Knoxville Game Design

Explanation of three methods for capturing screenshots for your game. 1. Print Screen key 2. Snipping tool 3. OBS with VLC (VideoLAN). How to use Gimp to crop and scale a screenshot image to the desired size. Links and Notes Open Broadcaster Software (OBS) – https://obsproject.com/ VideoLAN, VLC media player – https://www.videolan.org/ Gimp (GNU Image … Continue reading Screenshots – Knox Game Design, May 2025 →

Five great games were created for Knox Game Design 2025.  Thanks to everyone who attended the kickoff and created a game.  Great job everyone! Reality Breach by Jeffry Reality Breach is a browser-based bullet hell game with an alternate reality theme and cell-shaded graphics. Players take on the role of a “Reality Architect” who must … Continue reading Knox Game Jam 2025 – Knox Game Design, April 2025 →

What is a simulation? Are simulations games? A look at simulations such as SimCity, Micropolis, and Conway’s Game of Life. Links and Notes Demo source code – https://github.com/levidsmith/KnoxGameDesign/blob/master/simulations/conway/conway.c Micropolis source code – https://github.com/SimHacker/micropolis MicropolisJS – https://www.graememcc.co.uk/micropolisJS/ LifeWiki (Conway’s Game of Life) – https://conwaylife.com/wiki/Main_Page djgpp – https://www.delorie.com/djgpp/ Podcast theme music – Ride by Pocketmaster

New Game Releasing this month Check out the new game Shrine of the Forest God by Dustin, which will be released on Steam on February 28, 2025. Monthly Presentation How to create a simple client and server socket connections in Python to send network data. Demo of how to use socket code to implement a … Continue reading Sockets – Knox Game Design, February 2025 →

Explanation of how to implement drag and drop interface for games. Demos with source code include Unity (C#), MonoGame (C#), GameMaker (GML), and SDL (C). Links and Notes Demo source code – https://github.com/levidsmith/KnoxGameDesign/tree/master/draganddrop Unity – https://unity.com/ MonoGame – https://monogame.net/ GameMaker – https://gamemaker.io/en SDL – https://www.libsdl.org/ Podcast theme music – Ride by Pocketmaster

Overview of steps to create a Solitaire game in Unity. Links and Notes Demo source code – https://github.com/levidsmith/KnoxGameDesign/tree/master/solitaire OpenGameArt card front sprites – https://opengameart.org/content/playing-cards-vector-png OpenGameArt card back sprite – https://opengameart.org/content/colorful-poker-card-back Unity – https://unity.com/ Podcast theme music – Ride by Pocketmaster

Explanation of mesh model face normals in Blender, which are imported into Unity. Steps to show normals in Blender and how to flip and recalculate normals. Links and Notes Demo project – https://github.com/levidsmith/KnoxGameDesign/tree/master/blender_normals Blender – https://www.blender.org/ Unity – https://unity.com/ Podcast theme music – Ride by Pocketmaster

Analysis of how battle damage is calculated in role playing games (RPGs). How damage is calculated in traditional table top RPGs using dice rolls. Statistical analysis of outcomes of various dice combinations. Calculation of battle damage in the video game RPGs Dragon Quest (Dragon Warrior) and Final Fantasy along with verification of damage outcomes. Links … Continue reading RPG Battle Damage – Knox Game Design, October 2024 →

Overview of how to use NFTs (non fungible tokens) in games, including how to mint tokens, specify trait values, and using OpenSea API to read NFT data into a game. Demo of Unity RPG game using NFTs for equippable weapons. Links and Notes Blockchain RPG demo – https://github.com/levidsmith/KnoxGameDesign/tree/master/blockchain/BlockchainRPG OpenSea API – https://docs.opensea.io/reference/api-overview Podcast theme music … Continue reading NFTs – Knox Game Design, September 2024 →

