If you’ve been following this blog, it’s pretty obvious to see that I’m incredibly focused on mobile development. That’s why I’ve been carefully watching what Apple has to offer. But in making games, I often find myself wandering over to Daz3d for some digital inspiration. Surprisingly, I’ve been able to create incredibly professional work without having to spend a lot of money. With Daz Studio, I can create visuals that are comparable to big budget hollywood movies and cartoons. Meanwhile, my Mac Mini is chugging along. I use it with GameSalad and my iPod Touch to create new games. Developer kits for the game consoles of yore would cost thousands of dollars. My setup is around $1000. With budget saving items like this, Photics.com is able to grow.

But hey, you might be more interested about the new features in iOS4

iOS4 allows me to organize my Apps by placing them in a folder.

With the software upgrade for my iPod Touch, I’m able to enjoy a new look for the dock and now I can use folders to organize my apps. I’m also able to change the wallpaper on my home screen, a frivolous but fun feature. For the future, I’m looking forward to enjoying iBooks. I looked for the iBooks app on the iTunes store, but I didn’t see it available yet. Apple states that there’s over 100 new features in iOS4. But unfortunately, my third generation iPod Touch is not peppy enough to enjoy them all. Multitasking is not enabled for my device. Also, since my iPod touch doesn’t have a camera, a lot of picture taking features are not available.

Don’t feel bad for the older hardware, as I still like my iPod Touch. I’m glad that it’s a slower device. This is very useful for testing my games. If it can run on poky hardware, the frame-rates should be great on the more powerful devices.

So, I’m enjoying the Summer Solstice. Today is a bright, sunny and cheerful day. Pleasant weather and great software, ah, it’s a good life.

Fighter

The Story: Sometime in the future, a blackout has struck the downtown area. As the chief engineer of the city’s transportation system, it is up to you to restore power to the train station. By carefully placing power orbs in position — five across of the same color — you can boost the station’s energy level. However, the conveyor belts that move the orbs also require power. Do you have the smart thinking required to keep the lights on?

But if words are not enough to impress you, here’s a video of Commove (for iPad)…

Features:

• No annoying timers. Play at your own pace.
• Easy controls, with only one touch at a time required.
• Professional background music – available in stereo!
• Carefully crafted artwork and special effects.
• Family friendly, a game designed for kids and adults.

How to play:
Align five orbs, of the same color, in a row. Press an arrow button to move all objects in that row or column one space in the direction of the arrow. Watch the signal lights to determine what the next colored ball will be. A new ball, if available, will enter the field at the opposite side from the button pressed.

Additional Information:
As the game progresses, Bombs and Star Balls are added for greater challenge. Bombs can be touched to make them explode. If they are not detonated, they will automatically explode after being moved a certain amount of turns. Moving objects off the side will result in a loss of power. The game ends when you run out of power.

Strategy Guide / Hints:

• Create combos for massive score bonuses.
• Watch to see what changes with each level.
• Bombs can help or hurt you. It depends how you use them.
• To conserve power, try not to push objects off the side, especially not the white orbs.

Play with friends:
Commove can even be a great party game. When one person completes five in a row, that person passes the game to the next person. (If more than two people are playing, pass the game around the room/area in a clockwise motion.) The winner is the last person who successfully completed five in a row.

Commove (for iPad) is scheduled to launch on June 4, 2010.
http://itunes.com/apps/photics

Determination & Foresight – I was fighting against the game developer’s version of writer’s block. I was starting to see nothing but failure. Every game idea I could think of was already done… and done well. “Why bother?” Today, I seriously thought about giving up. I didn’t know what I was going to do next. With thousands of games on the market, trying to stand out felt futile. Yet, this is what I enjoy. Photics.com is a business and a hobby. For decades, I’ve played through many challenging video games. I was relentless in trying to beat the last boss and make it to the ending. Why should I give up here when the prize is real?

Plus, the next version of the iPhone OS is looking great. With Apple’s Game Center, some really amazing features can be done. For the longest time I wanted to run my own online game. With features like Matchmaking, Leaderboards, Achievements, and Voice over IP, my mind is racing with the possibilities. I was a latecomer to the iPhone / iPod Touch scene, but I’ve seriously caught up this month. I was ready with a game for the iPad launch. I’d like to do the same for Apple’s Game Center.

With a goal in mind, I tried to figure out the best way to achieve that objective. I came up with this…

Is this the blueprint for success? I don't know, but it looks like a lot of fun!

