So many bits and pieces were connected up today. Mainly just tables for multiple level handling. Still i feel good i have done them all. Now i have to fill them in however, bah!
I also worked on start points and i actually only have the first 3 levels with real walls. so i only did 3 real start points. Still, it shows it works and is sort of fun to play. I am getting close now to having to actually work on the gameplay and level design properly. Something oddly enouhg i am not totally in the mood for (really odd that). I know it means that i will move to the next phase of this game. And... usually it takes me longer to do gameplay and play balancing than all of the coding. Still i have not written a single menu, or even started the menu code.
I may work on the Top level menu soon though, cos not being able to pause my game sucks a bit tbh.
I shall have to make another video of work so far. I did create a spawning enemy on the second level. He is one nasty piece of work. Should work well for Robots though, no doubt.
G'night
Showing posts with label work. Show all posts
Showing posts with label work. Show all posts
Monday, November 22, 2010
Saturday, October 16, 2010
My partner in pain is back
Yup, it is true. My newly married aprtner in pain and of course work buddy is back from Vegas. Now a married man and ready to help me through the data mining i have to do for my current conversion at work.
He is a top lad and as i expected having someone else look at my code would reveal the bits i had been missing, and this held true and he pounded out the thing that i had missed. Of course i could be sad i didn;t notice it, but i am not. I am actually rather happy for a couple of reasons. Number 1 is that i now don't have to keep banging my head against that wall. Number 2 is that he came back after a week of getting married and was very quickly productive. This is a great feeling i'll bet.
Now i expect we can manhandle the data and the only major issue we should face will be the parallel workflow that we really need to achieve asap.
So the moral is, you can find excuses to be sad, but when something good happens. Try to see it that way.
G'night
He is a top lad and as i expected having someone else look at my code would reveal the bits i had been missing, and this held true and he pounded out the thing that i had missed. Of course i could be sad i didn;t notice it, but i am not. I am actually rather happy for a couple of reasons. Number 1 is that i now don't have to keep banging my head against that wall. Number 2 is that he came back after a week of getting married and was very quickly productive. This is a great feeling i'll bet.
Now i expect we can manhandle the data and the only major issue we should face will be the parallel workflow that we really need to achieve asap.
So the moral is, you can find excuses to be sad, but when something good happens. Try to see it that way.
G'night
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Reveiwers list clarification
So someone asked me how come i spent so many hours working on a simple list of reveiwers. Well i thought everyone would understand but apparently not. So here is some clarification on what i spent so much time on. And of course expect to do the same.
Every time i wanted to add a contact to the list i would have to go to their website and make sure they still existed (yes even the ones i visit a lot). Then i would find the contact info as best i could. A lot of websites seem to hide this information. Or at least make it hard to decipher.
Once i knew they were still around, i would check their review status to make sure they were still reveiwing Xblig games. Some sites change their focus and some just go stale. Once it passed that test i wrote down the info i could find into the Xcel sheet.
Simple to do all that eh!. Well lets break it down a bit into time.
1. Check my Doc to see the next reviewer link. (minute 1)
2. Bring up the new web page after a quick copy paste (minute 2)
3. Check out to see if there is any contact info (minute 5)
4. Check out the site to see if it is stale, or if they just Mock Xbligs. (minute 8)
5. Copy and write all the info into my xcel file into the correct area. (minute 10)
So there we have it, about 10 minutes per entry (ok this seems a lot more than i spent, but some places were easier and faster. So i am sure that the average is much lower). I went through about 20-25 pages so i know i did not actually spend 10 minutes per, but in about 2.5 - 3 hours work i got through them all. Some were rejected, some were not. i ended up with about 15 new sites i think, so not bad in the end, but funnily enough 15 added over 3 hours means 12 minutes each. haha!
So time consuming, i am so glad i can now just add to this list in the future, though i feel i will only be adding ones that reveiw my games. The main reason is that i now have a short list of 11 sites that have reveiwed my own or my Peers games. That is an awesome start. I am STOKED that i now have the possibility that i could get 11 reveiws for A Shooter.
Woot!
G'night
Every time i wanted to add a contact to the list i would have to go to their website and make sure they still existed (yes even the ones i visit a lot). Then i would find the contact info as best i could. A lot of websites seem to hide this information. Or at least make it hard to decipher.
Once i knew they were still around, i would check their review status to make sure they were still reveiwing Xblig games. Some sites change their focus and some just go stale. Once it passed that test i wrote down the info i could find into the Xcel sheet.
Simple to do all that eh!. Well lets break it down a bit into time.
