Saturday, March 28, 2009

Android, Cell, Walkies



I'm starting over with Android development and this time I'm doing all the things that I should have done. Step one is reading the documentation from top to bottom. I was eager to get something working to show off to potential employers last time around and that resulted in a poor working knoledge of the sexy OS that is Android. Now that I'm reviewing the SDK docs I'm learning quite a bit about what Android has to offer and it's very pleasing. Ideally I'll have another OpenGL app up and running before the end of April.

Things are going well at work. I'm getting over being the noob and SN Systems software isn't so bad once you discover their handy training videos (anybody whos used SN System Software should know what I'm talking about ;])

Weather here in Austin is always so gorgeous. Yesterday I just had to leave work and go for a walk. I think I might make it a habit on good weather days.

Friday, March 13, 2009

Pay dayz!

Work definitely pays the bills, and not a moment too soon. Dodging creditors post enrollment is not easy or fun. I prefer to be legitimate and pay in full and on time but that would be difficult without income :D

So I'm sick of being a stupid noob. I've found myself spending too much time mulling over simple problems at work and I've decided to do something to change that. Tonight I mulled over how to create a precompiled header (I'd never used a custom one because I've never needed to). Baby steps. I'm working on building my OpenGL skills and I'd like to do some multithreading stuff. Eventually I hope to become that indispensable PS3 guy since nobody else seems too interested in the platform. It's a bit tricky to work on (to say the least) but that's all the better for the new guy ^_^

WIsh me luck. I'll need it.

BlazBlue coming to PS3 and 360 summer 2009! You excited?! I'm excited!

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Street Fighter IV is a terrible game

Street Fighter IV sucks.
Street Fighter IV is garbage.
Street Fighter IV is terrible.
Street Fighter IV is awful.
Street Fighter IV is junk.
Street Fighter IV is broken.
Street Fighter IV is popular.

Like the trashy cheerleader who knows every player on the highschool football team inside and out, Street Fighter IV has stolen the hearts of the media and robotic consumers alike.

I have played every Street Fighter that was important but only cared for Street Fighter III: Third Strike (because it was the best of the series) and I can honestly say that Street Fighter IV would have been better left in the concept stage right before the good folks of Capcom came to their senses and went on to make a REAL successor to Third Strike.

Where do I begin?

It's Street Fighter II in 3D. No really. It's the same fucking game. Are reviewers blinded by their nostalgia to the point that they haven't caught on to this fact? Oh and they added the "focus system" whatever that's worth. A gameplay mechanic that want's to be a parry but just can't seem to cut it. Sure it looks pretty but at the end of the day the focus attack and defense just doesn't cut it against standard character's attacks (Ken's fierce shoryuken will always not you out of focus attacks).

Another important note is that Capcom is already selling you the rest of the game that you just paid 60 bucks for. This is a practice that needs to stop. They practically dusted off an old game engine, tweaked a few things here and there and shit it into a box to be distributed. How can they possibly add insult to that?

It certainly is a new breed of people out there who play games. "If it's shiny and flashy it must be good! What? Gameplay mechanics? No those are too hard. I want the game to be easy so that I can enjoy playing it." The whole point of the difficult of any game system is the inevitable ecstasy that one experiences when they've reached the upper echelon of said game. Guilty Gear and now BlazBlue are excellent examples as the game is gorgeous and accessible to new comers yet in the hands of someone who has devoted a measurable amount of time into learning the game it's downright sexy. But you'll likely never hear of BlazBlue in the news for its original character designs and aesthetics. You definitely won't hear about its outstanding and unique player experience. All you'll hear about is Ryu and his new hat.

For shame video game developers. How could you let this happen. When did a bunch of schmucks with a few dollars to play with become more important than people who would go without meals for a month just to by a new system at launch become more important to you? :(

On another note work is lovely. I'm stressed to the point of drinking myself to sleep but at the very least I'm in a challenging and well paying place of employment that will remain unnamed and I'm loving every minute of it.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Hello again!

Yes we're long overdue for an update ^_^

So I've been hanging out with family preparing for the move to Austin soon. In the mean while I've invested some time into building a 2D animation editor. Almost a year to date I actually started another 2D editor but I've seen changed my mind about a number of functional and design decisions (read it just wasn't pretty after all those months). The new editor is basic but it does everything that I need for the time being. I'll circulate it for testing and take feed back before revising it. Next up: Unit Editor!

I'd like to have a very basic 2D game engine up and running before the end of February but I admit that I'm lacking direction right now. I've been playing Monster Hunter Freedom 2 trying to knock out those HR6 guild hall quests alone but it's a bit difficult (h8chu dual plesioth) and not exactly rewarding for the time I'm putting into it.

Happy New Year!

Friday, November 7, 2008

Up up and away!

Interesting week so far. Mobile app development is going very well. UV issues have been sorted out and I've been able to move on to camera behaviors. I'm currently looking into onscreen sprite text for debug output but I'll definitely write something up for bitmap fonts while I'm at it. I've also had luck in finding a few people who are also interested in mobile development here locally. I look forward to exchanging information with all two of the in the future ^_^;

The project is officially over next week and the end couldn't possibly come any sooner. I'm not too terribly excited for the end result, understandably. The game (if you can call it that at this point) suffers from a number of issues. Some of them could have been avoided early on and others are just the result of lack of experience. Looking forward to moving on!

So agenda for the next week:
Improve upon mobile app
Final presentation
Interview with that company
Try to stay out of group arguments

Doing really well on that last one so far ;)

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Camera and perspective

Great success! I finally figured out perspective in Android. Anybody needing help with camera setup in Android should consider using the static function gluPerspective in android.opengl.GLU rather than the GL10.glFrustum member function.

Today I'm working on setting up a camera class for android so that hopefully I can set up touchscreen and accelerometer based camera movement~! ^.^

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Android Apps! Woo~!

So I haven't even had this G1 a week and I've written a matrix and vector math library and gotten input working in a simple app ^_^ OpenGL ES has its quirks but I plan to exploit the device's strengths rather than focusing on any inherent weaknesses. Before the end of the week I'm hoping to have texturing, touch screen, and threads down so that I can start working on a proof of concept for a game idea that I've got.

The final project has not changed significantly. Beta was last week and I'm officially over the final project experience. Rather than focusing on the train wreck that is quickly becoming my groups game I've decided to dedicate all of my leisure time to learning new things that could potentially be applied to Android or Java programming. It's no longer worth my time or sanity to contribute to a group that lacks leadership and direction. Hopefully the other guys aren't too proud of their small accomplishments because I'm certain that any potential employers won't be :\

I've got an interview lined up for next month and I'm eager to move on to a project in a true professional environment. It's been rea but it's time to take off the training wheels.