JACO Development Diary: Table of Contents & FAQ
Here you can find links to all the posts that make up the JACO development diary. These posts are deep dives into the realm of game development, share all of the nitty gritty details.
Scroll down for the FAQ.
ToC
Preproduction
Developing a Procedurally Generated Map
FAQ
What is JACO?
JACO is the codename for the indie survival, exploration, and base building game I’m developing. The game will have a similar aesthetic as Civilization 2 games, but with a much different gameplay style. It will also feature procedurally generated maps, with the lay of the land and player placement accounting for a large amount of the difficulty.
Who’s making JACO?
Just me. Cody Barrus. Some of you might know me as S.C. Barrus because of my novel Discovering Aberration, and others of you in the programing world might know me as goopscoop. Why the aliases? Because I have nothing better to do. You can learn a little more about me on my portfolio site.
What is procedural generation?
In video games, procedural generation is a programmatic process of creating dynamic content like environments, characters, quests, etc. While some people may say that these games are ‘randomly generated’, that is actually not true. The difference is, while there is an element of randomness in a procedurally generated game, it also follows certain rules.
Why are you blogging so much about the creation of JACO?
For my own edification.
Doesn’t it slow down development?
Yup.
What engine are you using to develop JACO?
I’m making my own engine which is built using web technologies including Electron, React, Node.js, GraphQL (possibly), among others. That means the game will be HTML, CSS, and JavaScript at its core.
What platforms will it be available on?
Currently I only have plans for release on Mac, PC and Linux, though there is a high likelihood that I’ll also release it on iPhone and Android.
Is there an expected release date?
