BT

Turba gaining steam

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 14:35:40 -0400

We have been working vigorously to get Turba onto other digital download services besides just hosting it on our website. We know that buying directly has its advantages and disadvantages so we want to give you guys some options. After fruitless efforts with services like D2D and Impulse;…

explodingdog: I don’t need sparkle gum

Tue, 15 Jun 2010 11:23:14 -0400

explodingdog:

I don’t need sparkle gum

Microsoft unveiled its smaller, sleeker Xbox 360 design,...

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 15:23:00 -0400

Microsoft unveiled its smaller, sleeker Xbox 360 design, packing a 250GB hard drive and built-in wireless-n. Microsoft’s Don Mattrick said it will be in stores by the end of the week, and will still cost $299.

Do. Want.

New Mortal Kombat is looking like it might have some hope, going...

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 10:42:38 -0400

New Mortal Kombat is looking like it might have some hope, going back to 2d kombat, and adding tag team fights.

LINK

Is important to all my fellow programmers who are currently...

Tue, 01 Jun 2010 11:49:35 -0400

Is important to all my fellow programmers who are currently jobless.

link

Resource manager sub-systems design. (Resource manager coming soon)

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 23:41:00 -0400

Resource manager sub-systems design. (Resource manager coming soon):

Resource management sub-classes that I’ve been working on for the past few weeks. Ultimately they’ll be contained in my resource manager which I’ll be working on next.

Another Turbaman...

Thu, 22 Apr 2010 18:54:00 -0400

Another Turbaman sighting!

Via: http://powet.tv/powetblog/2010/04/21/pax-east-2010-turbaman-interview/

Technology and Intellect (A Chat With Curtis)

Fri, 16 Apr 2010 10:15:52 -0400

MikeV: heh, cool thing I just thought of... (and a bit of why I always go to the "tougher side" of the street with development)
MikeV: in this culture we've become so fascinated with making better tools that we no longer care for the quality of the craftsman, surrounded by hacks posing as prophets. However, the hacks now outproduce the dedicated among us... so who should we take inspiration from? This isn't to say that those who outproduce are all hacks but in general as a society we admire those who live by shortcuts just as much as those who toil for the fruits of their labor. Finally I ask, what is more important: the ends or the means?
MikeV: or am I full of shit?
MikeV: :-\
CurtisS: no.. i would say alot of american deveelopers would be considered hacks.. but the sad thing is that alot of them are forced to produce.. hacked things cause no time to preplan.. and no time to test.. and well.. shit gets thrown together as ur using it.
CurtisS: as far as what matters most.. that i cant ans for u
CurtisS: for me i would say it depends on what ur working towards
MikeV: yeah, in the end the paradox of the human intellect is that it comes to realize value in things beyond the realm of nature but it is only the realm of nature that truly matters. Love (as an intellectual construct) is less important than the breeze and sex (a natural construct) is the core of our existence
MikeV: our intellect is a feedback loop with little purpose other than to keep running until we are gone
CurtisS: sadly most wont admit it
MikeV: nature can only stare at us like a crowd surrounding a street performer
MikeV: I got to put this stuff down
MikeV: masturbate someone else's waste of time
MikeV: :-P
MikeV: "if there's one thing that I'll miss about Mike it's that he made wasting time so interesting"
MikeV: /facepalm
CurtisS: lol who said that one?
MikeV: i did... imagining what I'm leaving in my wake
CurtisS: how would one actually think u ever waisted time
MikeV: If the only point is to be like nature and dominate then we have little purpose for technology because it only ups the ante until we all lose everything so in the long run technology is a bad investment over time
CurtisS: ha
CurtisS: unless it puts us in the matrix
MikeV: but if we are to be like the imaginary ideal of our intellects and be "good" then technology is crucial because it is the only asset that can bring us to a better tomorrow; the only requirement is that people remain good
MikeV: man... maybe I should see if there's any money in philosophy
MikeV: would you mind if I put this in my blog?
CurtisS: mind what
CurtisS: no not at all
MikeV: technology is a scalar modifier on ones intent. if someone wanted to use a hammer for good or bad then there's a limit to the scope of whatever is in their reach. if someone could use a wish to make anything they desired possible then all existence would be at their whim for better or for worse
CurtisS: i get ya
CurtisS: but if u could wish
CurtisS: that tool is only limited to ur imagineation
CurtisS: wich is not everything
MikeV: and yet again, there is our intellect and technology as bedfellows expanding on each other
MikeV: our intellect expand our imaginations that lead us to aspire to uncover new technology which expands our capabilities which facilitates (repeat this sentence for the core of why we have evolved beyond all other animals in the jungle)
MikeV: I have to work on the grammar but that's it basically
CurtisS: therefor technology is important caue it will oneday lead us to a point where we dont just consume and destroy... well as a frame of mind..
MikeV: yep... so technology is either the facilitator of our destruction in the hands of civilized people acting like animals or the provider of hope to animals trying to act like civilized people
MikeV: to think that for all other animals it is really just a matter of chance
MikeV: animals = food + sex + shelter
MikeV: humanity = (food + sex + shelter) * (technology + intellect)
MikeV: which is funny because
MikeV: technology = knowledge * creativity
MikeV: creativity = knowledge * technology
MikeV: knowledge = creativity * technology
MikeV: well, not too sure about that last part (after "which is funny...") but the first part is solid I think
CurtisS: lol
CurtisS: i get ur drift
CurtisS: knowledge = pancake
MikeV: cake = lie
CurtisS: lol
MikeV: you = gay
MikeV: ;-)
MikeV: X-D
CurtisS: lol
MikeV: well, I'm gonna stop wasting your time but I'm gonna save this... it's good stuff

