Archive for June, 2009

29 June, 2009 | No comments

Jay Is Games: Mobile Monday

[Platform: Mobile (iPhone, iPod Touch)]

a href=http://jayisgames.com/archives/2009/06/mobile_monday_24.phpimg alt=Mobile Monday src=http://jayisgames.com/images/icon_mobilemonday.gif align=left width=50 height=50 //a
A big bunch o’ arcade games have been assembled for this week’s Mobile Monday. It was actually really easy to gather them, too. All I had to do was put out a bit of arcade bait and they came a-runnin’…

26 June, 2009 | No comments

Game Producer: How Much Have You Paid For a Game?

pLet#8217;s see if figures match#8230; what#8217;s the biggest amount of money you#8217;ve ever paid for a game? (Either by monthly subscription or lump sum or something)./p
Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.
pI know this isn#8217;t exactly scientific thing, but pretty interesting anyway./p
bIf you liked this entry, feel free to a href=http://www.gameproducer.netvisit GameProducer.net/a to read more similar articles./b

24 June, 2009 | No comments

Game Producer: SoPCON I - Meet Fellow Indie Developers (Event Takes Place In Gothenburg, Sweden, 11-12 July 2009)

pToday I was informed about a href=http://www.spellofplay.com/news/sopcon-1.htmlThe First SoPCON/a (for indie developers). It takes place in Sweden so especially Nordic people (hey, that includes me too) should take a look at it./p
pThis is taken directly from their website:/p
blockquotepAs every game developer with self respect has their own conference we#8217;re happy to announce SoPCON 1!/p
pimg src=http://www.gameproducer.net/images/sopcon.png //p
pSpell of Play Studios has been active as an indie game studio since 2004 and using our own digital distribution platform hUb and our unique view on game development we have slowly but surely built a vibrant community of gamers and developers./p
pWe now want more developers and partners to join us to increase the breadth and quality of the games released on hUb./p
pbSoPCON 1 is the place to meet us and other developers for some gaming, jamming and ranting./b/p
pbWhen and Where/b/p
pGothenburg, Sweden, 11-12 July 2009./p
pbHow/b/p
pA limited number of invitations have been sent out to a select few developers. If you have not got one you are free to contact us at; sopcon1@spellofplay.com, and tell us who you are.br /
Cost/p
pNo, though you have to arrange your own meals and accommodation./p
pbMore Info/b/p
pContact us at sopcon1@spellofplay.com or make a post in the SoPCON forum/p
pbSponsors/b/p
pWould you like your company exposed on SoPCON? Feel free to contact us for any marketing and/or sponsorship opportunities./p/blockquote
pI#8217;ll skip the event (gonna be out-of-town, out-of-computer, out-of-whatnot that time), but in case you got interested, check it out. Here#8217;s the link again: a href=http://www.spellofplay.com/news/sopcon-1.htmlSpell of Play/a/p
bIf you liked this entry, feel free to a href=http://www.gameproducer.netvisit GameProducer.net/a to read more similar articles./b

22 June, 2009 | No comments

Jay Is Games: Mobile Monday

[Platform: Mobile (iPhone, iPod Touch)]

a href=http://jayisgames.com/archives/2009/06/mobile_monday_23.phpimg alt=Mobile Monday src=http://jayisgames.com/images/icon_mobilemonday.gif align=left width=50 height=50 //a
An iPod full of diverse games on this week’s Mobile Monday. My personal favorite happens to be TonePad. Mostly because I like messing around with sound without, you know, actually accomplishing anything or learning real musical skills.

19 June, 2009 | No comments

Jay Is Games: Link Dump Friday

a href=http://jayisgames.com/archives/2009/06/link_dump_friday_118.phpimg alt=Link Dump Friday src=http://jayisgames.com/images/icon_linkdump.gif align=left width=50 height=50 //a
Catapults, coins, carts, and a bus game that doesn’t have anything that begins with the letter c! You might say these things have nothing in common. I say, there’s no time for your sass! Link Dump Friday is happening right now!

17 June, 2009 | No comments

Jay Is Games: Mystery House in Japan

[Platform: Flash]

a href=http://jayisgames.com/archives/2009/06/mystery_house_in_japan.phpimg alt=Mystery House in Japan src=http://jayisgames.com/images/icon_mysteryhousejapan.gif align=left width=50 height=50 //a
While not the magnum opus of the escape game genre, Mystery House in Japan is fun, quick, and indisputably well-designed, perfect for a brief break in your day. While Bianco Bianco may not be the most stunningly original designer out there, it can always be counted upon to provide a solidly constructed and entertaining experience.

