I've come to the realization that trying to code while tired is a virtual waste of time. I spent an hour debugging code a few days ago that I solved in minutes just now with a fresh perspective. Better off getting some winks and coming back later :/
About a week before the practicum project is due. I'm doubtful it will be complete (to the extent of my original proposal, that is), but I've pulled off bigger miracles in less time. I certainly plan to keep working on it even after the due date, however. It's just too much fun ;)
Friday, January 16
Wednesday, December 10
Updating....Updating....Updating....Done!
Well, this post is done :P The game is progressing quite nicely. I still don't have a name, but I do have a video now! Youtube royally butchered it, though, so I will have to make another eventually. I'll probably do one once I have more to show. If my current track record is any indication you can expect that sometime next year ;)
Tuesday, November 4
Mmmmmm....Juicy!
So I haven't posted in a long time, as usual :P But progress has been made, especially in the last week or so. A lot of what I'm doing right now is "under the hood" so to speak: it'll be very important in the end, but there isn't much to see just yet. Nonetheless I felt like posting a screenie. Obviously everything is subject to great change ;) I still don't have a name yet, as you can see by the title of the window. If anyone has any ideas by all means share them!
Saturday, September 13
The Game: A Teaser
I threw together a quick MSpaint teaser concept art for my upcoming semester project. It's only meant to be half serious. Just serious enough that you get the subject :) This Friday is the due date for the first draft of my project proposal, so expect something more substantial than MSpaint after then.
Tuesday, September 2
Google Chrome-A first impression
So I'm trying out Google Chrome, Google's new open source browser which is now in open beta (Windows only, so far). I have to say, it's only been 5 minutes, and I'm already in love. This thing is FAST. Plus it has a slick UI that really doesn't waste screen space. Only time will tell if my first impressions hold up, but I'm pretty impressed thus far.
7 Steps to Bungie Domination
1) Attend state university to avoid attracting unwanted attention. After all, while ninjas are noble creatures, they work in secret.
2) Using super sneaky ninja skills, lie low and scope out the video game industry for 4 years while learning how to kick coding ass and how to rock theguitar drums.
3) Create a monument to all your sins, aka "The Game" (the name is still being worked out).
4) Send fruit basket to Jerome the security guard.
5) While Jerome is busy chowing down on a Washington Red Delicious, sneak into a board meeting and use a classic "Bet you can't stick it" zinger to gain attention.
6) Use super flaming ninja skills to blow faces off prospective employers using "The Game" as an example of my mad super coding skills.
7) Beg until they cave. Repeat as necessary.
2) Using super sneaky ninja skills, lie low and scope out the video game industry for 4 years while learning how to kick coding ass and how to rock the
3) Create a monument to all your sins, aka "The Game" (the name is still being worked out).
4) Send fruit basket to Jerome the security guard.
5) While Jerome is busy chowing down on a Washington Red Delicious, sneak into a board meeting and use a classic "Bet you can't stick it" zinger to gain attention.
6) Use super flaming ninja skills to blow faces off prospective employers using "The Game" as an example of my mad super coding skills.
7) Beg until they cave. Repeat as necessary.
Monday, August 18
A Manifesto of My Own
Back in the summer of 2002, during a summer session at Upward Bound, I played Halo... A lot. It was the thing to do for that summer, and the summer that followed. Not just because it was cool as hell, but because it was fun as hell. I have many a fond memory of system link battles crossing the hallways of our dorm and 8 people duking it out in Blood Gulch. Sniping someone out of a tank, stealing said tank, and raining down pwnage until some bastard managed to return the favor...Ah, those were good times.
By the end of that summer, I decided I HAD to have an Xbox so I could play Halo at home. When I finally succeeded, I proceeded to break the game. Inspired by the epic Warthog Jump by Randall Glass and the amazing Frogblast explorations, I did my best to make the Halo engine kneel.
During my summer sessions at Upward Bound, I was also exposed to programming for the first time. I'm from a small town and a small school, and this was really cool and new stuff for me. It was just BASIC, but it occurred to me that's how games like Halo were made, and I knew then what I wanted to do with my life. I was 16.