The Evil Apple Empire

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 09:36:22 -0400

The Evil Apple Empire

The trouble with Linux: it's just not sexy

Tue, 13 Apr 2010 11:12:14 -0400

The trouble with Linux: it's just not sexy

Everyone Should read this

Mon, 12 Apr 2010 11:21:55 -0400

Everyone Should read this

3D Gaming (As in screens, not graphics)

Thu, 08 Apr 2010 12:55:16 -0400

So it seems that we’re finally getting caught up with the HD craze. Gone are the days where high resolution games were pigeon-holed to the PC market and its only getting better. The next step? Making the images actually pop out at you!

At PAX East a few weeks back I got to see some amazing displays and demonstrations from NVidia and ATI and both technologies have their pros and cons.

NVidia goes the route of providing 3D imaging via expensive glasses which work with your already existing display (as long as your TV works at 120+Hz). ATI seems to be working on the already existing cheap glasses you get when you go to the movie theater but expect you to get a television that can display these special images. NVidia seemed to have a better quality experience but overall they had a better setup at PAX to begin with. To say that the quality was better on one over the other at the moment is simply splitting hairs (especially considering that both technologies are still in their infancy).

Either way, it is definitely the way to go for us gamers. Left 4 Dead 2 was not only better to play (as the enemies turned from a glob of zombies to fire at to individual assailants) but certainly easier. The sense of speed in racing games was definitely brought to a new level to the point where I actually feel like I would want to play that genre more often. A subtle observation though, making grass and other subtle world effects (such as trees,bushes or even pedestrians, etc) have a much more severe impact when these items are brought to life by 3D.

Here’s the bad part though…

Firstly, you’ll have to wear those goofy ass glasses. Secondly, I don’t want to buy another freakin’ television and I don’t think most consumers are ready to start trading in their fresh LCD’s yet either. Then again, I don’t think this technology will hit the gaming mainstream (consoles essentially) for at least another 3 years anyway…

Oh, and just so I can say that I said it first, if we can make those cheap glasses that you get at the movies in a contact form that doesn’t mess with your regular vision then there’s a CHANCE that ATI can bring it’s technology over NVidia’s more cumbersome super-glasses setup.

Fun with technology

Wed, 07 Apr 2010 16:52:12 -0400

There comes a time in everyone’s life where they have to turn on themselves and ask, “why am I doing this?” where “this” could be anything that’s been occupying their time.

At this point I’m asking myself, “why am I trying so hard to make software?”

