It is beyond anything you have ever experienced or imagined
Game Development
Boomtime Development Log – Episode 1
Sep 2nd
me: yo
pappashaft: hey
me: did you get that console thing going?
pappashaft: naw I just got home from basketball
I don't think I'll have time tonight
I have to make dinner and then watch from g's to gents
me: what the hell are you talking about?
pappashaft: haha
what the hell are YOU talking about?
me: touche
Sent at 8:57 PM on Tuesday
pappashaft: we shoudl discuss goals and timelines and features at some point
Sent at 8:58 PM on Tuesday
me: yes
do you read my blog?
pappashaft: perhaps tomorrow, I should have more time then
you have a blog?
Hey Raccoon! Stop stealing my fruit!
Aug 27th
Dungeon Farmer has been moving along. It now supports two (2!) kinds of plants, so basically any number. That’s the thing about programming, you can either do something once, or any number of times. In addition to the new plant, there have been highlighting improvements, raccoon metabolism balance changes, basically the whole eight yards.
Now comes the time where I contemplate turning Dungeon Farmer into a product. Ugh… Listen to that, product. The only thing that I’m actively turning into product is that burrito I ate for lunch. I guess that’s the dream of the amateur, to create something idealistic, yet appealing; enough so that your user(s) can support you enough to buy a burrito.
So this is a call to action to my reader. Find my user and get his or her input. What can I do to make Dungeon Farmer appealing enough to encourage you to purchase me a burrito? Or a pizza, pizza is good too.
Ruby Weekend #2 – Dungeon Farmer
Aug 2nd
I recently participated in the RubyGame forums Ruby Weekend #2 game programming competition. I feel it turned out pretty well, but judge for yourself. I was pretty rushed during the weekend with other commitments so I didn’t keep a dev blog… next time. Also this blog was fallow until recently. This competition has spurred me to getting my web shizzy together.
For the Love of God
May 17th
It’s finally here, the literary immurement simulation that we’ve all been waiting for! The Cask of Amontillado. Can you escape the horror of the catacombs of the Montressor’s?
McGriff Sez, Real User Testimonial
Jan 29th
Have you ever had the perfect message, but then not had the perfect dog to bark it? Well now you have the dog at least. Hear what real users are saying about McGriff Sez!
DW: yo did you get my barkblast? cobrien: ya I didnt know what that was so I ignored it
DW: did you get my barkblast?
l77: huh? what’s that?
DW: it’s a message on Facebook
a dog barks it
l77: oohh
i’ll check
i haven’t check facebook in a while
DWdid you get my barkblast?
kbw: what?
DW: on Facebook
kbw: i don’t know what that is
DW: you should check it out
so did you get it? kbw has left the chat
It all started in early 1995 when an episode of a famous TV show was on TV. The dream was an Internet in every PC and a barking dog messenger service in every Internet. The rest, as they say, is a long story…
Air Pressure Simulation
Nov 28th
Here’s some images of the beginning stages of an atmospheric physics program. It uses the ideal gas law to determine the flow of molecules from high pressure areas to low pressure areas. It still needs tweaking to get a less turbulent dispersion; currently the pressure swings are around 5 kPa which is quite a lot compared to how real air mixes on a calm day.
This begins with randomly assigned temperatures from 0 – 3000 ºK for each cell, then lets the pressure naturally disperse them. Each cell begins with the same amount of molecules (134 moles) and occupies 3 cubic meters.
Here is another selection, with starting temperatures from 0-550 ºK.
The eventual goal of this physics engine is to get a more realistic physical model for games similar to Dwarf Fortress. It will expand to cover liquids, combustion, state changes in matter, etc. The model is based on cellular automata so each cell only needs to check its neighbors.
It’s Astrotastic
Nov 26th
Over the Thanksgiving holiday I was able to begin play-testing my latest project. The game is a quick little space adventure where the players explore their damaged spacecraft and collect items before escaping. The rooms are on cards, similar to Zombies; there are a few fixed rooms to begin with, with the rest being dealt out as the players explore. Players pick up bonus items to score points as well as power-ups to make exploration easier. Once the first player exits the craft the others have a limited time to escape as well.
The play-tests showed that the game is quick and fun, but that the card and room distribution could be optimized. Also, allowing trading might be a good way to make the game more interactive without adding too much complexity.
The next step is going from the pencil-on-notecards prototype to getting actual art and shippable materials. With luck it may be available before Christmas.