Proof of concept demonstration on how to implement a blockchain to track game currency and purchase of game items.  In this demonstration, the blockchain is created in PHP on a Fedora Linux virtual machine running in Virtual Box.  The block chain is pulled into Unity through C# networking code.  Regular expressions are used to parse … Continue reading Blockchain for Game Development – Knox Game Design, August 2024 →

Demonstration of how to use the FECUX emulator memory tools to determine the memory location of in-game variables, such as number of coins. How to set a breakpoint with the Hex Editor to find the 6502 assembly code that is executed when a memory location is changed. Analysis of assembly code for awarding an extra … Continue reading Exploring NES Memory – Knox Game Design, July 2024 →

Comparison of jumping statistics from various characters in classic platformer games. Analysis of states in jump cycles. Demo of implementation of jump for a 2D platformer game. Links and Notes Demo Code – https://github.com/levidsmith/KnoxGameDesign/tree/master/jumping FCEUX – https://fceux.com/web/home.html

Overview of recursion and an explanation of a simple flood fill algorithm. Example demo in MonoGame with C# code. Links and Notes Demo Code – https://github.com/levidsmith/KnoxGameDesign/tree/master/floodfill MonoGame – https://monogame.net/

Thanks to everyone who came out to the Knox Game Jam 2024 kickoff!  Seven great games were created by the group for the game jam.  Great job everyone! Minu by Dustin Claws and Conundrums by James and PandaPuffsForBreakfast You are somewhat of a know-it-all. Your good friend has reached out for help in a murder … Continue reading Knox Game Jam 2024 Recap – Knox Game Design, April 2024 →

Overview of using the Dia tool for creating UML diagrams. UML is a standard for creating various types of diagrams, such as class diagrams, state diagrams, and use case diagrams. Links and Notes UML – https://www.uml.org/ UML examples – https://www.uml-diagrams.org/ Dia at Gnome – https://wiki.gnome.org/Apps/Dia Dia installer – http://dia-installer.de/ Podcast theme music – Ride by … Continue reading UML with Dia – Knox Game Design, March 2024 →

Explanation of how to create a texture mapped box by reading a BMP image file and displaying with OpenGL.  Then how to create that same texture mapped the box in Blender to export into FBX format.  The model is then imported and displayed multiple different game development environments, such as Unity, MonoGame, Godot, and Unreal … Continue reading Texture Mapping – Knox Game Design, February 2024 →

Introduction to OpenGL and how to setup development environment using MSYS2. Code examples in C for displaying polygons, keyboard input with GLUT, and a simple game demo. OpenGL code examples in C – https://github.com/levidsmith/KnoxGameDesign/tree/master/opengl Links and Notes OpenGL – https://www.opengl.org/ MSYS2 – https://www.msys2.org/ Setting up OpenGL development Environment on Windows with MSYS2 – https://www.jamiebayne.co.uk/blog/opengl-windows Lazy … Continue reading OpenGL – Knox Game Design, January 2024 →

Overview of modding Doom with customized levels and graphics. Links and Notes GZDoom download – https://zdoom.org/downloads Doom World mods – https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/ ModDB mods – https://www.moddb.com/games/doom-ii/mods Ultimate Doom Builder download – https://devbuilds.drdteam.org/ultimatedoombuilder/ Ultimate Doom Builder instructions – https://forum.zdoom.org/viewtopic.php?t=66745 MSYS2 (7zip decompression) – https://www.msys2.org/ Doom World Doom editors – https://www.doomworld.com/classicdoom/utils/editors.php Doom World beginner tutorial – https://www.doomworld.com/forum/topic/140740-doom-mapping-crash-course-absolute-beginner-mapping-workshop/ Slade3 … Continue reading Doom Modding – Knox Game Design, December 2023 →

Explanation of design and implementation of card memory matching game in MonoGame. Demo code – https://github.com/levidsmith/KnoxGameDesign/tree/master/memory_game Links and Notes Podcast theme music – Ride by Pocketmaster

Presentation on how to apply object oriented principles to GameMaker to expand the variety of enemies and items in games.  Includes discussion of parenting of objects in GameMaker and how to inherit attributes and functions in children objects. Links and Notes GameMaker – https://gamemaker.io/en Podcast theme music – Ride by Pocketmaster

