Okay, so today I wanted to try something totally new – making a simple volleyball game. I’ve never really done game development before, but I figured, how hard could it be? (Famous last words, right?)
Getting Started
First things first, I needed a basic outline. No fancy graphics, just enough to test the core mechanics. I grabbed some paper and sketched out a rectangle for the court, a line for the net, and two stick figures for the players. Super basic, like, really basic.
The Ball
The ball was the next challenge.I needed something to move around. I decided to go with a simple circle. Making it move was… interesting. I spent a good hour just trying to get the ball to bounce realistically. Let me tell you, physics in coding is a whole different beast than physics in real life!
- Struggled with the angles.
- Messed up the velocity calculations a bunch of times.
- Finally got something that resembled a bounce. Sort of.
Player Movement
Next up, players! I needed a way to control those stick figures. I opted for simple left and right movement. I used some basic code to add controls. After more than an hour, I finally got the players moving!
Hitting the Ball
This was the real tricky part. I wanted the players to be able to “hit” the ball. I tried a few different approaches, I messed around with collision detection (which, by the way, is a headache). It didn’t quit look like I want.
I changed and changed it.
Keeping Score
What’s a game without a score? I added a super simple scoring system. Every time the ball hits the ground on one side, the other side gets a point. Easy peasy!
Final Touches (Sort Of)
After all that, I had something that vaguely resembled a volleyball game. It’s super rough, the ball physics are wonky, and the controls are clunky. I spent about 5 hours for the whole afternoon and evening.
But, hey, it works! It’s a start! I can see the ball moving, the players hitting and scores adding!
I guess that’s the cool thing about coding, you can start with nothing and end up with, well, something. It’s definitely not going to win any awards, but it’s my messy, slightly broken, but still working volleyball game.
