As I’ve progressed through developing my current simple game, which is only the second game I’ve written with the D programming language (https://www.dlang.org) and the Dgame library, I’ve reached the point where it’s time to start adding more levels to the underlying system, followed by sound effects and the standard set of polish.

At the moment the game progresses through the first three levels, though as mentioned, it’s obvious more features need to be added. Here’s an example.

With game development, there are many things that get updated and improved that aren’t obvious to the user. For instance, in the above clip I’m using a certain method for switching from one level to the next, and for keeping track of levels. As part of the code I’ll be writing, I need to switch which part of the code keeps track of the levels and automate the process. To the user, it’ll look the same, though screens will also be added in between each level. On the code level though, it’ll be a decent shift.

All of this brings me to another point: Regardless of what sort of programming or coding is your main focus, be it business software, web development, or general applications, working with games is always a good exercise. When you work with developing games, even just as a hobby, you learn even more about the programming language you’re working with and how to handle and work with various code tasks. The things you learn in game development can often be applied to other sorts of development as well. I highly recommend taking some time to develop and program some games, even if you’re simply making your own version of a classic game.

Development continues on Star Space Diamond.