July 30, 2016
Last week I rediscovered a 12 year old game project I was working on. I decided to look at it and write a blog about it.
Here's a summary:
Part 1: Archaeology - The rediscovery and an overview of the repository structure
Part 2: First look at the code - I open the door and peek inside, outlining the…
September 11, 2015
Day 2
I started day 2 pleased with that I had a playable game at the end of the first day, but it wasn't finished yet. Cracking on, I set myself some goals for the day. The first three were continuations from the first day.
[indent=1]? Add "game over" detection (no more moves) & message
[indent=1]…
I started day 2 pleased with that I had a playable game at the end of the first day, but it wasn't finished yet. Cracking on, I set myself some goals for the day. The first three were continuations from the first day.
[indent=1]? Add "game over" detection (no more moves) & message
[indent=1]…
September 11, 2015
Motivation
It's been a long time since I've done anything directly game related in my spare time. I work 40+ hours a week on video games and by the time I get home, I often can't summon up the motivation to do anything dev related at home.
Sure, I've still got ideas and desires to work on projects I'…
It's been a long time since I've done anything directly game related in my spare time. I work 40+ hours a week on video games and by the time I get home, I often can't summon up the motivation to do anything dev related at home.
Sure, I've still got ideas and desires to work on projects I'…
September 13, 2014
One library that I love in .NET is Fluent Assertions. It takes assertion syntax in Unit Tests and wraps it up in a natural language syntax. Doing so, we get a nice looking structure for our test that reads like a requirement, rather than a bunch of code.
For example:[quote]Quote
[font='courier new']a…
For example:[quote]Quote
[font='courier new']a…
July 15, 2014
I threw myself back into the deep end of C++ again a few months ago, having spent the last couple of years with an emphasis on C# and .NET.
One thing that I'm thinking of is the old subject of coding style. Every software house tends to have a house style, so at work you just adopt that - but at hom…
One thing that I'm thinking of is the old subject of coding style. Every software house tends to have a house style, so at work you just adopt that - but at hom…
July 05, 2014
I've committed by first alpha version of the FlatBuffers port to .NET to GitHub.
Since my last post, I decided to port the Java version to .NET as straight as I could, which means the use between Java and C# should be similar.
I ported the JavaTest buffer creation code; which looks as follows:
Since my last post, I decided to port the Java version to .NET as straight as I could, which means the use between Java and C# should be similar.
I ported the JavaTest buffer creation code; which looks as follows:
…
April 14, 2014
I've been inspired by the images that JTippetts' Accidental Noise Library can generate. However, these days I do very little C++ work so I felt like tinkering with a little project that would help me tip my toe back in this water and also have a bit of fun.
As a result, I decided to have a crack at…
As a result, I decided to have a crack at…
January 15, 2014
I've been trying to do Test Driven Development (TDD) for quite some time and struggled. I've always been what I would term a "traditional" coder - write something, debug it in some custom rigged harness to make sure things work as expected, then move on to the next piece of the system and repeat ad…
August 26, 2013
For the past year or so I've been working on Cloud Services for Fable Legends. I've been thinking of writing some articles on the subject... So an open request; if I were to write a few articles on writing Azure-based cloud services in C#, what would you want to see?
May 26, 2013
I've changed quite a few things since my last entry. First of all, I hit a wall in my Unity rip-off component system. Quite simply, I found it really shitty to work with.
Instead, I took cue from Juliean and took a look at Alec Thomas's EntityX system, and then at Richard Lord's Ash. After pondering…
Instead, I took cue from Juliean and took a look at Alec Thomas's EntityX system, and then at Richard Lord's Ash. After pondering…
May 06, 2013
I've been working (slowly) on the Unity-like Component System that backs my current game project. As time goes on, it's becoming less and less like Unity.
So I was thinking over the "tagging" system I added last time and quickly came to a couple of realisations.
1) Having a "string" based tag is limi…
So I was thinking over the "tagging" system I added last time and quickly came to a couple of realisations.
1) Having a "string" based tag is limi…
April 27, 2013
This weekend I submitted not one, but two articles to Gamedev.net. They're about Microsoft's awesome cloud service Team Foundation Service. I hope they get approved
This week I did awesome stuff with MonoGame. I can't talk about the project, but I'm blown away with how good MonoGame is, especially …
This week I did awesome stuff with MonoGame. I can't talk about the project, but I'm blown away with how good MonoGame is, especially …
April 21, 2013
Have been slowly plugging away at my Combat Prototype for my game. I've kept a clean separation of the "Engine" and "Game", with each being in separate assemblies. The Engine code is the foundations - A Unity-like GameObject + component model that sits on top of MonoGame (or XNA). I'm not going to …
April 07, 2013
The past few days I've been implementing the Component-Entity model in my current game prototype. I didn't like the way it was progressing in my previous implementation, the objects were getting large and the inheritance was already getting out of hand. It was a classic case of abusing inheritance …
April 03, 2013
T minus 1 month.
In my current project I'm working with a rare-breed programmer. An SDET, a Software Development Engineer in Test. These guys are accomplished programmers but focus on software quality.
"Hey, I write quality software", I say, "It works, doesn't it?".