15 June, 2009 | No comments

Jay Is Games: Mobile Monday

[Platform: Mobile (iPhone, iPod Touch)]

a href=http://jayisgames.com/archives/2009/06/mobile_monday_22.phpimg alt=Mobile Monday src=http://jayisgames.com/images/icon_mobilemonday.gif align=left width=50 height=50 //a
While I’m a big fan of retro games, developers have yet to convince me that a touch screen is an adequate replacement for a physical controller. With a touch screen you get no tactile feedback, and I feel that ruins many iPhone games. This week we have several titles whose controls are better without d-pads and buttons. And believe me, that’s a tough fact for me to admit!

12 June, 2009 | No comments

Game Producer: Rant ^ 3 (Debug vs Release)

pI#8217;ve encountered a very strange problem (and the roots actually lie in the decision to continue with the upgraded physics system with Leadwerks - and possibly with the upgraded BlitzMax version). I explain this in as non-techy way as I can - and I go in the very, very beginner basics./p
pFirst the basics: when one creates games, they compile the code which is like #8220;from human to computers translation#8221;. The .exe files are understood by the computers, and the code files are understood by human. Now, in order for humans to find bugs and errors a #8220;debug mode#8221; was invented, so that humans can see what#8217;s going on in the game while playing it. This error mode means slower performance (for example, a game might run at 50% speed), but it makes it easier to locate bugs and correct them./p
pAfter errors have been fixed (most of them anyway#8230;), the game can be compiled in #8220;release#8221; mode. /p
pRelease mode is the one that you customers use, the debug mode is for developers only. /p
pbNow my #8220;small problem#8221;/bbr /
About a week ago, I spotted a problem: my irelease mode/i wouldn#8217;t work right. The collisions were #8220;broken#8221; and acted really weird. I hadn#8217;t spotted this earlier, since I hadn#8217;t compiled release mode for some time. Since I never had any problems with debug versus release modes, I simply hadn#8217;t felt need to do that (game runs fast in debug mode in my computer, so it wasn#8217;t necessary - I was concentrating on other issues)./p
pSo basically:br /
- Debug (slow) mode worksbr /
- Release (fast) mode is broken./p
pI have zero errors. Zero warnings. All imy code/i is 100% the same for both debug and release modes./p
pI#8217;ve upgraded to the latest Leadwerks (LE2.24) and I#8217;m using BlitzMax (1.33 RC5). In earlier versions (LE2.18 for example) there wasn#8217;t this problem, but I had to upgrade to the latest version to ensure compatibility (that#8217;s another long story which was discussed some time ago here on my blog). /p
pAnyway./p
pIt#8217;s pretty hard thing to tackle. I#8217;ve never faced anything like this, and the bad thing is that ithere is no errors/i. Nothing about uninitialized variables. The only error is that the collisions between the player controller versus everything else acts weird. Other collisions (like boxes against ground or boxes to boxes) all work perfectly in both modes./p
pI#8217;ve used the past week to locate this error and trying to isolate what the problem really is, but so far no luck. /p
pThis actually didn#8217;t turn into Rant ^ 3, but I can now say that this is quite horrible problem that comes in horrible time (this has now turned into the biggest task left to be able to release the game. I have some other tasks on my list, and was hoping to release the thing already - but now my energy goes into solving this nice little thing). /p
pI know that this will be solved, one way or another - but it can be#8230; islightly annoying/i not to be able to release your game since the release version compiles differently from debug version. (I know that of course the problem can lie in my code - and I#8217;d hope it would be there - but still it#8217;s really strange that same (collision) code is treated differently depending on the compile mode)/p
pOh well, I#8217;ll just take a deep breath and continue#8230;/p
bIf you liked this entry, feel free to a href=http://www.gameproducer.netvisit GameProducer.net/a to read more similar articles./b

10 June, 2009 | No comments

Jay Is Games: Room Escape SIX

[Platform: Flash]

a href=http://jayisgames.com/archives/2009/06/room_escape_6.phpimg alt=Room Escape SIX src=http://jayisgames.com/images/icon_roomescape6.gif align=left width=50 height=50 //a
A lighter. Some flour. A stick, a rock, a knife and a towel. How, using only these handful of items, can you escape a room? Six different ways, apparently, at least in Room Escape SIX, a new a href=http://jayisgames.com/tag/escapeescape-the-room/a game from Japanese designer Kotaro. You are the latest challenger to enter a strange, hexagon-shaped building that exists solely to be escaped from; how you do so depends upon the way in which you use the room’s odd furnishings.

8 June, 2009 | No comments

Jay Is Games: Mobile Monday

[Platform: Mobile (iPhone, iPod Touch)]

a href=http://jayisgames.com/archives/2009/06/mobile_monday_21.phpimg alt=Mobile Monday src=http://jayisgames.com/images/icon_mobilemonday.gif align=left width=50 height=50 //a
Big game developers continue to flock to the iTunes App Store to offer portable versions of some of their best-known games. Electronic Arts is no stranger to any gaming platform, and some very recognizable titles can now have a home on your system. The prices aren’t always as friendly as they could be, but sometimes it’s worth a little extra cash to get the glitz and glamor a large studio can provide.

« Next entries