Okay, so, I’ve been messing around with this idea of making a volleyball simulator game, and let me tell you, it’s been a wild ride.
I started out all gung-ho, thinking, “How hard can it be?” Famous last words, right? I dove in, trying to get the basics down first. Moving players around the court, that seemed like a good starting point. Got some blocky little dudes running around, which was a win, I guess.
Then came the ball physics. Oh boy, the ball physics. I wanted it to feel real, you know? Like, when you smack it, it should go flying, not just kinda float over the net. Spent days, maybe weeks, tweaking and testing, pulling my hair out trying to get it just right. Finally, I had something that looked kinda like volleyball, at least from a distance.
Next up, I wanted to add some rules. Turns out, volleyball has a bunch of them. Who knew? I had to figure out how to code in stuff like scoring, rotations, and those pesky net violations. It was like putting together a really complicated puzzle, but slowly, piece by piece, it started to come together.
Players on the Court
- Setting up the Teams: First off, I needed to get players on the court. I figured, let’s keep it simple, six on each side, just like the real deal. I created some basic player models, nothing fancy, just enough to tell them apart.
- Movement Mayhem: Then came the fun part – making them move! I wanted players to run, jump, dive, the whole nine yards. It took some serious coding, but eventually, I had little digital athletes scrambling all over the court. It was pretty cool to watch, even if I do say so myself.
Gameplay
- Serving it Up: Serving was a whole other can of worms. I experimented with different mechanics, trying to find a balance between easy to learn and challenging to master. After a lot of trial and error, I settled on a system that felt pretty good.
- Bumping, Setting, Spiking: Then came the core gameplay. I worked on getting the bumping, setting, and spiking actions down. I wanted it to feel fluid, like a real game of volleyball. It was tough, but seeing those little players actually rally back and forth was super rewarding.
- The best of three: I tried to write a simple rule that the best of three games will win matches. Each non-deciding game will be won by the team that first scores 25 points with a minimum two-point advantage.
It’s still a work in progress, obviously. I’ve got big plans for it, like adding more realistic graphics, maybe some different game modes, and who knows, maybe even multiplayer. But for now, I’m just proud of myself for getting this far. It’s been a real learning experience, and I’m excited to see where it goes from here. So yeah, that’s my volleyball simulator journey so far. It’s been messy, it’s been frustrating, but it’s also been a whole lot of fun.
Anyway, I just wanted to share my little project with you all. Maybe inspire someone else to try their hand at game dev. It ain’t easy, but it’s definitely worth it. Just remember, patience is key, and don’t be afraid to experiment. You never know what you might create!
I learned a lot about the rules.Go after every ball. Stay active and move your feet. These experiences are very important.I’m really happy I did this.
I called it “Volleyball Unbound“! Because I felt a little bit like I was creating a new world while I was doing it.
