After looking shocked, surprised, and even in some cases jealous (you know who you are), my co-workers all had the same questions, "What are you going to do now? Are you going to start right away, or are you going to take some time off first?"
When am I starting? Right away. I am mostly planning and thinking at this point. I am also doing a little blog writing.
As far as the first question, "What are you going to do now?" The list of things isn't fixed and ordered, but I am going to be working on all of the following:
- Writing Again - As I posted back in May, I am writing again. However, now I can do it daily and get the work done. I'll be writing at least an hour daily and probably more. Torque Script Universal coming soon. Really!
- Making Games - Now I can take time to make some of those games on my ideas list. Woohoo! Happiness!
- Exploring Game Engines and Platforms - As part of the above work I'll be examining non-Torque engines. I am still a big fan of the Torque engines, but I am also a geek at heart and I want to see what the other engines out there offer and can do. I also want to target as many platforms as possible. Right now Torque is still primarily Windows, OS X, and iOS (Linux too in some cases.) (More on this below...)
- Making Tools - I have a few game development tools on my ideas-list that I really want to make. Now I have time.
- Making Serious (Game) Products - This is not to say I don't take game seriously, I do, but rather I am going to work on some serious games.
Which Engines? (The Exploration)
I'm working up a plan for the exploration, but for now here is the list of engines and SDKs I'm considering:
- Torque - OK, I'm familiar with these engines, but there is always more to learn. (Targets: Windows, OS X, iOS, Linux, and Web depending on engine)
- Corona SDK - Thanks for the tip Brian. This is a promising looking game dev kit. (Targets: iOS and Android, including Fire and Nook)
- Construct 2 - An HTML5 engine, that is quite intriguing. (Targets: Browsers supporting HTML5)
- Game Maker 8 - The Glitchbusters will be happy to see that I'll be spending some time on their current game engine. (Next, Torque 2D? 3D? TGE? Decide soon guys.) (Targets: Windows and OS X)
- Game Maker HTML5 - Maybe. If they have a demo I'll give it a try, otherwise it will have to wait. (Targets: Browsers supporting HTML5)
- Unity 3D - This rising star has been on my list for some time. Now I have time. (Targets: Web Player, Flash, iOS, Android, Windows, OS X, Wii, PS3, Xbox 360)
- Build-Your-Own (BYO) - Yes, I have been down the BYO road before, but there is value in exploring here. That value is a refresh of my coding skills, as well as learning associated with new technologies. (Targets: Almost anything)
- More? - Maybe, but let's take this one step at a time.
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