1. Check my Doc to see the next reviewer link. (minute 1)
2. Bring up the new web page after a quick copy paste (minute 2)
3. Check out to see if there is any contact info (minute 5)
4. Check out the site to see if it is stale, or if they just Mock Xbligs. (minute 8)
5. Copy and write all the info into my xcel file into the correct area. (minute 10)
So there we have it, about 10 minutes per entry (ok this seems a lot more than i spent, but some places were easier and faster. So i am sure that the average is much lower). I went through about 20-25 pages so i know i did not actually spend 10 minutes per, but in about 2.5 - 3 hours work i got through them all. Some were rejected, some were not. i ended up with about 15 new sites i think, so not bad in the end, but funnily enough 15 added over 3 hours means 12 minutes each. haha!
So time consuming, i am so glad i can now just add to this list in the future, though i feel i will only be adding ones that reveiw my games. The main reason is that i now have a short list of 11 sites that have reveiwed my own or my Peers games. That is an awesome start. I am STOKED that i now have the possibility that i could get 11 reveiws for A Shooter.
Woot!
G'night
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Work Reviews
These always seem to come with such bad connertations, though i do not know why. In my experience they have been nothing but productive. Or more importantly they have made a nice re-focus and so everything after those reveiw meetings have gone much smoother.
I do not mean code reviews, or anything like that. I mean setting aside time in the schedule to really try to look over everything that is being done. then deciding if it is being done the correct way, or if there needs to be a re-alignment. These meetings themselves can get quite awkward and argumentitive at times, but in the end it is better to do it sooner rather than later, especially if later is too late.
So when i do my own games i set aside time here and there (depends on my flexible schedule), and then i try to use my critical and objective eye to see what i am doing. Sometimes it is gratifying to know i am doing it all right, woohoo! It is also really good when i see i need to make some changes to make the game better, or just fiish on time. also in my experience this kind of thing should be done more often the bigger the team, or the newer the team.
Just food for thought, don't leave it till too late.
Here is something that cheers me up when i feel a bit unfocused or down. Sent to me by @Ninjaharlot via twitter
OMG CAT
G'night
I do not mean code reviews, or anything like that. I mean setting aside time in the schedule to really try to look over everything that is being done. then deciding if it is being done the correct way, or if there needs to be a re-alignment. These meetings themselves can get quite awkward and argumentitive at times, but in the end it is better to do it sooner rather than later, especially if later is too late.
So when i do my own games i set aside time here and there (depends on my flexible schedule), and then i try to use my critical and objective eye to see what i am doing. Sometimes it is gratifying to know i am doing it all right, woohoo! It is also really good when i see i need to make some changes to make the game better, or just fiish on time. also in my experience this kind of thing should be done more often the bigger the team, or the newer the team.
Just food for thought, don't leave it till too late.
Here is something that cheers me up when i feel a bit unfocused or down. Sent to me by @Ninjaharlot via twitter
OMG CAT
G'night
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Pride
Tonight i was gonna post about soemthing i really want to do for my next game. But instead it has been a day where i have received a few mentions. the first comes from someone who does a blog that i read. I like his opinions and thoughtful approach to writing. So when he posts such a nice paragraph on me, it makes me blush but also feel very proud. If nothing else i try very hard at what i do and it is good whe someone else notices.
Here is the link Digital Quarters
Secondly it was Starcraft 2 launch day today. Just in case you haven't noticed or ben under a rock. Well back in the day my team at Mass Media were given the arduous task of converting starcraft 1, PLUS Brood Wars to the N64. Noone thought it was possible except us i believe. the whole team was madly in love with Starcraft, and we had a good team on Cases ladder back then. So when we got to pitch for the job it was with love, and then we got the job. OMGoodness we were happy. Then the labor of love started. We got it done on time, and with a meagre budget. The thing we were most proud of though was the controls. Everyone said it would suck and not be playable, but we believed we could make it work great. In fact all the reveiws at the time agreed with us. We had shortcuts up the wazoo on that little controller. Modifier keys was the order of the day. We also somehow managed to squeeze the whole of Starcraft and Brood wars into a single cart, though that was a special cart at 64MB. So why i am talking about this? well it is because someone noticed. Nintendo never made enough of these cartridges, and they sold out nearly immediately, however they did not for some reason want to make anotehr run of them. So a year after release it was worth over 130 bucks.
