The only real-world experience I have had in the games industry thus far is attending a programming course at a local college, which only lasted a couple of weeks.

I am studying General Education at Cardonald College, hoping to check enough boxes to get into UWS in September.

I am working on a game engine project called Teria Engine. Recently, it's been looking pretty good, even though it only has basic features. It was created to support The Land Of Teria, a homebrew title which I plan to make. I have heard a lot of critique directed towards people like me, who decide to work on a large project by themselves from scratch, re-inventing the wheel a hundred times over when an existing solution would have been more effective.

I'll admit, when I started out with this project, I was naive. I thought that I could match companies with teams of dedicated engine programmers that have been doing this for years. Since then, I have learned that the task I had set myself was extremely difficult, and almost pointless considering all the good open-source engines kicking around. Two new reasons have surfaced, which give a new purpose to this project. One: To see if I can, and Two: For fun. As a bonus, I will have the knowledge and skills required to take engine development further, maybe even as a career.

Technical Info:

Right now, it's just a graphics utility with some frills here and there. I am planning on learning more about good software design in order to make it a little more awesome. It uses some basic design patterns, like the abstract factory pattern for dynamic components, but I want it to have a strong geometrical foundation as well. In order for me to succeed in that, I'll need to brush up my math skills.

I'm using C++ to develop this engine on Linux, and I think I'll make a Mac-equivalent in Objective-C or something. I'm not a firm believer in Windows, and have the opinion that other platforms deserve games too.

The Land of Teria is a personal project. It started life as a 2D Visual Basic game with bad sprites. I have been working hard on design, and plan to spend a couple of months working on concept art. I do not wish to attempt to implement the game until my engine is fully capable and tested, mainly because the engine changes so rapidly that I can't try and keep it backwards compatible. I also need to practice 3D modeling, as I am starting to lose my touch.

Anyway, here is a brief description of The Land of Teria:

It is set in an entirely fictional world that is realistic visually, but has some unusual characteristics. Teria is a continent is made of 17 islands that players can travel between. Players can fight creatures, fight each other, solve puzzles in order to find valuable items, take to the skies in a custom-built airship, learn about technology to create interesting weapons, and quest for other player characters (something I thought would be fun to try out).

In The Land of Teria, there is no DnD style character level and skill list like in every other MMO. Combat is entirely real-time. As the player develops, so does the character. For example, if the player can stay far back from the creature while moving and fire bolts from a crossbow, not only does the player become accustomed to a ranged, fast-paced method of fighting, but the player's character develops certain skills that make it more agile and dexterous. The player cannot see what skills their character has or what 'level' their character is at, but the character adapts to the technique of the player. Although the controls can be quite complicated at times, everything feels natural (think modifier keys to change mouse movement behavior and whatnot).

There are numerous advantages to this approach:
- Players can get comfortable using their character.
- Each character is unique, and feels different to play.
- Instant action: No stats to manage, just a smooth and natural game experience.
- Players cannot determine your characters potential based on a number.

I will continue updating this article with more game information as it progresses.