In order to get a first game development experience, I created a simple Pong game running on the latest handheld from Sony : the PlayStation Vita.
PlayStation Mobile
I used the “PlayStation Mobile” SDK that relies on Mono and C# code. This is one of the main reason I chose this platform, given my prior C# knowledge. The downside is that code runs in a VM so you can’t really access the Vita’s full power, but it is not concern or a simple game like Pong.
The game itself uses the GameEngine2D framework (included in PSM SDK). I made the UI screens (main menu, options, pause) with the provided “UI Composer”.
Features
Though it is a very basic game, I threw in some additional features :
- Configurable AI strength, AI paddle speed and player paddle speed (in the options menu);
- Two player mode using the two analog sticks;
- Two sound modes :
- Sound effects from the original 1967 Pong,
- Pseudo-random sound picking between the seven major chords.
Play it on your PS Vita
If you own a PS Vita, you can download the packaged version of this game as a PSDP file:
You will need to install the PlayStation Mobile SDK as well as VitaCom in order to deploy the game on your device. If you need some help in this process, feel free to ask Google 🙂
Make your own game!
If you are interested in developing your own games like I did, here are practical details:
The Playstation Mobile SDK can be used to create games that will run on PlayStation Certified Android phones and on the PS Vita.
The licensing fees are the same as for the iOS Developer Program (99$/year) but, as it is still in open Beta, anybody can download the tools and deploy on actual devices.
The SDK comes with an IDE based on MonoDevelop (PSM Studio), a set of tutorials and very good documentation. It also features a large number of full examples : from basic shaders to a full 3D RPG demo.
Check these links for more information :
[Update : Sadly, the PlayStation Mobile program has been shut down on September 10th 2015…]
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