For development of my project I decided to use an engine and set of tools that I have already built: the SG2D engine and the SGDK set of tools.
- SG2D: this is the engine itself, currently running on the Microsoft XNA Game Studio platform, allowing it to run on PC, Xbox, Windows Phone and Linux currently.
- SGDK: this is a set of tools used currently for asset creation (maps, animated sprites, etc). This will be expanded to provide a visual script-building interface.
My dissertation project will involve converting these two elements so that they will become an effective tool for game creation for both programmers and non-programmers. This will involve adding a scripting interface to the engine and visual scripting interface to the tool kit. The ultimate goal is to allow designers and programmers to work together using one set of tools.