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Building a Solo Board Game - Part 2

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There have been a number of improvements to the game since the first prototype.  The main change is the size of the board. The original board, despite me wanting the gameplay to be tight, was too small, so it's been increased to allow a little more manoeuvring during the game but is still small enough to be held in your hand. This was the second version, as you can see the board is larger but still maintains that handheld device feel that I wanted with the set. I also had a go at improving the pieces, ensure that they didn't fall out of their holes like they did with the first version. However, I wanted to improve on the game pieces further and redesigned the whole board itself. The current piece prototype now incorporates a cog design. This adds a very exciting additional level of gameplay as you could manoeuvre your piece alongside an enemy ship and action a rotation move. As all pieces are cogs, this will cause enemies to rotate. If enemy drone ships can only attack when fac...
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Building a Solo Board Game - Part 1

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I've been wanting to create a solo game for a while now, inspired by some of my favorites like Sprawlopolis and Cartographers . Drawing from the features that I love in those games, I've come up with an idea for a tactile strategy game. This is just the beginning of what I expect will be many, many prototypes, and I've put together a short video documenting the design process for the first one. My goal is to create a pocket-sized, strategy-based game with a space, rocket, and battle theme. I love the idea of a compact radar unit that players can use to navigate ships, engage in battles, and interact with passing planets. Unsure of where to start, I began prototyping in Tinkercad . I had a rough idea for the board layout but wanted to explore an additional feature: while the game is designed for solo play, two boards can be linked to create a larger battlefield for multiplayer mode. The idea of a pocket-friendly solo game that seamlessly expands into a multiplayer experienc...
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My Gameboy Game is Ready for Market

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What started as a fun little challenge during a game jam over a year and a half ago, has turned into a rather exciting project. Back then, I entered a competition that challenged developers to create a Gameboy game within three months. I'd previously experimented with GB Stdio to make a few little fun projects that run on the Gameboy but I now wanted to build a full game using the software and the game jam seemed an ideal way to help me focus. Squirrel Falls was the result. The Beginning When I first signed up for the game jam, my goal was simple: make something fun and creative within the constraints of the Gameboy's hardware. Those limitations and a double-edged sword - on one hand they can be really restrictive but on the other, they force you to find creative workarounds which is what I love doing.  The response from the game jam community was encouraging. It was so inspiring to see other developers’ creations and hear their feedback on my little project. But the real game-...
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Building a Game Boy Stall

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Over the past year, when it hasn't been crazy busy, I’ve been working on a product that’s ties in with all my Gameboy retro gaming projects. It's a 3D-printed Game Boy cartridge with an embedded NFC tag. These nifty little creations let users load retro-inspired games directly onto their phones, blending nostalgia with modern convenience and are perfect for when I'm wanting to distribute my Gameboy games too! Finding My Audience Selling a niche product like this is no small feat. My cartridges cater to a specific group: developers and retro gaming enthusiasts. To really make a mark, I need to get in front of the right audience, and I believe gaming and comic conventions are the perfect venues. To pull this off, I’ll need a tabletop stand that showcases my product in an eye-catching and interactive way. The Build Begins Here’s where things get exciting. I recently came across some scrap wood that’s perfect for building a tabletop stand. With a clear vision in mind, I got str...
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Raleigh Retromod

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It has been over ten years since I rescued a very sad looking 1958 Raleigh Lenton. I found it at a show where a farmer was having a clear our and despite the bike being rusty and absolutely covered in muck, grease and even straw, I could definitely see the potential. I got quite far with the restoration, stripping it all down, sanding and painting the frame. Progress stalled for a number of years due to frustration if I'm honest. You see, when restoring an old bike such as this one there is one thing that is really annoying. If you have to replace anything one it, it won't fit. This bike was build using imperial measurements and modern day parts are metric. It was so frustrating. I've always loved the front lamp, more so because the mouldigs for the brackets are made into the frame. The lamp and bike were literally made for one another. Unfortunately over time, I've lost the rear lamp but I know it's around somewhere. Note the lightening bolt dust cap that I 3d prin...
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Encryption Project

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My niche online radio show, Number Station that I started a few months ago  broadcasted it's 22nd show last weekend. I'm still really enjoying it as it has started to get me talking more about topics I'm interested in rather than just scanning the bands to pick up any amateur radio and shortwave transmissions. I'm taking a break from it over the summer and normal service will resume again soon but in the meantime, you can listen to archived recordings and explore more of what the website has to offer here . One particular topic that is proving popular with listeners, is the subject of Numbers Stations. I've been slowly piecing together elements from previous projects of mine to help people put together their own Number Station for fun here , where information about these stations, where to listen for them and how to broadcast your own signals can be found. I also touched upon encryption and had a go at writing my own Enigma machine to allow people to encrypt and br...
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Cabinet Build Progress

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I have been slowly building another cabinet in order to showcase my Game Boy game once it's published. I have previously made arcade cabinets before but they've always been rather basic as I was learning as I went. I wanted this new cabinet to something a little special. My Game Boy game, Squirrel Falls , is based in a cute woodland village and I wanted the design of the new cabinet to reflet this.  With all my arcade cabinet builds, it is the monitor that governs the size of project and I have an old square monitor from years back, which has the perfect dimensions to run an emulated Game Boy game. Next came the control unit and I wanted this to be a little different, something a little different to the usual joystick and buttons and so I used the control unit I designed and laser cut recently, ( the design files you can download here ). Once I have built the main frame, using the remains of a previous telephonic project (that happened to be the perfect width to house the monit...
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