Here is the link Kotaku - Starcraft -N64
So today i feel proud that i have worked so hard on games, it is a passion and it is my job.
g'night
Here is the link Digital Quarters
Secondly it was Starcraft 2 launch day today. Just in case you haven't noticed or ben under a rock. Well back in the day my team at Mass Media were given the arduous task of converting starcraft 1, PLUS Brood Wars to the N64. Noone thought it was possible except us i believe. the whole team was madly in love with Starcraft, and we had a good team on Cases ladder back then. So when we got to pitch for the job it was with love, and then we got the job. OMGoodness we were happy. Then the labor of love started. We got it done on time, and with a meagre budget. The thing we were most proud of though was the controls. Everyone said it would suck and not be playable, but we believed we could make it work great. In fact all the reveiws at the time agreed with us. We had shortcuts up the wazoo on that little controller. Modifier keys was the order of the day. We also somehow managed to squeeze the whole of Starcraft and Brood wars into a single cart, though that was a special cart at 64MB. So why i am talking about this? well it is because someone noticed. Nintendo never made enough of these cartridges, and they sold out nearly immediately, however they did not for some reason want to make anotehr run of them. So a year after release it was worth over 130 bucks.
Here is the link Kotaku - Starcraft -N64
So today i feel proud that i have worked so hard on games, it is a passion and it is my job.
g'night
Thursday, July 22, 2010
what to do?
Here i am sitting calmly wondering which of my many jobs to start. They all sit there staring at me, giving me no clue as to which is more important than the other. Unblinking they stare me down.
Being away on vacation and really disrupt a train of thought. I did however write down the bunch of jobs i knew i needed to work on once i got back. But now the list just sits there.. i never thought to comment the jobs with a priority. I know priorites can change while one is away. Still.. i expected this to be easier than it is. Maybe it is the jetlag befuddling my brain. Yeah, that must be it.
Also i am in a dilemna about my Xblig games. A Shooter is awaiting the results from the Kickstarter project. If the project doesn't get funded, then it will be going into peer review very quickly. If however it does get funded, then i know what i will be doing for the next several months or more. So the dilemna is what to do while i await the kickstarter.com project ending. I could start another game, that idea appeals to me greatly. However i do not like working on mutliple projects at the same time. You always end up with a favorite, and the not so favorite one suffers from it.
I guess it's time to get on with my day job and code some more.
laters
Being away on vacation and really disrupt a train of thought. I did however write down the bunch of jobs i knew i needed to work on once i got back. But now the list just sits there.. i never thought to comment the jobs with a priority. I know priorites can change while one is away. Still.. i expected this to be easier than it is. Maybe it is the jetlag befuddling my brain. Yeah, that must be it.
Also i am in a dilemna about my Xblig games. A Shooter is awaiting the results from the Kickstarter project. If the project doesn't get funded, then it will be going into peer review very quickly. If however it does get funded, then i know what i will be doing for the next several months or more. So the dilemna is what to do while i await the kickstarter.com project ending. I could start another game, that idea appeals to me greatly. However i do not like working on mutliple projects at the same time. You always end up with a favorite, and the not so favorite one suffers from it.
I guess it's time to get on with my day job and code some more.
laters
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
E3 for me tomorrow
Yep, i am going to e3. I am very excited. I am also gonna meet a bunch of ex-workmates for lunch, that will be the best part i am sure.
not sure what i am gonna look at this year, prolly as much as i can haha! But i do wanna see Kinect, cos i hope to use that in the future.
I got my stuff done for tomorrow E3 wednesday deadline, so that is good. I had no doubts of course ;)
watched the Sony presentation and thought it was a bit long. But mostly i don't understand how they can be shouting about how good their Move controllers are, when they look like the Wiimotes which we have had for a few years now. I must be missing something.
Of course i am really looking forward to seeing PS3Home and more importantly The Midway.. YAY!
G'night
not sure what i am gonna look at this year, prolly as much as i can haha! But i do wanna see Kinect, cos i hope to use that in the future.
I got my stuff done for tomorrow E3 wednesday deadline, so that is good. I had no doubts of course ;)
watched the Sony presentation and thought it was a bit long. But mostly i don't understand how they can be shouting about how good their Move controllers are, when they look like the Wiimotes which we have had for a few years now. I must be missing something.
Of course i am really looking forward to seeing PS3Home and more importantly The Midway.. YAY!
G'night
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
A planned day
I had my day all planned out. I needed to get to work and then start on the The Midway2. I have some basic setup to work on and then some more interesting stuff. If i can get all me stuff done in the next few days. I will maybe be able to get on with writing a minigame.