Now it's one thing to have a dream, and another thing to have the skills and abilities to achieve that dream. I'm no fool; I knew then that this wasn't going to be easy. I originally wanted to go to The DigiPen Institute of Technology, a school co-founded by Nintendo of America for the purpose of educating aspiring game designers, programmers, and animators in the tools of the trade. At the time I was applying for colleges, however, they did not have a financial aid program (they do now) and the tuition and other expenses were far too expensive for me. I ended up going to UW-Oshkosh, which turned out to have a rather good Computer Science department.
In the meantime, I delved into the community, and learned more about the Bungie team: the traditions(starts at 4:40), the inside jokes (Frog blast the vent core!), and yes, the music (first commercial only). I've seen the tours of their new digs; I've been watching the job postings like a hawk; And lately I've been looking up all sorts of stuff on the area, like climate and housing costs. It may have been a dream 6 years ago, but now its fast approaching the time where I have to make a choice: Do I pursue my long held dream?
Back then, it seemed like a no-brainer. I've never been a very social person, and at the time, it never occurred to me that making such a change in my life would affect me so drastically. But things changed for me in college. I have beautiful 3-year-old niece now. I have a lot of good friends that I just don't want to lose. I have no illusions about it, I'm probably not going to see as much of my friends as I do now after graduation no matter what I end up doing, but at least they wouldn't necessarily be 1000 miles away. Yeah, I'll make new friends wherever I go. I just don't want to go alone :/
Well that's what's on my plate this year. I figure I have to make a final decision by the end of fall semester so I can start on the job/apartment hunt, whether it be local or not. For now, though, I've decided I'm going to work towards making that dream a reality. My practicum will be geared towards game programming and design, and I'm planning on my own 7 step plan to Bungie domination, as an homage to Bungie's 7 step plan for world domination(scroll down to the heading "The Plan"). I'm hoping that by creating a game plan it will keep me as focused and determined as I am now. Stay tuned, as I'm sure my usual sense of humor will be in full swing when I write that one :)
By the end of that summer, I decided I HAD to have an Xbox so I could play Halo at home. When I finally succeeded, I proceeded to break the game. Inspired by the epic Warthog Jump by Randall Glass and the amazing Frogblast explorations, I did my best to make the Halo engine kneel.
During my summer sessions at Upward Bound, I was also exposed to programming for the first time. I'm from a small town and a small school, and this was really cool and new stuff for me. It was just BASIC, but it occurred to me that's how games like Halo were made, and I knew then what I wanted to do with my life. I was 16.
Now it's one thing to have a dream, and another thing to have the skills and abilities to achieve that dream. I'm no fool; I knew then that this wasn't going to be easy. I originally wanted to go to The DigiPen Institute of Technology, a school co-founded by Nintendo of America for the purpose of educating aspiring game designers, programmers, and animators in the tools of the trade. At the time I was applying for colleges, however, they did not have a financial aid program (they do now) and the tuition and other expenses were far too expensive for me. I ended up going to UW-Oshkosh, which turned out to have a rather good Computer Science department.
In the meantime, I delved into the community, and learned more about the Bungie team: the traditions(starts at 4:40), the inside jokes (Frog blast the vent core!), and yes, the music (first commercial only). I've seen the tours of their new digs; I've been watching the job postings like a hawk; And lately I've been looking up all sorts of stuff on the area, like climate and housing costs. It may have been a dream 6 years ago, but now its fast approaching the time where I have to make a choice: Do I pursue my long held dream?
Back then, it seemed like a no-brainer. I've never been a very social person, and at the time, it never occurred to me that making such a change in my life would affect me so drastically. But things changed for me in college. I have beautiful 3-year-old niece now. I have a lot of good friends that I just don't want to lose. I have no illusions about it, I'm probably not going to see as much of my friends as I do now after graduation no matter what I end up doing, but at least they wouldn't necessarily be 1000 miles away. Yeah, I'll make new friends wherever I go. I just don't want to go alone :/
Well that's what's on my plate this year. I figure I have to make a final decision by the end of fall semester so I can start on the job/apartment hunt, whether it be local or not. For now, though, I've decided I'm going to work towards making that dream a reality. My practicum will be geared towards game programming and design, and I'm planning on my own 7 step plan to Bungie domination, as an homage to Bungie's 7 step plan for world domination(scroll down to the heading "The Plan"). I'm hoping that by creating a game plan it will keep me as focused and determined as I am now. Stay tuned, as I'm sure my usual sense of humor will be in full swing when I write that one :)
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