One of the things that I learned about developing for the iPhone, iPod Touch and the iPad is that the control scheme is incredibly important. I have a fairly long list of games that I want to make, but that list started to thin out when I was shying away from games that needed on-screen controls or games without strong possibilities for multiplayers. Also, I didn’t want the artwork to get too complicated. (I have another project that I’d really like to do, but it’s just too expensive for right now.) After some testing, I decided to focus on a Gauntlet / Zelda type of game. The difference here is that this game is entirely designed for mobile phones… no joysticks… no buttons… just touching.

My advice for managing complicated problems – break it down into small pieces first, otherwise the enormity of the issue might overwhelm you.

Now that I have a general direction, I can tackle the next problem – artwork. The game has to look good or it won’t sell. It’s going to be a challenge, but at least I’m moving forward.

The Super Nintendo in ’91, the Nintendo 64 in 1996, the Dreamcast on 9/9/99 and the Wii in 2006, I bought those consoles on or near the launch date. I remember the typical launch day frenzy. You had to hustle before the systems sold out. I also remember something else about launch day – game shortages. Traditionally, a game console would launch with a few titles. There would be a huge drought until the game library was built up.

Things are different with Apple. I imagine that there will be plenty of launch day titles, but is this a fair comparison? I consider the iPad to be a portable gaming console, on par with the Nintendo DS or PSP. I believe that the quality of my game is similar to portable games made not too long ago… but those were made by established gaming companies. I’m just one guy!

Using GameSalad as a development tool, I was able to add dazzling particle effects, animation, positional sound effects and touch controls.

The industry is changing and I’m happy to be part of it. On April 3, when hundreds of thousands of people pick up their iPads, my game should be waiting for them. Heh, I have no illusions. Most will probably skip past my hard work. Yet, the mere fact that I’m even able to compete in this market is impressive to me. I’m getting better.

So, more about the game… Photics: Fireball is a pinball game for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. It was quite a challenge to create a pinball table that was fun to play. GameSalad helped a lot with that. With particle effects, it’s not just a metal ball bouncing around. It looks and sounds like a ball of fire. I find it almost mesmerizing. The physics engine in GameSalad is very good. The way the fireball moves – the speed and the collisions – it feel natural. It would be very difficult for me to create a similar project with a different development tool, such as Flash or XNA.

And even though GameSalad is mainly for 2D games, I was able to squeeze some 3D effects into my game. The python is 3D animated and the particle effects on the fireball (and enemy orbs) change shape. I tried to add some perspective to the game and I think it worked out.

The game has features that you’d expect from a pinball game… like kickback. The side alleys have pegs that will temporarily prevent the fireball from falling down the sides. Also, you can hold the ball in place with the flippers. Sometimes I like to hold the ball in place, so I can watch the cool fire effects. I also added a different approach to the plunger. I didn’t want to waste screen space on an area to launch the ball. Instead, you touch and hold the bottom part of the screen to launch a fireball. It as it you are summoning the fire for you to command. When you release your touch, the ball launched upwards to attack the dark wizard’s stronghold.

And now, the waiting begins. Will Apple approve of my game? If they do, the iPhone / iPod Touch version should be launched on April 2 and the iPad version should be available on April 3.

After creating such realistic looking Asteroids for Photics: Revisions – Course Correction, I was reminded about some awesome software that I had used in the past – Daz Studio. The daz3d.com website has links to a free download. The software is “Tell-ware”, which means you’re supposed to tell two people about it. The idea is that if the software is given away in this fashion, more and more people will return to the website and buy licenses to use additional content. There’s a significant amount of models, scenes and props available at the website. There’s so much content that it should be fairly easy to build my own fantasy world.

I only need 2D images, so the Daz content license works out well for me. I’ve already started work on converting my game. So far, I’m pleased with the results. What do you think?

This image could be used to represent the "Amazons" in Photics: Conquest.

If this project works out well, I will likely use Daz Studio for future game projects. For years I struggled with game development. I often dreamed about making my own games or running my own arcade. I dabbled in all of the various trades of the profession. I have some knowledge of programming. I have some artistic ability. I have some marketing skills. Yet, it was very tough to attempt all at once. With GameSalad taking the edge off of programming, Daz Studio making it a lot easier to create artwork, and with Apple creating a huge market for independent game developers, I have a better chance of fulfilling my lifelong dream. Plus, Apple isn’t the only market. There’s Android and the various “me-too” app stores.