Overview of OpCodes and how those relate to video game consoles. Links and Notes 6502 OpCodes at Ultimate Commodore 64 Reference – https://www.pagetable.com/c64ref/6502/ GameBoy OpCodes – https://www.pastraiser.com/cpu/gameboy/gameboy_opcodes.html x86 OpCodes – https://net.cs.uni-bonn.de/fileadmin/user_upload/plohmann/x86_opcode_structure_and_instruction_overview.pdf 6502 and other retro console processors – https://www.arcadecomponents.com/cpusupport.html Podcast theme music – Ride by Pocketmaster

Overview of encoding characters and letters into their numerical and binary values. Explanation of how to use bitwise operators to change case of characters. Links and Notes Podcast theme music – Ride by Pocketmaster

Overview of how parallax is used and implemented in 2D video games. Links and Notes Demo code – https://github.com/levidsmith/KnoxGameDesign/tree/master/parallax Podcast theme music – Ride by Pocketmaster

Overview of grid based games and implementation of checkers in MonoGame/C#. Links and Notes Checkers demo code – https://github.com/levidsmith/KnoxGameDesign/tree/master/gridbased Podcast theme music – Ride by Pocketmaster

Knox Game Design Spring ’23 game jam entries Links and Notes Podcast theme music – Ride by Pocketmaster

Walkthrough on how to create a basic falling block line clearing game using MonoGame. Project code – https://github.com/levidsmith/KnoxGameDesign/tree/master/falling_blocks Links and Notes Visual Studio Community – visualstudio.microsoft.com/vs/community MonoGame – www.monogame.net Podcast theme music – Ride by Pocketmaster

Overview of game engines and development libraries. Links and Notes Godot Engine – godotengine.org Unity – unity.com Unreal Engine – www.unrealengine.com GameMaker – gamemaker.io Stencyl – stencyl.com Scratch – scratch.mit.edu SDL – www.libsdl.org Allegro – liballeg.org MonoGame – www.monogame.net Pygame – pygame.org Pico-8 – www.lexaloffle.com/pico-8.php OpenGL – www.opengl.org Podcast theme music – Ride by Pocketmaster

How to create vector graphics in the SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) format by text editor or Inkscape. Demo code – https://github.com/levidsmith/KnoxGameDesign/tree/master/svg Links and Notes Podcast theme music – Ride by Pocketmaster

How to create a simple space shooter web game using Javascript and HTML Canvas, as well as drawing the Tennessee state flag. Demo code – https://github.com/levidsmith/KnoxGameDesign/tree/master/javascript Links and Notes Javascript reference at Mozilla – https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference Canvas API at Mozilla – https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Canvas_API HTML Canvas reference at W3Schools –  https://www.w3schools.com/tags/ref_canvas.asp Podcast theme music – Ride by Pocketmaster

A look at various approaches for keyboard input and graphics display in QBasic. Demo code – https://github.com/levidsmith/QBasicShooter Links and Notes QBasic.net – https://www.qbasic.net/ ASCII character chart – https://www.qbasic.net/en/reference/general/ascii-table.htm Keyboard scan codes – https://www.qbasic.net/en/reference/general/scan-codes.htm DOSBox special keys – https://www.dosbox.com/wiki/Special_Keys QBasic advanced memory functions  – http://www.petesqbsite.com/sections/tutorials/tuts/memory.htm Sprites in QBasic – http://www.tedfelix.com/qbasic/sprites.html Introduction to QBasic – http://www.petesqbsite.com/sections/tutorials/tuts/dandd/ WikiBooks … Continue reading QBasic IO and Graphics, Knox Game Design, December 2022 →

Overview of number systems, including decimal base 10, binary base 2, hexadecimal base 16. How to convert between the number systems.  Explanation of addition and subtraction in binary. Download Slides as PDF Links and Notes Podcast theme music – Ride by Pocketmaster