The answer to that isn’t obvious all the time and it’s different for everyone. I wish I could say that the answer is, “because when I write code it’s like I’m travelling through a virtual world of possibilities and every action I take leads me to a revelation of understanding and/or happiness” but I would be lying to you. The only answer I can come up with for now is, “because people don’t make things that I want and I’m greedy to the point that I start to get angry that most software companies just float along making shitty stuff or great stuff with a nasty black mark down the middle.”

In the end the only real pleasure I get out of this field is that I love technology. I’m an enthusiast who happens to have great patter recognition skills and an above average memory to boot. The fact that my “creative” subroutine is always running doesn’t hurt either.

Thank goodness I have fun with technology. You can’t tell me that this stuff doesn’t get cooler with every year. I don’t care where your allegiance lies (Microsoft, Linux, Apple) or why you use it or even how much you really like the stuff; you have to agree that this stuff is getting more incredible with every passing day and for those of us who take pleasure in playing with it we are always being entertained.

Writing code for me is like jerking off for the “one too many times that day”: at some points you don’t even know why you’re doing it but you know that in the end it will pay off because it has in the past and what else do you have to do anyway? So there you are, frustrated, occasionally distracted to the point where you’re just standing there like a statue, tired but determined to finish what you started. Sometimes you just step away from your computer in disgust wondering what in the world is happening to you but it doesn’t matter, you know you’ll be back in the end. Wait a sec… am I still talking about jerking off? :-P

Self-Employment (Unemployment): Pros and Cons

Tue, 06 Apr 2010 15:32:12 -0400

Today I want to comment on the pros and cons to working on your own (self-employment).

The best part about being self-employed is that you’re in charge of everything. No boss to blame, no investors to botch up your vision… just you and your opinion of how to run your life.

The bad part about being self-employed however (and this is primarily for one person shops such as my own) is that you are every resource you have for the most part. Need to get a website up? Unless you have the capital guess who’s going to learn HTML/CSS/Javascript among other things? The other negative side is that since you’re self-employed and solo you’ll have little chance to turn to any co-workers for assistance or maybe just to vent or get input. The worst part however is time management. If you’re lucky enough to be located far away from all friends and family then you’ll have little choice but to focus on your project (though I would have to ask how in the world you’re funding yourself) and if you’re not then chances are that someone is helping to take care of you and therefore knows you’re “free” and the unless they’re uncommonly generous enough to understand where you’re coming from they will try to employ you in some mundane task that they could use a hand with. Good luck hoping they’ll remember that you are actually looking down the barrel of the biggest and possibly the most important undertaking of your life! Don’t even get me started with medical insurance to which I’ve taken an analogy of medical care being like the best ice cream ever and insurance the necessary spoon to taste it with. Then I think of the Matrix and say, “There is no spoon.”

And now for working under an employer.

The best part about working for someone is that you’re getting paid and there’s a good chance you have insurance. You also have little issues explaining to people why you can’t help them. If fact you can even miss parties and affairs with no heads up and then be immediately excused by most with the magic words, “Work called me in last minute” or something of that nature.

Here’s the rub though. If you had any vision of doing something your way then just forget it. If you’re at the bottom you can just learn to be happy knowing that your part was at least handled by you but forget about any notion of creative control. Maybe they might take a suggestion but that’s not exactly free reign. Even if you’re the main producer of the game, it doesn’t mean you don’t take orders from a publisher or some other investor of some time. Also, you’ll have to come to grips that not only are you possibly going to have to deal with the fact that you’re possibly underpaid but you will also have to learn to take the occasional figurative “take it in the ass” which is basically when management decides to put their hand up your ass and control you like a puppet because they know you would be damned before you decided to happily do the task yourself. Things like this include making decisions on how to treat your employees or taking your perfect plan and replacing it with a pile of blood and urine topped with a spoon (you cringe to ask what the spoon is for in favor of a Matrix, “there is no spoon” approach to the question).