Some days you can plan all you want, but they don't work out like that. Today was one of those days. With other members of the company needing help with Perforce (i am an admin). then i had some extra work we had been asked to do by an outside website (i have to remain nameless i think on this). Then it was discussions with various people about their tasks and what is expected of them etc. Of course i did manage to talk to one of my teammates about A Shooter, as he is helping me test it and he is rather good. I love his suggestions.. so far ;)
I don't know, the day managed to pass so fast, it was amazing. I never did get much done really. I even managed to forget to send out an email i had prepared on friday.
Still i can look forward to getting going at 9:30am tomorrow with a good solid minigame meeting.
Hope your day worked out better than mine, though mine was not a waste. Just not quite what i expected. Hard to be down about such a thing.
G'night
Some days you can plan all you want, but they don't work out like that. Today was one of those days. With other members of the company needing help with Perforce (i am an admin). then i had some extra work we had been asked to do by an outside website (i have to remain nameless i think on this). Then it was discussions with various people about their tasks and what is expected of them etc. Of course i did manage to talk to one of my teammates about A Shooter, as he is helping me test it and he is rather good. I love his suggestions.. so far ;)
I don't know, the day managed to pass so fast, it was amazing. I never did get much done really. I even managed to forget to send out an email i had prepared on friday.
Still i can look forward to getting going at 9:30am tomorrow with a good solid minigame meeting.
Hope your day worked out better than mine, though mine was not a waste. Just not quite what i expected. Hard to be down about such a thing.
G'night
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Where does all the time go?
Tonight I managed to copy some discs of my sons Black Belt promotion/exhibition from last November (yeah a wee while ago eh!). I also managed to fix some more bugs in A Shooter. Had dinner and erm.... yeah
So what happened to all that time. It is amazing that time can seem so inconsistent with how long it takes to pass. Sometimes hours can go flying by and minutes can take forever.
Take a few days ago, i went to the Doctors office to get my shoulder MRI results. I got there 10 minutes early, but i had to wait in the waiting room for a whole hour. This was slow but people were coming and going so not too bad. Then it went into super slow mode when i was taken to one of the jail cells, erm.. i mean't treatment rooms. There i was bored to tears nearly for 40 more minutes... This was a very long time, or it seemed like it. The Doctor saw me for only like 10 minutes and they went super fast. Go figure!
On an opposite type thread, i visited Dave High today. This guy has a printers shop very near me and i was after quotes from him to make me some t-shirts and hats etc for contest prizes. I have visited Dave befroe and he is such a nice chap. Roxy in the front office is also very charming and i have to say that the hours we spent there last time and this were like rocketship time. It passed so quickly it is amazing. I have to say i love visiting their shop. They are both very cool people. I hope i can get some money together to buy some of what they offer.
Tomorrow i am sure the time will go fast and slow at the same time. This is because my tennis team, the Moorpark Raiders is in their final match of regular season. If we win all 5 courts we will be in the divisional playoffs. If we lose a court the currently second place team might be able to overtake us. It is very exciting and I will be there to cheer my team on, as i am too injured to play (bummer!!). So i am sure while i watch us winning will be fast time, i reckon that any close court will take forever to get done. Either way, it is going to be interesting.
g'night and stay healthy!
So what happened to all that time. It is amazing that time can seem so inconsistent with how long it takes to pass. Sometimes hours can go flying by and minutes can take forever.
Take a few days ago, i went to the Doctors office to get my shoulder MRI results. I got there 10 minutes early, but i had to wait in the waiting room for a whole hour. This was slow but people were coming and going so not too bad. Then it went into super slow mode when i was taken to one of the jail cells, erm.. i mean't treatment rooms. There i was bored to tears nearly for 40 more minutes... This was a very long time, or it seemed like it. The Doctor saw me for only like 10 minutes and they went super fast. Go figure!
On an opposite type thread, i visited Dave High today. This guy has a printers shop very near me and i was after quotes from him to make me some t-shirts and hats etc for contest prizes. I have visited Dave befroe and he is such a nice chap. Roxy in the front office is also very charming and i have to say that the hours we spent there last time and this were like rocketship time. It passed so quickly it is amazing. I have to say i love visiting their shop. They are both very cool people. I hope i can get some money together to buy some of what they offer.
Tomorrow i am sure the time will go fast and slow at the same time. This is because my tennis team, the Moorpark Raiders is in their final match of regular season. If we win all 5 courts we will be in the divisional playoffs. If we lose a court the currently second place team might be able to overtake us. It is very exciting and I will be there to cheer my team on, as i am too injured to play (bummer!!). So i am sure while i watch us winning will be fast time, i reckon that any close court will take forever to get done. Either way, it is going to be interesting.
g'night and stay healthy!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