Knox Game Jam games Old Timer Peg Game by Levi Other games by Knox Developers Caverns of Evil (Steam) by Jared Labyrinth (Steam) by James Gospelgo by Danosono

Explanation of how to read text files to display objects to the screen in Unity, GameMaker, MonoGame, Godot, and SDL. Download Slides as PDF Demo project – https://github.com/levidsmith/KnoxGameDesign/tree/master/textreader Links and Notes Podcast theme music – Ride by Pocketmaster

Introduction to the Logo programming language.  Useful for teaching functional programming to beginners.  Explanation of using “turtle graphics” to draw various shapes. Download Slides as PDF Demo project – https://github.com/levidsmith/KnoxGameDesign/tree/master/logo Links and Notes Berkeley Logo Download – http://people.eecs.berkeley.edu/~bh/logo.html Logo Manual – http://people.eecs.berkeley.edu/~bh/downloads/ucblogo.pdf Logo Tutorial – https://el.media.mit.edu/logo-foundation/what_is_logo/logo_programming.html Logo Quick Guide – https://www.tutorialspoint.com/logo/logo_quick_guide.htm Snap! – https://snap.berkeley.edu/ Software … Continue reading Logo – Knox Game Design, August 2022 →

Overview of four types of curves that can be used in game development.  Basic parabola for moving objects in an arc.  Sine function for moving objects in a wave motion.  Physics using velocity and acceleration for simulating actions such as jumping and falling.  Bezier curve for moving objects along a curved path.  Examples of functions … Continue reading Curves – Knox Game Design, July 2022 →

Overview of I-frames, invincibility, stun lock, and knock back. How these are implemented in games, statistics from examples of classic games, and demo project showing various methods for implementing invincibility time. Download Slides as PDF Links and Notes Demo project – https://github.com/levidsmith/KnoxGameDesign/tree/master/iframes Podcast theme music – Ride by Pocketmaster

This month’s Knox Game Design presentation topic is Enemy Behaviors. This is a look at various enemy behavior types: Back and forth (timer / collision based) Alert and chase, using distance / timer for stop chasing Move random direction and wait Orbital children, with varying radius length and orbit speed Behavior combination (orbital children and … Continue reading Enemy Behaviors – Knox Game Design, May 2022 →

Games created by Knox area developers for Spring ’22.  Theme was “delay the inevitable”. Links and Notes Cult of the Furnace by Jacob – https://gamejolt.com/games/furnace_cult/706365 Possum Blitz by Levi – https://levidsmith.com/games/possum-blitz/ Podcast theme music – Ride by Pocketmaster

Explanation of calculating collision between basic 3D objects (rectangular solids/cubes and spheres). Methods used can be applied to any programming language or game development environment. Review of demo Ruby code to detect collision between rectangular solids and spheres. Download Slides as PDF Links and Notes Ruby 3D collision calculator – https://github.com/levidsmith/collision3d Caverns of Evil on … Continue reading Basic 3D Collision – Knox Game Design, March 2022 →

Explanation of 2D collisions for points, lines, rectangles, and circles.  Overview of each collision type along with examples and code.  Explanations are general in nature so that they can be implemented in any game engine or programming language.  Demonstration of Javascript web application that calculates collisions between the four types of objects, along with review … Continue reading 2D Collision – Knox Game Design, February 2022 →

Explanation of Dijkstra’s algorithm for finding the shortest path in a graph based on a selected starting node. Walkthrough of an example of the algorithm. Demo of implementation of Dijkstra’s algorithm in Unity and C#. Download Slides as PDF Dijkstra Demo in Unity (Unity WebGL) Dijkstra Demo Source Code Links and Notes Dijkstra’s Shortest Path … Continue reading Dijkstra’s Algorithm – Knox Game Design, January 2022 →

Explanation of particle systems in Unity, along with modifiers such as emission shape, bursts, color over time, custom shapes, and size over lifetime. Demo project and code – https://github.com/levidsmith/ParticleSystemDemo Download Slides as PDF Links and Notes Unity Particle System documentation – https://docs.unity3d.com/Manual/ParticleSystems.html Unity – https://unity.com/ Podcast theme music – Ride by Pocketmaster