T minus 4 years.
Working in a softwa…
In my current project I'm working with a rare-breed programmer. An SDET, a Software Development Engineer in Test. These guys are accomplished programmers but focus on software quality.
"Hey, I write quality software", I say, "It works, doesn't it?".
T minus 4 years.
Working in a softwa…
April 02, 2013
First of all, Boreal Games has posted a great intro article to Component-Entity Systems. If you've not read it yet, I strongly suggest you do.
This journal entry is a riff of that theme.
For those who don't know, Unity 3d is based heavily on the Entity-Component model. The root "entity" in Unity is t…
This journal entry is a riff of that theme.
For those who don't know, Unity 3d is based heavily on the Entity-Component model. The root "entity" in Unity is t…
March 30, 2013
So in my last post I mentioned how I've decided to use Unity to build out my game. Having prototyped some basic concepts I've quickly realised that my idea would better suit a 2d viewpoint. I've also realised that my target devices at this moment in time are Windows 8RT, Windows 8 Phone and Window…
March 16, 2013
For the past couple of weeks I've turned my time to dissecting the problem statement "If I were to build a simple casual game in the Supercell mould, what would it take?".
However instead of planning it with any real degree, I just picked some tech and started throwing it together.
I'm relatively ple…
However instead of planning it with any real degree, I just picked some tech and started throwing it together.
I'm relatively ple…
December 31, 2012
First of all, I apologise for not being around as much as I used to be. GDNet used to be my #1 visited site, but lately I hardly ever poke around. I'll talk about that another time though.
I thought I'd do the "usual" retrospective of the year. I don't normally do these, but this year I have stuff t…
I thought I'd do the "usual" retrospective of the year. I don't normally do these, but this year I have stuff t…
September 08, 2012
I've recently decided that there's two things I need to look at lately to get me back up to speed. One of them is DirectX11 and more modern graphics coding. I'll talk about the other thing later on.
My old codebases were traditionally built upon OpenGL and the fixed function pipeline. Yes, yes, I kn…
My old codebases were traditionally built upon OpenGL and the fixed function pipeline. Yes, yes, I kn…
June 17, 2012
I came across the Runtime-Compiled C++ project the other day and I'm intrigued. I've always been fascinated by scripting, virtual machines, reflection and other dynamic runtime stuff that adds flexibility into development. The Unreal 4 engine also has this with the "Hot Reload" feature, so I can se…
June 13, 2012
So this is kinda weird really. But also frickin' cool.
For as long as I can remember I've been doing game dev and game dev related stuff in my spare time. Mostly as a hobby, but also to help out people on this very site. I've done all sorts of stuff for GameDev.net - moderator, author, interviewer, …
For as long as I can remember I've been doing game dev and game dev related stuff in my spare time. Mostly as a hobby, but also to help out people on this very site. I've done all sorts of stuff for GameDev.net - moderator, author, interviewer, …
May 21, 2012
I may have to buy a new mouse soon, I think Diablo 3 just destroyed my old one.
May 07, 2012
Taking your game to the Cloud with SQL Azure
Part 1 - Introducing SQL Azure
So you're writing an online game, chances are that you've been thinking about how you go about storing all that data your game needs. You'll have account/billing information, player data, game zone data, inventory dat…
Part 1 - Introducing SQL Azure
So you're writing an online game, chances are that you've been thinking about how you go about storing all that data your game needs. You'll have account/billing information, player data, game zone data, inventory dat…
June 14, 2011
DISCLAIMER: I don't work in the game industry. I'm not claiming CI is good or bad for people in the game industry. I thought I'd share my experiences anyway.
What is Continuous Integration? CI is an Agile Development technique that focuses first and foremost upon the integrity of the build. That is,…
What is Continuous Integration? CI is an Agile Development technique that focuses first and foremost upon the integrity of the build. That is,…
January 30, 2011
I should add that I probably won't be around here much these days. I'm focussing on furthering my career in the database arena and don't have time left for my old hobby of game development.
It's been a blast, fellas.
It's been a blast, fellas.
September 02, 2010
So I tried my hand at Flash Fiction. "Lyra" is my debut effort. Let me know what you think.
June 21, 2010
I picked myself up an Android-2.1 powered smartphone, the HTC Desire. It's a nice phone, for sure - but what appealed to me the most was that you can develop stuff for it for free. Unlike the iPhone, which requires you to have an Intel-powered Mac and a $100 per year developer licence, you can down…
June 10, 2010
I've been thinking of an idea that could mess with your head.
Imagine a multiplayer deathmatch game... Quake 3 will do, although it could be be any kind of competitive deathmatch game. Now throw in a weapon that only triggers when you die, be it accidental death, player kill, team kill or suicide. T…
Imagine a multiplayer deathmatch game... Quake 3 will do, although it could be be any kind of competitive deathmatch game. Now throw in a weapon that only triggers when you die, be it accidental death, player kill, team kill or suicide. T…
May 10, 2010
In the first post on this subject I covered the compiler framework used in GameMonkey Script. We got to the point of being able to tokenise and parse the actual GameMonkey Script language into a syntax tree that gets run through the Code Generation routines. Before I go into the bytecode understood…
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