Block Drop Progress Report #3

Okay, I don't want to hear any lip! I'm a day late, yeah, SO WHAT! Below is a picture of the foundation of the game. Right now the foundation interfaces, such as basic rendering, input, logging, and debug functionality is in place. So this screenshot isn't meant to wow you, but rather show progress.



The next milestone is to create a fully functional Bitmap Font Rendering System that uses a Bitmap Font Template organizing each ASCII character for dynamic text building. This would be a good system to use for both the scoring system, any visible timers, and the High Score Screen. There will be more info regarding this system as time progresses. I will keep you posted on any third party tools that I may use for this as well. I believe there are some bitmap font template builders out there.

Well, enjoy.
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Block Drop Progress Report #2

Okay, development is about to be underway. I will begin laying down the first statements of code on Monday. I have decided to use the Simple DirectMedia Layer (SDL) to develop it. It is a robust 2D rendering system that provides all of the tools I will need to get Block Drop up and running fast. Again, no screenshots at this point, so don't ask!! Oh, and I will try to post screenshots at the end of each week to show the progress.

The first goal is to make the base window for the game displaying the title of the game and basic input for exiting the application. A screenshot will be available on June 25 showing the results.

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What in the hell was her parents thinking??

Mudface brought something to my attention this morning that made me wonder what the hell are some parents thinking when they name their kids. But the thing is, I doubt there is a full name that gets any worse than this, see for yourself. Poor lady, at least she went in to the appropriate field, go figure. LOL, sorry.

Post some other outrageous names if you find them. I am interested in seeing other names given to them by their supposedly loving parents.

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Another member of the community

Yeah, I would like to welcome a friend of mine into the community. He goes by the name, yeah, I don't know, but for the most part he is in the lab cooking up a new concoction of Flash interfaces to take the world by storm. Go check him out at his site. You can also see his daily rambling at his blog site in the links section ( DTSquared ).

I think it stands for Do Tight Ducks Today, yeah, don't know, but check him out regardless. WELCOME DAWG!!!

Oh, and as far as what's been going on with me. I have redesigned the hardware analyzer part of my game engine to enumerate all attached display adapters and their device combinations. To those that don't understand, I am just gathering all of the video cards on a user's PC and documenting what they can do so that the game can make an educated guess on what features the user's PC can handle. That should be implemented by tonight.

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Funny Business

Here is a list of things that I thought were funny from the past 24 hours:

Conan O'brien and the Crocodile Hunter's demonstration on placing a tracking device onto a crocodile.

Clips of Walker Texas Ranger clips on Conan O'brien. How are you gonna punch a man out that has just stepped into a bear trap. Who wrote that?? LOL

Jimmy Kimbel getting flack from Detroit for his statement of "I hope Detroit doesn't win because I don't want the city to be burned down".

Remembering how great the movie "Lost Boys" really was!!

Trying to figure out what ever happened to Ted's career from "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure"

Man, these topics have kept me overly giddy today. LOL, feel free to post what you think is funny. Damn, I can't stop laughin...

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Expectations

It is funny how some people expect so much of us and for things to happen in a timely manner. For instance, I have this friend, mudface, who got me hooked up on this blogging craze. Now, he is watching me like a hawk. If I miss so much as one day, he is all over me. Where are you man?? Why haven't you posted man?? I know he means well, so I just blow it out like smoke from my butt.

Well, thing is, he just got married. Congrats to that as well. Well, since were weren't invited (yeah, I am still questioning my friendship with him), I wanted him to take pictures and post them online. He enthusiastically agreed. Well now that he is back, there are no pictures. I mean, what the hell??

I mean, normally, this wouldn't be a problem, but with the pressure from him, how am I supposed to respond right? I mean, why aren't his pictures up. Aren't we supposed to help each other keep a high level of standard by practicing what we PREACH?? Hmm, I don't know how much more of this I can take from him. Oh dear, I have some things to think about tonight.

