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 simple command line networked number guessing game in Python.

Links and Notes

• • Demo source code – https://github.com/levidsmith/KnoxGameDesign/tree/master/sockets/python
  • IANA port number registry – https://www.iana.org/assignments/service-names-port-numbers/service-names-port-numbers.xhtml
  • Python – https://www.python.org/
  • Podcast theme music – Ride by Pocketmaster

Knox Game Design

Sockets - Knox Game Design, February 2025

Play Episode Pause Episode

Mute/Unmute Episode Rewind 10 Seconds 1x Fast Forward 10 seconds

00:00 / 18:57

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

Knox Game Design

Drag and Drop - Knox Game Design, January 2025

Play Episode


Pause Episode

Mute/Unmute Episode


Rewind 10 Seconds

1x

Fast Forward 10 seconds

00:00
/

30:30

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

Knox Game Design

Solitaire - Knox Game Design, December 2024

Play Episode Pause Episode

Mute/Unmute Episode Rewind 10 Seconds 1x Fast Forward 10 seconds

00:00 / 38:30

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

Knox Game Design

Blender Normals - Knox Game Design, November 2024

Play Episode


Pause Episode

Mute/Unmute Episode


Rewind 10 Seconds

1x

Fast Forward 10 seconds

00:00
/

8:50

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 and Notes

• Dragon Warrior (NES) Formulas v1.0 – https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/nes/563408-dragon-warrior/faqs/61640
• Dragon Warrior/Items and Equipment, StrategyWiki – https://strategywiki.org/wiki/Dragon_Warrior/Items_and_Equipment
• Attributes, Dragon Quest Wiki – https://dragonquest.fandom.com/wiki/Attributes
• List of character statistics, About Dragon Quest Wiki – https://dragon-quest.org/wiki/List_of_character_statistics
• Final Fantasy Game Mechanics Guide – https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/nes/522595-final-fantasy/faqs/57009
• The FF4 Battle System, Free Enterprise Wiki – https://wiki.ff4fe.com/doku.php?id=battle_mechanics
• Final Fantasy IV Weapons, The Final Fantasy Wiki – https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Final_Fantasy_IV_weapons
• Podcast theme music – Ride by Pocketmaster

Knox Game Design

RPG Battle Damage - Knox Game Design, October 2024

Play Episode Pause Episode

Mute/Unmute Episode Rewind 10 Seconds 1x Fast Forward 10 seconds

00:00 / 25:32

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 – Ride by Pocketmaster

Knox Game Design

NFTs - Knox Game Design, September 2024

Play Episode Pause Episode

Mute/Unmute Episode Rewind 10 Seconds 1x Fast Forward 10 seconds

00:00 / 17:40

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 the blockchain to return the user’s game currency and items purchased.

Links and Notes

• Creating a blockchain with Javascript – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVqczFZr124&list=PLggJAWhpyrRxKmetiP3RdTa7VAbGaXWub
• SHA-256 standard – https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/FIPS/NIST.FIPS.180-4.pdf
• RFC3339 – https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc3339
• ISO8601 – https://www.iso.org/standard/70907.html
• UUID – https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc9562
• Setup VirtualBox VM as server – https://www.howtogeek.com/122641/how-to-forward-ports-to-a-virtual-machine-and-use-it-as-a-server/
• Unity JSON Serialization – https://docs.unity3d.com/2020.3/Documentation/Manual/JSONSerialization.html
• Newtonsoft JSON parser – https://www.newtonsoft.com/json
• NFTs at Magic Eden – https://magiceden.io/
• NFTs at OpenSea – https://opensea.io/
• Gaming NFTs at OpenSea – https://opensea.io/learn/nft/gaming-nfts
• Ethereum blockchain – https://ethereum.org
• Ethereum transactions – https://etherscan.io
• Polygon blockchain – https://polygon.technology
• Polygon transactions – https://polygonscan.com
• BitCoin blockchain – https://bitcoin.org
• BitCoin transactions – https://mempool.space
• Podcast theme music – Ride by Pocketmaster

Knox Game Design

Blockchain for Game Development - Knox Game Design, August 2024

Play Episode


Pause Episode

Mute/Unmute Episode


Rewind 10 Seconds

1x

Fast Forward 10 seconds

00:00
/

51:50

Demonstration of how to use the FCEUX 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 life when 100 coins are collected. Verification of OpCodes used. RAM Search for alternate searching of NES memory for specified values.

Links and Notes

• FCEUX – https://fceux.com/web/home.html
• Super Mario Bros memory map – https://www.romhacking.net/documents/345/
• FCEUX Hex Editor – https://fceux.com/web/help/HexEditor.html
• 6502 Opcodes – https://www.pagetable.com/c64ref/6502/
• Podcast theme music – Ride by Pocketmaster

Knox Game Design

Exploring NES Memory - Knox Game Design, July 2024

Play Episode Pause Episode

Mute/Unmute Episode Rewind 10 Seconds 1x Fast Forward 10 seconds

00:00 / 14:35

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
• Podcast theme music – Ride by Pocketmaster

Knox Game Design

Jumping - Knox Game Design, June 2024

Play Episode


Pause Episode

Mute/Unmute Episode


Rewind 10 Seconds

1x

Fast Forward 10 seconds

00:00
/

34:22

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/
• Podcast theme music – Ride by Pocketmaster

Knox Game Design

Flood Fill Recursion - Knox Game Design, May 2024

Play Episode


Pause Episode

Mute/Unmute Episode


Rewind 10 Seconds

1x

Fast Forward 10 seconds

00:00
/

26:01