personal failure.

About a year ago, the urge once again hit me. Over the last 12 months, I’ve had three separate spurts of inspiration, which have had limited success. What I want to write about over the next few posts is what I tried at each point in time, and where I think were the merits and drawbacks of the approach I took.

Phase 1: The Grand Design
Phase 2: Proof of the Pudding
Phase 3: Snake
Reflections

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Phase 3a: Snake Enhanced
Phase 3b: Flip Squares