So there it is, both sides have their ups and downs and if you want to be happy just remember: “There is no spoon”.

iPad... because the n00bs want it to win

Mon, 05 Apr 2010 18:19:45 -0400

I sat around asking myself, “Why are all these media outlets trying to push the iPad as if it’s the greatest device ever?” and I discovered it. It’s because to anyone who isn’t already locked into the technology Apple provides a nice pretty/ slick interface. It’s computers for n00bs who need a pretty device to keep them coming back to use it. I’ve worked on all sorts of platforms and there ISN’T ONE THAT IS PERFECT! Linux (which I

Looking back - PAX East 2010 - Red Dead Redemption

Fri, 02 Apr 2010 21:57:30 -0400

The last game of the three that I was really impressed with at PAX East 2010 is Red Dead Redemption by Rockstar Games. In a nutshell, try to imagine GTA IV set in a collage of old westerns.

Here’s the major differences (other than the obvious lack of oceans and modern day equipment like cars and missile launchers, etc.) that I noticed.

Firstly, the wanted system finally makes sense. The wanted level system never really worked in any stretch of a realistic fashion in the GTA series but in this game it runs on a numeric bounty system. Basically, if you do something “bad” and folks see you your bounty will go up. Your bounty is basically a “trouble magnet”. If you’re worth something in a particular part of town then the folks in town will come after you with a passion. The main way to get your bounty dropped is to pay it. Of course you can also avoid the village/pueblo where you’re no longer wanted (or heavily wanted depending on how you look at it) but sooner or later you’ll have to pay the piper.

The next big difference is the lack of boundaries. As far as I can tell you can travel as far out as you would like to but eventually you’ll be hunted town by native tribes who WILL eventually overwhelm you. World size aside, I got to admit that the best part is how naturally the world unfolds before you. It hasn’t been since Ico that I felt so bad that I’ve never ridden a horse before.

There’s also a neat addition to the combat… well, two really but in different ways. The first combat addition is that as you make more kills you earn “dead eye” mode ability which allows you to mark targets in a bullet-time fashion at which point you’ll rapid fire your shots in the blink of an eye. I found this feature most useful when firing at enemies from my horse. It reminds me a good deal of the new system added to Splinter Cell Conviction. The second addition really comes after combat; you can choose to either kill your enemies or hog tie them to bring them to justice which influences a karma system. As far as I was told, the karma system only influences how people interact with you similar to the system in the Fable franchise.

Overall I’m very excited for Red Dead Redemption and will definitely be buying it when I have the chance. Personally, I think they could have called it GTA IV - Old West but you can’t really have Grand Theft AUTO without the automobiles and GTH (Grand Theft Horse) is just silly.

Looking back - PAX East 2010 - Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 16:38:11 -0400

One of the great returns to form that I’ve seen in a long time has been the Prince of Persia display at the Ubisoft Pavilion during PAX East 2010.

The Prince of Persia took the elegant gameplay mechanics found in Ico (PS2) and mixed in time mechanics as well as action into one of the best games of the decade. With each sequel it seemed to lose it’s form however. An improvement here, a fall back there… over time the series seemed to loose its core gameplay. By the time we got to the last installment we had essentially reset the series and created what was a very pretty quicktime event.

The Forgotten Sands felt incredible to play. All the original gameplay felt familiar with the “Sands of Time” while looking just as graphically stunning as the previous quicktime debacle. While we’ve lost the open world feel (which didn’t really work for the series, in my opinion) we’ve regained the lost comrade from seven years ago.

While I didn’t get to tinker with the combat as much as I would have liked it certainly didn’t seem too clunky. In my opinion the combat aspects of PoP should never had been the focus of too much attention to begin with.

If you liked the Sands of Time series then don’t expect too many surprises with the exception of this one: the game is just as good as you were hoping.

Talking it up with the one and only Dusty

Wed, 31 Mar 2010 18:38:04 -0400

Talking it up with the one and only Dusty

Looking back - PAX East 2010 - Splinter Cell Conviction

Wed, 31 Mar 2010 11:22:46 -0400

One of my favorite game franchises of all time is the Splinter Cell series. My attraction to the stealth action games started with my first tastes of Metal Gear Solid. When I found out that my favorite console at the time was also getting stealth action and that it was going to give a more mature (less anime madness) story and real lighting mechanics I was hooked.

