I've been learning CSS and thought it would be fun to make my journal match my site. You can get to my site by clicking on the flag at the top. There's hardly anything there yet, and I'll probably repost some significant posts from the last year. I have plans to post my custom model format spec with Maxscript exporter and loading/OpenGL render code; for anyone interested in writing their own format for learning purposes. I'll have to right a comprehensive post explaining the process, and caveats I found. I have a bunch of screenshots from the time, so it'll be a nice trip down memory lane for me. Also, I'll share my 3dsMax sprite render script for anyone interested.


I've been experimenting with the gameplay feel of a ninja character. My inspiration came from the game "N".[1] I thought it was neat how the ninja's orientation would rotate as he slips over the edges. I figured it must be a simple circle shape to accomplish this, and went to work trying to duplicate this ability with box2d. I needed a cheap placeholder for the ninja sprite and took the Ninja Gaiden ninja. I had to add a few frames because the original sheet didn't have a sliding frame, etc.. but most of them were ready to use. It looks like this so far:
I'll post demo as soon as I fix a silly issue with the config file: I'm using a plain-text file, which makes it error-prone when trying to overwrite the video resolution (when changed from the menu) if it happens to be one-character shorter or longer. So I plan to use an XML file instead. I have yet to fix this.


[1]
"N" is an award-winning flash game released in 2004 by Metanet Software. It's name means "way of the ninja", and features a ninja that must avoid deadly robots and reach a door at the end of each level. If you're not familiar with (or don't remember) the game, give it a try. The game is an action-based survival challenge with many levels and succeeds in being infinitely replayable.