There’s also the Internet. My arcade can be here, at Photics.com. I don’t have to sit behind a counter and make change for kids. I don’t have to babysit a storefront. I can focus on the fun stuff. It seems that I’m on the road to success – far better than I imagined it could be. (When I was younger, I did not know of the Internet.) Although, even with all of this, the road ahead still represents quite a fierce journey. If I’m successful, it means that I’ll have a job that I enjoy and you’ll have fun games to play. Today, I believe that I took a rather large step in the right direction.

Course Correction is an extension of my book Photics: Revisions. This part of the story happens shortly after the main character (you) learns their true identity. Here’s the game’s description…

Miles “Hank” Mulligan and Philip Otis are on a mission to save the Earth from hostile forces. While traveling back to their home planet, at near light speeds, a miscalculation was discovered. In order to regain lost time, A course correction is needed – straight through an asteroid field. The capital ship is not equipped to combat this threat. Instead, it is up to you. By piloting a small fighter, can you blast away the debris and escort your friends to safety?

Defend the capital ship from harm as it flies through an asteroid field. Use your fighter’s 360° cannon to blast away those space rocks. As you progress through your mission, you will gain useful power-ups, such as regeneration and a faster gun turret. However, your mission will be a failure if either spacecraft is destroyed.

One of the things I really like about this game is the way the asteroids explode. I put a lot of work into getting that effect just right. I even risked physical harm to record the boom sound. That explosion you hear is a recording of an actual combustion… I used REAL FIRE.

Shoot the asteroids to protect yourself - and your allies - from harm.

For those that take the plunge and buy a copy of my game, here are some game play suggestions – Balance out the damage between both ships. If the fighter is low on health, it’s OK to let the capital ship take some hits. With the regenerative technology, the capital ship can repair itself. You don’t have to play to perfection. You don’t have to shoot every rock… only the ones that put you in danger. Don’t trust the radar to be 100% accurate. This is an asteroid field. The more rocks there are in range, the less likely it is going to detect all of the rocks.

Also, the game was designed as a diversion. Hopefully you won’t obsess about reaching the end. It doesn’t really have one. It’s more about a relaxing way to enjoy some free time.

Here’s the level chart…

Level  1 -    0 Points
Level  2 - 1000 Points --- Regeneration
Level  3 - 2000 Points --- Faster Turret
Level  4 - 4000 Points --- Better Gun
Level  5 - 8000 Points --- Faster Shooting
Level  6 - 16000 Points -- More Thrust
Level  7 - 32000 Points -- No Regeneration
Level  8 - 64000 Points -- Regeneration Restored
Level  9 - 128000 Points - We're almost clear.
Level 10 - 256000 Points - Win

I’m glad I stayed determined and I didn’t give up on my Mac hardware / software. For a while, I was discouraged with iPhone / iPod Touch development. I still don’t know if this is going to be successful business venture, but at least I’m having a lot more fun.

The thumbnail preview is from a screenshot of my desktop. It’s covered in rocks. I have five asteroids completed. I figure I need about three more. I’m not going to cheapskate on this part of the process. When you’re playing the game, my goal is to make you feel like you’re in an asteroid field, not looking at a bunch of .png files. I figure that sensation will be more likely if the asteroids are varied. In the thumbnail, you can see the first asteroid of the most recent batch. I had an older asteroid image from some years ago (when I first started this project) but I decided to start from scratch.

I think my asteroid looks a lot like the death star from Return of the Jedi. Heh, but that wasn’t intentional.

Next you can see the main character, a fighter-class space craft. It still needs a gun turret. That’s what the circle in the middle is about. I’ll also need to get to work on the particle effects for the engines. I want it to feel cool when you move around. I remember when Super Mario first hit the Nintendo 64. When I played that game for the first time, I was happy with just jumping around… woo hoo… woo hoo! That’s my goal for space flight. I want it to feel fast and fun. So far, I’m moving closer to the goal. When I first dropped the fighter into the game, I was extremely happy and impressed with my progress.

I moved the sprite around the screen while making space sounds.

I probably would have kept this all a secret until the game launched, but I was extremely impressed with my capital ship design. The objective of the game is to protect the Captial Ship as it flies through the asteroid field. The capital ship is supposed to be much larger than the fighter. I figured that 256×512 would be a good size. (That means you’ll never see all of it on the screen at one time. The game screen is 480×320.) I prefer to do illustration in Adobe Flash, rather than Adobe Illustrator. I find it easier to make curvy lines in flash.