Overview of the Stencyl game development environment for making 2D games.   Explanation of scenes, actors, behaviors, events, and visual coding.  Examples of a number guessing game and simple space shooter. Download Slides as PDF Links and Notes Stencyl – https://www.stencyl.com/ Stencyl download archive – http://community.stencyl.com/index.php?topic=5530.0 Podcast theme music – Ride by Pocketmaster

This month, Knox developers Allen, Jared, and Levi show off their games developed for Ludum Dare 49 and more. Links and Notes Dark Crossings by Allen – https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/49/dark-crossings Cubic Nightmare by Jared – https://jaredbgreat.itch.io/cubic-nightmare Chester Servesalot by Levi – https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/49/waiter-extraordinaire John Handgonne's wacky escapade by Jacob – https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/49/john-handgonnes-wacky-escapade Podcast theme music – Ride by Pocketmaster

An overview of various ways to distribute your video game.  First, a historical look at various physical media that can be used for distributing digital content.  Then a look at multiple online sites that provide hosting and marketplaces for video games. Links and Notes Itch.io – https://itch.io GameJolt – https://gamejolt.com Kongregate developer – https://developers.kongregate.com/ Newgrounds … Continue reading Distributing Your Game – Knox Game Design, September 2021 →

A look back at strategy guides for 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System and 16-bit Super Nintendo games. How to Win at Super Mario Bros The Official Nintendo Player’s Guide Dragon Warrior Strategy Guide Super Mario Bros 2 Inside Out The Legend of Zelda, A Link to the Past Player’s Guide 4-Player Extra Strategy Guide Ninja Gaiden … Continue reading Strategy Guides – Knox Game Design, August 2021 →

Demonstration of how to play a sound effect in various game development environments. This presentation covers Unity, GameMaker, Godot Engine, Unreal Engine (Blueprints), and Pico-8. Source Code – https://github.com/levidsmith/SoundEffectsDemo Download Slides as PDF Links and Notes Unity – https://unity.com GameMaker – https://www.yoyogames.com/en/gamemaker Godot Engine – https://godotengine.org Unreal Engine – https://www.unrealengine.com Pico-8 – https://www.lexaloffle.com/pico-8.php Frick n … Continue reading Adding Sound Effects to Your Game – Knox Game Design, July 2021 →

This month’s Knox Game Design covers the BXFR tool for generating sound effects for games. A look at different sound effect types, modifying sound effect properties, using the mixer to combine effects together, and an analysis for the various types of wave forms. Download Slides as PDF Links and Notes BFXR – https://www.bfxr.net/ SFXR – … Continue reading Sound Effects with BFXR – Knox Game Design, June 2021 →

Knox Game Design had two great entries for Ludum Dare 48.  The theme was Deeper and deeper.  Let us know if we missed your game entry and we will add it to the list! Delve Inc. by Jacob You play as a dwarf in a hastily constructed drillship delving deep into an abandoned mining plot … Continue reading Ludum Dare 48 Entries – Knox Game Design, May 2021 →

Comparison of file types for holding image data for textures and sprites in games.  File types include BMP, GIF, PNG, JPEG, SVG, TIFF, TGA, PCX, HEIC, and WebP.  Properties include transparency, compression, lossy vs lossless, and file size.  Demonstration of how to programmatically decode and encode PNG files.  Compatibility of image files with four game … Continue reading Image File Formats – Knox Game Design, April 2021 →

Overview of comparison of data types, sorting algorithms, and run times. Demonstration of sorting in Unity with C#, GameMaker with GML, Godot with GDScript, Unreal Engine with C++, and Pico-8 with Lua. For each game development environment, examples are shown for sorting integers, character strings (words), and a custom object type. Example code – https://github.com/levidsmith/SortingDemos … Continue reading Sorting – Knox Game Design, March 2021 →