It has always been my dream to start a video games studio, and Smart Jellyfish Games is that dream.
It's still fledgling, but with some hard work and support we can make something of this.
The aim is to create some simple, yet addictive games which people will love to play over and over again for decades to come.
To start small, recreating and reviving old favourites from the early days of video game history (from Space Invaders and Pong to top down adventure and side platformers (like Dizzy and Day of the Tenticle), creating our own mark in Video Game history and eventually becoming a competitor in the games industry.
Video games date back to the 1950's and 1960's but became really popular in the 1970's and 1980's. Our mission is to bring some of these old favourites back to life and recreate them so new generations can experience the classics, whilst creating new games for the future to allow them to become classics.
The following are just some of the things that it takes to create a game, whether it be a AAA rated title like Call of Duty or a 2D indie startup like Flappy Bird.
Coming up with and evolving a great idea for a game is critical, a game with a terrible idea or design will not provide enjoyment to the player and they are less likely to buy it.
Keeping the ideas simple, enjoyable and immaginative is key to the success of a game. The design needs to be consistent and usable for players to want to play the game more and more.
You don't need realistic 3D graphics to make a game great (See Stardew Valley or Terraria). The more realistic the graphics, the more attention to detail you need to pay as people will spot mistakes or glitches when it's not right.
Sometimes the best games use simple graphics or even just line art, case in point is Tetris has sold over 520 million copies worldwide.
Games are more than just graphics and gameplay, they need the right audio at the right time to be entertain the audiatory senses.
Imagine watching a horror movie with a comedic soundtrack, it would loose all of it's fright and ability to scare the viewer. The right audio track and music can can make or break a game.
This is the stage in the process where the idea comes to life, development / coding brings the great idea and design, graphics and audio into a single package which can be played by someone.
Hooking up all of the components to make the game playable takes time and effort but as you work through the code, you see the idea come to life.
Testing identifies any issues with the game with feedback from the testers used to make improvements.
There is nothing more infuriating than a game where the character gets stuck somewhere and cannot get out without the player resetting the game. It ensures the play, audio and graphics all fit together nicely as expected allowing the game to be played as it was intended.
So you have a great idea and a final product, now you need to ensure that people become aware of it.
Whether you mention it to a few friends or set up a website dedicated to the page, you need to get the game out there so people can play it (and potentially buy it).
Even if it doesn't sell, get feedback as to changes which can be made to improve the game.