On the Shoulders of Giants

New Ballon Blocks build

2009-04-03T13:35:00.000-07:00

I've uploaded a new build of Balloon Blocks here.

The new build adds:
Intro and Exit screens.
Selectable gravity in custom games.
Can now rotate using the triggers and the right thumbstick on the gamepad.
Moar programmer art. :-)
Switchable resolutions.
Blocks start to settle down after they collide, reducing the random bouncing.
Move control over the block fall speed, hold up on the left thumbstick and the block fall rate slows much more.

Balloon Blocks Playable Build

2009-03-24T13:27:00.000-07:00

I've uploaded a playable build of Balloon Blocks here.

Currently the game has 3 difficulty modes and a custom game mode option that lets you choose how fast pieces fall, how large they are and several other options.

The keyboard controls:
W, S, A, D: Move the current piece.
Arrow Keys Left and Right: Rotate the current counter clockwise and clockwise.
Space Bar: Pause.
Escape: Pause and bring up the quite option.

You can also use the Xbox360 gamepad controls if you have one plugged in:
Left analog stick: Move the current piece.
Triggers: Rotate the current counter clockwise and clockwise.
Start: Pause.
Back: Pause and bring up the quite option.

Please forgive the bad programmer art, lack of scoring, saving or multiplayer. :-)

Balloon Blocks, Late stage alpha screen shot

2009-03-15T18:47:00.000-07:00

So this is my game, it’s a match-3 game where all the pieces are part of a deformable point mass and spring physics model. Through I’m using a 2D simulation that’s simpler than the linked 3D version. I feel compelled to note that it run at 60FPS when in focus ;-)

Click on the screen shot for a larger version.

Standing On the Shoulders of Giants

2009-03-15T17:47:00.000-07:00

So I’m opening this blog to host my musing about software engineering, the game industry and my indie game project.

If you’re not familiar with the phrase "Standing on the shoulders of giants", check out the Wikipedia entry; it’s a metaphor for acknowledging that everything we do intellectually builds on the work of those who came before us.

I choose the title ‘On the Shoulders of Giants’ because it’s so apt a description of nearly everyone who works in software. The modern history of software is less than 100 years old and many of the founders of our industry are still with us. As you read this on your screen, consider the difference engine, the Turing machine and the stored program computer; if you’re at all like me it’s humbling to examine these innovations and consider how they lead to the modern hardware, OS’s and programming environments we all use.

In games, the original pong machine, while not the first video game, in many ways denotes the beginning of modern video games and in my own project I rely on the excellent XNA Game Studio framework.

My point in all this isn’t that those who came before us are towering intellects to be worshiped or anything along those lines, but that we should all acknowledge that we build on the research and work of others. We should learn from these earlier works, every decision was made for a reason, a reason that may or may not be a valid concern anymore (like storage costs driving the design of early file systems). Above all, work hard and build a platform for the next generation to stand on. :-)