Archive for June, 2007
June 27, 2007 at 11:31 pm· Filed under Play, Tech News, Opinion
Well - Remix has finished up and I’ve had 24 hours to reflect on the experience and contemplate the conference’s main theme: the relationship that binds designers and developers in the new media space.
The final session was a panel discussion that presented the opinions of four noteworthy and experienced professionals that represented either side of the fence. Titled “Designers are from Venus, Developers are from Mars”, the banter was primarily intended as a lighthearted experience that would hopefully unite the audience and send us off with the impression that Microsoft understands us and the next generation of UX - whether that involve their software or not.
Clearly the audience was saturated with developers - one would expect little else at such a conference - and as a result, the occasional cheap shot was aimed at the graphically endowed and was usually rewarded with laughs and applause. Now, I know that most of the comments were intended to keep the tone of the forum light and enjoyable, but I couldn’t help but feel that it provided an invaluable insight into the mindset of each party, their perceived plights and what the future may hold for all of us.
Friends from my university days would recall that I don’t have any problem asking questions at the end of a presentation - quite the contrary, actually! As I didn’t get a chance to field my thoughts during the final discussion, here they are… largely in defense of the absent designers.
Read the rest of this entry »
June 26, 2007 at 9:09 am· Filed under Work, Tech News, Silverlight, Opinion
Well, Remix07 Day 1 is in the bag and I’ve come away with a few good hours of Silverlight exposure… so what have I learned so far?
Let me start by saying that I was fortunate enough to meet and chat with some of the Microsoft Silverlight heavyweights - which was great - and the evening of free beer evolved into a series of funny moments. If you didn’t come then you should have!
I ventured in knowing very little about Silverlight, the ‘threat’ it posed to me as a Flash developer and how it was going to fit in to the scheme of things. During the course of the day, two magical secrets were revealed to me.
Read the rest of this entry »
June 22, 2007 at 2:56 pm· Filed under Play
Off topic - Found some awesome stuff on YouTube today that needs a mention… and, if you’re a fan of retro gaming, you wont be disappointed.
See what happens when NES kids grow up and get engineering degrees… or learn to beatbox… or just need to show off.
Read the rest of this entry »
June 21, 2007 at 1:41 pm· Filed under Play, Tutorials, Flex
This week I’m spending a little time looking into Flex and revising the AS3 lessons of a few months ago.
Whilst actually figuring out where to start wasn’t so easy, the actual learning process and overall Flex structure was surprisingly straight forward. Whilst I’ve only really travelled .001% of the way towards being a Flex master, I’m happy to say that my first impressions were positive. They just might make an RIA developer out of me yet!
I decided that the easiest place to start was probably an RSS reader… so that’s what we’ve got here. I’ve also posted the code so that you guys can tell me if I’ve gone wrong (or could’ve done something more efficiently) and perhaps it will be of service to the next AS2 jockey that wants to look into the world of Flex.
Read the rest of this entry »
June 20, 2007 at 6:34 pm· Filed under Work, Tech News
Here’s the info on the Remix session that will be presented by Lucas Sherwood, of Lightmaker fame.
After recently completing two real world application builds in Silverlight and WPF, we will talk about the real challenges that we faced during the development process. Our aim is to address the issue facing developers as they begin to tackle these technologies and to dispel some of the myths surrounding them.
WPF and Sliverlight are still fairly new technologies and it does help to know what you are getting yourself in to, so that your development will be relatively pain free. In this session, we will share our thoughts on how we would try different approaches next time and avoid some of the pitfalls.
Lightmaker (Australia) will unveil two major new Silverlight enabled experiences currently under development.
Time: 2-3pm Monday
See you there.
June 18, 2007 at 6:11 pm· Filed under Work, Personal
Well friends, I’ve got some big news… just when you think life is comfortably heading in a defined direction, a single email changes everything.
I’m very happy to announce that I’ve just accepted a position as Technical Developer at Lightmaker, Melbourne. As much as I love online games and the respective road I was heading down, the opportunity to join the “Lightmaker family” was simply to good to pass up.
Read the rest of this entry »
June 15, 2007 at 3:18 pm· Filed under Flash, Work, Portfolio, Illustration, Game
Please welcome the newest addition to the footloosemoose stable of fine online gaming, BigFooty Rules.
