With my snake game, Garden of Eating, now behind me, I'm thinking more and more about what my next project will be. I have a few different game ideas rattling around in my head, but haven't decided which I should tackle just yet. What I do know is that I'd like to give the Godot engine a try, it will be another 2D arcade-style game, and I do have a specific set of goals I'd like to accomplish:

• Target multiple platforms, including mobile. From my initial tinkering with Godot, I know this will be quite easy off the hop.
• The playing area should be larger than the screen. When the player moves, the screen will scroll with them in the center.
• Player / character movement will be smooth, rather than tile-based.
• Incorporate sprite animations.
• Incorporate collision detection and some degree of physics.
• Ability to store game state and return back to where the player was (ie. saved games).
• Ability to change system options (volume, fullscreen toggle, and maybe keybindings) during gameplay.

I've been going through the “Getting Started” guides on the Godot website, and things are looking promising so far. There's a part of me that laments the idea of using an existing game engine, rather than rolling my own… But the practical side of me also recognizes how much time and effort I can save. I'll be continuing reading through the guides, and hope to come up with a concrete game idea before too long!

To force myself into getting my arse in gear, I'll be hopping on my Twitch stream from time to time. Typical times will probably be in the 7PM to 9PM Central range.