Hello Coders! 👾

Welcome back to another devlog! After a short hiatus, I jumped back into the creative waters, and today, I decided to revisit an old project—a farming game that I built a while back for a game jam. However, the twist is I’m taking this game into the vibrant world of WebXR.

The Old Becomes New

The initial iteration of the farming game was quite simple yet engaging, allowing players to till the ground, plant crops, and, well, farm casually. But as with all creations, there comes a time for evolution, and this game’s moment has arrived.

Inspiration Strikes

My eureka moment came when I encountered another farming game that incorporated a roguelike mechanic, an idea I’ve toyed with before. Combining that with VR? Now, that sparked my imagination! A VR farming game that could be a quick play or an immersive casual experience—this concept truly excites me.

Technical Tangles

As is tradition, there were some technical hiccups at the start. The old game code opened up nicely in the current version of Wonderland, which was surprising and delightful. However, certain APIs had shifted, and scripts had broken over time, prompting a need to start afresh.

The Plan Forward

I’m envisioning a tile-based world where players can plant and harvest crops, take care of animals, and manage their farm with a card-based tool system—imagine your actions in the game influenced by the cards you’re dealt, adding a strategic layer to the farm management.

Coding Adventures

During the stream, we encountered our fair share of coding challenges. Switching from nightly builds back to stable versions, dealing with package updates, and the usual developer hiccups. But isn’t that part of the fun? We also explored the option of incorporating hand tracking, considering future support for devices like the Apple Vision Pro.

Visuals and VR Experiments

Diving into VR, we tested the game environment, fixing the orientation of GUI elements and ensuring a smooth teleportation experience. Visual development included experimenting with materials and shaders, and I aim to add a rich skybox texture to elevate the game’s atmosphere.

Wrapping Up

The stream concluded with some trial and error in texture application and environment settings—sometimes, the creative process is about experimenting and troubleshooting on the fly. With a refreshed vision for the game and some technical groundwork laid, I’m excited to continue developing this experience in the next session.

Join me on this journey as we breathe new life into an old favorite and watch a humble farming game blossom into an immersive VR experience. Stay tuned for more updates and, as always:

Happy coding! 🚀