SecretAgentMan

Hi all,
My name is Jeff, but I go by SecretAgentMan on a couple of sports forums sites. In my very limited free time, I am developing a game called Going for Gold. It is, basically, an Olympics sim. You take control of a country's athletics program, and work to build up your athletes and teams so that they can win medals at the Summer Games and Winter Games. I post a regular progress thread at SimNation, and I wanted to do likewise here, so that I can share development with others. So, with that in mind...here's my first development log here at GMGames.
Development Log 1: A basic overview of Going for Gold
Where did the idea come from?
After participating in online leagues in college, I found myself with a little bit too much time (and too little employment) on hands after graduation. I started pursuing the idea of making a sport sim of my own, and after a couple of false starts, I got introduced to GameMaker, a programming system I still employ. That was early in 2010, and the Winter Olympics in Vancouver were fast approaching. I decided I was going to make sims for several sports in time for the Winter Games, to celebrate my favorite sporting event. I started small, with ski jumping, figuring that it would be one of the easier sports to program. Good call. I barely got something done, but I did get something done. I had a good experience with it and decided to expand it into a full-fledged ski jumping game, Going for Gold: Ski Jumping. I developed that until 2013, and got it into some sort of "finished" state, though it was never released or published. From there, with the 2014 Winter Games approaching, I started to make a rudimentary Olympics sim, titled "Going for Gold: Winter Games". I took the same ideas and, in 2016, made "Going for Gold: Summer Games". After that, I combined the two into one game, Going for Gold, prior to the 2018 Winter Games. I have continued to work on it intermittently ever since, with a particular focus being an addition of a career mode. (None of the previous versions had had that)
Currently, the career mode, summer games, and winter games are all operational, though far from polished. I was, of course, intending to have another trial run this year with the Tokyo Olympics, but with those being postponed, I am continuing to refine features with the hope being that I have a stronger career mode in time for the double whammy of two Olympics in a 6-month span in 2021 and 2022.
How does it work?

As I mentioned above, I have 3 modes: Summer Games, Winter Games, and Career. The individual "Summer Games" and "Winter Games" modes are designed to be a short-term sim. You drop in to the Games, pick a country, and take a look at the athletes that you will have competing in the games. You then take "Training Points" (which basically simulate coaching and other such factors) and allocate them to certain athletes to boost their chances of success. You go through the games, win medals (or not), and see how you do.
Career mode, though, has a little bit more detail to it. You start by selecting one of 65 countries from a list, allowing you to represent many of the most successful athletic nations from throughout the world. 

From there, you get a chance to simulate through a full year that includes both the summer and winter sports. As you play, you'll be able to see the schedule for the year and how your athletes are doing, and you can check the standings for each event throughout the season. At the end of each year, you get to go through the Finances, where you can decide, sport by sport and athlete by athlete, just how much you are going to support them and their ability to train and improve. As the years go by, you can build your country's athletic association into a powerhouse, growing in World Ranking and dominating more and more sports. (Or, you know, fall into disrepair. That part's up to the player, after all!) Athletes grow and decline, then retire, and new athletes come into the fold as you play year after year. Your ability to manage finding and find strengths and future stars will constantly be tested, but you have the opportunity to lead your country to glory at the Winter and Summer Games quadrennial after quadrennial.

I'll try to dig into more specifics in the weeks and months to come as I continue to grow and update this game, but I wanted to at least start out by introducing myself and by introducing what I have to offer. I hope that you enjoy, and I would welcome your thoughts and feedback!
Thanks sincerely,
Jeff (SAM)
 
 

Hi, my name is Jeff, but I go by SecretAgentMan on a couple of different sports sim forums. I think I technically joined here like 5 years ago, but I never posted anything other than an intro post at that time.
So, I'm "re-joining", as it were, and saying hello again. I have been playing/programming sports sims for almost a decade and a half, but my primary involvement now is in programming. I currently am developing an Olympics-style simulator titled "Going for Gold", and I tend to trot it out for beta tests every 2 or so years when we have a Summer or Winter Games. My intent here is to post updates for "Going for Gold" as I work to program and polish it. I am hoping that in sharing how things are going, I can find other interested parties who are willing to try it out and offer feedback.
A few people here might know me from other places. I can also be found posting occasionally over at SimNation's forums, and I used to run an ESMS+ soccer league called the IFF over there. I was also actively involved with TotalSportsWorld.net back in the day, and before that was an active participant in Gridiron Glory, one of the biggest BBCF leagues around at the time. (Man, I miss the kind of free time I had in college) I've also played OOTP, but sparingly, simply because I am a big baseball fan and I worry about losing every ounce of my limited free time if I get too involved with it!
So, yeah, hello! I hope to connect with some Olympics fans over here and share what I'm doing. Hope you like!

Watching the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics? Want to sim alongside it? Well, look no further!
 
Hi all, my name is SecretAgentMan, and I like to program sports sims in my spare time. In particular, I like to program games tied to the Olympics. I've recently creating Going for Gold: Summer Games, a summer Olympics Sim. 
 
Over at SimNation, we're currently running a Summer Olympics sim, and we are still taking/looking for signups. So if that seems like something that would be up your alley, head on over and check it out!
 
I've created a post with some links and information here: http://www.simnation.net/forums/showthread.php?39324-SimNation-Summer-Olympics-Thread
 
Hope to see you in Rio!

Hi, I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself. My name's Jeff, but online I go by SAM (SecretAgentMan).  I'm an active member of the SimNation sports community, and I've participated in college football (BBCF) and soccer (ESMS+) leagues in the past, and I'm a former commissioner of the IFF (International Football Federation), and ESMS+ league.
 
I also do some programming in my spare time, and I'm interested in unique sports simulation ideas, including olympic sports.  I'm in the process of creating a game I call Going for Gold: Winter Games. It's a Winter Olympics simulation where you control a National Olympics Committee and manage the budgets and other aspects of your winter sports athletics program.
 
I'm hoping to meet some fellow sim fans here, particularly people who are interested in international sports like I am.

Hi, I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself. My name's Jeff, but online I go by SAM (SecretAgentMan).  I'm an active member of the SimNation sports community, and I've participated in college football (BBCF) and soccer (ESMS+) leagues in the past, and I'm a former commissioner of the IFF (International Football Federation), and ESMS+ league.
 
I also do some programming in my spare time, and I'm interested in unique sports simulation ideas, including olympic sports.  I'm in the process of creating a game I call Going for Gold: Winter Games. It's a Winter Olympics simulation where you control a National Olympics Committee and manage the budgets and other aspects of your winter sports athletics program.
 
I'm hoping to meet some fellow sim fans here, particularly people who are interested in international sports like I am.