Phew! What a busy week that was! I got several components fixed/added into the editor to better support XNA’s graphics pipeline. I still need to implement the ‘smart import’ so I can save time (maybe hours) from cutting up images by myself to import individually. I made another blog post on the status of Wildboarders. My 4th Dev Blog Entry I’ve reached a stage in the development of this game where I’m sensing the transition is moving from ‘foundation laying’ (the fun part) to the real effort (not so fun) part of the development....

Every once in a while I see a game that really goes off in a different direction. Sometimes it’s a gameplay innovation/evolution other times it’s a visual style that seems so out there that I can’t help but appreciate it. Games like this just reaffirm the fact that games can be art. It really takes an open mind to break free of typical game conventions such as creating photorealistic graphics, or going for the typical cartoon style of graphics seen in many 2D games....

I had a long weekend and took some of the extra time to try to get ahead of schedule. Much to my surprise I got a rather good chunk of the ‘to-do’ list done thanks to XNA game components and open-source libraries. I posted a list of the libraries and components I’m currently using for my game and where to get them. I’ve also made a library of classes for loading Endgen map files into XNA....

So I took the plunge. It looks like its going to be a wild ride (pun intended). Anyway, for the contest I’m required to keep a blog throughout the development of the game on their site. I’ll be keeping that blog updated with pictures and some comentaries of my experiences. Meanwhile, on this site I’ll just post a link to my blog and some additional notes to my self here if I missed it on the initial post....

Stumbled across this while browsing gamedev.net. I’m contemplating if I should join in. Sounds like it could be entertaining. If anything, it would be good practice on creating a game from start-to-finish with a set deadline but still keep it in good fun :). I’ve got a game idea that’s been brewing for a while and this might be just the thing to see it spring to life. Go check it out if you’re into this kind of thing....

Don’t have anything ready to post as of now, but I had to atleast share this little flash ‘game’ I came across. It has sapped atleast a couple of hours already from me: Line Rider It is in beta, but it was pretty solid from what I saw. I thought this was a really cool gameplay mechanic. While I had ideas of drawing levels as you go for a type of game, this game took it far beyond what I had in mind....

6 New Images in the Development Gallery Ok so I had the GeSHi blitzmax language file scheduled to be done by last weekend. Got caught up in more important development matters. I still plan on doing a full port for it, just not at the moment. I’ll probably get around to it when I’m ready to post another code sample or a tutorial for blitzmax. Nothing too exciting to really post about at this moment....

So I got my code archive up and with its first entry: New Blitzmax Code Module: Animation Strip Compiler Hope you enjoy it. Been doing alot of work lately on getting the site to accomodate me in posting code modules and examples both in C# and blitzmax. I think I might write a Blitzmax highlighter for GeSHi over the weekend. From what I’ve seen there currently isn’t a Blitzmax langauge file for GeSHi. There’s already a blitzbasic one, but it seems rather limited. Plus once its done that’s just another language GeSHi supports :). I’ll post the highlighter source when it’s complete. In other news, while I was out to lunch… ...

It’s Thursday. The weekend is almost here. Can’t wait to finally be able rest! Waking up at 5 am every morning to the sound of an obnoxious alarm clock isn’t one of the most pleasant things. I am certainly not a morning person. I’m a college student. What do you expect? I got a simple gallery up and running. The layout is a bit messed up at the moment but I’ll fix it later this week when I have more time to get into the code and templates....

Finally got around to setting up my own personal web site. Don’t expect too much in the coming months, but I atleast have alot of ideas for the use of the site. Right now I’m just organizing some of my work to be uploaded and still tweaking the site to fit my future needs. Hopefully by the end of this weekend I’ll have some stuff up. Maybe even a screenshot or two of the current game I’m developing…