Global Game Jam 2010 : Pigmalion

In case you didn't know a cool thing happened over the weekend.  A bunch of people from around the world made a bunch of games.  I missed the first time this happened last year, but this year I vowed to not miss out.  In roughly twenty eight hours me and five other hansom fellas (who I've never met) made a game.  For my first "game jam" I'd say it went pretty well.

College Chronicles Part 4: Asteroids Evolution

Immediately after finishing Katamari Arkanoids I started work on the next assigned project in my class.  This game was made in the same class as Katamari Arkanoids, Structures of Game Design (SGD), while attending Full Sail University.  Everyone was assigned to make an Asteroids inspired game.  This meant you could make any game that had something player-controlled that shot bullets.

Making a traditional Asteroids game was something I always wanted to do.  The big reason why was because it was my Dad's favorite game.  I figured since my Mom and Dad were paying for all of this school that I should make something for them (sorry Mom).  Because of all of this I chose to make a traditional asteroids game...with a few twists.  Check it!

College Chronicles Part 3: Katamari Arkanoids

Only two months after Extreme Pong 2 I got to a class called Structures of Game Design (SGD).  In this two month class we got a crash course in designing games from the ground up.  We learned about breaking things down into easily maintainable features that we could use to mark progress.  We also learned a bit about taking all the things we had learned so far in the program and applying it to a game.  This included using DirectX (previous class), vector math, using data to drive your game, and many other techniques and technologies.

Everyone in the class was tasked with a project for the first month.  This was to make an Arkanoids/Breakout type game using the material that was taught in class.  At the time I could tell that Toni (my girlfriend at the time, now wife) was getting a bit frustrated with my amount of free time (which was zero).  I knew it was only going to get worse so I wanted to get her involved so I could spend more time with her.  I am no game designer by any means, but I can roll with ideas.

I explained the project and asked her how I could make something she would like to play.  She simply said, "Just make Katamari", which I think was a joke (we had been playing it a bit at the time).  That peaked my interest, and this is what came out of it:

College Chronicles Part 2: Extreme Pong 2

Two months after I made the first Extreme Pong I got to Windows Programming at Full Sail University.  In this two month class I learned my way around the Windows API.  GDI, string tables, resource files, icons, windows and the list goes on.  During the first month of the class we were tasked with taking the knowledge we learned and applying it to a simple pong game outside of class.  Since I already made a pong game at the point I decided a sequel was in order.  Extreme Pong II was it.

College Chronicles Part 1: Extreme Pong

Okay I've been doing this little shindig for awhile and its time to switch it up a bit.  I recently read a friend's blog which had a number of posts of the things he did in college.  That got me thinking that it is about time I take you through the programming history of Aaron (me).

The time stamp for one of the files in this game is January 15th, 2006.  WOW, has it really been that long?  I do recall working on it through Christmas.  Four years ago I was attending Full Sail University and was in my third month of C++ programming.  This was the last month of nose-to-the-books C++ learning before we moved on to other areas of C++ (like using it with OpenGL, DirectX, Lua, etc.).

Durring the last month of the course there was an optional assignment to use your current knowledge (2 months of C++ basics) to create a game to show off to the class (aka rub in their faces).  Since it was my goal to squeeze as much learning out of the 80k school cost as I could, I couldn't pass up the opportunity (plus I got to rub it in people's faces).

So here it is in all its glory:

Excuse for Tardiness: Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2

It has been awhile since I've made a post so I must do my duty (HAH) of excusing myself.  This game was the main reason why I haven't posted in awhile, but I have also been busy with other things I will highlight in a future post (soon).  It seems as though I am certainly not the only one who has this excuse.  Just check out this, or that.

Excuse for Tardiness: Halo 3: ODST

I have a feeling I may be doing more of these posts then I would prefer this fall. Way too many good games are coming out. The wave of new games has begun (for me) with this title. Some of you may hate halo, some of you may not even know what I am talking about and some of you LOVE halo. I am number three, but I like to keep it low key (to prevent additional people from hating it). Maybe I have played all the games (with no sleep release night) and I might have read all of the books. Does that make me completely and utterly bias towards the series? YES!

Excuse for Tardiness: Plants vs. Zombies

The time block I have set aside to gather my thoughts into this blog is also the only time I can get me some gaming in. In an attempt to keep my blog alive I will make a post like this to tell you about the game I am currently playing that has prevented you from reading something maybe more interesting.