Hello everybody ! My name is Ulysse, I’m a 14 years-old student from France (that’s why my English may not be really pleasant to read), and I’m really keen on computer science and video games ever since I was very young. I started programming when I was 8, and created a website talking about video games with a friend.
After that I wanted to continue developing on my own, and decided to code some SA:MP servers. SA:MP is a multiplayer mod of GTA San Andreas, which allows you to program your own servers in the Pawn language, which is a bit like C++.
Now that I had some experience with programming, I started to learn how to create my own game. Game Maker was a good solution, as well as GameSalad, but they were too limited in my opinion. I was scratching my head, and looking for a cool software to program games on both iOS and Android.
And, one day, when I was in English class at school, we were reading american newspapers. That’s how I heard about Robert Nay, a 14-years old student who developed an iOS game ! I was only 11 at this moment, and couldn’t resist ! I immediately contacted him through his website, asking him which software he used. And, you know what’s happening next…
When I discovered Corona SDK, it was a bit too expensive for me. So I decided to learn the Lua language first, and develop a game before paying to release it. It took me a lot of time, because I was also working on other projects, like a mamecab (it’s like a home-made arcade cabinet, with a PC in it so you can play thousands of games).
I was learning Lua alone, because I had nobody in my family, or my friends, who could help me, and I couldn’t manage to find any books concerning this language in my local library. After all, the best way to learn is to practice.
Once I knew I was ready to make a game, I already had a little idea. I developed it, and finally released The Square Maze in 2013. It’s a labyrinth game, where you have to move a ball from point A to point B by tilting your phone. A pretty basic game. I was so proud of making my first game, even if I knew it wasn’t graphically nice – because I suck at drawing --.
Immediately after releasing this game, I decided to make another. It took me some time to find an idea, like a month or so, but I had an idea that I never saw on smartphones. Some weeks after, it was available on the App Store and the Google Play Store (and it’s called Ballzone ! It’s a game about avoiding bad balls while taking bonuses, I highly recommend you to check it out).
I couldn’t stop here ! I had to make another game, really fast, because I was 14 and I knew I would be 15 in a few months ! And, 15 is less impressive than 14. So within a few days (hours ?) I developed Air Dodge, which I consider it to be the best of my games released yet. Not only because it is addictive, but also thanks to the simple design.
Air Dodge is a challenging game for both iOS and Android where you have to dodge the obstacles by tapping the screen. Air Dodge made a lot more downloads than all my other games, even though it took me much less time to make it (Comparison : Air Dodge made more than 1k+ downloads in 2 weeks while The Square Maze, my first game, made 900+ downloads in a YEAR).
So, that’s pretty much everything about me. I could talk for hours, telling you how my passion for video games started, how I started my retrogaming collection, etc… If you have any questions, please ask them. Also, if you have any suggestion concerning my games, or just want to talk (why not ?), don’t hesitate.
I have a website where I post all the news concerning me and my work, here is the link : http://ulydev.netau.net/
Also, here’s a little article about me, which was posted in a French newspaper : http://www.ouest-france.fr/ulysse-14-ans-cree-des-applications-informatiques-2203991 In case you don’t understand French, I can translate it if someone wants to read it.
Thanks you.
Ulysse