BigFooty.com is Australia’s premiere Australian Rules Football (Aussie Rules) forum and they felt that a viral game would give the already competitive members something to play with and would help to bring in new subscribers. They were after something simple, addictive and fun and generally based on the token-looping concept found in games such as BusySanta - this is what I came up with…
Read the rest of this entry »
June 14, 2007 at 12:14 pm· Filed under Work, Tech News
Business Week has an interesting article that talks about my neck of the woods… here’s an excerpt regarding what it takes to make a good “Advergame”:
It’s a fine line, because the company doing the game has to understand branding and be able to sit down with a company like Pepsi and talk their language, but they also have to build a state of the art game. Then, in building the game, they have to keep the game within the stated goals: If it’s fun but the users don’t have the ‘brand experience’ then the client has wasted their money. On the other hand, if you listen too much to a brand management about the message, savvy gamers will take one look and pass. So fundamentally it’s all about the integrity of the game experience.”
It’s worth a read - check it out.
Link: The Secrets of Advergaming
June 9, 2007 at 7:52 pm· Filed under Flash, Play, Game
My love affair with Ferry Halim’s work is well documented… and indeed, his latest creation still manages to give me that warm, fuzzy feeling. During this recent encounter, he looks as good as usual, he says all the right words… but I can’t help but feel that our last date was better.
Whichever way you look at it, his portfolio of 59 games is unmatched and unrivaled within the industry. Whilst not every game is a heart-stopper, there is no denying that the “Orisinal” touch is just that: original. He continually gets a lot of attention and echoes of his ideas are often heard in the work of his peers… mine included.
Here’s a quick look at his latest game, The Crossing.
Read the rest of this entry »
June 8, 2007 at 4:41 pm· Filed under Flash, Tech News, Interview
Here it is, the moment you’ve all been waiting for… the third and final chat with your friend and mine, Sean Cooper.
For those of you who have arrived late to the party, Sean is the developer behind the BoxHead online game series and has been gracious enough to answer some of my questions. Make sure you’ve checked out my post covering the game in question, and the first and second posts in this interview series.
To cap off the adventure, I asked Sean to fill us in on some of his development secrets and reveal what he thinks the future has in store for us. Something here for everyone…
Read the rest of this entry »
June 7, 2007 at 6:34 pm· Filed under Design Stimulus, Play
Processing has been around for ages, but for some reason it rarely steps out of the shadows. Wow! This guy could singlehandedly bring it into the spotlight. Looking for a cool flocking visualisation? Look no further.
If you’re familiar with the kind of work that I’m into, you’ll understand why I find this so mesmerising. Hopefully AS3 will breathe new life into this genre in Flash. I’m still waiting.
Stop reading, just watch…
Read the rest of this entry »
June 6, 2007 at 7:04 am· Filed under Flash, Tech News, Interview
OK, you can stop holding your breath! Here is the second installment of the Sean Cooper interview.
In this section, I was interested in finding out a little more about what makes Sean tick. Which development tools he uses, what he thinks of the competition and how he monetises his creations.
If you haven’t caught the first edition, grab it here, otherwise read on for some words of wisdom.
Read the rest of this entry »
June 4, 2007 at 11:05 pm· Filed under Flash, Tech News, Interview
I often wonder what percentage of my visitors are budding game developers (perhaps I should conduct a survey?) - from the interest in some of my recent posts, my guess is that the number is quite considerable.
Well, for those amongst you who want to pick the mind of someone who has walked-the-walk… someone who has experience in producing games across platforms, genres and budgets, then today I have something special for you.
After my recent BoxHead post, I invited Sean Cooper to share his thoughts on all things related to Flash and online gaming. Not only has he been very generous with his time but his comments are informative and some are particularly insightful!
I’ve divided my interview into four sections which will be published here over three posts during the course of the next week (some of the sections are quite in depth). I have no doubt that you’ll find it an interesting read and hopefully there are thought-provoking tidbits for the novice and professional alike.
Today we learn about Sean’s background, future posts will cover his take on topics such as the online gaming industry, game development advice and predictions as to what the future has in store for us.
So without any further ado, it’s my pleasure to introduce you to Sean Cooper…
Read the rest of this entry »
June 3, 2007 at 3:28 pm· Filed under Misc, Play
Hey all - I’m back in Cape Town after a week at Le Touessrok in Mauritius… I’m stuck on an old computer behind a very slow internet connection so I’m going to wait until I’m back in Melbourne to show you how nice it was. It was probably the most luxurious week I’ve ever had - you’ll be very jealous! :)
The new game that I talked about in the last post is patiently waiting for the green light and will be ready for your attention very soon - keep an eye on this space.
Had a small engagement party last night with Sam’s family and friends. This wedding stuff is getting very real!
I’ll be home in a week… and then it will be business as usual. Until then, stay classy.
