February 2011
1 post
October 2010
3 posts
You saved 5 cents, and your code is not readable,...
I found myself reading this post, and at some point, I really wanted to cry:
We had relatively long, descriptive names in MySQL such as timeAdded or valueCached. For a small number of rows, this extra storage only amounts to a few bytes per row, but when you have 10 million rows, each with maybe 100 bytes of field names, then you quickly eat up disk space unnecessarily. 100 * 10,000,000 =...
June 2010
5 posts
2 tags
Turba gaining steam →
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;…
April 2010
12 posts
7 tags
Resource manager sub-systems design. (Resource... →
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.
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Technology and Intellect (A Chat With Curtis)
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 →
The trouble with Linux: it's just not sexy →
Everyone Should read this →
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3D Gaming (As in screens, not graphics)
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.
...
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Fun with technology
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. ...
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Self-Employment (Unemployment): Pros and Cons
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)...
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iPad... because the n00bs want it to win
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...
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Looking back - PAX East 2010 - Red Dead Redemption
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. ...
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Looking back - PAX East 2010 - Prince of Persia:...
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...
March 2010
23 posts
5 tags
Looking back - PAX East 2010 - Splinter Cell...
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...
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Looking back - PAX East 2010 - The Benefits
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...
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Looking back - PAX East 2010 - Being Prepared
So this weekend the folks of Binary Takeover came together in Boston to help out one of our founding members, Keith Morgado, with his game Turba which had won the Penny Arcade Eastern Region competition earning him a slot in the Boston Indie Showcase @ PAX.
The weekend was a great experience though certainly not without its share of hurdles to get passed. That’s what this particular entry...
PAX
Well PAX was an adventure and this week I will be uploading videos of the event, but first time for some well deserved rest. Thanks Mike, Dusty, AJ, and most of all Keith, I think they all did a great job this weekend even with all the set backs we had.
Android Initiative - Goals for tomorrow
Now that I have a general design for what I intend to build tomorrow will be focused on implementation. After the base ground work is completed I will flesh out an actual (brief) design document and UML diagram.
If the app is cool enough as is I will then immediately apply to put my project up to the Android marketplace….
UDK
So in my spare time I have been learning as much as I can about the Unreal Development Kit, which is free to use if you follow the agreement. So now you may ask why have I been doing this, well you see the beauty of this development kit is it gives you a fully working game engine that you create a game with. This allows you more time to focus on making a game fun, and allows you the ability to...
9 Upcoming Tablet Alternatives to the Apple iPad →
And the best part is that 8 of the 9 alternatives run Android! :-D
11 tags
Null Engine - My hopes for the Android
The Open Source community benefits greatly from free tools. That being said, I would hope that we can eventually have a game maker engine similar to the Unreal Engine for the Android platform. When I say similar I mean in functionality/intent but not necessarily a 3D game platform. Eventually, I would like to see 3D full implemented but the cost of battery life, longer asset turn-around and...
On Tutorials and Open Source
Open Source is the key to creativity in the market. Corporations are completely incapable of being innovative although they are marvels when you consider their ability to see a potential investment as well as their ability to saturate a market with their wares through distribution and marketing.
Open Source is primarily driven by hackers, intellectuals, idealists and developers. Usually these...
3 tags
Simple but Fun little games →
Palosebo Plus - http://uslslibrarysimulation.googlecode.com/files/palosebo.exe.rar
Poring Hunt - http://uslslibrarysimulation.googlecode.com/files/Poring%20Hunter.rar
Classic Pong - http://uslslibrarysimulation.googlecode.com/files/ClassicPong.zip
A number of useful programming articles
Smart Pointers - http://codesushi.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!4483403BEB19180F!291.entry
Hashed String - http://codesushi.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!4483403BEB19180F!290.entry
A simple Event Manager - http://codesushi.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!4483403BEB19180F!289.entry
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Turba Release Date!
Maybe we need to reintroduce ourselves but Turba is being made by two graduates of Fullsail University. Some of the things we wanted to do with Turba was a little ambitious for the platform but we can now say that we are going to polish what we have and set an actual release date.
We are happy to announce that Turba has been selected to appear at the Boston Indie Showcase
We feel this is a...
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Darksiders(aka Legend of Zelda)
So today I want to talk about games that copy other games and why this is not a terrible thing if done right. As you can see from the title Darksiders is game that shares most of its gameplay with the famous Legend of Zelda franchise. Now there are two sides to this argument, one side is that people feel that they are ripping off other games and the other side is they are playing homage to their...
Creating your own Virtual File System
This is a six-part article on developing a Virtual File System.
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6
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First Time
Well this is my first blog post here, so I’ve decided to talk about what I do and the potential it could have in game development in the future. I work for a small software company primarily focusing in transportation security via the use of image processing. Image processing is the process of taking images from a camera and analyzing them with a computer. We do most of our image processing...
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February 2010
8 posts
2 tags
The development of Lost Marbles: Part 2
Hey guys. Hopefully you found the first part to be interesting. Today we will finish up by looking at the alpha, beta and final versions of the game. All in all I believe these last three milestones lasted nearly two months.
Alpha:
By now what we have is really starting to look like a game. As with any alpha of any game, there are still bugs that need to be worked out. The biggest one we...
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The development of Lost Marbles: Part 1
For anyone who may not know, Lost Marbles is a game we all made together as our final project for school back in 2008. It was only the second game any of us had ever made, and we had five months to make it. You can download and play it via the Games section on the site.
A few weeks back I was bored and was Googling random stuff when I came across a blog post written by our friend and fellow Lost...
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Alternate Reality Games and Mobile Phones
One of the untapped markets of gaming at the moment is Alternate Reality Gaming. For those who are not familiar with ARG’s (as they are also known) they are basically games that exist along side your day-to-day “reality”. Perhaps a walk-through of how an ARG works would be better to help people understand the concept….
Imagine that you are playing a mystery/detective...
3 tags
My favorite games like, ever: A Top 10 List
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After writing this and seeing how long it became, I figured I should do this at the beginning:
TL;DR: Scroll through and look at the bold text and pretty pictures :P
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For my first post, I wanted to do something somewhat simple that would tell a little about me. Since anyone reading this obviously enjoys games, I think telling you some of my favorites could tell you a lot. I should probably...