Okay, so today I decided to mess around with making a simple football game, focusing on the wide receiver aspect. It’s called “Wideout Football Game,” pretty straightforward, huh?
Getting Started
First thing I did was sketch out some basic ideas. I didn’t want to get bogged down in complex stuff, so I kept it simple. I thought, “What’s the core of being a wideout?” Catching passes, right? So that’s where I started.
Building the Basics
I fired up a basic game engine I’m kind of ok with using – nothing fancy, just something to get the job done. I started by creating a simple player character, just a blocky dude for now, no need any fancy animations yet.
- Created the Player: Made a simple model that can move around.
- Added Movement: Got him running with some basic keyboard controls. Up, down, left, right, that’s it.
Throwing the Ball
Next up, I needed a way to throw the ball. This was a little tricky, but I found a few tutorials online that helped me figure out a simple throwing mechanic. No complex physics, just a straight line throw to get started.
- Created a Ball: It is just a ball model right now.
- Throwing Mechanic: Made it so you can click a button and the ball goes flying.
Catching the Ball (or Not!)
This is where it got a bit more interesting. I wanted to make it so the player has to actually time their movements to catch the ball. I added a simple “catch” area around the player, and if the ball enters that area while the player is in the right position, they catch it. If not, well, incomplete pass!
- Catch Zone: Added a zone around the player.
- Catch Logic: Made it check if the ball is in the zone and if player timing is ok .
Adding Some Challenge
Just running and catching got boring fast. So I added a simple “defender” – another blocky dude – that just moves randomly. Now the player has to dodge the defender to get open for the pass. Makes it way more fun, even in this super basic form.
- Created Defender: It is simple model with random movements for now.
- Obstacle: Have to dodge it to catch.
What I’ve Got So Far
It’s super rough, but it’s a start! You can run around, dodge a defender, and try to catch passes. It’s not going to win any awards, but it’s a fun little experiment. I spent a few hours on this and it’s starting to resemble something like a very basic football game. The timing of the catch feels pretty good, even if it’s all just lines of code and blocks moving around.
Next Steps
If I keep working on this, I’d probably add some actual animations, maybe some different routes to run, and definitely a better way to control the ball’s trajectory. But for a day’s work, I’m pretty happy with it!