It's like Spaceball One and The Space Shuttle fell in love, and then they had a kid.

I’m kidding with the caption. Spaceball One is much bigger. While it might be cool to have a similar sized ship, there are hardware limitations to be concerned about. This is a game to be played on the iPhone.

Anway, I like my illustration. My only complaint was that it looks a little too phallic. But then again, after a quick look at rocket science and the military, this could be art imitating life. It’s funny how that happens. Once you get an image in your head, it’s hard to get it out. Like with the fighter design. The first version looked too much like Batman’s Batwing or a demon laughing at me. While working on the second version, I kept seeing an Owl. I think that happens when you stare at the screen too long, your mind starts playing tricks on you.

I wasn’t trying to copy any design or pre-existing artwork. I simply started with a shape. The fighter is round because that will make collision detection easier. The capital ship is square for the same reasons. I just kept drawing curvy lines in Flash until I saw something I liked. If I didn’t like the lines, I’d delete or adjust them. I kept going with this process, forcing myself to get some usable artwork. When I started this project, I was preparing myself to buy clipart or hire a freelancer. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find artwork with a compatible license agreement and/or illustrations that I felt was worth buying. So instead, I simply did it myself. I’m surprised that the results are so professional.

So hey, here it is… a preview of my game. I’m creating original artwork for you! Are you psyched to buy my game yet?

When I first had the idea for PR:CC, I was looking into XNA. Could it be possible to actually make a game for the XBOX 360 and PC? Well… it was possible… but it was just too hard for me. I tried messing around with 3D graphics programs and a complicated programming language. I didn’t have much success. I ultimately gave up on the project. I felt that Flash was an easier platform to work with. But that was also too cumbersome. With ActionScript 3, I felt lost. I felt like I had to start over with each upgrade. It was discouraging. My idea was pushed aside.

But recently, I’ve had some success with mobile development. Google Android sparked my interest in game development. Thousands of players joined up to try Guild Wars: Conquest. Why couldn’t I achieve similar success with the iPhone? The bar is raised higher in that market. But with a copy of GameSalad and my Mac Mini, perhaps I should try again.

Here’s an old drawing of what I envisioned…

Can I make this idea real?

Since it’s going to be primarily for the iPhone, I realized that I had to make a few adjustments to the controls. Yet, I’m still not sure if my control scheme is even possible.

Question #1: Can I use the accelerometer in my game?

• Yes – http://gamesalad.com/wiki/how_tos:gsc_iphone_controls shows how to do it. There’s even a video tutorial that makes the process seem ridiculously easy.

Question #2: Can I have directional fire, with the click of a mouse or a touch on the iPhone?

• I don’t know. I’m still researching the matter. I don’t know if my controls are going to work. Considering this is primarily for the iPhone, I might have to drop the cross-hair or figure out a really creative way to make it work. (I think I’ll make the cross-hair appear when pressed, not constant like before. That might solve the problem.)

Question #3: Wait a minute, how is a $99 program going to handle something complicated like radar?

• Apparently, it’s not that complicated. http://gamesalad.com/wiki/how_tos:create_a_minimap shows how it’s done. Except, it’s referred to as a mini map.

Question #4: What about health bars and power ups?

• That information is available too… http://gamesalad.com/wiki/how_tos:gsc_health_bar …and I could probably modify it to add some cool power-ups. Do it in reverse to power-up the main gun.

Question #5: Can I have user preferences? What if a user doesn’t want to use the accelerometer? What if they’d rather have an on-screen controller instead?

• I’m not sure. But if so, I have room for it at the bottom right of the screen.

I’ll have to work on graphics and I already have cool music selected. That’s the majority of the heavy lifting here, but GameSalad seems to have resolved a lot of the challenging parts. I’ll just have to figure out how to make the asteroids/enemies, character interactions, game presentation and make the game fun/pretty. The Space Rocks example included with GameSalad is close to how I want the Asteroids to react. I’ll probably have to do some more research on camera movement, as a lot of the action will happen off-screen.

Today was a big day. I went from feeling like this project was impossible, to becoming incredibly motivated. Yet, the main question remains… can it be done? Yes, of course! A better question is… can I do this?

