Learning Unity - Create with Code (Part 1)
I think we'd all like to think that inspiration is a sublime thing; that it strikes when we least expect it and drives us to push the limits of high art. But for me, inspiration struck when I caught wind of the Haunted PS1 Wretched Weekend 1 game jam (so far I've played and enjoyed "Carcavas" and "Cigar Break," and plan to download more). I love PS1 horror games, and I think the technical limitations of 90s video games contribute to that: compressed, grainy audio creates a familiar yet alien soundscape; muddy textures give a hazy, impressionistic quality to friend and foe alike; and limited draw distances play with that oldest of fears: the fear of the unkown. I can only imagine a developer building a city street, frustrated that they can build a huge 3D environment and yet most of it must be masked by fog to hide that the console can only keep small chunks in memory at one time. Until, that is, inspiration strikes and they realize that the fog makes navigating even a benign environment into a highly eerie, atmospheric experience. Eureka! And thus the seed of a horror game is planted.
Now, I've always known about game jams, but didn't have the skillset to participate, and didn't think I'd have the time to get up to speed. But these brief experiments, all around the theme of spooky retro games, seemed too fun to ignore. I wanted to join that fun. Conveniently, around this same time, I learned that Unity was making their learning platform free to users for three months, so I'm going to follow along with the Create with Code course and posting my progress here. Hopefully, someday, I'll get to make a messy, creepy PS1 game of my own.