Well, monkeyboy is sad now, so tuning out. Oh, and mud, you know I was kidding. Congratulations man, and good luck to the both of you.

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Block Drop Progress Report #1

Alright, here is my first progress report for my game "Block Drop".

Right now the base interface for the game is complete. I don't have any screenshots up till this point. Next report will have screenshot (nothing spectacular mind you).

The random block generator has been completed. I may refine it to statistically generate blocks so that one block doesn't happen to appear more than another. But that is a feature that can be cut out if need be.

I have some interesting ideas for "Power Blocks". This idea I think will make my game stand out more than the other clones. I will present these in another progress report. They may even have their own, we'll see when I get there.

Also, in the middle of design the webpage for the game as well. That will be another in depth resource to follow the progress of the game. I will post the link once it is ready.

I am still having a problem trying to figure out why my input system isn't working across different systems consistently. I am still on the hunt for a solution to that problem.

Well, that is just a little update to the game. Not much mentioned here. The next one will have a bit more detail and screenshots of its progress. Hell, I may even come up with a consistent format for these progress report. We'll see though, I have never been known to be the formal type. Well, you know the drill...

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A wooden swing set costs WHAT???

Ahh, children... You only want to teach them the ways of life and please them. One way my wife and I were trying to vie for my daughters approval was to get her a swing set. Okay, maybe I wasn't looking for her approval, more like give her something to do out back to giving me more time for me, he he. I know, I know, you're a bad father monkeyboy. Oh yeah, well stuff it ( EEEEEEEEEEEHH - monkey scream in your face ).

Anyways, we drive around town and find a little shop that specializes in wooden swing sets. We all go to check it out. We fell in love with this place as soon as we stepped in. I mean these sets were georgous. Hell, after spending 5 minutes there, I wanted to buy one for myself.

After teasing my daughter for about 8 hours, we query the salesman for a price list. ( And so it begins ) He pulls out this "configuration catalog". I should have known by first glance that this was out of a poor man's range because the catalog had not prices for the different configurations. I mean, out of all the catalogs I have looked through, they always had the little letter along side the item that referenced a price for the item in the price list. But not these extremely overpriced catalogs that only some A-list movie star could purchase.

Anyways, I notice there aren't any prices listed for each configurations. Of course, my ignorant butt asks about it. Awkwardly the guy chuckles, as if to say, "I don't even know why you came here". So I chuckle back like, "shut your trap and show me the damn price list". Finally this joker pulls out the price list. To my amazement, there isn't a single configuration under $4000.00. My mouth hit the floor and a couple of teeth fell out. I couldn't believe it. I mean the most expensive set at Wal-Mart was $400.00, so I am thinking these fools have gotten a bit zero crazy, wtf!

To make it worse, he starts telling me that there was a guy that had come in the week before we did and flat out purchased a configuration for $10,000.00. Which I am sure he told me this to never step foot back into his store. In which case I chuckle again, trying to refrain from flipping him off and jamming my finger through his left nostril to scratch and cut his frontal lobe, that bastard!!!

Yeah, I don't know where I was going with this story, but I felt I needed to tell ya. Hell, maybe indirectly I was trying to warn you to shop around before thinking about getting a "wooden" swing set. Ahhhh, enough of my monkey ramblings. See, how can a monkey code with this type of stuff festering in his head??

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Problems and more problems

Yes, monkeyboy is still fricking alive!!

I have been in the lab 24-7 these days, working on my demo game titled "Block Drop" ( can you guess what game I am developing??? ).

The problem I am having the most difficulty with is my input system. It relies on DirectInput Action Mapping. The funny thing is, I tested it on 3 different PCs, the input interface works on 2 of the 3. So I have been scouring forums searching for a possible resolution, to which I have found nothing to help me resolve my problem.

Bleh, I guess it is back to the grind. Oh, and if anyone has any ideas, PLEASE let me know, heh. Anyways, you know the deal...

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