Although, the excitement didn’t hit everyone. On Twitter, iTampon was the #1 topic. Many people were comparing the name “iPad” to a feminine hygiene product. I would have thought society would have advanced beyond such silly references. Do people call notepads note-tampons… or keypads / key-tampons… or shoulder pads / shoulder tampons?

I’m surprised to be in the situation of defending Apple, but perhaps the world needs to grow up. I remember all the ridiculous comments when the Wii was announced. My initial thought was to dismiss Nintendo’s new console. The Internet was buzzing with references to urine and penises. I thought that “Wii” was a silly name. After careful review of the system’s features, I changed my mind. I decided to buy it. I’m glad that I did. Otherwise, I would have missed out on a lot of fun.

Anyway, since I am a registered developer, I decided to wander over to the iPhone Dev Center and download the beta (version 3.2) of the iPhone software development kit. It’s still downloading as I type this, so I decided to add a new blog post. According to the iPad press release, “The SDK includes a simulator that lets developers test and debug their iPad apps on a Mac, and also lets developers create Universal Applications that run on iPad, iPhone and iPod touch.” There are already millions of iPhones and iPods in the world. There’s going to be a new “gold rush” with the iPad. I’m figuring that a head-start might lead to better success. With the iPhone, I was playing catchup. But with the iPad, I can be part of the action from the very beginning.

The iPad - image courtesy of apple.

I am hungry for a new project. I also have a new idea – I could use GameSalad to create iPhone games. Apparently, this software is designed for non-programmers. That’s good, as I’m better at content management / content creation. That’s been my approach with Guild Wars: Conquest and it seems to be working out. Unfortunately, GameSalad is also in beta. I don’t know if it will get the job done. My preliminary experimentation has left me feeling doubtful. I am a bit tired though. Probably tomorrow, I’ll look at it with my eyes rested.

So, what does all of this have to do with the iPad? I think it’s a great platform. It could be a new branch of gaming. I don’t think it will completely replace consoles or portables. Yet, the iPad seems great for casual gaming. The iPad looks so cozy. I can imagine myself curling up with it on the couch. The iPad seems like a great TV companion or coffee table accessory.

If you’ve seen my apps from last year, you might have noticed that most of them had a menu item… one… singular… a menu item. Even though I read Google’s android documentation, I couldn’t figure out how to add more than one menu item to an app.

• http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/ui/menus.html

I dropped the menu code into my eclipse project. Naturally, errors appeared and they were highlighted in red. I trimmed down the code until the errors disappeared.

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    /* Creates the menu items */
    public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
        menu.add(0, MENU_CONTACT, 0, "little screens for big discussions!");
        return true;
    }
 
    /* Handles item selections */
    public boolean onOptionsItemSelected(MenuItem item) {
        switch (item.getItemId()) {
    	case MENU_CONTACT:
    		mWebView.loadUrl("file:///android_asset/contact.html");
            return true;
        }
        return false;
    }

The problem was with the top… not the code here… near the top of my Java file. You can’t just expect to paste in code and have an android app work… ha ha… no… that would be way to easy. This was the line…

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    private static final int MENU_CONTACT = 0;

What does that mean?! I have no idea. I let eclipse fix the errors and it dropped that code into my app. Eclipse highlighted MENU_CONTACT with a red squiggly line. The balloon pop-up stated that, “MENU_CONTACT cannot be resolved.” I chose one of the quick fixes. I created a constant called ‘MENU_CONTACT’ and it put a new line of code near the top of my java file. But when I tried to add another menu item, with a separate case, More red squiggly lines appeared. The error stated, “duplicate case” with no additional instructions.

Eclipse cannot resolve MENU_CONTACT... but can you resolve it?!

I clicked around, trying to figure things out. Eventually, I decided to change the number in the “private static final int MENU_CONTACT” line. I changed it from zero to one… and I gave the second menu item constant a different number… the number two. Could something so simple work? Why yes, it did. Soon after, I launched my app with a new menu and even sub menus. How does it work? I DON’T KNOW! What is a private static final int and why does it need a different number? It is a mystery to me, but my apps seem to work. There were 22 constants in the finished app.

Basically, it seems that I had to number my constants. That sounds weird, doesn’t it? I was happy by this accomplishment, but it’s not something I can throw into normal conversation.

“Hi Mike, how are you?!”
“I numbered my constants, allowing me to add multiple options to my Android app menu.”

Anyway, if you’re having trouble understanding Google’s menu tutorial, this might be something to consider. I was having a hard time with this problem, until I realized what the “duplicate case” error meant.