Each game has been an improvement (at the least on the technical level) on the previous and my impressions from playing the demo on XBL as well as the coop demos and demonstrations I saw at the PAX East convention this passed weekend only affirm my enthusiasm for the next game in the series.

One major complaint that I would get from folks who dislike the series is that the game is “too hard” primarily because of the realistic nature of the gameplay ever-present in Tom Clancy games. I get a feeling that a few tweaks in the game mechanics will resolve the issue of “too hard”.

Funny thing is that the main mechanic that will help folks the most doesn’t have to do with offensive techniques but the stealth aspects of the game. In the previous games stealth was handled simply by maneuvering your avatar into the right place. Not tedious to the indoctrinated but certainly frustrating to the FPS fanboys. This new mechanic is that you can simply look at an area that can be seem as cover and hit the action button to have your avatar simply move there. No more tedious positioning, just point and click.

Also, there is a new way that enemies respond to spotting you using a technique called “last known position” which means that enemies will chase after you up until the last position where they found you (for the most part). In previous games being spotted turned your enemies from floating hazards in the level design into AI driven attack dogs. That meant being spotted made the gameplay switch to safe but hectic evasion or nearly suicidal if not skilled attack mode. With LKP you can turn being spotted into a strategic maneuver to your advantage which also means that being spotted doesn’t flip gameplay on its head (from stealth infiltrate to frantic evasion).

The other feature that I really like is the ability to select and precision kill enemies from cover. Basically, if you can kill someone with a physical attack you will be rewarded with this ability. Once you’ve been given these shots you’ll be able to select two enemies and afterwards just sit back and watch the show. This is also an ability that can allow for using items in the environment as weapons (such as shooting down a chandelier over your enemies).

Of course, this game looks great but that’s expected at this point from a studio of Ubisoft’s caliber. Either way, I already reserved my copy!

Looking back - PAX East 2010 - The Benefits

Tue, 30 Mar 2010 19:03:30 -0400

PAX East was an excellent experience for multiple reasons.

As a fan of games in general the benefits are obvious: previews of games, a chance to geek out to your idols, new technology demos, booth babes, etc.

As a game developer the benefits are a bit more involved.

The first benefit of attending the show as a presenter is the chance to show your wares to your audience while you are yourself present. While QA and game reviews can help you understand how to make your product better along with some (hopefully) constructive criticism. However, having your target audience play your game in front of you while telling you candidly what they think is a rare opportunity to get the most authentic insight into the fruits of your labor.

Another benefit is that you get the opportunity to mingle among your own (game designers and developers). Not only do you get to meet with your contemporaries but you also get to meet folks from other regions and workplaces where their ideas, work habits, insights and such may be radically different than your own. New methods and technologies you and/or your team may have not known about will reveal themselves to you and the chance to share your own insights will be possible as well.

The next best thing is the chance to network. While I suggest that you keep your “can you get me a job” face tucked away, I also suggest you keep your business cards ready and be more than happy to share your accomplishments (though be smart enough to package them in a good story as to not seem like some pompous ass). Now when I say networking I mean to say that you should keep your ears to the ground with regards to job openings and letting others know you’re a potential resource to them. Do it.

Finally, I find that there is no better way to know where the industry is going than to talk to the folks around to get a general idea of what gets people excited. As an example, I took note of the fact that when folks interested in my friend’s game (Turba) asked if the game will be ported to other systems I would always say, “Turba’s design lends itself to the tablet platform and touch screen interfaces in general. We’re hoping to eventually port this game to both the iPad/iPod/iPhone as well as the Android phones and tablets as well.” Most folks were very excited to hear about Android and many would take that as their cue to rave about their Android phones (as well as a few that explained that they gladly abandoned their iPhone for a Droid or something similar.) This tells me that while maybe not as big as Apple’s line of products, Android phones and tablets are certainly in the minds of gamers. Maybe their competition is not as omnipresent in the media nor are they toting giant stock prices but their strength certainly seems to be in number and diversity (something Apple seems to sorely lack).

And that’s about it, for now.